Report No. WT 98-19     WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACTION July 9, 1998
                                
            FCC ADOPTS NEW LICENSING RULES FOR MARITIME SERVICES
                             (PR DOCKET 92-257)

     The Commission has recently adopted a Third Report and Order and Memorandum
Opinion and Order (Order) that represents the next step in adopting rules aimed at streamlining
the licensing process for VHF public coast stations.  The Commission has concluded that the
public interest would be served by providing licensees more flexibility in the use of maritime
spectrum, while preserving this internationally-allocated radio service's core purpose of promoting
the safety of life and property at sea.  The decisions adopted in this Order further the
Commission's goal to improve maritime communications. 

     The Maritime Services provide for the unique distress, operational, and personal
communications needs of vessels at sea and on inland waterways.  Maritime frequencies are
allocated internationally by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to facilitate
interoperable radio communications among vessels of all nations and stations on land worldwide. 
Public coast stations, which are commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) providers that allow
ships at sea to send and receive messages and to interconnect with the public switched network,
use VHF band frequencies to serve port or coastal areas.

     Specifically, the major rule changes adopted by the Commission are as follows: 

                   The Commission modified its rules to adopt a geographic area licensing approach
          for VHF public coast stations.  The Commission designated nine licensing regions
          near major waterways (defined as maritime VHF Public Coast areas), based
          roughly on U.S. Coast Guard Districts, and thirty-three inland licensing regions,
          based on Economic Areas.  The Commission authorized a single licensee for all
          currently unassigned VHF public correspondence channels in each licensing region
          in lieu of the site-based approach presently used.

                   The Commission permitted the continued operation of incumbent VHF public
          coast station licensees and private land mobile radio licensees sharing maritime
          spectrum in inland areas.  Additionally, the Commission required incumbents and
          geographic area licensees to afford each other interference protection.


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                   The Commission adopted a substantial service construction requirement for VHF
          public coast station licenses and permitted partitioning and disaggregation of those
          licenses.  

                   The Commission clarified the safety watch requirements of VHF public coast
          station licensees.

                   The Commission adopted competitive bidding procedures to resolve mutually
          exclusive initial applications for VHF public coast station licenses, pursuant to
          Section 309(j) of the Communications Act.

     The Commission believes that the these changes will (1) increase competition in the
provision of telecommunications services; (2) increase the types of telecommunications services
available to vessel operators; (3) promote more efficient use of maritime spectrum; (4) reduce
regulatory and economic burdens on coast station licensees; and (5) allow maritime CMRS
providers to more quickly respond to market demand.  

     By Public Notice, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau will schedule an auction of
VHF public coast station licenses to begin on a date approximately five months after release of
these rules.

     Action by the Commission, July 6, 1998, by Third Report and Order and Memorandum
Opinion and Order (FCC 98-151).  Chairman Kennard, Commissioners Ness, Furchtgott-Roth,
Powell and Tristani.
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                             -FCC-

     News Media contact:  Meribeth McCarrick at 202-418-0654
     Wireless Telecommunications Bureau contact: Scot Stone at (202) 418-0680, 
     TTY at (202) 418-7233