The future of amateur radio

This is a subject I have discussed before. These are my current views. I may well be proved wrong.

• National authorities like OFCOM and the FCC gain nothing from amateur radio and have no real interest.
• In 20 years' time most of the people currently active in amateur radio will be dead.
• In the future, all amateur radio will be run by national radio societies like the RSGB and ARRL who will allocate callsigns for those that still want them.
• Exams will not be needed. Who needs exams to talk about gardening on 80m with commercial gear?
• Deregulated services like ISM and CB will merge with a deregulated amateur radio service.
• There will be fewer dedicated amateur radio products.
• There will be fewer, and smaller amateur radio magazines.

Amateur radio as a service is changing. In my view, the future is about deregulation and as long as you don't interfere with others, it may be allowed. Access to all (current) amateur bands will be open to all.

Does it bother me? Not really. Experimenters will continue to experiment and those that want to natter about gardening can just get on with it. 

Cynic, me?