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www.southgatearc.org
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UK Amateur Radio Licences as at 30th June 2007The UK regulator Ofcom has supplied the figures for the total number of Amateur Radio Licences issued as at 30th June 2007. Change since last month
Change over 6 months
The figures show that in the first six months of this year 1681 individual licences were issued, however, this is not the same as the number of new Radio Amateurs. There is an element of double counting as Amateur licences last for 5 years, so somebody getting their Advanced licence will more than likely still have current Intermediate and Foundation licences. (The UK system requires an Amateur to take their Foundation, then Intermediate exams before they can attempt the Advanced). The increase in Foundation licences gives a good indication as to the number of newcomers coming into the hobby. The figures indicate that the annualised total is running at around 1700. This could give rise for concern as it may not cover the numbers of Amateurs dying or leaving the hobby. The Foundation licence was always expected to have a far higher "drop-out" rate than the old C&G Full licence since Foundation provided a way for people to sample to hobby and then decide if it was for them without committing themselves to a year long course. Anecdotal evidence indicates that in some areas the drop-out rate after one year has been as high as 50%. It is, however, hard to get an accurate picture since the licence once issued runs for 5 years so we will only know what is really happening in 2012. For histrorical reasons a sizeable proportion of the 8762 Foundation licences are in fact held by C&G Full Licence holders. Back in 2002 Full Class B holders were forced to take out a Foundation licence in order to work the HF bands since their Full licence didn't permit them to operate below 50 MHz (a seperate morse test was required for Class A Full). Over 3000 Foundation licences were issued to Full licence holders and most of those still retain the Foundation licence in addition to their Full. The numbers getting their Full (Advanced) licence appears to be in line with the last year (2003) of the City and Guilds Full Radio Amateurs Exam (RAE). In that year 820 UK candidates entered the exams which were held in May and December. The pass rate was around 80%. UK Amateur Radio Licences as at 31st May 2007 UK Amateur Radio Licences as at 30th April 2007 UK Amateur Radio Licences as at 31st December 2006 December 2003 City and Guild RAE (Equivalent to todays Advanced Exam)
December 2003 City and Guild RAE AH0A - Amateur Radio Licensing Statistics
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