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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
)
)
In the Matter of
) File Number EB-08-DV-0142
Media Logic LLC
) NAL/Acct. No. 200932800002
Licensee of Station WQHV648
) FRN: 0007538937
Sterling, Colorado
)
))
FORFEITURE ORDER
Adopted: November 18, 2009 Released: November 20, 2009
By the Regional Director, Western Region, 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 Media
Logic LLC ("Media Logic"), licensee of station WQHV648, in Sterling,
Colorado, for willful and repeated violation of Sections 1.903(a),
1.947(a), and 74.532(e) of the Commission's Rules ("Rules"). On
November 26, 2008, the Enforcement Bureau's Denver Office issued a
Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture ("NAL") in the amount of
$4,000 to Media Logic for failing to operate station WQHV648, an aural
studio-transmitter-link ("STL"), from its licensed location. In this
Order, we consider Media Logic's arguments that it relied on
coordinates given to it by the owner of the building in which it was
located, that it made a good faith effort to comply with Rules prior
to the inspection by the Denver Office, and that it has a history of
compliance with the Commission's Rules.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On May 29, 2008, an agent from the Enforcement Bureau's Denver
District Office conducted an inspection of an STL transmitter, station
WQHV648, operating on a center frequency of 949.000 MHz from the Media
Logic studio at 519 West Main Street in Sterling, Colorado. The
coordinates of the Media Logic studio are approximately 40-o 37' 30"
north latitude and 103-o 13' 11" west longitude. At the time of the
inspection, station WQHV648 was operating from these coordinates.
According to the WQHV648 station authorization, station WQHV648's
licensed coordinates are 40-o 35' 52" north latitude, 103-o 12' 36"
west longitude, approximately 2 miles from the studio where it was
operating. The Denver agent then informed Media Logic's owner of the
inaccuracies found concerning the location of the WQHV648 transmitter.
The owner estimated that station WQHV648 had been in operation for
approximately eight months, but he was not aware of the licensed
coordinate discrepancies. He then told the agent that he would
research the matter and correct any licensing errors.
3. On June 2, 2008, the Denver agent returned to Sterling, Colorado, and
observed station WQHV648 continuing to transmit from the location of
40-o 37' 30" north latitude and 103-o 13' 11" west longitude. A review
of the Commission's databases revealed that a modification application
to change the coordinates for station WQHV648 was filed on July 16,
2008. An amendment to this application was filed on July 17, 2008. The
modification application was granted on August 28, 2008.
4. On November 26, 2008, the Denver Office issued a NAL in the amount of
$4,000 to Media Logic. In the NAL, the Denver Office found that Media
Logic apparently willfully and repeatedly violated Sections 1.903(a),
1.947(a), and 74.532(e) of the Rules by failing to operate station
WQHV648 from its licensed location. Media Logic filed a response
("Response") to the NAL on December 24, 2008. In its Response, Media
Logic argues that it relied on coordinates given to it by the owner of
the building in which it was located, that it made good faith efforts
to comply with the Rules, and that it has a history of compliance with
the Commission's Rules.
III. DISCUSSION
5. The proposed forfeiture amount in this case was assessed in accordance
with Section 503(b) of the Act, Section 1.80 of the Rules, and The
Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement and Amendment of Section 1.80
of the Rules to Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines. In examining
the 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.
6. Section 1.903(a) of the Rules requires 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. Section 1.947(a) of the Rules
requires that all major modifications as defined in Section 1.929 of
the Rules require prior Commission approval. Section 1.929(d)(1)(i) of
the Rules defines one of the major actions as "any change in transmit
antenna location by more than 5 seconds in latitude or longitude for
fixed point-to-point facilities." Section 74.532(e) of the Rules
states that each aural broadcast auxiliary station will be licensed at
a specified transmitter location to communicate with a specified
receiving location, and the direction of the main radiation lobe of
the transmitting antenna will be a term of the station authorization.
At the time of the inspection on May 29 and June 2, 2008, Media Logic
was found operating radio station WQHV648 from a location inconsistent
with the station's authorized coordinates. The distance separating the
point of operation from that of the license was approximately 1.95
miles (approximately 1 minute and 38 seconds of latitude and 35
seconds of longitude).
7. In its Response, Media Logic does not dispute the facts recited in the
NAL. Instead it argues that the coordinates provided to the Commission
were based upon coordinates given to Media Logic by the owner of the
building in which the STL was constructed. Media Logic states that the
building owner relied on a survey he had for the property and at no
time did Media Logic intentionally provide inaccurate coordinate to
the Commission. Media Logic argues that in a similar case, North
County Repeaters, a licensee was cited for violations of the rules
regarding inaccurate coordinates based on a topographical map dating
from the 1980s, prior to the availability of handheld GPS devices, but
that the Commission cancelled the forfeiture under those
circumstances. Media Logic states that this is the same situation that
it faces, that in good faith it provided the coordinates of the
buildings for the STL based upon a survey, the date of which Media
Logic is unsure, and when checked by the Denver agents, they
determined that the "coordinates were slightly off."
8. We do not find that the circumstances here justify cancellation of the
forfeiture. In North County Repeaters, the tower which was the subject
of the forfeiture was constructed in the 1980's and its coordinates
were calculated on a topographical map dating from the 1980's, prior
to handheld GPS devices. Those coordinates were then reported to and
accepted by the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") in 1992 when
the owner of the structure, North County Repeaters ("North County")
filed an application to increase the height of the tower. Those
coordinates were then used again when North County registered the
tower with the Commission in 1996. The Enforcement Bureau found that,
although there was no dispute that the coordinates North County
registered for the tower were off by two-tenths of a mile, given the
circumstances, that portion of the proposed forfeiture against North
County was cancelled. In the present case, the construction of the STL
was new and relatively recent: the application for construction of
WQHV648 was filed on October 26, 2007, and was granted on November 19,
2007. Unlike the circumstances in North County Repeaters, Media Logic
is not able to show that WQHV648 had been constructed at the site for
decades prior to the Denver agents' inspection, and is not able to
show that another federal agency, such as the FAA, had accepted its
older data as valid for the location in question. We therefore find
that North County Repeaters is not dispositive and does not require us
to cancel the proposed forfeiture to Media Logic.
9. Media Logic argues that it did not knowingly or intentionally provide
inaccurate coordinates to the Commission. However, Media Logic
acknowledges that in its filings with the FCC, it specified the
coordinates for WQHV648 that were provided to it by the building's
owner, who had a survey done at some point in time in the past. The
FCC Form 601, Schedule I, which was submitted by Media Logic, clearly
requires that all coordinates be referenced to the North American
Datum of 1983 (NAD83). The Denver agents, during the investigation,
used GPS devices that are part of a mobile direction finding vehicle
which utilized NAD83 datum to determine the coordinates of WQHV648.
Media Logic apparently did not use NAD83 data when completing its Form
601, as required. Contrary to Media Logic's assertion that the
location of the WQHV648 STL was "slightly off," it was actually
located almost two miles from the geographic coordinates from which it
was licensed to operate. We find that Media Logic did, in fact,
provide inaccurate coordinates by failing to provide the required
NAD83 coordinates prior to the construction of WQHV648, less than one
year before the inspection by the Denver agents.
10. Media Logic also argues that it provided the coordinates in good
faith. Reductions of proposed forfeitures based on good faith efforts
to comply generally involve situations where violators demonstrated
that they initiated measures to correct or remedy violations, or that
they had established compliance programs in place, prior to the
Commission's involvement. Media Logic admits it had no knowledge of
the violation until the inspection by the Denver agents and has
therefore provided no evidence that it initiated measures to remedy
the violation prior to the inspection, or had in place any compliance
plan. Media Logic also argues that upon notification by the Denver
agents concerning the violation, it took steps to correct the
coordinates. The Commission has stated in the past that a licensee is
expected to correct errors when they are brought to the licensee's
attention and that such correction is not grounds for a downward
adjustment in the forfeiture.
11. Media Logic also contends that it has a history of overall compliance
with the Commission's Rules. We have reviewed our records and we concur.
Consequently, we reduce Media Logic's forfeiture amount to $3,200.
12. We have examined the Response to the NAL pursuant to the statutory
factors above, and in conjunction with the Forfeiture Policy Statement. As
a result of our review, we conclude that Media Logic willfully and
repeatedly violated Sections 1.903(a), 1.947(a), and 74.532(e) of the
Rules. Considering the entire record and the factors listed above, we find
that reduction of the proposed forfeiture to $3,200 is warranted.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
13. ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended ("Act"), and Sections 0.111, 0.311
and 1.80(f)(4) of the Commission's Rules, Media Logic LLC, IS LIABLE FOR A
MONETARY FORFEITURE in the amount of $3,200 for willfully and repeatedly
violating Sections 1.903(a), 1.947(a), and 74.532(e) of the Rules.
14. 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. Payment of the forfeiture must be made by check or
similar instrument, payable to the order of the Federal Communications
Commission. The payment must include the NAL/Account Number and FRN Number
referenced above. Payment by check or money order may be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, P.O. Box 979088, St. Louis, MO 63197-9000.
Payment by overnight mail may be sent to U.S. Bank - Government Lockbox
#979088, SL-MO-C2-GL, 1005 Convention Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63101. Payment
by wire transfer may be made to ABA Number 021030004, receiving bank
TREAS/NYC, and account number 27000001. For payment by credit card, an FCC
Form 159 (Remittance Advice) must be submitted. When completing the FCC
Form 159, enter the NAL/Account number in block number 23A (call
sign/other ID), and enter the letters "FORF" in block number 24A (payment
type code). Requests for full payment under an installment plan should be
sent to: Chief Financial Officer -- Financial Operations, 445 12th
Street, S.W., Room 1-A625, Washington, D.C. 20554. Please contact the
Financial Operations Group Help Desk at 1-877-480-3201 or Email:
ARINQUIRIES@fcc.gov with any questions regarding payment procedures.
15. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall be sent by First
Class Mail and Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to Media Logic LLC,
at its address of record, and John C. Trent, its counsel of record.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Rebecca L. Dorch
Regional Director, Western Region
Enforcement Bureau
47 C.F.R. S:S: 1.903(a), 1.947(a), and 74.532(e).
See File No. 0003505396.
Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, NAL/Acct. No. 200932800002
(Enf. Bur., Western Region, Denver Office, released November 26, 2008).
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b).
47 C.F.R. S: 1.80.
12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303 (1999).
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b)(2)(E).
47 C.F.R. S: 1.903(a).
47 C.F.R. S: 1.947(a).
47 C.F.R. S: 1.929(d)(1)(i).
47 C.F.R. S: 74.532(e).
North County Repeaters, 19 FCC Rcd 22139 (EB 2004).
Response at 3.
19 FCC Rcd at 22140 - 22141. The Enforcement Bureau did find that North
County willfully and repeatedly violated Section 17.4(g) of the Rules, 47
C.F.R. S: 17.4(g), for failing to display the antenna structure
registration number in a conspicuous place, and Section 17.50 of the
Rules, 47 C.F.R. S: 17.50, for failing to clean and repaint the structure
as often as possible to maintain good visibility. The Bureau, however,
reduced the forfeiture amount to $2,000 based on North County's inability
to pay the proposed forfeiture.
FCC Form 601- Schedule I, July 2007. The instructions to FCC Form 601 -
Schedule I requires that coordinates be referenced to NAD83 datum. If the
source from which an applicant obtains the coordinates utilizes an older
datum, the coordinates must be converted to NAD83.
See Intelsat North America LLC, 21 FCCR 9246 (EB 2006)(Applicants and
licensees are required to provide truthful and accurate information to the
Commission at all times).
See Radio One Licenses, Inc., 18 FCC Rcd 15964 (2003), recon. denied, 18
FCC Rcd 25481 (2003).
See Tidewater Communications, Inc., 18 FCC Rcd 5524, 5525 (EB 2003).
See AT&T Wireless Services, Inc. 17 FCC Rcd 21866, 21871-76 (2002).
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b), 47 C.F.R. S:S: 0.111, 0.311, 1.80(f)(4), 1.903(a),
1.947(a), 74.532(e).
47 U.S.C. S: 504(a).
Federal Communications Commission DA 09-2441
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Federal Communications Commission DA 09-2441