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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
) File No. EB-02-PA-301
Tekk Comm Communications )
Waterford, New Jersey ) NAL/Acct. No.
200332400001
)
) FRN 0004-4496-41
)
FORFEITURE ORDER
Adopted: January 12, 2004 Released: January
14, 2004
By the Chief, Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Forfeiture Order (``Order''), we issue a
monetary forfeiture in the amount of three thousand two hundred
dollars ($3,200) to Tekk Comm Communications, LP (``Tekk''),
licensee of station WPPT607, for willful and repeated violation
of Section 1.903(a) of the Commission's Rules.1 The noted
violation involves Tekk Comm's operation of station WPPT607 from
an unauthorized location.
2. On October 22, 2002, the District Director of the
Commission's Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Field Office
("Philadelphia Office") issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture ("NAL")2 in the amount of four thousand dollars
($4,000) to Tekk. Tekk filed a response on November 18, 2002.
II. BACKGROUND
3. On July 16, 2002, while conducting an audit of the
Private Land Mobile Radio Services in the 450 - 470 MHz
band, a Commission agent from the Philadelphia Office
detected transmissions on frequency 464.375 MHz in the
Williamstown, New Jersey area. A check of Commission
databases indicated that the Commission had not
authorized that frequency for use in Williamstown, New
Jersey.
4. On August 15, 2002, another Commission agent from the
Philadelphia Office used direction-finding techniques to
determine that radio transmitting equipment was being operated at
1277 Sykes Lane, Williamstown, New Jersey on frequency 464.375
MHz. The agent monitored a short, pulse-type signal of less than
one second duration being transmitted approximately every ten
seconds. The agent also determined that Tekk had installed a
transmitter at 1277 Sykes Lane, Williamstown, New Jersey to
provide additional radio communications capabilities on frequency
464.375 MHz. At the time, Tekk was authorized to operate station
WPPT607 on frequency 464.375 MHz at RD5, Centerton, New Jersey.
5. On August 28, 2002, the agent monitored radio
transmissions on frequency 464.375 MHz. Using direction-finding
techniques, the agent determined that radio transmitting
equipment was being operated at 1277 Sykes Lane, Williamstown,
New Jersey on frequency 464.375 MHz. When he arrived at that
location, the agent encountered Gary Bendy, President of Tekk.
Mr. Bendy confirmed that Tekk was operating a transmitter on
frequency 464.375 at 1277 Sykes Lane, Williamstown, New Jersey.
6. On October 22, 2002, the District Director of the
Philadelphia Office issued a NAL to Tekk for willfully and
repeatedly violating Section 1.903(a) of the Rules. On November
18, 2002, Tekk responded to the NAL. In its response, Tekk
states that it moved station WPPT607 from its properly licensed
site to Williamstown, New Jersey, as a test of its possible
permanent relocation to enhance coverage. Tekk states that,
immediately after speaking to the Commission agent, it applied to
Industrial Telecommunications Association (``ITA'') for a
frequency and received a file number from the FCC within a couple
of days. Tekk further states that its violation was not willful
and that it has a history of compliance with the Commission's
rules. Therefore, Tekk seeks reduction of the forfeiture.
III. DISCUSSION
·
7. The proposed forfeiture amount in this case is
being assessed in accordance with Section 503(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended (``Act''),3 Section 1.80
of the Rules,4 and 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) (``Forfeiture Policy Statement''). In
examining Tekk's response, Section 503(b) of the Act requires
that the Commission take into account 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.5
8. Section 1.903(a) of the Rules provides that
stations in the Wireless Radio Services must be used and operated
only in accordance with the rules applicable to their particular
service and with a valid authorization granted by the Commission.
On August 15, 2002 and August 28, 2002, Tekk operated a
transmitter on its authorized frequency 464.375 MHz from an
unauthorized location.
9. We have examined Tekk's response to the NAL
pursuant to the statutory factors above, and in conjunction with
the Policy Statement. As a result of our review, we conclude
that Tekk willfully6 and repeatedly7 violated Section 1.903(a) of
the Rules. Although Tekk claims that the violations were not
willful, its deliberate act of moving station WPPT607 to an
unauthorized site, even for test purposes, was a conscious and
deliberate commission of an act which violated Section 1.903(a)
of the Rules. Thus, its violation was willful. Tekk further
claims to have taken corrective measures immediately after the
violation. However, we note that remedial actions taken to
correct the violation, while commendable, are not mitigating
factors.8 Finally Tekk claims that this is a first violation,
and thus, that it has a prior history of overall compliance with
the Commission's rules. We believe that reduction of the
proposed monetary forfeiture to $3,200 for Tekk's history of
overall compliance 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(f)(4) of the
Rules,9 Tekk Comm Communications IS LIABLE FOR A MONETARY
FORFEITURE in the amount of three thousand two hundred dollars
($3,200) for willfully and repeatedly violating Section 1.903(a)
of the Rules.
11. Payment of the forfeiture shall be made in the manner
provided for in Section 1.80 of the Rules within 30 days of the
release of this Order. If the forfeiture is not paid within the
period specified, the case may be referred to the Department of
Justice for collection pursuant to Section 504(a) of the Act.10
Payment shall be made by mailing a check or similar instrument,
payable to the order of the "Federal Communications Commission,"
to the Federal Communications Commission, P.O. Box 73482,
Chicago, Illinois 60673-7482. The payment should note NAL/Acct.
No. 200332400001, and FRN 0004-4496-41. Requests for full
payment under an installment plan should be sent to: Chief,
Revenue and Receivables Group, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington,
D.C. 20554.11
12. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, a copy of this Order shall
be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested and by First
Class Mail to Tekk Comm Communications, 6 Maiese Ave., Waterford,
New Jersey 08322.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
David H. Solomon
Chief, Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 1.903.
2 Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, NAL/Acct. No.
200332400001 (Enf. Bur., Philadelphia Office, released October
22, 2002.
3 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
4 47 C.F.R. § 1.80.
5 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
6 Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1), which
applies to violations for which forfeitures are assessed under
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 4387-88 (1991).
7 As provided by 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(2), a continuous
violation is ``repeated'' if it continues for more than one day.
The Conference Report for Section 312(f)(2) indicates that
Congress intended to apply this definition to Section 503 of the
Act as well as Section 312. See H.R. Rep. 97th Cong. 2d Sess. 51
(1982). See Southern California Broadcasting Company, 6 FCC Rcd
4387, 4388 (1991) and Western Wireless Corporation, 18 FCC Rcd
10319 at fn 56 (2003).
8 See, e.g., AT&T Wireless Services, Inc., 17 FCC Rcd 21866,
21871 (2002); Seawest Yacht Brokers, 9 FCC Rcd 6099 (1994);
Station KGVL, Inc., 42 FCC 2d 258, 259 (1973).
9 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80(f)(4).
10 47 U.S.C. § 504(a).
11 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.