P Report No. WT 98-20    WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACTION July 14, 1998
                                
                 FCC ADOPTS AUCTION RULES FOR LMS SERVICES
                           (PR Docket No. 93-61)

     The Commission has adopted rules and procedures for the future auction of Location and
Monitoring Service (LMS) licenses.  LMS refers to advanced radio technologies designed to
support the nation's transportation infrastructure and facilitate growth of Intelligent
Transportation Systems.  These systems are intended to improve the efficiency and safety of the
highways of the United States.

     LMS systems can be used, for example, by trucking companies to track individual
vehicles, by municipalities to pinpoint the location of their buses, or even by private entrepreneurs
developing subscriber-based services for recovery of stolen vehicles.

     The Commission has taken various steps in developing procedures to license LMS.  In its
LMS Report and Order, the Commission adopted rules governing the licensing of LMS in the
902-928 MHz frequency band and also created a new section in Part 90 of its Rules for
Transportation Infrastructure Radio Services, which include LMS and similar services.  In the
decision released today, the Commission adopts many of the proposals set forth in the LMS
Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.  Specifically, the Commission took the following steps
to implement competitive bidding for LMS systems: 

                    Adopted the general competitive bidding rules and procedures included in 
          Part 1 of the Commission Rules for the LMS auction.  

                    Noted in the Part 1 Third Report and Order, delegated authority to the Wireless
          Telecommunications Bureau to determine the appropriate auction design and
          auction procedures.     

                    Adopted bidding credits for eligible small businesses.  "Small businesses" with
          average annual gross revenues not to exceed $15 million are eligible for a 25
          percent bidding credit, and "very small businesses" with average annual gross
          revenues not to exceed $3 million are eligible for a 35 percent bidding credit.  



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                    Determined that LMS licensees will be allowed to partition their geographic
          licenses and disaggregate portions of their spectrum, provided that  a qualified
          small business that applies to partition or disaggregate its license to a non-small
          business entity will be required to repay any benefits it received from special small
          business provisions as a condition of approval.    

     By Public Notice, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau will schedule an auction of
LMS licenses to begin on a date approximately five months after release of these rules.
.
     Action by the Commission, July 9, 1998, by Second Report and Order (FCC 98-157). 
Chairman Kennard, Commissioners Ness, Furchtgott-Roth, Powell and Tristani.

     
                             -FCC-

     News Media contact:  Meribeth McCarrick at 202-418-0654
     Wireless Telecommunications Bureau contact: Kenneth Burnley at (202) 418-0600, 
     TTY at  (202) 418-7233