SB QST @ ARL $ARLB060
ARLB060 State Department applies for US CEPT participation

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ARRL Bulletin 60  ARLB060
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  October 10, 1997
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB060
ARLB060 State Department applies for US CEPT participation

The State Department has applied for US participation in the European
Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT)
Amateur Radio licensing system. The move, September 22, could
eventually make it easier for US hams to operate temporarily in
European countries that participate in CEPT. Holders of a CEPT
license could operate in CEPT-participating countries without having
to apply for a reciprocal license.

''No doubt there will be some give and take between the European
Radiocommunications Office (ERO) and the Department of State over the
details before the US is accepted as a participant, but an important
milestone has been reached,'' said ARRL Executive Vice President David
Sumner, K1ZZ. The application consists of a four-page letter with
voluminous attachments. Last year, the FCC had asked the State
Department to apply for participation in the CEPT Agreement as a
non-CEPT country.

The action follows in the wake of an earlier suggestion by the ARRL
to the FCC that the US take advantage of the CEPT Recommendation T/R
61-01 arrangements and issue a CEPT license that would be recognized
by other participating administrations and valid for visits.

Last fall, the FCC proposed amending the Amateur Radio rules to make
it easier for hams holding a CEPT license or an International Amateur
Radio Permit (IARP) to operate during short visits to the US.
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