A regulation requiring that amateur radio operators take the International Morse Code Test to obtain a license is soon to be abolished, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday.
The commission has already approved the amendments, frequency and resources department deputy director Chen Chun-mu (陳春木) said.
However, it 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, he said.
Many other nations have also removed the need for a Morse code test, he said.
Following requests from amateur radio operators, the amended regulations stipulate that they can use frequencies between 432 megahertz (MHz) and 440MHz, he said.
The amendments also extend the validity of amateur radio operating licenses from five years to 10 years, Chen said.
In addition, the amendments stipulate that amateur radio operators would be able to start renewing their licenses five months before their licenses expire, he said.
Current regulations allow them to do so one month before the expiration date.
The commission has also streamlined application procedures, Chen said, adding that the commission is in the process of amending other rules for amateur radio operators interested in using radio frequencies to conduct experiments.
People interested in operating amateur radios must first obtain a license to operate a radio station.
According to the commission, there are about 3 million amateur radio operators around the world.
Commission data showed that 42,900 licenses for qualified amateur radio operators were issued between 2012 and last year.
Over the same period, the commission issued 1,177 licenses for fixed radio stations and 15,817 licenses for mobile radio stations, the data showed.
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
RSS