Maritime Communications

The Commission has adopted a Third Report and Order and Memorandum Opinion and Order in PR Docket No. 92-257 which simplifies the licensing process and introduces additional flexibility for public coast stations. Specifically, the Commission amends the maritime service rules to designate geographic licensing regions for very high frequency (VHF) public coast stations, and assign all currently unassigned VHF public correspondence channels on a geographic basis by competitive bidding. The uniform competitive bidding rules will apply in public coast station auctions. The Commission also adopts small business provisions for qualifying public coast station applicants, and defines the criteria used to determine eligibility for these provisions. The effect will be to promote and facilitate the participation of small businesses in the Commission's auctions and in the provision of spectrum-based services.