| April, 2008 |  |
< Prev Page 7 Next > |
FCC Slams Pennsylvania Ham with Forfeiture Order
On March 6, the FCC announced that it has issued a Forfeiture Order in the amount of $4300 to Ronald Mondgock, KA3OMZ, of Honeybrook, Pennsylvania, “for willfully and repeatedly violating Section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (Act), by operating radio transmitting equipment on the frequencies 439.850 MHz and 147.560 MHz without a license.” Section 301 states a federal license is required to “operate any apparatus for the transmission of energy or communications or signals by radio.” Mondgock’s Amateur Radio license expired in December 2005.
FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Correspondence Posted
The FCC has posted new Amateur Radio enforcement correspondence on its “Amateur Radio Service Enforcement Actions” Web page. Special Counsel in the FCC Spectrum Enforcement Division Riley Hollingsworth sent a Warning Notice to Amanda F. Spenlinhauer, KB1CQX. Hollingsworth also sent a letter inquiring about interference from a Part 15 device to a licensee in Holmen, Wisconsin, and a Warning Notice concerning interference on 10 meters from an unlicensed station, Harmony, North Carolina. Two cases were opened by the Commission regarding unlicensed transmissions on non-amateur frequencies by amateur licensees in Zebulon and Pikeville, North Carolina. The Appalachian Power Company in Charleston, West Virginia also received a letter from the FCC regarding radio frequency interference from power line hardware to an Amateur Radio licensee. Direct all questions concerning the Amateur Radio Service Enforcement Actions Web postings via e-mail only to Riley Hollingsworth in the FCC Spectrum Enforcement Division.
FCC’s wireless airwaves sales raises $19.6 billion
One of the U.S. government’s most significant sales of wireless airwaves concluded on Tuesday,
racking up nearly $19.6 billion in bids over 261 rounds.
The 700MHz spectrum, which is currently being used to air analog TV broadcasts, was
put on the auction block by the Federal
Communications Commission in January. It’s scheduled to be freed up by February 2009 to make
way for all-digital broadcasts.
The slice of airwaves has proven attractive to potential bidders–including
Google,
Verizon, and others–not only because it’s one of the last remaining chunks of beachfront spectrum, but
because of its inherent properties, which mean the waves can travel long distances and propagate
through walls. Some say those characteristics make it ideal for offering more robust, affordable
wireless broadband services.
The FCC, in a nod to requests from Google and consumer advocacy groups, dictated that about one-third of
the spectrum must abide by “open
access” principles, requiring whoever wins control of it to allow consumers to operate whatever mobile devices
and applications they like.
Another slice of the spectrum was intended to be used to
build a nationwide
network for public safety operators. But that segment reportedly did not attract the reserve price
that the FCC had set, which is potentially a serious setback for proponents of that plan.
It wasn’t immediately clear when the FCC would reveal the identities of the winning bidders.
Amateur Radio Exempt from California’s New ‘Hands Free’ Law
On July 1, the State of California will have new laws on the books to deal with the use of wireless telephones
while driving. There has been some confusion as to whether California amateurs who operate in their car will be
affected by the new law. According to the California Department of Motor Vehicle’s Web site
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/cellularphonelaws/dl208_03cell_phone.pdf,
“the use of dedicated two-way radios such as walkie-talkies or Citizen Band (CB) radios is not affected
by the new law” for drivers 18 or older.
Source: The ARRL Letter Vol. 27, No. 10 March 14, 2008
| April, 2008 | |
< Prev Page 7 Next > |