FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE              NEWS MEDIA CONTACT
  August 10, 1999                         Emily Hoffnar  202/418-0253
  
  Report No. CC 99-34
                   COMMON CARRIER ACTION 
  
  
     FCC Issues Citations to Several Alleged Violators 
          of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act
                              
       On August 5, 1999, the Common Carrier Bureau's Enforcement Division
  (Enforcement Division) issued citations to several companies that apparently sent
  unsolicited faxes to consumers in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of
  1991 (TCPA) and the Commission's telemarketing rules.  The Enforcement Division's
  actions were based upon consumer complaints asserting that the cited companies had sent
  unsolicited advertisements to the consumers' telephone facsimile machines.  The citations
  place each company on notice that subsequent violations may result in monetary
  forfeitures of up to $11,000 per violation.
  
       These citations are part of an ongoing initiative to ensure industry compliance with
  the requirements of the TCPA. The TCPA, among other things, imposes restrictions on
  the use of automatic telephone dialing systems (these systems are also called autodialers),
  artificial or prerecorded voice messages, and telephone facsimile (fax) machines to send
  unsolicited advertisements.  Currently, the sending of unsolicited advertisements to
  facsimile machines is the top TCPA-related complaint to the Commission, which has
  handled over a thousand such complaints so far this year.  
  
       In the citation letter, the alleged violators are informed that they may respond to
  the allegations within 21 days, either by attending a personal interview at a Commission
  Field Office, or by submitting a written statement to the Commission.  In their response,
  the alleged violators must specify what actions have been taken to ensure future
  compliance with the TCPA and applicable Commission rules.  The Enforcement Division
  issued citations to the following companies on August 5, 1999: Breaktime, Hollywood,
  FL; ComFax, New York, N.Y.; CyNet, Inc., Houston, TX; Global Wireless, Marco
  Island, FL; Resort World, Las Vegas, NV; Safire, Inc., San Diego, CA; and Thomas,
  Thomas, Alexis and Lynn, Houston, TX. 
  
  
  
       Action by the Common Carrier Bureau, Enforcement Division, by citation.  
       
                           -FCC-
  
  Common Carrier Bureau contacts:
  Jennifer Myers Kashatus and Colleen Heitkamp (202) 418-0960
  TTY:  (202) 418-2555