The FCC has denied a petition from Dale E. Reich requesting the commission keep a record of over the counter sales of two-way radio equipment, including unlicensed devices, for at least three years.
The FCC Order denying the petition said, "Under Reich's proposal, CMRS providers and other future wireless providers would be exempt from this requirement. The Tagging Petition seeks to amend the Commission's Rules to require radios authorized under Parts 5, 15, 18, 74, 80, 90, 95, and 97 of the Rules that are "used off the licensee home site area" to be labeled with the owner's name and address, an indication of whether a license is required, and any FCC call sign or file number."
The FCC provided several examples of the problems this would cause. Amateur radio operators can have multiple licensees using the same equipment. How would the "home area" of WiFi equipment be defined? What about garage door openers? All but one of the commenters opposed the Petition, citing the burden and cost of the proposals and the lack of "any coherent elaboration of any problem, either actual or perceived, that the remedies sought in the Petitions might be seen to purport to address." The Order said, "the one commenter supporting the Petitions bases this view on the unsubstantiated statement that 'undefinedt is common knowledge that Amateur Radio equipment is being utilized by person(s) without the required FCC license.'"
