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FCC License Fee waiting for price drop.


Guest Dave

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I am looking at getting my GMRS license but just cant justify spending $70 now when supposedly soon the fee will only be $35. I know I am a cheapskate but hey I work or worked hard for my money and am now retired so every $ counts to me.

Just wonder how many others are like me not willing to pull the string for the same reason. I have been a Ham for more nearly 20 years but never went beyond the Tech Class mostly because at the time you needed to learn Morse Code I have zero interest in that. Now that its just another test maybe I will upgrade but again being a cheapskate I have little interest in investing gobs of money just to talk around the world. I am perfectly happy to talk to local guys on repeaters or simplex and my thinking is I might get a little more fun out of having a GMRS license so I can legally talk to friends and family who do not want to get a Ham license.

Anyways I will probably get my GMRS license as soon as I hear that the FCC is updated to the new cheaper License Fee.

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At your age (mine, too) are you willing to wait for the Feds to make a move on this for $3.50/year?

That is one way to look at it . But its $35 more up front today or $35 less in a month or so. its not like I can't get on the air now , I have a ham license already and need to purchase another radio if I want to stay legal so its more than just $3.50 a year all things considered. Honestly in monitoring the GMRS  frequencies in my area I hear very little traffic and see no repeaters in my area at all.

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You can wait but you'll also be paying $35 when you renew your Ham License when its all done....

My ham is good for 5 more years and if I have to pay $35 to renew it then , I hope I live long enough to do it again.

I will get my GMRS license sooner or later just because I want to stay legal and think I might benefit from it by getting some family members interested that otherwise would never consider Ham Radio and probably would not go to the trouble of even bothering to get a GMRS License when they see no difference in FRS.

Also I need my GMRS just to post here in the regular forum.

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I'm willing to pay the $70 right now. I just can't figure out how to get the license. I went to fcc.gov and registered, then I filled out another questionnaire for an FRN??? Never got an acknowledgement on that one... What next? Where do I pay the fee and get a call sign? thx rob :-(  

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  • 5 months later...

Food for thought...

This reply is aimed to all of us who are deliberating the "get it now for $70 or wait for the price drop to $35" question.  I was in that situation a few days ago.  Why did I decide to go ahead with the $70 fee?

What happens if the government or portions of it shuts down due to fiscal or political reasons for a period of time?  We've seen that before.

What happens if another broad COVID lockdown occurs?  Would the FCC be impacted?

Each of us will need to determine if we'd rather get a GMRS license now, while it's readily available, versus get locked out for a potentially protracted amount of time if the above were to occur.

Of course I'd prefer to pay $35 instead of $70.  But since the license is good for 10 years, one could think of it as an extra  $3.50 a year for 10 years.  Skipping a coffee shop run once a year for 10 years would take care of the $35 difference.

BTW, I did call the FCC support number and asked the help desk person if they knew when the reduced fee would take effect.  They did not know.

 

 

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5 hours ago, mrgmrs said:

Food for thought...

This reply is aimed to all of us who are deliberating the "get it now for $70 or wait for the price drop to $35" question.  I was in that situation a few days ago.  Why did I decide to go ahead with the $70 fee?

What happens if the government or portions of it shuts down due to fiscal or political reasons for a period of time?  We've seen that before.

What happens if another broad COVID lockdown occurs?  Would the FCC be impacted?

Each of us will need to determine if we'd rather get a GMRS license now, while it's readily available, versus get locked out for a potentially protracted amount of time if the above were to occur.

Of course I'd prefer to pay $35 instead of $70.  But since the license is good for 10 years, one could think of it as an extra  $3.50 a year for 10 years.  Skipping a coffee shop run once a year for 10 years would take care of the $35 difference.

BTW, I did call the FCC support number and asked the help desk person if they knew when the reduced fee would take effect.  They did not know.

 

 

@mrgmrsI thought of the same things as you. As the pandemic was starting, I got my prepper mode on. I decided to get my license in order to have it in case the system slowed down and processing of the license would take longer. I deliberated with the pricing point and I said to myself, "Just go for it." I think it is a small price to pay and have the peace of mind that I am utilizing the GMR frequencies legally and can then in turn learn from people here on MYGMRS and hopefully pass on knowledge as time goes by. Welcome!

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest WRND441

I emailed just about every email address I could find for the FCC and got a response back from Roger Noel that they don't plan on the fee change happening any sooner than "late" this year. Judging by how fast some of the agencies like the ATF and IRS work when it comes to actually improving things for their citizens I wouldn't hold your breath. 

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