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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of ) File Number EB-03-TP-179
)
Suwannee Cable TV ) NAL/Acct. No.200332700028
Operator of Cable Television )
System FL1248, PSID 020182 ) FRN 0009301516
Old Town, Florida
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: July 17, 2003
By the Enforcement Bureau, Tampa Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture (``NAL''), we find Suwannee Cable TV apparently
liable for a forfeiture in the amount of eight thousand
dollars ($8,000) for willful and repeated violation of
Sections 76.605(a)(12) and 76.611(a)(1) of the Commission's
Rules (``Rules'').1 Specifically, we find Suwannee Cable TV
apparently liable for failing to comply with the
Commission's cable signal leakage standards.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On April 9 and 10, 2003, agents of the FCC
Enforcement Bureau's Tampa Field Office (``Tampa Office'')
inspected a portion of Suwannee Cable TV's cable system
serving Fanning Springs and Old Town, Florida to identify
leaks and determine compliance with the basic signal leakage
criteria. The agents identified and measured eighteen leaks
on the frequency 121.2625 MHz, ranging in signal strength
from 51 microvolts per meter (``µV/m'') to 3,052 µV/m.
Based on these measurements, the agents calculated the
system's Cumulative Leakage Index (``CLI'') at a value of
72.7, exceeding the allowable cumulative signal leakage
performance criteria of 64.2 (See Attachment B.)
3. On April 10, 2003, the FCC agents met with a
Suwannee Cable TV representative at their office in Old
Town, Florida and verbally advised and hand delivered a
written Order to Cease Operations on aeronautical band
frequencies until the leaks were repaired and the system
complied with the basic signal leakage criteria.3
4. In accordance with the Order to Cease Operations,
Suwannee Cable TV was required to complete an inspection of
at least 75% of the system's cable plant, make the necessary
repairs to bring the system into compliance and submit a
report of their findings. Suwannee Cable TV complied with
the Order to Cease Operations.
III. DISCUSSION
5. Section 76.605(a)(12) of the Rules requires cable
operators to limit signal leakage in the frequency band from
54 MHz up to and including 216 MHz to 20 µV/m at a distance
of 3 meters. On April 9 and 10, 2003, Suwannee Cable TV
exceeded this limit at eighteen locations on its system in
Fanning Springs and Old Town, Florida. Section 76.611(a)(1)
of the Rules requires cable operators to limit the CLI to a
value at or below 64. On April 9 and 10, 2003, Suwannee
Cable TV's cable system in Fanning Springs and Old Town,
Florida operated with a CLI value of 72.7.
6. Based on the evidence before us, we find that on
April 9 and 10, 2003, Suwannee Cable TV willfully4 and
repeatedly5 violated Sections 76.605(a)(12) and 76.611(a)(1)
of the Rules.
7. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules, the
base forfeiture amount for the violations cited in this
notice is $8,000 (violation of rules relating to distress
and safety frequencies).6 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, as amended (``Act''), which
include 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 other such matters as justice may require.7
Considering the entire record and applying the factors
listed above, this case warrants an $8,000 forfeiture.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
8. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to
Section 503(b) of the Act,8 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and
1.80 of the Rules,9 Suwannee Cable TV is hereby NOTIFIED of
this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the amount of
eight thousand dollars ($8,000) for willful and repeated
violation of Sections 76.605(a)(12) and 76.611(a)(1) of the
Rules.
9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of
this NAL, Suwannee Cable TV SHALL PAY the full amount of the
proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement
seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed
forfeiture.
10. 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 should note the NAL/Acct. No. and FRN referenced
above. Requests for payment of the full amount of this NAL
under an installment plan should be sent to: Chief, Revenue
and Receivables Operations Group, 445 12th Street, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20554.10
11. 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
NAL/Acct. No. referenced above.
12. 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.
13. 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 Technical &
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.
14. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NAL
shall be sent by regular mail and Certified Mail Return
Receipt Requested to Suwannee Cable TV, Highway 19 South,
Box 1120, Old Town, Florida, 33692.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Ralph M. Barlow
District Director
Tampa Field Office, Enforcement
Bureau
Attachments ATTACHMENT B
System Location: Fanning Springs & Old System PSID: Frequency: 121.2625
Town, FL 020182 MHz
Inspection Date(s): 4/9/2003 &
4/10/2003
Measurement Location Signal Leakage Field
Strength
(µV/m @ 3 meters)
NW 165 LN / HWY 27, POLE 30 1,384
16781 NW 85 TER 224
LEVY/GICHRIST BORDER @ HWY 98 & 26 610
FANNING SPRINGS CITY HALL 224
HWY 351-U ACROSS FROM TRADING POST 132
STORE
512 ARROWHEAD RD NEAR ED LEWIS'S HOUSE 224
W END OF 6TH ST OFF OF 1ST AVE 51
ARMADILLO / ARROWHEAD 92
ELM / 8TH ST 387
CHERRY ST / CR 351-U 244
SUWANEE RIVER DR / M.D. MCDOUGAL 305
MOBILE HOMES
17788 NW 90 TER POLE B30091 407
17730 SUWANNE RIVER DR 610
HENSLEY RD / HINTON LANDING 407
BAY ST / HINTON LANDING 3,052
JOHNSON RD / WILLIAMS RD OLD TOWN 1,221
ACROSS FROM OLD TOWN CAMPGROUND,WEST 753
OF SMITH RD ON SR349
N OF ELBERT DR ON HINTON LANDING 1,933
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. §§ 76.605(a)(12) and 76.611(a)(1).
2 A maximum CLI of 64 is the basic signal leakage
performance criteria of Section 76.611(a)(1) of the rules.
Leakage that exceeds this level is deemed to pose a serious
threat to air safety communications. The calculated CLI
included only leaks greater than 50 µV/m.
3 See 47 C.F.R. 76.613(c).
4 Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1), which
applies equally to 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 ....''
See Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6 FCC Rcd 4387
(1991).
5 The term ``repeated'' means the commission or omission of
an act more than once or, if such commission or omission is
continuous, for more than one day. 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(2).
6 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4).
7 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
8 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
9 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.
10 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.