• FCC Meeting Report
• New Restricted GMDSS License in the Future?
• New Membership Cards For All
• Thank you, Volunteers!
• Alamo Rental Benefits Added
• Other Rental Car Discounts
• Other NARTE Benefits
• The 2001 Directory is Now Available

The 2 February 2001 FCC COLE Manager meeting. Left to right: D'wana R. Terry, Chief Public Safety and Private Wireless Division of the Wirless Telecommunications Bureau, Steve Linn of the FCC (speaking), Ghassan Khalek of the FCC

The COLE Manager/FCC meeting also addressed issues of enforcement. To meet and, in some cases, exceed the FCC’s rules for examination integrity, we have taken further actions to monitor NARTE’s FCC testing program and test administrators. These actions include strict enforcement of examination custody procedures; written feedback from examinees on the convenience and professionalism of the examination process, and random spot-checks of NARTE testing centers during examination sessions. For more details on these changes, a Test Center Information section will be included in the next issue of the NARTE News.

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New Restricted GMDSS License in the Future?
The FCC currently issues one type of commercial radio operator license for Global Maritime Distress and Safety Systems (GMDSS) operators the GMDSS Radio Operators License which requires familiarity with all of the GMDSS equipment for vessels sailing within all four sea areas.*

* Definitions of GMDSS Sea Areas SEA AREA A1: An area up to approximately 25 nautical miles from shore (28.76 miles) within radiotelephone coverage of at least one VHF coast station in which continuous digital selective calling (DSC) alerting is available. SEA AREA A2: An area up to approximately 150 nautical miles from shore (172.61 miles) within MF radiotelephone coverage of at least one coast station at which continuous DSC is available, excluding Sea Area A1. SEA AREA A3: An area within the coverage of an INMARSAT satellite in which continuous alerting is available (approx. 70N to 70S), excluding Sea Areas A1 and A2. SEA AREA A4: Primarily polar regions and all areas outside of Sea Areas A1, A2 and A3, which relies primarily on HF communications.

The current regulations also require each compulsory vessel to carry two crew members holding such a license. Since Sea Areas A1 and A2 are not declared for United States territorial waters, the GMDSS rules also require that United States compulsory ships carry the full array of GMDSS communications equipment described for Sea Area A3 or A4 (i.e., VHF, MF, DSC, and either satellite or HF DSC with narrow-band direct printing equipment). These requirements, established for extensive international voyages, appear onerous for ships sailing within Sea Areas A1 and A2, which are closer to U.S. shores and have radiotelephone coverage.
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) regulations, however, provide for two types of radio operators certificates: a General Operators Certificate (equivalent to the GMDSS Radio Operators License), and a Restricted Operators Certificate for compulsory ships that operate exclusively within Sea Area A1. A Restricted Operators Certificate requires familiarity with all of the GMDSS equipment required for vessels sailing within Sea Area A1, including VHF DSC procedures, and basic radio law and operating practice about which every maritime radio operator should be familiar.
The FCC has proposed rule changes that would permit compulsory vessels which are required to carry only the GMDSS equipment described for Sea Area A1, to have GMDSS operators hold only a Restricted GMDSS Radio Operators License.
The FCC proposes that, in order to receive the Restricted GMDSS Radio Operators License, the applicants need to pass an examination on elements 1 and 7R. Element 1 would consist of questions pertaining to basic radio law, treaties, regulations, and operating procedures and practices. Element 7R would consist of all GMDSS questions in Element 7 pertaining to the use of equipment required to be fitted on ships sailing solely within Sea Area A1, or, if appropriate, Sea Area A2.
NARTE will publish updates as soon as more information, or implementation dates are released.

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New NARTE Membership Cards For All
NARTE engineers, we have good news! Your new silver and blue membership cards are on their way. Happily, we are a little ahead of schedule as new engineer cards began production this month. If you’d like to say goodbye to that old black and gold card before your next renewal, just contact iNARTE Headquarters. For a fee of $3 to cover processing and mailing costs, we will be happy to issue you a new card upon request.

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Thank you, Volunteers
In the last issue of the NARTE News, we asked for membership help in the question reviewing process. We would now like to express our gratitude to all of you who have volunteered your time and expertise. THANK YOU!!
The question review process is working out extremely well. With our increased number of volunteers, we are able to expediently attain the required review by at least 3 members. Of course, we are always happy to accept even more volunteers if you would like to get in on the reviewing process, please contact NARTE Headquarters.

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Alamo Rental Benefits Added
NARTE has recently added Alamo Rent-A-Car® discounts to our list of rental car savings benefits. This discount program will save NARTE members up to 15% off weekly car rentals and 10% off weekend rentals. iNARTE members can also redeem coupons for $15 off a rental of three days or more, or get one free day on a rental of four days or more.

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Other Rental Car Discounts
NARTE also offers membership discounts and coupons for Hertz ® and National Car Rental ®. Discount cards and coupons are mailed to members with their NARTE certificate. Coupons offer discounts and car class upgrades. For your discount cards, contact iNARTE by email or phone at 1-800-89-NARTE (896-2783).

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Other NARTE Benefits
Without question, the most valuable and tangible benefit of being a NARTE-certified Engineer and /or Technician is the certification itself. It speaks of competence, training, expertise, professional conduct and ethical practices. It is a pedigree of distinction recognized by many employers as proof of ability; a differentiation for the "can doers" versus the "say they can’s". In many corporate environments, it is a criteria for hiring, promotion and salary advancement. Certification is a reflection of the respect peers and supervisors have for the certified individual and how they carry out their assigned job responsibilities. Other NARTE member services follow.

Awards
Annually, iNARTE selects an individual who has made a prominent contribution to telecommunications and related areas to receive the National Service Award. This distinctive award is presented by a Senator from the state of the recipient and accompanied by a scholarship donation to the recipient’s university of choice.
Periodically, iNARTE selects distinguished and eminent individuals whose work in telecommunications and related fields merit the award of the Marconi/Bell certificate of distinction.

iNARTE Chapters
A community or locale may establish a Local Chapter upon application to and approval from NARTE Headquarters. A Local Chapter must comprise at least 15 certified NARTE members dedicated to promoting NARTE principles and to assuring that NARTE established standards of competence and excellence are maintained. Currently active membership chapters are located in California and Texas. In addition, iNARTE maintains a Student Chapter at NCA&T State University in North Carolina.

MBNA Credit Card
NARTE offers to certified members the NARTE Platinum Plus credit card by MBNA. For more information, visit the MBNA website at www.webapply.com/narte, or watch your mail for quarterly promotional mailings. (If you do not wish to receive mailings or phone calls from MBNA regarding this credit card offer, please contact iNARTE Headquarters.)

Employment Services
Job Listings at www.narte.org/h/jobbank.asp - Opportunities posted by companies seeking Telecommunications, Wireless, EMC/EMI and ESD professionals are updated weekly.
Resume Library NARTE members may post their resume online on the NARTE web at no charge.
Consultant Listing NARTE Certified professionals who offer consulting and/or contracting services may post their contact information online at no cost.

Use of NARTE Logo, Seal and Stamper
Current NARTE members may obtain a camera-ready copy of the NARTE logo; a customized seal featuring their name and certification number; or a customized stamper featuring their name, certification number and the NARTE logo. The logo for use is available at no charge by emailing NARTE at inarte@inarte.us or by calling us at 1-800-89-NARTE (800-896-2783). We will send the logo by mail or email in GIF format. The seal and stamper can be ordered by phone, mail or online at www.narte.org. Instructions and guidelines for use of the logo, seal or stamper will be included.
The acronyms NCE (NARTE Certified Engineer) and NCT (NARTE Certified Technician) may be used after the name of the currently certified individual and/or in conjunction with the NARTE logo on business cards, forms, stationery or advertis-ment. For NARTE certified members, NCE and NCT are appropriate, usable abbreviations that represent distinctive achiev-ment and expertise.

The NARTE News
NARTE’s quarterly publication is free to all members and contains timely and interesting articles on happenings within the telecommunications community. These articles also relate to Electromagnetic Compatibility, Electrostatic Discharge Control and the accessibility issues brought to prominence by the Tele-communications Act of 1996.

iNARTE-Accredited Colleges and Universities
NARTE-accredited institutions offer NARTE certification upon graduation and completion of approved curricula. iNARTE Testing centers provide locations for NARTE exams, FCC exams, FCC preparation courses, and telecommunications training.

Retired Membership Status
Certified members who have maintained their certification with NARTE for a period of five (5) years or more; are 62 or older or are no longer able to work full time; and derive less than $5,000 annually from the practice of telecommunications and/or EMC consulting and/or other related services, are eligible for retired membership status.
Retirement status entitles the member to reduced membership rates while maintaining all the benefits of membership. Contact iNARTE Headquarters to apply.

The 2001 NARTE Directory is Now Available
Some call it "The List", others, "The Book". At NARTE Headquarters it’s simply known as "The Directory". The latest NARTE Directory--the 2001 edition--is now available. The Directory is a list of the members and for the members, designed to enable NARTE professionals to network with each other. Individuals are listed alphabetically in sections by certification category; for example, Telecommunications Technicians, Class 1; EMC Engineers; Telecommunications Engineers, Class 3, etc. Each section begins with a qualification outline, explaining the requirements of that particular certification type and class.

The NARTE Directory is the best resource for NARTE members who wish to contact their fellow professionals. To protect the privacy of our membership, the Directory is sold exclusively to certified NARTE individuals. We price the directory to meet production costs at $34.95. If you would like your copy of the Membership Directory, contact iNARTE Headquarters at 1-800-89-NARTE (896-2783). We’ll be happy to mail you your copy.
email: inarte@inarte.us

Right: Shannon Reynolds of NARTE Headquarters holds the new 2001 Membership Directory.

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