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


In the Matter of                        )
                              )
VERIZON SOUTHWEST, INC.       )    File No. EB-00-TS-212
Licensee of Paging Station KNKM760      )    NAL/Acct.          No.  

200132100011 
Juno, Texas                        )

           NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE

Adopted:  January 24, 2001                        Released:  
January 25, 2001    

By the Chief, Technical and Public Safety Division, Enforcement 
Bureau:

                         I.   Introduction

     1.  In  this  Notice  of  Apparent  Liability  for  Forfeiture 
(``NAL''), we find that Verizon Southwest, Inc. (``Verizon''),1 has 
apparently violated Section 301 of the Communications Act of  1934, 
as amended (``Act''), 2 and Section 22.3 of the Commission's  Rules 
(``Rules''),3 by operating the  captioned paging station without  a 
valid  Commission  authorization.   We  conclude  that  Verizon  is 
apparently liable for a monetary  forfeiture in the amount of  five 
thousand dollars ($5,000).  

                          II.  Background

     2.  Verizon's authorization for Paging Station KNKM760 expired 
on November  1,  1998.   On  February 7,  2000,  Verizon  filed  an 
application for renewal of the  authorization for that station  and 
requested a waiver  of Section 1.949(a)  of the Rules.4   Verizon's 
waiver request states  that it operated  the subject paging  system 
without an authorization between November  1, 1998 and February  7, 
2000.    On   March   21,    2000,   the   Commission's    Wireless 
Telecommunications Bureau  granted  Verizon's  waiver  request  and 
reinstated its authority to operate Station KNKM760. 



                            III. Discussion

     3.  Section 301 of the Act sets forth the general mandate that 
no person shall use or  operate any apparatus for the  transmission 
of energy or communications or  signals by radio within the  United 
States except  under and  in accordance  with the  Act and  with  a 
license.  Section 22.3  of the Rules  provides, in pertinent  part, 
that paging  stations  must be  operated  with a  valid  Commission 
authorization.   We conclude that Verizon operated a paging station 
without a valid license  between November 1,  1998 and February  7, 
2000, in apparent willful and repeated violation of Section 301  of 
the Act and Section 22.3 of the Rules.

     4. In the  Universal Licensing System  Memorandum Opinion  and 
Order on Reconsideration  (``MO&O''), 5 the  Commission noted  that 
the  Wireless  Telecommunications   Bureau,  after  reviewing   the 
circumstances concerning a late filed renewal application, may,  in 
its discretion, initiate enforcement action against a licensee  for 
unauthorized operation.6  Moreover,  the Commission  stated in  the 
MO&O that applications for renewal received more than 30 days after 
the expiration of the license may lead to ``more significant  fines 
or forfeitures.''7  In this case, Verizon operated without a  valid 
license for over one year after the license expired.  

     5.  The guidelines  contained in  The Commission's  Forfeiture 
Policy Statement  and Amendment  of Section  1.80 of  the Rules  to 
Incorporate the  Forfeiture Guidelines,  12  FCC Rcd  17087,  17113 
(1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC  Rcd 303 (1999) (``Forfeiture  Policy 
Statement''), specify  a  base  forfeiture amount  of  $10,000  for 
operation without an instrument  of authorization for the  service.  
Section  503(b)(2)(D)  of  the  Act8  requires  the  Commission  to 
consider ``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 
such other  matters  as  justice may  require.''    In  this  case, 
Verizon failed to file  an application for  renewal and operated  a 
station under  circumstances where  the Commission  has  envisioned 
``more significant fines or forfeitures'' for violations in  excess 
of 30  days.   On  the  other hand,  Verizon  had  previously  been 
licensed,  so  this  is  not  comparable  to  ``pirate''   wireless 
operations, (i.e., station operations that have never been licensed 
by the  Commission),  which have  been  subject to  forfeitures  of 
approximately $10,000.9  Taking these  facts into consideration  in 
conjunction with the  factors required by  Section 503(b)(2)(D)  of 
the Act and  the Forfeiture  Policy Statement, we  conclude that  a 
forfeiture of $5,000 is warranted.





                       IV.  Ordering Clauses
  
     6.  Accordingly,  IT  IS  ORDERED THAT,  pursuant  to  Section 

503(b) of the  Act,10 and  Sections 0.111,  0.311 and  1.80 of  the 

Rules11 Verizon is hereby NOTIFIED of its APPARENT LIABILITY FOR  A 

FORFEITURE in the amount of $5,000 for violation of Section 301  of 

the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 22.3 of the 

Commission's Rules.   The  amount specified  was  determined  after 

consideration of the factors set  forth in Section 503(b)(2)(D)  of 

the Act  and the  guidelines enumerated  in the  Forfeiture  Policy 

Statement.

     7.  IT IS FURTHER  ORDERED THAT, pursuant  to Section 1.80  of 

the Rules, within  thirty days  of the  release of  this NOTICE  OF 

APPARENT LIABILITY,  Verizon  SHALL  PAY the  full  amount  of  the 

proposed forfeiture  or  SHALL  FILE a  written  statement  seeking 

reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture.

     8.   Payment of  the forfeiture  may be  made by  a check,  or 

similar  instrument,   payable  to   the  order   of  the   Federal 

Communications Commission, and mailed 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.:  200132100011????? 

     9.   The  response,  if  any,   must  be  mailed  to   Federal 

Communications Commission, Enforcement
Bureau, Technical  and Public  Safety  Division, 445  12th  Street, 

S.W., Washington, D.C.   20554, Ref:  EB-00-TS-148, NAL/Acct.  No.: 

200132100011.

     10.  The Commission will not consider reducing or canceling  a 

forfeiture in response to  a claim of inability  to pay unless  the 

respondent 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.

     11.  Requests for payment of the full amount of this Notice of 

Apparent Liability under  an installment  plan should  be sent  to: 

Chief, Credit and  Debt Management Center,  445 12th Street,  S.W., 

Washington, D.C. 20554.12

     12.   IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT this notice shall be sent, by 
certified mail,  return receipt  requested, to  Verizon  Southwest, 
Inc., Verizon  Services Group,  Attention Suzanne  Carmel, 1850  M. 
Street, N.W., Suite 1200, Washington, DC, 20036.

                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION



                              Joseph P. Casey
                              Chief, Technical and Public Safety 
Division  
                              Enforcement Bureau       





_________________________

1 We note that the alleged violation occurred when the paging 
system was licensed to GTE Southwest, Inc.  However, on June 30, 
2000, Bell Atlantic Corporation and GTE Corporation merged into one 
company, named Verizon Communications, and GTE Southwest, Inc. is 
now operating the captioned paging station as ``Verizon 
Southwest.''   See, GTE Corporation and Bell Atlantic Corporation, 
15 FCC Rcd at 14032 (2000).  Although we recognize that Verizon was 
not the named licensee at the time of the violation, we nonetheless 
refer to Verizon as the licensee throughout this NAL for the sake 
of consistency. 

2  47 U.S.C. § 301.

3 47 C.F.R. § 22.3.

4 47 C.F.R. § 1.949(a).  This Section provides, in pertinent  part, 
that ``[a]pplications for renewal of authorizations in the Wireless 
Radio Services must be filed no  later than the expiration date  of 
the authorization for which renewal is 
sought. . . .'' 


5 Biennial Regulatory Review -- Amendment of Parts 0, 1, 13, 22, 
24, 26, 27, 80, 87, 90, 95, 97, and 101 of the Commission's Rules 
to Facilitate the Development and Use of the Universal Licensing 
System in the Wireless Telecommunications Services, 14 FCC Rcd 
11476, 11485-11486 (1999).
 
6 The enforcement responsibilities of the Wireless 
Telecommunications Bureau are now with the Enforcement Bureau.  See 
47 C.F.R. § 0.111.
 
7 14 FCC Rcd at 11486.

8 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).

9 See, e.g., Jean R. Jonassaint, 15 FCC Rcd 10422 (Enf. Bur. 2000).

10 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).

11 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, and 1.80.

12 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914