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                                Before the
                     Federal Communications Commission
                          Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of                     )
                                     )
American Mobilphone, Inc.            )              FCC File No. CWD 96-1
Request for Extension/Reinstatement and)
for Extended Implementation Schedule )
                                     
                                     

                      MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER


   Adopted:  September 26, 1997                                  Released:  September 26, 1997

By the Chief, Commercial Wireless Division:

     1.  This matter was remanded to the Commission by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
D.C. Circuit.  Pursuant to the Court's instructions, we determine that American Mobilphone, Inc.
(AMI) has eight months from the March 7, 1997 remand within which to construct its paging
systems.

     2.  In February of 1993, the Commission proposed to give paging operators exclusive
rights to a particular channel.  In addition, the Commission proposed that those paging operators
applying for the new licenses would have eight months to construct their systems or their licenses
would terminate.  The Commission also proposed a "slow growth option" for systems with more
than thirty transmitters.  Under the "slow growth option," applicants could receive up to three
years to construct their systems.  During the pendency of this rule making proceeding, AMI filed
fifteen applications for paging licenses.  Between August 1993 and February 1994, the
Commission granted AMI's fifteen applications.  

     3.  On October 14, 1993, the Commission published a Sunshine Notice announcing an
open meeting on the Notice of Proposed Rule Making.  At the open meeting in November, the
Commission adopted a final order -- which mirrored the proposed rules.  In the final order, the
Commission determined that it would not grant requests to extend the construction period for
grandfathered paging licenses.  The Commission defined grandfathered paging licenses as those
for whom applications were filed before the October 14, 1993 Sunshine Notice announcing the
Commission meeting.  According to the rules set forth in the Report and Order, AMI was 
considered a "grandfathered" applicant and was not eligible for the "slow growth option."  Thus,
AMI was subject to its original eight month construction deadline.

     4.  AMI filed a petition for reconsideration seeking "slow growth" eligibility and requested
that its eight-month construction period be tolled pending the outcome of the reconsideration
petition.  When the construction deadline lapsed, in January of 1995, the Commission had not
yet acted upon AMI's petition for reconsideration.  However, on February 8, 1996, the
Commission denied AMI's petition for reconsideration.  

     5.  AMI subsequently appealed the Commission's decision to the D.C. Court of Appeals. 
The Court denied AMI's petition for review but nonetheless stated that the Commission must
grant AMI eight months from the date of the March 7, 1997, opinion within which to construct
its stations.  

     6. Therefore, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Sections 4(i) and 402(h) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C.  154(i), 402(h), and by delegated
authority under Section 0.331 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R.  0.331, American
Mobilphone, Inc. is granted eight months from March 7, 1997, within which to construct its
paging systems.  

     
                                   FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION




                                   David L. Furth
                                   Chief, Commercial Wireless Division
                                   Wireless Telecommunications Bureau