Taiwan to Drop Ham Radio Morse Code Test


National Communications Commission (NCC) of Taiwan is to abolish the amateur radio Morse requirement and permit 432-440 MHz operation, having already approved the amendments with frequency and resources department deputy director Chen Chun-mu

The commission is obligated to make the amended regulations available for public view for two months and then make any changes deemed necessary before they can take effect.

Following requests from amateur radio operators, the amended regulations stipulate that they can use frequencies between 432-440 MHz, he said.

The amendments also extend the validity of amateur radio operating licenses from five years to 10 years, however to gain the extensions amateur radio operators must pass tests first.

In addition, the amendments stipulate that amateur radio operators would be able to start renewing their licenses five months before their licenses expire.

Current regulations allow them to do so one month before the expiration date.

Commission data showed that 42,900 licenses for qualified amateur radio operators were issued between 2012 and 2016.

Media Story - http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2017/05/01/2003669754

CTARL (Google English) - http://tinyurl.com/TaiwanCTARL

Malta Arrive on 5 MHz

The Malta Communications Authority – the island’s telecoms regulator, published its new National Frequency Plan (NFP) in April 2017.

This includes the new WRC-15 60m amateur secondary allocation of 5351.5 to 5366.5 kHz. Maximum power permitted is 15W EIRP

National Frequency Plan (NFP) in April 2017- http://www.mca.org.mt/regulatory/authorizations_licensing/national_frequency_plan

NFP Intro with WRC-15 60m announcement - 
http://www.mca.org.mt/sites/default/files/pageattachments/NFP_edition%205-4.pdf

Panama 60m

Following AN Resolution No. 10789-Telco of 21 December 2016, which was published in Official Gazette No. 28185-A of 27 December 2016, the National Authority for Public Services (ASEP) of the Republic of Panama published their 2016 National Frequency Plan which contained the WRC-15 amateur secondary allocation of 5351.5 – 5366.5 kHz (p.36).[41]