Sec. 80.15  Eligibility for station license.

    (a) General. A station license cannot be granted to or held by a 
foreign government or its representative.
    (b) Public coast stations and Alaska-public fixed stations. A 
station license for a public coast station or an Alaska-public fixed 
station cannot be granted to or held by:
    (1) Any alien or the representative of any alien;
    (2) Any foreign government or its representative;
    (3) Any corporation organized under the laws of any foreign 
government;
    (4) Any corporation of which more than one-fifth of the capital 
stock is owned of record or voted by aliens or their representatives or 
by a foreign government or its representative, or by a corporation 
organized under the laws of a foreign country; or
    (5) Any corporation directly or indirectly controlled by any other 
corporation of which more than one-fourth of the capital stock is owned 
of record or voted by aliens, their representatives, or by a foreign 
government or its representatives, or by any corporation organized under 
the laws of a foreign country, if the Commission finds that the public 
interest will be served by the refusal or revocation of such license.
    (c) Private coast and marine utility stations. The supplemental 
eligibility requirements for private coast and marine utility stations 
are contained in Sec. 80.501(a).
    (d) Ship stations. A ship station license may only be granted to:
    (1) The owner or operator of the vessel;
    (2) A subsidiary communications corporation of the owner or operator 
of the vessel;
    (3) A State or local government subdivision; or
    (4) Any agency of the U.S. Government subject to section 301 of the 
Communications Act.
    (e) EPIRB stations. (1) New class C EPIRB stations will not be 
authorized after February 1, 1995. Class C EPIRB stations installed and 
licensed before February 1, 1995, will be authorized until February 1, 
1999:
    (i) For use on board vessels operating within 32 kilometers 
(approximately 20 miles) of shore and in the Great Lakes, or
    (ii) On passenger and cargo vessels with survival craft as required 
or recommended by the U.S. Coast Guard.

[[Page 17]]

    (2) Class A or B EPIRB stations will be authorized for use on board 
the following types of vessels:
    (i) Vessels authorized to carry survival craft; or
    (ii) Vessels expected to travel in waters beyond the range of marine 
VHF distress coverage which is generally considered to be more than 32 
kilometers (approximately 20 miles) offshore; or
    (iii) Vessels required to be fitted with EPIRB's to comply with U.S. 
Coast Guard regulations.
    (3) A 406.025 MHz EPIRBs may be used by any ship required by U.S. 
Coast Guard regulations to carry an EPIRB or by any ship that is 
equipped with a VHF ship radio station.
[ 51 FR 31213 , Sept. 2, 1986, as amended at  53 FR 37308 , Sept. 26, 1988; 
 58 FR 33344 , June 17, 1993;  61 FR 55581 , Oct. 28, 1996]