Report No. WT 98-15 WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACTION       June 1, 1998
                                    
UNIVERSAL LICENSING SYSTEM BEGINS PROCESSING PART 22 PAGING APPLICATIONS 
                                
     Today the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (the Bureau) will begin using the Universal
Licensing System (ULS) for all licensing of Part 22 Paging and Radiotelephone Services (Part 22
paging).  Part 22 Paging licensees, applicants, and the public can expect significant benefits from ULS
such as fast and easy electronic filing, improved data accuracy through automated checking of
applications, and electronic access to licensing information.  This is the first time paging has had access to
electronic filing.  

      "There are over 1,400 existing paging licensees that may benefit from the online filing and
research capabilities of the ULS," said Daniel Phythyon, Chief of the Wireless Telecommunications
Bureau, "We hope these licensees will be pleased with the ease by which ULS will allow them to submit
and retrieve license information from their own PCs."
     
     Part 22 paging licensees who are due to file renewal applications in the June 1 through
June 30, 1998 filing window will be able to file electronic renewal applications quickly and easily in ULS. 
Based on current license expiration dates the Bureau anticipates receiving approximately 2,000 paging
renewal applications during this filing window over the next month.    

     Although ULS has been recently used to process long form applications following the 800 MHz
SMR and LMDS auctions, today marks the first instance in which an existing wireless service will be
completely converted to ULS for application processing purposes.  Other wireless services will be
converted to ULS in the coming months, beginning with PCS later in June and cellular in July. 
Eventually the system will consolidate and replace eleven existing licensing systems currently used to
process applications and grant licenses in wireless services.  

     ULS also provides services beyond the ability to search for information about licenses or
applications.  It can perform a variety of other operations such as creating a color-coded map of license
areas for a public user.  As the Bureau's conversion to ULS continues it has the ability to become a
powerful information management tool that will enable the industry, the public and the Commission to
analyze spectrum use and competition in the marketplace.  More information on ULS can be retrieved on
the Commission's ULS Internet home page at (http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/uls).  
                                  
                                -FCC-

     News Media contact: Meribeth McCarrick at 202-418-0654
     Wireless Telecommunications Bureau contact: David Furth at (202) 418-0632  
     or Karen Wrege at (202) 418-0667