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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
ENFORCEMENT BUREAU
NORTHEAST REGION
Philadelphia Office
One Oxford Valley Building, Suite 404
2300 East Lincoln Highway
Langhorne, Pennsylvania 19047
July 26, 2010
David Deeck
Pennsauken, New Jersey
NOTICE OF UNLICENSED OPERATION
Case Number: EB-10-PA-0181
Document Number: W201032400009
On June 22, 2010, in response to an interference complaint from Hillmans
Bus Service Inc., the licensee of radio station WQBM304, agents from the
Philadelphia Office located by direction finding techniques a radio signal
on the frequency 812.8125 MHz that was emanating from a bi-directional
amplifier ("BDA") located at the residence of David Deeck in Pennsauken,
New Jersey. During the investigation, David Deeck admitted to the agents
that he had been operating a BDA or signal booster from the basement of
his residence to improve the coverage inside his residence of Sprint
Nextel, his cellular provider. When an FCC agent was escorted to the
basement, the agent found the BDA powered up and operating.
Sprint Nextel has a license to provide specialized mobile radio services
on 806 MHz to 818 MHz. Section 90.219 of the Rules provides that licensees
authorized to operate radio systems in the frequency bands above 150 MHz
may employ signal boosters at fixed locations. The licensee is given
authority to operate signal boosters without separate authorization from
the Commission. Certificated equipment must be employed and the licensee
must ensure that all applicable rules requirements are met. A licensee's
authority to install a BDA does not permit a subscriber to install a BDA,
unless that subscriber has received explicit authorization from the
licensee to do so. David Deeck admitted that he did not obtain any
authorization from Sprint Nextel to install and operate the BDA.
Operation of radio transmitting equipment without a valid FCC
authorization or license is a violation of Section 301 of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and may subject the responsible
parties to substantial monetary forfeitures, in rem arrest action against
the offending radio equipment, and criminal sanctions including
imprisonment. Because unlicensed operation creates a danger of
interference to important radio communications services and may subject
the operator to severe penalties, this warning emphasizes the importance
of complying strictly with these legal requirements.
UNLICENSED OPERATION MUST BE DISCONTINUED IMMEDIATELY.
You have ten (10) days from the date of this notice to respond with any
evidence that you have authority to operate granted by the FCC or have
obtained consent from a licensed Common Carrier. To resolve the issues
with respect to your authority to operate this device, and pursuant to
Section 403 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, provide an
explanation as to what has been done to correct the interference issue and
to ensure that it will not recur; provide any agreements made with any
cellular carrier to operate the system and include any relevant documents.
Identify the make, model and serial number of each piece of equipment
including the antennas if applicable.
Your response should be sent to the address in the letterhead and
reference the listed case and document number. Under the Privacy Act of
1974, 5 U.S.C. S: 552a(e)(3), we are informing you that the Commission's
staff will use all relevant material information before it to determine
what, if any, enforcement action is required to ensure your compliance
with FCC Rules. This will include any information that you disclose in
your reply.
You may contact this office if you have any questions.
Gene J. Stanbro
District Director
Philadelphia Office
Northeast Region
Enforcement Bureau
Attachments:
Excerpts from the Communications Act of 1934, As Amended
Enforcement Bureau, "Inspection Fact Sheet", March 2005
Section 90.7 of the Rules defines "signal booster" as "a device at a fixed
location which automatically receives, amplifies, and retransmits on a
one-way or two-way basis, the signals received from base, fixed, mobile
and portable stations, with no change in frequency or authorized
bandwidth. A signal booster may be either narrowband (Class A) in which
case the booster amplifiers only those discrete frequencies intended to be
retransmitted, or broadband (Class B), in which case all signals within
the passband of the signal booster filter are amplified.
47 U.S.C. S: 301.
See 47 U.S.C. S:S: 401, 501, 503, 510.
47 U.S.C. S: 403.