Subject: [NEXTEL-1] FCC upholds vanity policies in setting new fee

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 12:21:22 -0500

N2XL- FYI

FCC upholds vanity policies in setting new fee
Source: QST
Publication date: 2003-10-01
Arrival time: 2003-10-29

The Amateur Radio vanity call sign regulatory fee rose to $16.30 for the
10-year license term, effective September 9. The FCC said it expects to
collect close to $160,000 from 9800 Amateur Radio vanity call sign
applicants during Fiscal Year 2003-up by almost $30,000 and 800
applications from FY2002.
In releasing its annual Report and Order on the assessment and
collection of for FY2003 regulatory fees, the FCC responded at some
length to comments filed from the amateur community. Some commenters had
questioned the need for the fee, the requirement to pay it when renewing
a vanity call sign and why refunds were not automatic.

Telecommunications Act provisions governing regulatory fee assessment
cover applications for vanity call signs, which, the FCC said, "are
voluntarily requested by licensees" and are "a value- added benefit not
afforded to all licensees." Assessment of a regulatory fee to cover the
FCC's processing and enforcement costs to make the vanity call sign
service available is reasonable, the Commission concluded.

The FCC said its current policy of assessing "a nominal fee" at the time
of initial application and at each renewal also allows greater access to
vanity call signs. "A high one-time-only fee would be cost prohibitive
for many entities wishing to obtain a vanity call sign," the Commission
said. The Commission also said it incurs costs to manage each vanity
call sign throughout its existence, not just in the first 10 years.
Regarding refunds due when the FCC denies an application, the FCC said
its rules require applicants to file a written request before it can
process refunds. "The written request serves as documentation when
cross-referencing each unique file number that may be entitled to a
refund." Such documentation is particularly important in the case of
vanity applications, the FCC said, "because filing trends indicate that
some applicants file several vanity call sign applications per day for
several days on end." Requiring a written request makes it easier to
certify "which fees are to be refunded for which dismissed
applications."
http://cnniw.yellowbrix.com/pages/cnniw/Story.nsp?story_id=43108727&ID=cnniw&scategory=Telecommunications%3ARegulations&

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