Commercial Mobile Radio Services

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What Does Commercial Mobile Radio Services Mean?

Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) is a regulatory
classification for mobile phone service in the U.S. created by the Federal
Communications Commissions in 1993. It governs cellular, SMR/ESMR and PCS
communication under a single regulatory umbrella. Under the law, mobile
services are regulated as common carriers if they wish to deliver services to
the general public.

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Techopedia Explains Commercial Mobile Radio Services

The Commercial Mobile Radio Service classification was created by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission as part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. It initially covered paging, land mobile services, specialized mobile radio services, public coast stations and other wireless communications methods where providers offered services to the general public for a fee. It essentially brought all mobile services under one regulatory umbrella while cell phone technology was only just becoming widespread among consumers. The regulation makes a distinction between for-profit services and private services.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.