GMRS cost

[Guest Nelson]

Just went to gmrs License on fcc webpage. I thought it was $35 but wanted to change $70.

[WRPH745]

Nelson,

It is the Federal government. A year later they still haven't changed the price. I got my last month and it cost me $70.

They are also supposed to change Ham license from free to $35 which hasn't been changed yet.

Nobody knows when the change will actually happen.

Robert

 

[MichaelLAX]

GMRS’ers get one 10 year license for $70. 

Hams will now get license upgrades everytime for a fee instead of free

I hope it takes them forever to implement the change!

[SteveC7010]

I just renewed this morning. Still $70

[PACNWComms]

I know people that have delayed renewing licenses due to these cost (commercial radio is a lot more expensive). I myself hesitated a bit, but then thought about it in terms of dollars versus years the license is valid. The, it doesn't seem so bad. Although, adding fees for the amateur side where there was none before, while still making me print out my own hard copy annoys me a bit. But, the fees do pay for some of the documentation, administrative work, and keeping up the database. 

[SteveShannon]

Look at it this way: I’m a ham and a gmrs licensee.  Once the GMRS license comes down and the ham license goes up, I’ll still be paying exactly the same average cost for comm licenses.

[PACNWComms]

Outside of license costs, I am glad that the hardware has come down considerably over time. Old school amateur/GMRS radio thirty-forty years ago was very expensive. Now, a person can get started for a fraction of the cost.

Saying this as I look at my old 1980's Cobra 2000 GTL AM CB radio that has aged like wine, and is now worth about $1200.......when I paid $400. Or the Realistic Pro-2006 scanner that used to sell for $400 in the early 1990's, now worth about $50-100. My first true FRS/GMRS radio was the original Motorola TalkAbout, and those on sale cost $50 each, so $100 to get started since I needed a second radio/person to talk to. Now, they proliferate the market at the price and lower.

[Guest ChrisN]

I applied for GMRS license last night March 18th and paid $70.

[PACNWComms]

Need to come up with some sort of FCC betting chart on when they will actually enact the new fees. This is true at every level of government, always tending toward charging the citizenry. Time will tell when this happens. GMRS wise, I am good for another 9.5 years, amateur wise -  to years left. So, it will be the amateur license that will be my litmus test, see if I end up paying for my re-newal. 

[Guest Steve]

I guess I will bootleg it until the fee is actually changed. I just have a hard time paying $70 when ham's get it for free. The expensive equipment they buy, I think they can afford $35!

[gortex2]

8 hours ago, Guest Steve said:

I guess I will bootleg it until the fee is actually changed. I just have a hard time paying $70 when ham's get it for free. The expensive equipment they buy, I think they can afford $35!

GMRS and Ham are different services. GMRS is about  50 cents a day. Just pay for the license like everyone else. GMRS is cheap compared to a LMR license. 

[Lscott]

10 hours ago, Guest Steve said:

I guess I will bootleg it until the fee is actually changed. I just have a hard time paying $70 when ham's get it for free. The expensive equipment they buy, I think they can afford $35!

If you can't afford the $70 license fee you likely can't afford to buy a radio either. That solves both problems.

At $70 that's just $7 a year or $0.134615 per week. You likely have spent more than that buying something at the local Golden Arches food emporium.

[SteveShannon]

11 hours ago, Guest Steve said:

I guess I will bootleg it until the fee is actually changed. I just have a hard time paying $70 when ham's get it for free. The expensive equipment they buy, I think they can afford $35!

I’m curious why you don’t get a ham license then?  You’ll have a much greater number of repeaters to use, more bandwidths to play on, higher power for transmitting, the ability to talk literally around the world on longer wavelengths, and a free license.

Of course your license won’t cover your entire family from grandparents to grandchildren, and all your siblings, like it does for GMRS and you might have to actually study to pass at least the technician class test, but at least for now the license is “free”.

Also, the ham license will also be changing to a $35 fee at the same time the GMRS fee changes to $35.

A lot of people use GMRS radios without paying for a license.  They just don’t usually announce it by whining about someone else’s license costs.

[PACNWComms]

On 3/21/2022 at 3:26 AM, gortex2 said:

GMRS is cheap compared to a LMR license. 

That's the truth, just licensed two commercial sites in Florida and one in Colorado, thousands of dollars for UHF spectrum. Luckily no towers, repeaters, combiners, or duplexers needed, just spectrum for line-of-site comms.

However, the Colorado site was using Midland T70 radios and wondering why they were not working well. Half million square foot warehouse and acreage around the facility. Some were in low power mode, others high power. Sent them some trusty old but great condition Motorola EX500's at higher power. Just needed licensed freq's for commercial use.

[WROZ250]

On 3/20/2022 at 6:54 PM, Guest Steve said:

I guess I will bootleg it until the fee is actually changed. I just have a hard time paying $70 when ham's get it for free. The expensive equipment they buy, I think they can afford $35!

And that is expected to be the case, probably about the same time the GMRS license drops to $35.

$70 for 10 years is just $7.00 a year... not all that terrible anyway (IMHO).

[MichaelLAX]

MURS is FREE!!!!!

[PartsMan]

1 hour ago, MichaelLAX said:

MURS is FREE!!!!!

Yeah technically free but hardware is limited.

I can buy three GMRS mobiles and a ten year license for the price of the only MURS mobile KG-1000m.

[Lscott]

1 hour ago, PartsMan said:

Yeah technically free but hardware is limited.

I can buy three GMRS mobiles and a ten year license for the price of the only MURS mobile KG-1000m.

MURS is limited to 2 watts max. You can use a portable with a speaker mic with an external antenna. There are some commercial radios that likely can be programed to use MURS as long as the channel bandwidth and power limitations are observed. Those radios aren't that expensive used if you shop around. See an old thread on the topic.

https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/1239-old-part-90-radios-predating-murs-service-legal-use/

 

[gortex2]

EFFECTIVE DATE OF NEW APPLICATION FEE RATES FOR THE WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUREAU
MD Docket No. 20-270

On December 23, 2020, the Commission adopted a Report and Order implementing a new application fee schedule which significantly updated the Commission’s previous fee schedule. As indicated in the 2020 Application Fee Report and Order, the new application fee rates will become effective when the Commission’s “information technology systems and internal procedures have been updated, and the Commission publishes notice(s) in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of such rules.” On July 6, 2021, the Commission announced the new application fee rates for the Office of Engineering and Technology and the Media Bureau would become effective on July 15, 2021, and on December 15, 2021, the Commission announced the new application fee rates for the Wireline Competition Bureau, the Enforcement Bureau, the International Bureau, and CALEA Petitions would become effective on December 15, 2021. This Public Notice announces that the new application fee rates for the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, codified at 47 CFR § 1.1102, will become effective on April 19, 2022. Wireless application fees can be paid through the Commission’s Universal Licensing System (ULS) at Universal Licensing System.

 

Full document can be downloaded here - https://www.fcc.gov/document/effective-date-wireless-application-fee-rates

 

[Guest New fees schedule]

Fromm the ARRL: The FCC has announced that the new fees ($35.00) will go into effect for Amateur Radio (and the GMRS Service) on April 19, 2022.

 

Now I will get my GMRS license!

 

73,

John, N1WOM

[MichaelLAX]

On 3/23/2022 at 12:26 PM, PartsMan said:

Yeah technically free but hardware is limited.

I can buy three GMRS mobiles and a ten year license for the price of the only MURS mobile KG-1000m.

Yes, yes, yes... I was responding to Guest Steve's comment that he was bootlegging GMRS use until the price drops!

[Guest back4more70]

I applied for my GMRS license yesterday, it cost me $35. I got the confirmation email today.

[Screech]

I just renewed, now half the price for twice as long compared to when I requested the license, it's like 4 times the value now!

[kmcdonaugh]

On 6/8/2022 at 7:28 PM, Screech said:

I just renewed, now half the price for twice as long compared to when I requested the license, it's like 4 times the value now!

"it's like 4 times the value now!" made me think of "But wait, THERE's MORE!"