FCC Approves AIS Class B Transponders

After years of hemming and hawing, the FCC has finally approved Class B AIS transponders for recreational vessels. Just so everyone is up to speed, AIS stands for Automatic Identification System, which is a way for ships and smaller vessels to electronically exchange data such as who and where they are, how fast they are going on what course, and much more. The idea is that this will prevent vessels from smacking into one another. Class A units are required for vessels over 300 tons that travel internationally, and Class B for smaller vessels that aren’t otherwise required to carry them.

Class B transmit-and-receive units have been available throughout the rest of the world for years but the FCC was hesitant to approve them here. Receive-only units were all that U.S. boaters were allowed to use in U.S. waters. But with the recent approval, boater should expect to see a variety of units — from bare-bones models to high-end freestanding units — on the shelves of retailers within weeks.

For more details on Class B transponders, be sure to pick up the next issue of Latitude 38, due to hit the streets on October 31.