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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Portland Taxicab Company ) File Number EB-03-PO-070
)
Licensee of Station WPRJ576 ) NAL/Acct. No. 200432920001
Portland, Oregon ) FRN 000-865-1051
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: January
30, 2004
By the Enforcement Bureau, Portland Resident Agent Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture (``NAL''), we find that Portland Taxicab Company
(``Portland Taxi''), the licensee of radio station WPRJ576,
apparently willfully and repeatedly violated Sections
1.903(a), 90.210, 90.403(e) and 90.425(a) of the
Commission's Rules (``Rules''),1 by operating the radio
station inconsistent with terms of the station
authorization, emitting excessive emissions, causing harmful
interference to an amateur radio station and failing to
transmit proper station identification. We conclude,
pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of
1934, as amended (``Act''),2 that Portland Taxicab Company
is apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of
twelve thousand dollars ($12,000).
II. BACKGROUND
2. On March 13, 2003, the Federal Communications
Commission's (``FCC'') Portland Resident Agent Office
received a complaint from amateur radio station AB7F that
interference was being received in the frequency band
440.700 - 440.780 MHz. An agent from the FCC's Portland
Resident Agent Office monitored the frequency band and
observed the interference. The agent located the
interfering signal to a repeater station operating on the
frequencies 452.250 MHz and 457.250 MHz on top of Mt. Scott
in Clackamas County, Oregon. The geographical coordinates
for the repeater location are 45°27'17" north latitude and
122°33'01" west longitude. A search of the Commission's
records did not reveal any licenses issued to operate on the
frequencies 452.250 MHz or 457.250 MHz at this geographical
location. The agent observed and measured spurious
emissions in the frequency band from 440.700 MHz to 440.780
MHz at approximately 55 dB below the fundamental frequency
452.250 MHz transmitted from this repeater. The agent
located the control point station of the repeater to a
business owned by Portland Taxi at 12624 NE Halsey Street,
Portland, Oregon 97230. The agent inspected the control
point station at this address and observed a FCC license
posted with call sign WPRJ576 issued to Portland Taxicab
Company to operate a repeater and mobile stations on
frequencies 452.125 MHz and 457.125 MHz in Clackamas County,
Oregon. The agent issued a verbal warning to Portland
Taxicab's office manager concerning the unauthorized
operation on frequencies 452.250 MHz and 457.250 MHz. The
agent also issued a verbal warning concerning the spurious
emissions transmitted by the repeater transmitter on Mt.
Scott that caused interference to amateur station AB7F and
the violation of failure to transmit the station
identification. The FCC agent was advised that actions
would be taken to change the frequencies and fix the
transmitter.
3. On March 17, 2003, the agent again monitored the
frequencies 452.250 MHz and 457.250 MHz. The agent
determined that Portland Taxi, despite verbal warnings
received on March 13, 2003, was still using the above
frequencies at the same locations without FCC authorization,
was transmitting spurious emissions, was causing
interference and failed to identify the station.
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 any rule, regulation or order issued by the
Commission there under, shall be liable for a forfeiture
penalty.3 The term ``willful'' as used in Section 503(b)
has been interpreted to mean simply that the acts or
omissions are committed knowingly and the term ``repeated''
means the commission or omission of the act more than once
or for more than one day.4
5. Section 1.903(a) of the Rules requires that radio
stations operating pursuant to Part 90 of the Commission's
Rules must be used and operated only in accordance with
Rules applicable to their particular service and with a
valid authorization granted by the FCC. Portland Taxi is
authorized to operate only on frequencies 452.125 MHz and
457.125 MHz, but was operating on the frequencies 452.250
and 457.250 MHz, which are Commission allocated frequencies.
6. Section 90.210 of the Rules requires that
equipment operated with a 25 kHz channel bandwidth must meet
the attenuation requirement at least 43 + 10 Log(power
output) dB for any emission removed from the center of
authorized bandwidth by more than 250 percent. Portland
Taxi's license, WPRJ576, was assigned with an emission
20K0F3E (20kHz bandwidth) at a power output of 75 watts.
Therefore, any emissions in the frequency band 440.700 to
440.780 MHz must be attenuated at least 62 dB. At the time
of the inspection, the agent measured the spurious emissions
in the frequency band 440.700 to 440.780 MHz at a level of
55 dB attenuated from the fundamental frequency 452.250 MHz.
The spurious emissions in the frequency band 440.700 to
440.780 MHz caused harmful interference to amateur radio
station AB7F.
7. Section 90.403(e) of the Rules requires licensees
to take reasonable precautions to avoid causing
interference, including monitoring the frequency for
communications in progress and other measures as may be
necessary to minimize the potential for causing
interference. The radio station WPRJ576, operated by
Portland Taxi, was observed causing interference on March
13, 2003, was issued a warning on March 13, 2003, but
continued transmitting and causing interference on March 17,
2003.
8. Section 90.425(a) of the Rules requires that each
station or system licensed in Part 90 is to be identified by
the transmission of the assigned call sign during each
transmission or exchange of transmissions, or once each
fifteen minutes. The agent monitored Portland Taxi's
transmissions on March 13 and March 17, 2003, and did not
observe any station call sign.
9. Based on the evidence before us, we find that on
March 13 and March 17, 2003, Portland Taxicab Company
willfully and repeatedly violated Section 1.903(a) of the
Rules by operating on frequencies 452.250 MHz and 457.250
MHz without a valid FCC authorization, Section 90.210 and
90.403(e) by transmitting spurious emissions resulting in
interference to an amateur radio station and Section
90.425(a) by failing to transmit the station identification.
Pursuant to The Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement and
Amendment of Section 1.80 of the Rules to Incorporate the
Forfeiture Guidelines, (Forfeiture Policy Statement),5 and
Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules,6 the base forfeiture
amount for operating on an unauthorized frequency is $4,000,
for causing interference is $7,000 and for failing to
provide station identification is $1,000. Accordingly, the
total base forfeiture in this instance is $12,000. 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 Act, 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.7 Applying the Forfeiture
Policy Statement and the statutory factors to the instant
case, a $12,000 forfeiture is warranted.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
10. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to
Section 503(b) of the Act, and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and
1.80 of the Commission's Rules,8 Portland Taxicab Company is
hereby NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE
in the amount of twelve thousand dollars ($12,000) for
violating Sections 1.903(a), 90.210, 90.403(e), and
90.425(a) of the Commission's Rules.9
11. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of
this NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY, Portland Taxicab Company
SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed forfeiture or
SHALL FILE a written statement seeking reduction or
cancellation of the proposed forfeiture.
12. 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 NAL/Acct. No. and FRN
referenced in the caption.
13. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 445 12th
Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20554, Attn: Enforcement Bureau
- Spectrum Enforcement Division and must include the
NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the caption.
14. 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.
15. 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
16. 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 Spectrum
Enforcement 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.
17. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NAL
shall be sent by regular mail and Certified Mail Return
Receipt Requested to Portland Taxicab Company, 12624 NE
Halsey Street, Portland, Oregon 97230.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Binh Nguyen
Portland Resident Agent Office
Enforcement Bureau
Enclosure: Attachment A
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.903(a), 90.210, 90.403(e) and 90.425(a).
2 47 U.S.C. §503(b).
3 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
4 Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1),
which applies 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 or any
rule or regulation of the Commission authorized by this
Act....'' See Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6 FCC
Rcd 4387-88 (1991). Section 312(f)(2) of the Act, 47 U.S.C.
§ 312(f)(2), which also applies to Section 503(b), provides:
``[t]he term ``repeated'', when use 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.''
5 The Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement and Amendment
of Section 1.80 of the Rules to Incorporate the Forfeiture
Guidelines, 12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC
Rcd 303 (1999).
6 47 U.S.C. § 1.80(b)(4).
7 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
8 47 U.S.C. § 503(b); 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.
9 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.903(a), 90.210, 90.403(e) and 90.425(a).
10 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.2914.