FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 10, 2002

NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: John Winston (202) 418-7450 Jwinston@fcc.gov

Washington, D.C. - Today, the Enforcement Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission marked its third year anniversary by reporting on major enforcement actions that the Bureau or Commission took in fiscal year 2002 (October 1, 2001-September 30, 2002).

Bureau Chief David Solomon said the FCC ``has taken over 28 million dollars in enforcement actions during this past year and we will continue to take strong actions that enhance enforcement, protect consumers, and promote public safety.'' According to Solomon, ``ultimately everything we do in the area of enforcement is aimed at benefiting consumers.''

Highlights of enforcement actions during the last twelve months include:

Consumer protection enforcement: The Bureau acted on cases involving ``branding'' rules that require operator service providers to identify themselves and on cases involving prohibitions against sending unsolicited or ``junk'' faxes.

Competition area enforcement: The Bureau issued a significant forfeiture for violation of merger conditions. Another highlight was a consent decree that resolved investigations into a carrier's submission of inaccurate information in section 271 proceedings.

Public safety enforcement: The Bureau acted on violations of rules concerning: Enhanced-911 operation of the Emergency Alert System; tower painting and lighting for aviation safety; cable signal leakage on aeronautical frequencies; and unauthorized operations or equipment that interfere with air traffic control frequencies. The Bureau also provided assistance to federal, state and local public safety and law enforcement entities to determine the source of signals causing interference on public safety frequencies and served as a focal point for FCC Homeland Security related work.

The Bureau reported that of the more than 28 million dollars in enforcement actions in fiscal 2002, there were (1) $15 million in consumer protection enforcement actions; (2) $10 million in local competition enforcement actions; and (3) $3.5 million in public safety enforcement actions.

(See attachment for further details of FCC enforcement activity).

View Third Year Anniversary Report here.