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                            Before the
                Federal Communications Commission
                      Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of                  )
                                 )
Mountain Union Telecom, LLC       )       File Number EB-01-SF-449
Registered Owner of ASR Number    )     NAL/Acct. No. 200332960001
1014930                           )               FRN 0007-3301-03 
Dozier, California                )
                                 )


         NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE

                                Released:  December 31, 2002

By the Enforcement Bureau, San Francisco Office:

                         I.  INTRODUCTION

     1.   In   this  Notice   of   Apparent  Liability   for 
Forfeiture,  we  find  that  Mountain  Union  Telecom,  LLC, 
(``Mountain  Union''),  the   registered  owner  of  Antenna 
Structure Registration  (``ASR'') number 1014930  in Dozier, 
California  apparently  willfully  and  repeatedly  violated 
Sections  17.4(g) and  17.57 of  the Federal  Communications 
Commission (``FCC'' or ``Commission'') Rules and Regulations 
(``Rules'')  by failing  to  display  the antenna  structure 
registration number  near the base of  the antenna structure 
and  by failing  to notify  the  Commission of  a change  in 
ownership  information.1  We  conclude, pursuant  to Section 
503(b)  of  the  Communications  Act  of  1934,  as  amended 
(``Act''),2  that Mountain  Union is  apparently liable  for 
forfeiture in the amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000).

                         II.  BACKGROUND

     2.   On March 28, 2002, agents from the FCC Enforcement 
Bureau's  San Francisco  Field Office  inspected an  antenna 
structure located at 38-17-08  north latitude, 121-5-02 west 
longitude  near  Dozier, California.   At  the  time of  the 
inspection, a telephone number was posted, but no ASR number 
was posted at the base  of the antenna structure.  According 
to  the FCC's  ASR database,  on March  28, 2002,  Pacific & 
Eastern  Digital  Transmission  Service was  the  registered 
owner  of the  antenna  structure  number 1014930.   Further 
investigation  revealed  that  Mountain Union  acquired  the 
structure more than six months prior to that date.       

     3.   On April 17, 2002,  the San Francisco Field Office 
issued a Notice of Violation to Mountain Union for violating 
the Rules by  failing to post the ASR number  and failure to 
update the structures ownership information.  Mountain Union 
replied on  April 22,  2002, stating that  updated ownership 
information had  been submitted  to the FCC  on Form  854 on 
April 5, 2002  and the ASR number was posted  at the base of 
the structure on April 19, 2002.  


                      III.  DISCUSSION

     4.   Section 503(b) of the Act provides that any person 
who willfully  or repeatedly  fails to  comply substantially 
with the terms  and conditions of any  license, or willfully 
or repeatedly fails to comply  with any of the provisions of 
the Act  or of any rule,  regulation or order issued  by the 
Commission  thereunder, shall  be  liable  for a  forfeiture 
penalty.  The term  "willful" as used in  Section 503(b) has 
been interpreted to  mean simply that the  acts or omissions 
are   committed  knowingly   and   ``repeated''  means   the 
commission or omission of the act more than once or for more 
than one day.3

     5.   Section 17.4(g)  of the Rules states  that the ASR 
number must be  displayed in a conspicuous place  so that it 
is readily visible  near the base of  the antenna structure.  
At  the time  of  the  inspection, the  ASR  number was  not 
displayed.  

     6.   Section  17.57  of   the  Rules  requires  antenna 
structure owners to immediately  notify the Commission using 
FCC Form  854 upon any  change in ownership  information. At 
the time  of the  inspection, ASR  number 1014930  was still 
registered to  the structure's prior owner.   Mountain Union 
failed  to timely  notify the  Commission of  the change  in 
ownership.   On  April 5,  2002,  Mountain  Union filed  the 
required  updated ownership  information  for the  structure 
with the Commission.  

     7.   Based on the  evidence before us, we  find that on 
March 28, 2002 Mountain Union  failed to post the ASR number 
for the  tower number 1014930,  and failed to  timely notify 
the Commission of  the change in ownership  of the structure 
in willful  and repeated  violation of Sections  17.4(g) and 
17.57 of the Rules.

     8.   Pursuant to  Section 1.80(b)(4)  of the  Rules and 
The Commission's  Forfeiture Policy Statement  and Amendment 
of Section 1.80  of the Rules to  Incorporate the Forfeiture 
Guidelines,  ("Forfeiture  Policy   Statement"),4  the  base 
forfeiture amount for failure  to post the antenna structure 
registration number is $2,000 and the base forfeiture amount 
for  failure  to  file  required  forms  or  information  is 
$3,000.5  In  assessing the  monetary forfeiture  amount, we 
must also take into account  the statutory factors set forth 
in Section  503(b)(2)(D) of  the Communications Act  of 1934 
(``Act''),   as   amended,   which   include   the   nature, 
circumstances, extent, and gravity  of the violation(s), and 
with respect to the violator, the degree of culpability, any 
history of  prior offenses, ability  to pay, and  other such 
matters  as justice  may require.6   Considering the  entire 
record and  applying the  statutory factors listed  above, a 
$5,000 forfeiture is warranted.

                      IV.  ORDERING CLAUSES

     9.   Accordingly,  IT  IS  ORDERED  THAT,  pursuant  to 
Section  503(b)  of  the  Communications  Act  of  1934,  as 
amended,  and   Sections  0.111,  0.311  and   1.80  of  the 
Commission's Rules, Mountain Union  Telecom, LLC., is hereby 
NOTIFIED of its  APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A  FORFEITURE in the 
amount of five thousand  dollars ($5,000.00) for willful and 
repeated  violation of  Sections  17.4(g) and  17.57 of  the 
Rules.7

     10.  IT IS  FURTHER ORDERED  THAT, pursuant  to Section 
1.80 of  the Commission's Rules,  within thirty days  of the 
release date of this  NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY, Mountain 
Union Telecom, LLC SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed 
forfeiture  or  SHALL  FILE   a  written  statement  seeking 
reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture.

     11.  Payment of the forfeiture may be made by mailing a 
check or  similar instrument,  payable to  the order  of the 
Federal   Communications  Commission,   to  the   Forfeiture 
Collection Section,  Finance Branch,  Federal Communications 
Commission,  P.O. Box  73482, Chicago,  Illinois 60673-7482.  
The  payment must  include  the FRN  and  the NAL/Acct.  No. 
referenced in the caption. 

     12.  The response,  if any,  must be mailed  to Federal 
Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 445 12th 
Street, SW, Washington, DC  20554, Attn: Enforcement Bureau-
Technical & Public Safety Division, and must include the FRN 
and NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the caption. 

     13.  The  Commission  will  not  consider  reducing  or 
canceling a forfeiture  in response to a  claim of inability 
to  pay  unless  the  petitioner submits:  (1)  federal  tax 
returns for the most recent three-year period; (2) financial 
statements   prepared   according  to   generally   accepted 
accounting practices (``GAAP''); or  (3) some other reliable 
and  objective documentation  that  accurately reflects  the 
petitioner's  current   financial  status.   Any   claim  of 
inability to  pay must  specifically identify the  basis for 
the  claim  by  reference  to  the  financial  documentation 
submitted.  

     14.  Requests for  payment of  the full amount  of this 
Notice  of  Apparent  Liability under  an  installment  plan 
should be sent to: Federal Communications Commission, Chief, 
Revenue and  Receivables Operations Group, 445  12th Street, 
SW, Washington, D.C. 20554.8

     15.  Under the  Small Business Paperwork Relief  Act of 
2002, Pub L.  No. 107-198, 116 Stat.  729(June 28,2002), the 
FCC is engaged in a  two-year tracking process regarding the 
size of entities involved in  forfeitures. If you qualify as 
a small  entity and  if you  wish to be  treated as  a small 
entity for tracking purposes, please so certify to us within 
thirty (30) days of this NAL, either in your response to the 
NAL  or in  a  separate filing  to be  sent  to the  Federal 
Communications Commission, Enforcement Bureau, Technical and 
Public Safety  Division. Your certification  should indicate 
whether   you,  including   your  parent   entity  and   its 
subsidiaries, meet one  of the definitions set  forth in the 
list provided by the FCC's Office of Communications Business 
Opportunities  (OCBO)  set forth  in  Attachment  A of  this 
Notice of Apparent Liability.  This information will be used 
for  tracking purposes  only.  Your response  or failure  to 
respond to this question will  have no effect on your rights 
and  responsibilities  pursuant  to Section  503(b)  of  the 
Communications Act.  If you have questions  regarding any of 
the information  contained in  Attachment A,  please contact 
OCBO at (202) 418-0990.

     16.    IT  IS  FURTHER  ORDERED  THAT  this  NOTICE  OF 
APPARENT LIABILITY  shall be sent by  Certified Mail, Return 
Receipt Requested, to Mountain Union Telecom, LLC, 851 Irwin 
Street, Suite 209, San Rafael, CA 94901.

                              

                              FEDERAL         COMMUNICATIONS 
COMMISSION
                         


                              David Hartshorn
                              Acting District  Director, San 
Francisco Office
                              Enforcement Bureau

_________________________

1  47 C.F.R. §§ 17.4(g) and 17.57.
2  47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
3  Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1), 
which applies to violations for which forfeitures are 
assessed under Section 503(b) of the Act, provides that 
"[t]he term 'willful', when used with reference to the 
commission or omission of any act, means the conscious and 
deliberate commission or omission of such act, irrespective 
of any intent to violate any provision of this Act or any 
rule or regulation of the Commission authorized by this 
Act...."  See Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6 FCC 
Rcd 4387 (1991).  Section 312(f)(2), which also applies to 
Section 503(b), provides: ``[t]he term ``repeated'', when 
used with reference to the commission or omission of any 
act, means the commission or omission of such act more than 
once or, if such commission or omission is continuous, for 
more than one day.   
4  12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303 
(1999).
5  47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4); American Tower Corporation, 16 
FCC Rcd 1282 (2001) ($2000 is an appropriate base forfeiture 
amount for failure to post the ASR).
6  47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
7  47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80 and 17.4(g) and 17.57.
8  See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.