Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday said it intends to fine American wireless giant AT&T $640,000 for allegedly operating numerous wireless stations throughout the United States without authorization.
According to the Commission, AT&T apparently operated numerous common carrier fixed point-to-point microwave stations at variance from the stations’ authorizations for periods as long as five years.
The Commission takes this enforcement action as part of its duty to prevent unauthorized radio operations from interfering with authorized radio communications and to facilitate the efficient administration of the radio spectrum for the benefit of all Americans.
Travis LeBlanc, chief of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, said: “A licensee’s failure to ensure that its facilities operate as authorized threatens the integrity of our network and greatly increases the risk of harmful interference, especially when, as in this case, numerous unauthorized operations continued for years without resolution.”
During its investigation, the Enforcement Bureau examined the licensing history of approximately 250 AT&T stations and determined that AT&T engaged in unauthorized operations at 26 of its stations and failed to notify the Commission regarding minor modifications of an additional eight stations within the past year.
The Commission finds that AT&T apparently failed to conduct timely technical reviews of newly acquired licenses to ensure they operated as authorized and that in some instances, even after becoming aware of the Bureau’s investigation, AT&T continues to operate the same stations at variance from their licensed parameters.
According to the Commission, five major modification applications and two minor modification applications have yet to be filed.
In 2013, AT&T entered into a $600,000 Consent Decree with the Enforcement Bureau to settle an investigation of unauthorized operations based on the company’s failure to file major and minor modification applications regarding its cellular service areas.
Baburajan K
editor@telecomlead.com
