Ballot for Two Letter Callsigns – Some More Questions

The WIA has answered a number of further questions about the ballot for two letter callsigns. Details were released on 1 August 2008 and placed on the WIA website. Now the same details can be found in the August issue of the WIA’s magazine, Amateur Radio, which is now starting to appear in member’s letterboxes.

One question has been can clubs participate? The answer is "no". The principles set by ACMA and the definition of eligibility is based on individuals.

Another question has been "Can I have more than one three letter callsign and participate?" The answer to that is "yes". We have already changed the application form so that it asks for the "Current call sign(s)" and the certification is in respect of "callsign(s)".

We have been asked if someone is successful in the ballot, can they keep their current callsign and have the two letter callsign as an additional callsign. The answer is "no". A number of the comments received by the WIA in response to the invitation to comment on the proposed process for the two letter callsign ballot were critical of the hording of callsigns, and the object of the ballot is for the WIA to be able to recommend the allocation of a two letter callsign to an amateur who is going to actually use the callsign.

If someone who has more than one three letter callsign is successful in the ballot, we expect that person to vary the licence for their primary callsign, that is, the callsign for the state or territory where they are resident and which they ordinarily use.

Further two letter callsigns will become available in the time between the list of available callsigns on the WIA website was prepared and the close of the applications to participate in the ballot on 29 August 2008. Any two letter callsigns that becomes available after the list of available callsigns was compiled will remain quarantined until the whole ballot process has been completed on 24 October 2008. They will not be included in the callsigns subject to the ballot. After 24 October 2008 the WIA expects that these two letter callsigns will be treated by ACMA in exactly the same way as ACMA treated callsigns before October 2005, that is, they will be available on a "first come, first served" basis.

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