NEWS                                                     November 7, 1997
                                    
                                    
        FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION CONFISCATES EQUIPMENT 
                    FROM UNLICENSED RADIO OPERATION  

 The Federal Communications Commission announced today that on November 6,
1997, it confiscated radio equipment used by a Kansas City, MO, resident to operate an
unlicensed FM radio station after he had been warned by FCC officials that unlicensed
broadcasting was against the law.

 Representatives of the FCC's Kansas City Office joined representatives of the U.S.
Marshals Service in confiscating the transmitter of Michael Gonzalo Calderon, who was
broadcasting on FM frequency 107.9 MHz without a license from an apartment building
located directly adjacent to a Kansas City police station.  

 Calderon had initially approached the FCC Kansas City Office about his operation to
ask about a letter he had received from a local broadcast station complaining of interference
from his transmissions.  He admitted to FCC officials that he had been broadcasting without
a license on the 107.9 MHz frequency and was aware that illegal broadcasts would cause
complaints of interference to licensed broadcast stations. Calderon was instructed at that time
by the FCC officials to cease broadcasting immediately.  However, he continued to broadcast
from his unlicensed operation, and this resulted in the FCC's confiscation action.

 Broadcast stations that transmit on a frequency in the FM band must be licensed by
the Commission.  In general, unlicensed radio transmissions create a danger of interference
to important authorized radio communications services.  The equipment used in illegal
operations is usually of unknown technical quality and its operation causes interference to the
reception of authorized services.  In extreme cases, illegal broadcast stations have the
potential to interfere with vital aircraft, police and fire communications, in a manner that
may endanger the safety of life.  

 The Commission has authority to impose sanctions on unlicensed broadcasters,
including civil monetary forfeitures of up to a maximum of $11,000 for a single violation or
for each day of a continuous violation; criminal fines against the operator of up to a
maximum of $100,000 with potential imprisonment for up to a year for the first violation;
court injunctions; and seizures of the radio equipment.   

                                   -FCC-


 News Media Contact:  David Fiske at (202) 418-0513
 Compliance and Information Bureau Contact:  Magalie Salas at (202) 418-1150.