Automated Maritime Telecommunications System
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Automated Maritime Telecommunications System (AMTS) is a commercial mobile radio service used within the United States. It operates within the VHF frequency range, just above the North American Band III television range, and offers both voice and data communications to maritime customers. The system is operated by a network of private carriers across the country, with coverage primarily including coastal and inland waterways.
In 1981, the FCC proposed the Inland Waterways Communication System (IWCS), a commercial maritime radio service with the proposed purpose of expanding private maritime communication and that was to operate from 216 to 220 MHz.[1] Earlier reports had studied the feasibility of using this frequency band, but warned of the high probability of adjacent-channel interference with TV channel 13.[2] However, by the early 1980s, it had been estimated that radio tuner technology had advanced to the point that such interference could be minimized.
Final approval for auctioning of AMTS spectrum did not come until almost two decades later with the approval of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which required that the FCC auction licenses for such spectrum.[3]