After a long period of thinking about it, OFCOM has announced it will start revoking licences that haven't been revalidated after 5 years. They propose to begin with those that ought to have been revalidated in 2012.
This could spell trouble for the representative body, the RSGB. Not because they will lose members, but because it will become more difficult to persuade authorities and the public that the hobby is worthwhile, if the estimated 47%, or "tens of thousands" of licensees - fail to revalidate - a process that amounts to little more than confirming address details, which can be done online. Arguing on the basis that there are suddenly only 35,000 UK operators, say, rather than 70,000 could make lobbying a lot more challenging.
Revalidation is bureaucracy. Necessary bureaucracy, perhaps. But it does tend to mean people who haven't bothered thus far will probably not make the effort, however simple it actually is. Revalidation of private pilots, for example, is well-known for its very low rate (about 50% - very similar to the 47% for hams) of revalidation after five years, partly down to a realisation that the hobby is too expensive, and partly because there is too much bureaucracy. Whilst expense may not influence hams so much, paperwork might.
We'll just have to wait for a few years to see how the dust settles on this one. In the meantime, I hope the RSGB and all operators in the UK take every opportunity to raise awareness about this important clamp-down.
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