Portuguese radio amateurs seek license changes

On February 26 Portugal's amateur radio associations submitted a joint proposal for legislation for the Amateur Service and Amateur Satellite Services to the Secretary of State

A translation of an ARLA post reads:

Revision of DL 53/2009

As informed, the representatives elected by the associations of radio amateurs (AR), were, February 26, 2020, received at the Secretary of State.

The meeting was guided by cordiality and the exchange of information about amateur radio, the legislative process that follows and, above all, the first joint analysis of our proposals.

There follow, therefore, some procedural phases, where it will be necessary to discuss options different from ours that we will be confronted with and, as is usual and customary, it should end with an extended public consultation.

The step taken today is a first but important step on the path that, democratically, radio amateurs affiliated to different associations of radio amateurs have traced.

It is recalled that our proposals include, among others, the following points:

• Emphasize the recognition of the quality of association of radio amateurs.
• Exempt young people up to 16 years old, inclusive, from the exam fee.
• Establish that young people aged 17 to 25, inclusive, will pay 25% of the exam fee.
• Apply the CEPT syllabus to amateur exams.
• Establish 3 categories - to the detriment of the current 6 - making the equivalence between old classes A, B and C and the current categories 1, 2 and 3.
• Establish that, after six months of granting the category 3 code, the radio amateur can apply for an exam for any of the following categories.
• Assign, for training and education, to category 3, of sub-bands in the 80, 40, 10 m bands, in addition to the 2 m and 70 cm bands, the amateur satellite service being excluded.
• Exclude supervision in the use of broadcasting amateur stations, with the exception of radio amateurs under 16 years of age.
• Abolish the minimum age for entry into category 3.
• Make it possible to reassign call signs (IC) as long as they are available (prefix and suffix).
• Eliminate the assignment of prefixes by classes (CT, CS and CR).
• Reassignment of prefixes CU1 to CU9 in the Azores, in line with the island where the stations are located.
• Issuance of a HAREC certificate to all categories 1, A and B radio amateurs, who require it.
• Equating analog or digital signaling stations to stations in common use (EUC) operating under the responsibility of an amateur, with power less than 5W PAR.
• Assign an operating license to the repeater stations (EUC) to be installed, regardless of the emission mode, after a trial period for one year, without complaints.
• Enable ICO assignment for up to 30 days.
• Consign ICOA free of charge when required by an association of radio amateurs.
• Keep the current fee regime unchanged

Although we are a little ahead of the agreed timetable, it will follow, on the part of the RA, an invitation to associations that are not part of the process to join it.

The legislative process, which will culminate in the publication of new legislation, will be long, but it is necessary to go through it until we have the repeal of the current legislation.

Amateurs deserve it!

Source ALRA
https://arla.org.pt/site/2020/02/27/comunicado-4-nova-legislacao-para-o-servico-de-amador/