§ Mr. Barry FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will set out the timetable for the introduction of digital selective calling for all United Kingdom coastal waters.
§ Mr. ForthThe Secretary of State for Transport, who is responsible for maritime distress and safety matters, has established an MF distress and safety digital selective calling (DSC) service at five stations in the United Kingdom. This service, operated by Her Majesty's Coastguard, provides coverage for most of the coastal waters around the United Kingdom. When two further stations are established in the Republic of Ireland in 1992, all United Kingdom coastal waters will be adequately covered by DSC for distress and safety purposes.
A DSC service for commercial purposes would be provided by British Telecom, but it has no plans at present to install either MF or VHF DSC equipment at its coast stations. However, it is evaluating automated MF and VHF radiotelephone systems which have various DSC-based facilities.