Ofcom released its long-awaited proposal for changes to the UK amateur radio licence on the 23rd of June 2023. Amateurs can have their say via the Ofcom website until Monday the 4th of September.
It’s all explained in this document: Ofcom Consultation Document – although it’s a large document!
The headlines are:
- New callsigns for Intermediate – M8 and M9. Current Intermediates won’t be forced to change
- RSLs (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, etc) to become optional, and England can have an “E”
- Removing /P, /M, /A and /MM from the licence. Hams can use any suffixes
- Power increases at all three licence levels
- Plans to revoke unused licences and callsigns (one ham, one licence)
- Hams can potentially change their callsigns and use any callsign issued since World War II
- Limited airborne use (max 0.5 watts on primary bands)
- Simplifications around GB special event station callsigns, supervision, hotspots, beacons, gateways and repeaters
- Foundation construction to be allowed and get access to 2.4GHz and 5GHz allocations
The document is over 100 pages long, but Essex Ham has condensed the main points down to a short video:
Consultation Links
Do you have any thoughts? Add them in the comments section below, or discuss them in the HamHub Chat Forum
Gordon Lawson
Chris