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If you need the complete document, download the WordPerfect version or Adobe Acrobat version, if available. ***************************************************************** Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Florida Power and Light Company ) ) Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture ) ) File No. 920EF0025 Licensee of Microwave Radio Service ) Station WNET807, Titusville, FL ) Station WNTF930, Carol City, FL ) Station WNTJ502, Oakland Park, FL ) Station WNTJ509, Sunrise, FL ) Station WNTN790, Melbourne, FL ) Station WNTQ454, La Belle, FL ) Station WNTQ457, Felsmere, FL ) NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE Adopted: May 6, 1999 Released: May 7, 1999 By the Chief, Enforcement and Consumer Information Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau: I. Introduction I 1. This is a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 (the "Act"), as amended, and Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules, against Florida Power and Light Company ("FPL"), licensee of Microwave Radio Service stations: WNET807 in Titusville, Florida; WNTF930 in Carol City, Florida; WNTJ502 in Oakland Park, Florida; WNTJ509 in Sunrise, Florida; WNTN790 in Melbourne, Florida; WNTQ454 in LaBelle, Florida; and WNTQ457 in Felsmere, Florida. For the reasons that follow, we find that FPL operated these stations with expired licenses, in apparent violation of Section 301 of the Act, and Section 101.5 of the Commission's Rules. We conclude that FPL is apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of $14,000. II. Background 2. FPL's licenses for the above captioned Microwave Radio Service stations expired between January 22, 1998 and June 9, 1998. Specifically, FPL's license for Station WNET807 in Titusville, Florida, expired on March 18, 1998; FPL's license for Station WNTF930 in Carol City, Florida, expired on June 9, 1998; FPL's license for Station WNTJ502 in Oakland Park, Florida, expired on June 9, 1998; FPL's license for Station WNTJ509 in Sunrise, Florida, expired on June 9, 1998; FPL's license for Station WNTN790 in Melbourne, Florida, expired on January 22, 1998; FPL's license for Station WNTQ454 in LaBelle, Florida, expired on January 22, 1998; and finally, FPL's license for Station WNTQ457 in Felsmere, Florida, expired on January 22, 1998. FPL did not file timely renewal applications for any of these licenses. 3. On July 17, 1998, FPL was granted verbal Special Temporary Authority to operate the above captioned Microwave Radio Service stations by Mary Shultz, Chief, Licensing and Technical Analysis Branch, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. Pursuant to Section 101.31(a) of the Commission's Rules, FPL then filed a written request for the Special Temporary Authority on July 23, 1998. In its written request, FPL stated that the licenses for the above captioned Microwave Radio Service stations "expired without renewal, some for a period of many months." FPL further stated that "upon realizing" that the licenses had expired, it "immediately" requested a Special Temporary Authority to enable FPL to continue to operate the stations. III. Discussion 4. Section 301 of the Act provides in pertinent part, "No person shall use or operate any apparatus for the transmission of energy or communications or signals by radio . . . except under and in accordance with this Act and with a license in that behalf granted under the provisions of this Act." Similarly, Section 101.5 of the Commission's Rules provides in pertinent part that, "No radio transmitter shall be operated . . . except under and in accordance with a proper authorization granted by the Commission." Section 503(b) of the Act and Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules further provide that a forfeiture penalty may be assessed against a person who is found to have willfully or repeatedly failed to comply with the Commission's rules. The Commission has held that an act or omission is "willful" if it is a conscious act or omission whether or not there is any intent to violate the rule. 5. Based upon FPL's submissions, we find that FPL willfully and repeatedly violated Section 301 of the Act and Section 101.5 of the Commission's Rules. Once FPL's licenses expired, it lacked the required authority to operate those stations. FPL's apparent violations continued from the time the respective licenses expired until, at a minimum, the verbal Special Temporary Authority was granted. We note that FPL voluntarily brought this matter to the Bureau's attention. 6. The guidelines contained in the Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement, which became effective on October 14, 1997, specify a base forfeiture amount of $4,000 for using an unauthorized frequency. The guidelines, however, permit the Commission to issue a higher or lower forfeiture than provided in the guidelines. Section 503(b)(2)(D) of the Act requires the Commission to consider "the nature, circumstances, extent and gravity of the violation, and, with respect to the violator, the degree of culpability, any history of prior offenses, ability to pay, and such other matters as justice may require." In this case, taking into consideration all of the factors required by Section 503(b)(2)(D) of the Act, including, but not limited to, the nature of the stations in question, the number of stations involved, the length of time during which the unlawful operation took place, FPL's voluntary disclosure of its violations to the Commission, and its prompt taking of remedial action once it realized the licenses had expired, we believe it is appropriate to reduce the amount of the proposed forfeiture from $4,000 per station to $2,000 for each of the seven stations, for a total forfeiture of $14,000. IV. Conclusion and Ordering Clause 7. Based on the foregoing, we find that FPL continued to operate multiple Part 101 stations after the expiration of its authorizations, in apparent violation of Section 301 of the Act. FPL operated some of the stations at issue for almost six months without a valid authorization. We further find that a forfeiture in the amount of $14,000 is appropriate. 8. ACCORDINGLY, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules, Florida Power and Light Company is hereby NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE in the amount of fourteen thousand dollars ($14,000) for willfully and repeatedly violating Section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 101.5 of the Commission's Rules. 10. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, pursuant to Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R.  1.80, that within thirty days of the release of this Notice, Florida Power and Lighting Company SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture. 11. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that copies of this Notice shall be sent, by Certified Mail/Return Receipt Requested, to Florida Power and Light Company, P.O. Box 029100, Miami, FL 33102, and to counsel for Florida Power and Light Company, Ms. Carole C. Harris, Esq., McDermott, Will & Emery, 600 13th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005-3096. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Catherine W. Seidel Chief, Enforcement and Consumer Information Division Wireless Telecommunications Bureau