Report No. DC 95-68        ACTION IN DOCKET CASE                May 5, 1995


             COMMISSION PROPOSES BROAD CHANGES TO THE MARITIME
                           MOBILE SERVICE RULES
                          (PR DOCKET NO. 92-257)
     
     In its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in PR Docket
92-257, the FCC has proposed broad changes to the maritime mobile
service rules that would permit VHF public coast stations to
provide state of the art communications services, permit the use
of advanced radio techniques on board ships, and streamline
certain regulations governing ship stations.

     Specifically, the Commission has proposed to permit VHF
public coast stations to provide automated interconnection
between ships and the public switched telephone network. 
Currently, VHF marine radios may be used to place telephone calls
through a coast station operator.  The proposed changes would
provide a flexible framework for public coast stations to
automate ship to shore and shore to ship communications. 
Further, the Commission has proposed to permit all public coast
stations to provide service to land vehicles, under their current
coast station licenses, on a secondary basis.  The proposed
service to customers on land must take place on marine public
correspondence channels and must not cause harmful interference
to maritime communications.

     In addition, the Commission proposed rules permitting public
coast stations to share certain private land mobile frequencies. 
Under this interservice sharing plan, public coast stations would
operate on available paired channels when located at least 80 km
(50 miles) from co-channel motor carrier radio service base
stations and when meeting minimum separation requirements (based
on transmitter power and tower height) from co-channel railroad
radio service base stations.  This plan would promote the more
efficient use of the radio spectrum and provide additional
channels, on a limited basis, to certain public coast stations.

     The Commission has also proposed to permit the use of
advanced radio techniques to facilitate digital communications
and data transmissions for maritime mobile users.  The proposed 

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changes would:  (1) require a minimum Digital Selective Calling
(DSC) capability in all MF, HF, and VHF marine radios
manufactured in, or imported into the United States on or after
February 1, 1997, (2) permit higher speed data transmissions via
narrow-band direct printing (NB-DP) equipment, so long as
compatibility is maintained among all NB-DP equipment, (3) permit
the use of Automatic Link Establishment (ALE) in the HF marine
and aviation bands, and (4) permit facsimile transmissions on
marine VHF channel 68 (156.425 MHz) between ship stations and
between ships and private coast stations.  The proposals listed
above would facilitate automated calling and allow mariners to
access a broader range of data communications options.

     The Commission also proposed to streamline and promote
flexibility in the maritime service rules governing ship station
and private coast station licensing, coast station operator
requirements, and marine VHF transmitter requirements.

     Action by the Commission April 26, 1995, by Further Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 95-178).  Chairman Hundt,
Commissioners Quello, Barrett, Ness, and Chong.

                                   -FCC-

     News Media contact: Patricia A. Chew at (202) 418-0500.
     Wireless Telecommunications Bureau contact: Roger Noel at
(202) 418-0680.