Amendment of the Commission's Rules Concerning Maritime Communications

AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:

Correcting amendments.

SUMMARY:

This document contains corrections to the final regulations which were published in the Federal Register of Thursday, July 25, 2002 (67 FR 48560). The regulations related to licensing of Automated Maritime Telecommunication System stations.

DATES:

Effective July 26, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Scot Stone, Public Safety and Critical Infrastructure Division at (202) 418-0680.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The final regulations determined that unassigned Automated Maritime Telecommunications System spectrum would be made available for licensing throughout the United States by ten Automated Maritime Telecommunications System Areas (AMTSAs). Each AMTSA consists of one or more of the 174 Economic Areas (EAs) or EA-like areas in International Telecommunication Region 2—i.e., the 172 EAs specified by the Department of Commerce and the Commission-created EA-like areas for Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands (EA 174) and the Gulf of Mexico (EA 176). However, § 80.385(a)(3) of the Commission's Rules did not include a reference to the perimeter of EA 176.

Need for Correction

As published, § 80.385(a)(3) does not refer to the perimeter of EA 176, which may prove to be misleading and needs to be clarified. In addition, the second column of the table in § 80.385(a)(2), as published in the Federal Register was misaligned, beginning with Channel 149, and needs to be corrected.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 80

• Communications equipment
• Radio
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements

Accordingly, 47 CFR part 80 is corrected by making the following correcting amendments.

PART 80—MARITIME SERVICES

1. The authority citation for part 80 continues to read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 4, 303, 307(e), 309, and 332, 48 Stat. 1066, 1082, as amended; 47 U.S.C. 154, 303, 307(e), 309, and 332, unless otherwise noted. Interpret or apply 48 Stat. 1064-1068, 1081-1105, as amended; 47 U.S.C. 151-155, 301-609; 3 UST 3450, 3 UST 4726, 12 UST 2377.

2. Revise paragraphs (a)(2) and (a)(3) of § 80.385 to read as follows: