General radiotelephone operator license
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The General Radiotelephone Operator License, or GROL, is a commercial license, as opposed to an amateur radio certificate. It allows the holder to operate, maintain or install certain classes of United States licensed radio and television transmitters under authority of the Federal Communications Commision.
Specifically, the GROL is required to operate or work on any maritime land radio station or compulsorily equipped ship radiotelephone station operating with more than 1500 watts of peak envelope power and any voluntarily equipped ship and aeronautical (including aircraft) stations with more than 1000 watts of peak envelope power. They are also required for international broadcast stations, such as the Voice of America.
The license also conveys all of the operating authority of the Marine Radio Operator Permit. This is required to operate or work on radiotelephone stations aboard vessels weighing more that 300 gross tons, that carry more than six passengers for hire in the open sea or any coastal/tidewater area of the United States, aboard certain vessels that sail the Great Lakes, and to operate certain aviation radiotelephone stations and certain coast radiotelephone stations.
The GROL does not confer licensing authority to operate or maintain GMDSS or radiotelegraph (Morse Code) commercial stations. These, however, are more specialized transmitters. Because of its wider nature the GROL is the most popular FCC commercial license, accounting for about 80% of those issued by the Commission.
It should be emphasized that that FCC does not issue receiving licenses. Unlike some countries where a fee-paid license is required to own a radio or television, no such certificate exists in the United States.
Historically, the first operator licenses were issued by the Federal Radio Commission under the authority of the Radio Act of 1927. When the FCC was created in 1934 it took over this function. The Commission issued First and Second Class Radiotelephone Operator Licenses. In 1953 a Third Class permit was added.
As they developed after World War II, the "First Phone" was required to be chief engineer at a broadcast station, and to work on television transmitters. The "Second Phone" was often held by radio transmitter repair persons, such as in the aviation and maritime industries. The Third Class permit had little use except for announcers who had to record meter readings and who operated from low power radio broadcast stations. Obtaining any of these simply required passing written examinations, with the Second (because it included the entire field of electronics transmission) more difficult than the First, which concentrated on television. The Third just required a knowledge of broadcast rules.
From 1963 to 1978 an additional (easy) technical written test added a "Broadcast Endorsement" to the "Third Phone". This allowed announcers to be the sole operators at some limited power radio stations.
As technology rapidly changed transmitters required less skill to manage. In the spirit of deregulation the FCC yield progressively more of its control over broadcasters, and eased licensing requirements. In 1980 the Third Phone was abolished followed in 1985 by the First. All existing First and Second Class licensees were issued a new lifetime certificate, the GROL, in diploma form. Subsequent applicants received card form licenses with an endorsement restricting them from domestic broadcast transmitter operation or repairs. This is a meaningless limitation since in the U.S. a license is no longer required for such work.
An endorsement that can be added to the GROL (as well as the GMDSS maintainer and the radiotelegraph licenses) is "Ship Radar." This allows the holder to install, service, and maintain Radar systems on board vessels.
To obtain a GROL the holder must be eligible for work in the United States. There are two written examinations. Test Element 1 is the old Third Phone test and concentrates on rules. Passing that alone (18 out of 24 multiple-choice questions) allows the applicant to apply for the Marine Radio Operator Permit. Element 3 is also a multiple-choice test emphasizing basic electronics knowledge. A passing score is 57 out of 75 questions. The Ship Radar Endorsement, Element 8, requires getting 38 out of 50 questions. Books giving all of the questions and answers are readily available.
The actual examinations are given by Commercial Operator License Examination Managers, and fees typically range around $25-35 per element. A list of current Managers can be obtained on the FCC website. License management is conducted by the Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
