US FCC Issues Largest Fine Ever $450,000



From the ARRL Letter of December 2019



From the ARRL Letter of December 2019

The FCC has proposed fining an alleged pirate broadcaster in the Boston, Massachusetts area more than $450,000. According to the FCC, Gerlens Cesar, who operated
Radio TeleBoston, used three separate transmitters for his broadcasting enterprise,
resulting in three separate violations of the law.”The Commission proposed imposing
the statutory maximum forfeiture amount for each of these three apparent violations,”
the FCC said in a Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) released on December 12. Under the Communications Act, it is illegal to transmit above certain low-power levels,
defined within FCC Part 15 rules, without an FCC license.”Such pirate radio broadcasting can interfere with licensed communications including public safety transmissions,” the FCC said. The FCC said Cesar apparently simulcasts Radio TeleBoston on three unauthorized transmitters on two different frequencies. “His operation thus had the
potential to cause interference in various locations in and around Boston and at
different channels on the FM dial,” the FCC said. “As a result of the scale of this operation, its potential impacts, and its continuous nature, the Commission proposed the
maximum penalty for all three transmitters.”The FCC reported receiving complaints
from Boston-area residents of an illegal station operating at both 90.1 and 92.1 MHz. One complaint identified Cesar as the operator of Radio TeleBoston. The FCC said it had issued multiple warnings. — FCC Media Release