Rep. Posey Suggests FCC Tap Comsat as Maritime Mobile Accounting Authority
Rep. Bill Posey, R-Fla., backed Comsat's FCC bid to become "accounting authority of last resort" settling accounts between earth or coastal stations and ships engaged in international maritime mobile communications (see 1707130014). Posey told the commission he agreed with its…
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decision to cease being the default accounting authority, but questioned the adequacy of transition plans and said he shared U.S. Coast Guard concerns. Relying "solely on an outreach effort to migrate all current users to a new accounting authority has many downsides," he wrote in a letter posted Tuesday in docket 98-96. He said the outreach would require "coordinated, overly complex and extremely labor intensive" efforts, "unnecessary expenditure" of government dollars, possibly delaying the commission's exit and disrupting "life-saving communications services" in some cases. Posey suggested the FCC simply designate Comsat as the replacement, the "obvious and less burdensome solution." Comsat is the only party to volunteer for the role even though there have been multiple opportunities for others, he said, noting “issues of maritime safety are of paramount concern” to his constituents, given his district’s “location and demographics.” The FCC is reviewing the letter, a spokesman said Wednesday.