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The Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau has cited Pilot Travel Centers, a national highway truck stop operator, for selling uncertified transceivers capable of operating in the Citizen’s Band. There are two ways to look at this story – the dry facts of the FCC’s investigation and the more cultural “Smokey and the Bandit” story. This is a tale of equipment authorization (and the lack thereof), but it is also a tale of two radio services.
The first is the Citizens Band (CB) service, which is regulated under Part 95 Subpart D of the FCC’s rules, and is assigned 40 fixed channels in the 11 meter frequency range 26.965 to 27.405 MHz. All CB equipment must be certificated, and both the frequency of operation and the allowed power are constrained. CB equipment must operate on the assigned channels and with power not exceeding 4 watts of carrier or 12 watts peak envelope power for SSB (single sideband) operation.
The second service involved is the Amateur Radio Service (ARS), in particular the 10 meter band, covering 28.0 to 29.7 MHz. The ARS is regulated under Part 97. Amateur radio operators enjoy the use of a number of bands ranging from 160 meters (1.8 MHz) through the spectrum to multi-Ghz frequencies. Radio amateurs use these frequencies to engage in a variety of activities, ranging from simply chatting, to sophisticated uses such as satellite communications and operation of radio based packet switched communications. Amateur radio operators are allowed to operate stations that are far more powerful than CB stations—up to 1.5 kW peak power output at many frequencies. Amateur radio operators, unlike CB operators, operate under well defined station licenses and have to identify their transmissions.
Because the CB band and the 10-meter amateur band are close in frequency, it isn’t hard to design equipment that can operate on both bands. It turns out that a number of manufacturers have designed equipment that is sold as 10 meter amateur radio equipment, but, with minor modification (such as the cutting of a jumper) is also operable on the CB frequencies—uncertified, and often at power levels above those legally available to CB operators. It is something of an open secret in both the CB and Amateur Radio communities. Some CB operators look at it as an opportunity to get more powerful equipment; and since it is possible to operate the equipment on the amateur frequencies, amateur radio operators look at it as an invasion of their assigned frequency band, since some CB operators have been known to fire up the dual-band equipment on the amateur frequencies.
Apparently, the FCC has taken notice of this situation and decided to do something about it. As far back as 1996, the FCC addressed the issue of equipment which could operate on both amateur and CB frequencies, stating that if they could operate on non-amateur frequencies, they had to be approved prior to manufacture, importation, or marketing. In its Public Notice, it specifically included transmitters operating in the ARS bands that had built-in CB capabilities capable of easy activation.
The FCC’s current enforcement effort to re-establish its authority over this equipment has picked up in the last few months with the following actions:
The particular case documented in the Public Notice involves equipment sales at a large truck stop chain. The FCC received four complaints naming Pilot Travel Centers as marketing non-certified CB transceivers. The FCC visited 11 Pilot outlets in the Southwestern US, and noted that non-certified CB transceivers were marketed as ARS transmitters. The FCC had tested the models in question at its labs in the past and concluded that they were non-certified CB transmitters.
As a result of this investigation, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau contacted Pilot and issued a number of Citations to both the individual outlets and corporate headquarters. Pilot responded that the radios in question were ARS radios, sold to operate in the 10-meter band. It further stated that these are governed by Part 95, not Part 97, and therefore did not require certification.
The FCC was not amused by this legal parsing of its own rules. It made additional visits to three of Pilot’s stores in December of 2003 and purchased three Galaxy “10-meter” transceivers (Models DX33HML, DX66V, and DX99V). It tested and evaluated them at its labs, and concluded that these were all non-certified CB transmitters. On the basis of these purchases, and the previous citations, the FCC concluded that Pilot had committed 13 instances of marketing unauthorized equipment.
The base forfeiture for marketing unauthorized equipment is $7,000 per violation, which would yield a total base forfeiture of $91,000. However, the FCC was “particularly troubled” that Pilot continued to violate the rules despite previously receiving nine Citations. Concluding that the violations were intentional, the FCC used the discretion it has under its Forfeiture Policy, and adjusted the proposed fine upward to a stiff $125,000.
These activities are documented on the FCC Enforcement Bureau’s web site at:
NEBS standard source Telecordia has changed hands. Telecordia has been sold by its parent, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC),
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), parent of Telecordia, has reached “a definitive agreement” to sell Telecordia for $1.3 billion in cash to an investment group including Providence Equity Partners and Warburg Pincus. Telecordia is the leading provider of software for communications networks used to develop, maintain, monitor, and fix carrier networks carrying over 80% of U. S. telephony traffic. It also maintains and markets the NEBS telecom standards, which are highly influential in the specification and procurement of telephone operating company equipment.
Telecordia’s origins date back to AT&T, where it was a portion of the renowned Bell Labs. When the court mandated AT&T breakup occurred in 1984, the regional Bell operating Companies (RBOCs) maintained a portion of Bell Labs as a common research and regulatory facility, renamed Bellcore. Eventually Bellcore was privatized, renamed, and finally, sold to SAIC in 1997.
Although a small piece of what was once Bell Labs, Telecordia is a substantial operation, with revenue for fiscal 2004 of some $892 million. Telecordia employs a staff of 3200, and generates operating profits of approximately $200 million.
Information on the transaction, and on Telecordia’s plans for the future can be found at these links:
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=63205&site=lightreading
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=63326&site=lightreading
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