Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
August 9, 2010
DA 10-1464
Mr. Eric R. Hilding
P.O. Box 1700
Morgan Hill, CA  95038-1700
Dear Mr. Hilding:
This is in response to the petition for rulemaking that you filed on November 13, 2009 (Petition).  
You request that Part 97 of the Commission’s Rules be amended to prohibit the false or unauthorized use 
of an amateur radio call sign.  For the reasons set forth below, we dismiss the Petition.  
The Petition primarily expresses concern about the misappropriation of call signs on internet 
bulletin boards.1 You state that this should be considered a form of identity theft, and you propose that 
Part 97 be amended to prohibit any misrepresentation or unauthorized use of someone else’s amateur call 
sign “over the public airwaves, Internet packet cluster system posting, cellular or non-cellular telephone 
connections, electronic based communications or print media formats of any other nature.”2
Part 97 of the Commission’s Rules regulates only the amateur radio service.  Regulations 
regarding other forms of communications would be beyond the scope of Part 97.  Given that Part 97 
already prohibits amateur stations from transmitting false identification,3 we conclude that the rules 
already address the misuse of amateur call signs to the appropriate extent, and that your Petition presents 
no grounds for amending Part 97.   
Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to Sections 4(i) and (j) and 303(r) of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 154(i), (j), 303(r), and Section 1.401(e) of the 
Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.401(e), that the petition for rulemaking filed by Eric Hilding on 
November 13, 2009, IS DISMISSED.  
This action is taken under delegated authority pursuant to Sections 0.131 and 0.331 of the 
Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.131 and 0.331.  
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Scot Stone
Deputy Chief, Mobility Division
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau
  
1 See Petition at 3-4.
2 Id. at 2.  You also propose that any person violating this prohibition be barred from holding any Commission 
license.  Id. at 3.
3 See 47 C.F.R. §§ 97.113(a)(4), 97.119(a).  Moreover, the Commission already can suspend the license of an 
operator who transmits a call sign not assigned to his or her station.  See 47 U.S.C. § 303(m)(1)(a)(D)(2).