The purpose of an entry-level license is to give newcomers of
all ages and experience/skill levels a way to experience, by actual USE, a good sampling of what Amateur Radio has to offer, without having to learn a whole pile of stuff as an "entry fee".
So the entry-level license should contain a
balanced selection of modes and frequencies, and a test of radio basics that all amateurs should know. It should include at least some of the most-popular modes and bands, at power levels well above QRP, yet not so much of anything that there isn't much incentive (!) to upgrade.
Our current entry-level license (Technician) is very
unbalanced. It gives ALL privileges above 30 MHz - all modes, all bands, full power on meat-cooking frequencies, the works -
but almost nothing on HF/MF. Below 28 MHz, only one mode (CW) is allowed to Techs, and only pieces of 3 bands, despite the fact that HF/MF has much more to offer. This structure is a remnant of 67 years of patching the system created in the 1951 restructuring, and is badly in need of a complete reworking.
For many years, the usual refrains have been "well, just upgrade to General!" and "they have CW on 80, 40 and 15, let them learn it and use it if they want HF without upgrading". Even the FCC has used those bromides.
But....is that REALLY the best approach? Is the current system the best we can do?
I say it isn't.
The Big Problem that if we take the existing Technician license and add privileges, there are folks who will scream "FREE HANDOUTS!" (forgetting all about the free handouts THEY have gotten over the years.)
So, what's needed is a brand-new license class, just as the Novice was way back in 1951 - but one that's more suited to today.
How many newcomers do we lose every year because they get a Technician and an HT, find out the limitations of the local repeaters, and lose interest?
Wouldn't it be better to have newcomers presented a bigger selection of modes and bands - not everything, not high power, but a balanced selection - so they can try what interests them?
The test for this new entry-level license would not, repeat, NOT, be "easier" than the current Technician. Instead, it would be more focused on what a newcomer really needs to know, and would better match the license privileges granted.
Here's how it would work:
1) Close off the Technician to new licenses. Existing ones could be renewed and modified same as Novices and Advanceds, so nobody loses anything. Techs could upgrade to General or Extra same as ever. No "handouts" of more privileges.
2) Create a new license class called "Basic". Basic license is earned by passing a 50 question test on the rules, operating practices and basic, practical radio. The Basic test would focus on, well, the basics every ham should know. The test would not be "easier" than the Tech, it would be more focused on the basics and more comprehensive.
3) Basic privileges would consist of parts of several HF, VHF and UHF bands, low power (~150 watts HF, ~25-50 watts VHF/UHF), and a selection of modes (CW, SSB, FM, some data modes like RTTY, PSK31, maybe FT8?).
Something like this:
80 meters: 75 kHz of CW/data space
75 meters: 100 kHz of phone space
40 meters: 100 kHz of CW/data space, 50 kHz of phone space
30 meters: Entire band
15 meters: 75 kHz of CW/data space, 100 kHz of phone space
10 meters: Same as current Novice/Tech privileges
6, 2, 1.25 meters, 70 cm: Entire band
(The above is just for illustration - other possibilities abound. Maybe add 17 meters, for example.)
4) Basics could not be club trustees, repeater control operators, nor VEs.
5) Basic vanity calls limited to 2x3 block
6) Any questions in the existing Technician pools that were not made part of the Basic pool would either be dropped (if no longer relevant) or moved to the General pool. General license test increased to 50 questions to accommodate those questions from Tech pool that are retained.
7) Existing Technicians do NOT get Basic privileges automatically. If they want more privileges, they can either upgrade to General or Extra, or, pass the Basic test and get a Basic. Yes, they will lose some Technician privileges - and gain Basic privileges.

Existing Novices (there are less than 8,000 of them left) do NOT get Basic privileges automatically. If they want more privileges, they can either upgrade to Technician, General or Extra, or, pass the Basic test and get a Basic.
The current Technician license gives new hams a distorted view of amateur radio. The Tech test is similarly lopsided, covering all sorts of stuff the new ham almost certainly won't use but ignoring huge areas the new ham needs to know.
The Basic - and its test - would be designed to provide a solid foundation in, well, the basics! Basic would essentially be "a Novice for the 21st century". Not in the details, but in the concept.
By closing off the existing Technician license and replacing it with the Basic, there's no increase in admin work or costs for the FCC or VECs once the new test is in place.
Everybody wins. Nobody loses. It's not a "giveaway", not a "lowering of standards". It's a change to make the entry level license more in line with what a new amateur needs to know and wants to do.
Why not?
What reason is there for anyone to oppose this?
73 de Jim, N2EY