SKP this past week.....

It is not illegal for them to use it but they have a block of channels near by .....

 

I don't know if they are right away but my guess is they will .... there is a poop load of radios on boats so it will take a while

 

MD --it's unlikely, because the Marine VHF channels are covered under FCC Part 80 (47 CFR 80) and are used internationally, so the gear here must stay compatible with other countries' base stations and other ships on the high seas. I wouldn't want to be using a narrowbanded radio on VHF Ch 16 or 6 to warn the ocean liner bearing down on me that I'm stuck in his path, and have him not be able to hear me because my TX bandwidth (think "volume") is too low for him to hear, and have his answer distorted at my radio cuz his is wider.
The only freqs that are destined for narrowbanding are the ones governed by the FCC's Part 90, which includes the "Land Mobile Radio Service", and only those frequencies above 50 MHz and below 800 MHz. Low band VHF and 800 MHz SMR (Specialized Mobile Radio) get to stay where they are, as low band doesn't have many users (they get plagued by skip, similarly to CB) and SMR, which has exclusive licensing within geographic areas. MURS, FRS, GMRS, CB, and Amateur Radio are already covered in another FCC part as "Personal Radio Services". And besides, SSB and AM as used in CB (unless badly tweaked by a golden screwdriver) are already narrower bandwidth than wideband FM, so we're already saving spectrum here in CB.
Hope that helps.
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