$500 Fine Imposed For Unauthorized Sat Band Transmissions

Turning to enforcement news, the FCC has fined a former California ham $500. This for what the agency's July 27th release calls willful and repeated violations of Section 301 of the Communications Act. This, by transmitting on a frequency reserved for federal government use only. Burt Hicks WB6MQV, has more in this report:

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The target of the proposed fine is Raimundo P. Silva, the now voluntarilly ex KD6SXG of Brentwood, California. The FCC says that back on April 12, 2004, it's San Francisco Field Office received a complaint that an authorized United States government user was receiving harmful interference from a station that obstructed and interfered with satellite communications.

On April 19, 2004, San Francisco Office field agents detected the unauthorized civilian terrestrial transmissions on the reserved federal government frequency. The agents took bearings of the signal which indicated the source of the signal to be in the vicinity of Silva's residence in Brentwood. Between April and October, 2004, the San Francisco agents detected, traced and documented numerous instances of both stationary and mobile unauthorized radio operations by a person they determined to be Silva.

According to Commission records, Silva was issued a General Class, amateur radio operator license with call sign KD6SXG, on February 23, 1993. The license was renewed on October 31, 2003, and was to expire on October 31, 2013.

On October 26, 2004, the San Francisco Office issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture in the amount of $20,000 to Silva. Also on October 26, 2004, agents inspected Silva's radio equipment.

Silva admitted operating radio equipment in the band reserved for federal government use without a license, but asserted he was unaware that his unauthorized radio transmissions interfered with the federal government users' authorized operations. He later voluntarily relinquished all of his radio equipment for both the mobile and fixed systems and surrendered his amateur license.

After receiving an extension of time, Silva filed a reply to the NAL on December 10, 2004. In his response, Silva does not contest the finding that he violated Section 301 of the Act. Instead, he asks that the proposed forfeiture be cancelled or reduced on the grounds that when notified of the violation, he voluntarily relinquished his operating equipment to the San Francisco agents and then surrendered his amateur license to the Commission. He also argued that he was unable to pay the proposed forfeiture. To support this claim he provided three years of tax records.

After evaluating his response and the records the FCC found that a $500 fine was appropriate in this case.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Burt Hicks, WB6MQV, reporting.

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Silva was then given the customary 30 days to pay. (FCC)