Your GMRS radio may one day send its location — and a short text — on its own. That is the future an Australian radio maker is asking the FCC to bless, and the Commission is listening.
On June 17, 2026, the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau released a public notice (DA 26-606) seeking comment on a waiver request filed March 4 by GME Pty Ltd for two proposed GMRS radios: a mobile unit with a removable antenna for vehicle use, and a handheld portable with an integrated antenna. GME wants the devices to share location information and brief text messages digitally among all GME users within range — functions that today’s Part 95 GMRS rules do not fully permit.
Specifically, GME asks for waiver of three rules: section 95.1731(d) to allow digital data transmissions from the devices; section 95.1787(a)(1) so both radios can transmit location information plus a short text message to nearby GME users; and section 95.1787(a)(3) to increase the permitted automatic digital-data rate from once per 30 seconds to once per 15 seconds under certain conditions. The company also proposes safeguards to protect other band users against interference.
GME argues the public interest supports the request: the added safety features would help GMRS users who are off-road and in rural or remote areas without reliable cell service. The company also points to precedent — prior GMRS waivers granted to Midland Radio Corporation and Garmin International.
The notice assigned the matter to WT Docket No. 26-157. Comments were due July 17, 2026, with reply comments due August 3, and a Bureau decision is now awaited. If granted, the waiver would apply only to GME’s devices — but it would set an important precedent for how much data the GMRS bands can carry.
GMRS remains the simplest path into licensed radio in the United States: no exam, a $35 fee paid to the FCC, and a license good for ten years that covers your immediate family. Whether those licensed radios also become location beacons and text messengers is now up to the Commission.