<P> With the change, Technicians who could pass the 5 WPM Morse code examination were given the same HF - band privileges as the Technician Plus class, although the FCC's callsign database no longer distinguished between those Technician licensees possessing HF privileges and those who did not . </P> <P> In 2003, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) ratified changes to the Radio Regulations to allow each country to determine whether it would require a person seeking an amateur radio operator license to demonstrate the ability to send and receive Morse code . The effect of this revision was to eliminate the international requirement that a person demonstrate Morse code proficiency in order to qualify for an amateur radio operator license with transmitting privileges on frequencies below 30 MHz . </P> <P> With this change of international rules, the FCC announced on December 15, 2006 that it intended to adopt rule changes which would eliminate the Morse code requirement for amateur operator licenses . Shortly thereafter, the effective date of the new rules was announced as February 23, 2007 . After that date, the FCC immediately granted the former Technician Plus privileges to all Technician Class operators, consolidating the class into a single set of rules . </P> <P> Following the change in requirements, the ARRL reported a significant increase in the number of applications for licensing . </P>

When did the fcc drop the morse code requirement