445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554
202 418 1160
FAX 202 418 7290
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FCC Enforcement Bureau
A Guide to Public Safety Enforcement
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What We Do:
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Resolve complaints, investigate and take or recommend enforcement
action regarding
radio frequency interference
that involve violations
of the Communications Act, the Commission's rules, a Commission order
or a term or condition of a station authorization.
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Resolve complaints, investigate and take or recommend enforcement
action in cases involving violation of the Commission's
911 and Enhanced 911 ("E911") rules.
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Resolve complaints, investigate and take or recommend enforcement
action in cases involving violation of the Commission's Radio Frequency
("RF") Safety rules.
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Investigate and take or recommend enforcement action in cases
involving possible violations of the Commission's rules regarding
lighting and marking of radio transmitting antenna structures.
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Investigate and take or recommend enforcement action in cases
involving possible unauthorized importation or marketing of radio
frequency devices.
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Resolve complaints, investigate and take or recommend enforcement
action for violation of the Commission's cable signal leakage rules.
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Resolve complaints, investigate and take or recommend enforcement
action for violations of the
Emergency Alert System ("EAS") Rules.
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Conduct on-site inspections.
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Adjudicate formal Section 208 complaints filed against common
carriers (wireline and wireless).
What We Do Not Do:
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Enforce rules regarding cancellation of licenses for failure to
construct. The appropriate licensing bureau handles these issues.
Our Structure:
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Spectrum Enforcement Division
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Investigates and takes or recommends enforcement action, where
appropriate, in cases involving violation of technical rules such as
911 and E911, radio frequency equipment importation or marketing,
unlicensed or unauthorized operation, tower lighting and marking, RF
safety, cable signal leakage and EAS.
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25 Field Offices
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Conduct inspections and investigations of FCC regulated facilities.
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Take or recommend enforcement action, where appropriate, for
violation of technical rules such as radio frequency equipment
importation or marketing, unlicensed or unauthorized operation, tower
lighting and marking, RF Safety, cable signal leakage and EAS.
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Resolve or assist with the resolution of interference complaints.
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Market Disputes Resolution Division
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Adjudicates formal Section 208 complaints against common carriers
(wireline and wireless).
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Participates in negotiations between parties to facilitate
settlement of disputes before complaints are filed.
How Do I File A Complaint:
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E911
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Informal Information
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Persons who do not wish to file a formal or informal complaint
seeking adjudication of a dispute, but who wish to inform the Bureau of
evidence that a violation of the
E-911 Implementation Requirements
has occurred so that the Bureau may decide to initiate an investigation, if
appropriate, may contact the
Spectrum Enforcement Division
at (202) 418-1160 to discuss such matters.
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While you don't need to spend a lot of time or money putting
information together in advance, when you contact the staff, it does
help to provide as much factual information concerning the alleged
violation as possible, and to be able to substantiate your claims.
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Documentary materials (copies of letters, e-mails, etc), or
testimonial evidence in the form of sworn affidavits, is particularly
helpful. It is also useful if you can identify particular provisions
of the statute or the rules that you believe have been violated. The
more specific you can be, the faster the Enforcement Bureau can
determine if enforcement action is warranted. Keep in mind, though,
that this process does not require any ultimate decision by the FCC.
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Section 208 complaint
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Call Us First. If you are contemplating filing a formal Section
208 complaint, we strongly encourage you to contact the staff of the
Market Disputes Resolution Division
at (202) 418-7330 before filing.
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Read the Rules. Before filing a formal Section 208 complaint,
carefully review the procedural rules governing Section 208 complaints.
These rules are important and the staff follows them carefully and
enforces them. Failure to comply with the rules can result in
dismissal of a complaint. Feel free to contact the Market Disputes
Resolution Division staff to discuss these procedures and ask any
questions. The rules governing formal Section 208 complaints
(including the procedures governing the Accelerated Docket) are found
in the Code of Federal Regulations at 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.720-1.736 (2001).
For additional information, you may want to look at the FCC's Report
and Order that adopted these rules, which is published at 12 FCC Rcd
22,497 (1997) and Order on Reconsideration which is published at 16 FCC
Rcd 5681 (2001). The order adopting the Accelerated Docket rule is
published at 13 FCC Rcd 17,018 (1998). A filing fee is required for
all formal complaints. See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1105 (2003).
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Factual Support: If you do file a formal complaint, provide as
much factual support for your case as possible. This can be in the
form of sworn affidavits, documentary evidence, etc. Do not assume
that you will be able to engage in lengthy discovery after you file
your complaint in order to develop the facts.
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Accelerated Docket: The Accelerated Docket is available for
selected formal complaints (i.e., the complaints deemed suitable by
Commission staff for resolution pursuant to the procedures of the
Accelerated Docket). Because an Accelerated Docket case may lead to a
"mini-trial" with testimony by witnesses subject to
cross-examination, it is particularly well suited for cases involving
difficult factual disputes. It is designed to lead to a written
staff-level decision within 60 days from the filing of the complaint.
Because the Accelerated Docket rules require staff-supervised
pre-filing settlement discussions between the parties, many disputes
are settled without the need to file a formal complaint. Please
contact the staff if you would like to have a potential complaint
considered for acceptance onto the Accelerated Docket.
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Interference Complaints
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Private Land Mobile Radio Service
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The Commission has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with
the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials ("APCO")
to resolve
public safety-related interference complaints
in the first
instance. The Enforcement Bureau encourages public safety agencies
experiencing interference on their private land mobile radio
frequencies to submit such complaints directly to APCO in accordance
with the process set forth in the Memorandum of Understanding.
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Non-Private Land Mobile Radio Service
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Public safety agencies that believe that they are experiencing
interference from other facilities and that such interference is the
result of violations of a Commission rule, order or terms of a station
authorization, may submit their complaints to: Federal Communications
Commission, Enforcement Bureau, Spectrum Enforcement Division, 445
12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554.
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Complaints should be in writing and should include as much of the
following information as possible:
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The call sign and address of the station experiencing the
interference;
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The telephone number of a contact person for the station;
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The frequency on which the complaining station operates;
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A detailed description of the nature of the interference,
including the duration and frequency of the occurrence of interference;
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The call sign and address of the station believed to be the source
of the interference;
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The frequency on which the alleged interfering facility operates;
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The provision of the Communications Act, Commission rule, order or
station authorization believed to have been violated by the alleged
source of the interference; and
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Any documentation supporting the alleged existence and cause of
the interference.
Key People Who Handle Public Safety Enforcement Issues
Office of the Bureau Chief
Enforcement Bureau
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW - 3rd floor
Washington, DC 20554
Phone: (202) 418-7450
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Suzanne M. Tetreault, Acting Bureau Chief
Gene Fullano, Deputy Bureau Chief
Dana Shaffer, Deputy Bureau Chief
Michael Carowitz, Associate Bureau Chief/Chief of Staff
William Davenport, Associate Bureau Chief
Susan McNeil, Assistant Bureau Chief
Priya Shrinivasan, Assistant Bureau Chief
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Spectrum Enforcement Division
Enforcement Bureau
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW - 3rd floor
Washington, DC 20554
Phone: (202) 418-1160
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Kathryn Berthot, Chief
Ricardo Durham, Senior Deputy Chief
Tom Spavins, Assistant Chief
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Market Disputes Resolution Division
(for Section 208 complaints and Accelerated
Docket matters only
Enforcement Bureau
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW - 4th floor
Washington, DC 20554
Phone: (202) 418-7330
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Alex Starr, Chief
Lisa Griffin, Deputy Chief
Rosemary McEnery, Deputy Chief
Lisa Saks, Assistant Chief
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