[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 7, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 69286]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26518]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2020-0668]


Monitoring of Certain High Frequency, Voice-Distress Frequencies

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of decision.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Coast Guard will cease monitoring all High Frequency 
(HF) voice distress frequencies within the contiguous United States and 
Hawaii because they are rarely used. These frequencies are: 4125 kHz; 
6215 kHz; 8291 kHz; and 12290 kHz. Advances in radio technology offer 
alternative means to send out distress notices. We will continue to 
monitor HF Digital Selective Calling distress alerting for all existing 
regions and voice distress alerting and hailing from Kodiak, Alaska, 
and Guam.

DATES: The Coast Guard will cease monitoring all high frequency voice 
distress frequencies on February 7, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this document, 
please call or email Patrick Gallagher, Communications Specialist, 
Spectrum Management and Communications Policy, U.S. Coast Guard 
(Commandant CG-672); telephone: 202-475-3537; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 20, 2020, we published a notice 
in the Federal Register (85 FR 74361) that the Coast Guard was 
considering no longer monitoring four High Frequency (HF) voice 
distress frequencies within the contiguous United States and Hawaii. In 
the notice, we requested feedback from the public on the proposed 
termination. The comment period closed on January 19, 2021. We received 
four submissions in response to our inquiry, requesting the Coast Guard 
maintain these frequencies, due to the cost of purchasing a Digital 
Selective Calling (DSC)-capable HF radio. DCS-capable radios have been 
in production and available for purchase to the maritime community for 
over 20 years and are accessible to all mariners. In addition, low-cost 
satellite Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) radios 
have become available to the commercial market.
    Due to the advances in radio technology (DSC-capable HF radios and 
GMDSS Satellite radios), regular HF radio call outs have been virtually 
nonexistent. DSC technology has been available to the maritime 
community since 1999 and along with mobile satellite communications has 
resulted in almost no regular HF voice distress traffic. This has been 
exemplified by the Coast Guard not having received a single voice 
distress call that could be correlated to an actual response in excess 
of 7 years.
    The Coast Guard is terminating the monitoring of all HF Voice 
Distress Frequencies (4125 kHz; 6215 kHz; 8291 kHz; and 12290 kHz) in 
the contiguous United States and Hawaii. As noted, DSC-capable HF 
radios have been available for decades and low-cost satellite GMDSS 
radios are also available. We will continue to monitor the HF DSC 
distress alerting for all existing regions and voice distress alerting 
and hailing from Kodiak, Alaska, and Guam.
    This notice is issued under the authority of 14 U.S.C. 504(a)(16) 
and 5 U.S.C. 552(a).

    Dated: December 02, 2021.
J.L. Ulcek,
Chief, Spectrum Management and Communication Policy.
[FR Doc. 2021-26518 Filed 12-6-21; 8:45 am]
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