NEW MORSE “@” CHARACTER BECOMES OFFICIAL MAY 3

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==>NEW MORSE “@” CHARACTER BECOMES OFFICIAL MAY 3

The International Morse code officially gains a new character on May
3. That’s when the now-familiar “@” symbol joins the Morse lexicon
as the letters “AC” run together (.–.-.). Known as the “commercial
at” or “commat,” the @ symbol never rose to the level of usage that
demanded a unique Morse character until it gained currency as a
critical component of e-mail addresses during the past decade or so.

Last December, the International Telecommunication Union
Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) Study Group 8 agreed on the
wording of a Draft New Recommendation ITU-R M.[MORSE] that specified
the international Morse code character set and transmission
procedures and included the new Morse code character.

The pending change has attracted some attention in the media,
including mentions on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered
and in The New York Times.
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