SB QST @ ARL $ARLB006
ARLB006 Vanity call update

ZCZC AG06
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 6  ARLB006
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  February 6, 1997
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB006
ARLB006 Vanity call update

Vanity call sign processing apparently will remain on hold for a
while longer as the FCC's Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, office continues
to deal with a backlog of vanity applications that required special
handling--the so-called WIPS (work in process) stack. As of February
6, WIPS was backlogged to mid-November. An FCC spokesman said the
FCC will process vanity applications received in December, January
and February--in parts or all at once--after it has completed work
on the WIPS backlog. The FCC has not processed any vanity call sign
applications since mid-December, but some new call signs have
trickled out over the past several weeks as the FCC resolved issues
on WIPS applications. The last applications processed were received
by the FCC prior to December 1, 1996.

Although vanity Gate 2 opened in late September, the program remains
popular, and vanity call sign applications continue to pour into
Gettysburg office. During January, Gettysburg got 945 applications,
479 on paper and 466 filed electronically.

The FCC has not said when Gate 3 will open.
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