NTIA urged the FCC in a filing to reject a request by Maritel to ...

NTIA urged the FCC in a filing to reject a request by Maritel to be the sole frequency coordinator for 2 channels in the Automatic Identification System (AIS). The Commission had issued a public notice seeking feedback on a proposal by Maritel to be the AIS frequency coordinator. NTIA told the Commission it had received letters from the U.S. Coast Guard and the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. (SLSDC) on the adverse impact of Maritel’s proposal. NTIA urged the FCC instead to allocate the maritime VHF channels 87B and 88B exclusively for AIS operations. “These channels are necessary in the United States for AIS operations essential for maritime safety and homeland security,” NTIA said. It said the 1997 World Radio Conference allocated those channels internationally for AIS and they were subject to agreements between the U.S. and Canada. NTIA argued that the public interest “would best be served” by allowing all qualified entities to provide frequency coordination on a competitive basis. The Coast Guard told NTIA last month it “strongly opposes” the request: “Maritel proposes to provide services that are already being provided efficiently by other entities at a fraction of the cost that Maritel proposes to charge.” The Coast Guard said Maritel was seeking the designation to generate revenue “to compensate it for what it perceives to be an unauthorized taking of its licensed spectrum.” SLSDC and the Dept. of Transportation, which owns SLSDC, called Maritel’s proposal “impracticable, unnecessary and an unwanted burden on the U.S. and Canadian maritime commerce of the Great Lakes Seaway System.” SLSDC said the U.S. and Canada required the use of AIS in seaway waters from St. Lambert, Quebec, to the middle of Lake Erie. “For the first time, all vessel control centers in the Seaway share a common electronic vessel information database,” SLSDC said. The 2 channels are permanently assignment to the SLSDC from NTIA, it said. “They are the universal, internationally designated standard channels for shipborne AIS,” it said. Maritel describes itself as the largest U.S. provider of VHF Public Coast (VPC) services and said in a recent FCC filing that it had participated in FCC auctions of VPC station licenses, winning spectrum that included channels 87B and 88B. It said the dispute over those channels involved its obligation under FCC rules to make available to the Coast Guard 2 narrowband offset duplex channels for use with the Ports & Waterways Safety System and the Coast Guard’s desire instead to use channels 87B and 88B on a wideband basis for collision avoidance and marine domain awareness. Maritel has argued its proposal is a way to preserve its auction rights, use the most efficient AIS channel configuration and ensure that non- federal govt. entities also could use AIS technology. The Boat Owners Assn. of the U.S. told the FCC it supported the NTIA position: “The fee structure proposed by Maritel is inappropriate. We do not feel it’s in the public interest, especially given the homeland security ramifications.” The group said the project should be subject to federal bidding and procurement procedures.