NTIA asked the FCC to turn down an application by Maritel to part...

maritime VHF Channel 87B would be involved in the partitioned licenses Maritel propose for assignment to Va. NTIA Assoc. Administrator-Spectrum Management Fred Wentland said the spectrum is the focus of an NTIA petition that urged the FCC to work with NTIA to reallocate maritime VHF channels 87B and 88B exclusively for Automatic Identification System (AIS) operations. “The Maritel assignment applications seek to encumber this channel in a manner inconsistent with NTIA’s petition,” it said. Earlier this year, NTIA urged the FCC to reject a request by Maritel to be sole frequency coordinator for 2 channels in the AIS. Based on concerns raised by the U.S. Coast Guard and the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp., NTIA urged the FCC to instead allocate these maritime VHF channels only for AIS. On the channels that Maritel wants assigned to Va., NTIA cited technical objections involving: (1) A proposed 65-mile setback from any navigable waterway using public correspondence channels, including Channel 87B. “Based on the limited calculations presented by the Coast Guard, a 65-mile setback may not protect AIS from interference,” NTIA said. (2) The bid for a waiver of maritime regulations in Part 80 of FCC rules to let Va. deploy land mobile operations under Part 90 on all the VHF Public Coast station frequencies licensed to Maritel. “The grant of such a waiver would affect a reallocation of these frequencies from maritime mobile to land mobile in the partitioned area,” NTIA said. NTIA also noted Maritel had told the Commission that for its partitioning and disaggregation plans, it will be responsible for coverage requirements laid out in FCC rules. NTIA said Maritel certified the 5-year coverage requirements have been or will be met: “Yet Maritel clearly has not yet met this requirement and its request for a waiver of this requirement is the subject of an application for review.” The Coast Guard wrote NTIA in March, voicing concerns about the application by Maritel for transfers of control of licenses to Va. The Coast Guard said it had reasons to “be concerned that if granted, interference to shipborne universal automatic identification systems (AIS) would be caused, jeopardizing the safety of life and property on navigable waters.” The Coast Guard said the James River, extending 75 mi. from the Chesapeake Bay to Richmond, didn’t seem part of Maritel’s calculations for interference protection. Even if the 65-mile setback were observed, the Coast Guard said this wouldn’t be enough to protect AIS from interference.