RTCM Paper 059-2009-SC123-062

Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services

1800 N. Kent St., Suite 1060

Arlington, Virginia 22209-2109

www.rtcm.org

Telephone: +1-703-527-2000 Telefax: +1-703-351-9932

March 2, 2009

SUMMARY RECORD

Meeting of RTCM Special Committee 123

Standards for VHF-FM Digital Small Message Services

Time / Dates: 1:00 p.m. Thursday, February 26, 2009

1  Call to order, introduction of attendees, and approval of agenda

Mr. Norsworthy called the meeting to order. The agenda was approved as written. The attendees introduced themselves. The following persons attended:

NAME / AFFILIATION / TELEPHONE
FAX / E-MAIL /
Ross Norsworthy / .REC, Inc. / +1 727 515-8025
fax: +1 727 593-7396 /
Kerry Greer / ACR Electronics / +1 954-981-3333 ex 2124 /
Daoud Serang / CML Microcircuits (USA) Inc. / +1 336 744-5050
fax: +1 336 744-5054 /
Jason Smith
(by telephone) / MariTEL / +1 888-989-3339 ex 1 /
Bob Markle / RTCM / +1 703 527-2000
fax: +1 703 351-9932 /
Charlie Zaloom / Sea Tow / +1 631 765-3660 x3139 /
Eric St. Pierre / USCG HQ / +1 202 475-3630 /
Louie Baytan / USCG HQ / +1 202 475-3618 /

2  Approval of summary record of previous meeting (Paper 249-2008-SC123-059)

The summary record was approved as written.

3  Status of FCC petition

Mr. Norsworthy reported the status of the FCC petition to permit RTCM 12301.0 data on maritime VHF channels. Mr. Markle and Mr. Norsworthy (by phone) met informally with the FCC staff concerning the petition. The meeting also included Jeff Tobias (FCC), Ghassan Khalek (FCC), Jim Shaffer (FCC) and Larry Solomon (USCG). It was agreed that there is presently no provision for transmitting data on the VHF maritime band, except for fishermen in Alaska on channel 68, on the MariTel public correspondence channels, and on channel 70. The FCC staff was generally encouraging, but said that we should propose regulation revisions as part of the petition. At this point, the revised petition has not been completed.

At the last meeting, we decided not to list channels we wanted to use; rather we would list those we would not use. Mr. Norsworthy thinks it would be appropriate to develop a Part 80 subpart on data.

4  Intellectual Property Rights issues (just keeping a watchful eye)

The most recent development under this item was Mr. Johnson’s statement at the September meeting that there was a patent application in process, and that if RTCM 12301 infringes, he intends to provide a waiver for that standard.

5  ITU Working Party 5B Status Report and proposed new contributions

Mr. Norsworthy recalled that Recommendation ITU-R M.1842 (RTCM Paper 244-2008-SC123-057), now contains 4 annexes –

·  VHF data system example 1 (the single-channel 28.8/43.2 kbps “narrowband system” proposed by RTCM SC123)

·  VHF data system example 2, (the single-channel 21 kbps “narrowband system” proposed by Telenor of Norway)

·  VHF data system 50 kHz “wideband” example

·  VHF data system 100 kHz “wideband” example

The next meeting of ITU Working Party 5B is at the end of May in Geneva.

6  Review new input papers

There were no new input papers to review. Mr. Norsworthy noted that we still intend to prepare two annexes for the first revision of RTCM 12301.0. One of these annexes will describe the system in Recommendation ITU-R M.1842 Annex 1 (see reference above), and the other annex will describe the use of 9.6 kbps AIS modulation on non-AIS channels. The homework assignments to draft these annexes are still outstanding.

7  Relevant communication protocols

See agenda item 5.

8  Initial drafting of RTCM 12301 Annexes

There were no draft annexes to review as yet.

9  Based upon discussions under agenda items 3, through 8; development of the future work plan for SC123

Committee members were asked to work on their assignments with respect to the FCC petition and the two annexes.

10  Other business

There was no other business.

11  Assignment of Action Items for next meeting

Mr. Markle and Mr. Norsworthy will draft an FCC petition. Messrs. Johnson, Serang, Ryan, and Solomon had also volunteered to participate in this, and so they will be included on any draft review before it is sent.

CDR St. Pierre will provide the STEDS standards for circulation to the committee.

Mr. Greer will call Mr. Mark Johnson to establish that he still has no IPR issues with RTCM 12301.0.

Mr. Serang and Mr. Johnson are to draft their communication protocol annexes for an RTCM 12301.0 revision.

12  Date and Venue for next meeting

The committee’s next meeting is Tuesday, May 5, 2009, 1:30 pm at the TradeWinds Island Grand Hotel, St. Pete Beach Florida, as part of the RTCM Annual Assembly Meeting and Conference.

Conference registration: https://ssl29.pair.com/dmarkle/online-registration.php

Hotel reservations: http://www.tradewindsresort.com/Greeting_Page.asp?PID=RTCM