AT&T agrees to pay a settlement following an investigation by the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau into misuse of microwave spectrum at fixed wireless stations
AT&T reached a $450,000 settlement with the Federal Communications Commission to resolve questions over the telecom operator’s misuse of spectrum assets at fixed wireless stations for microwave-based point-to-point transmissions.
The FCC said it began investigating the issue in 2012, with the carrier reporting in 2014 it had found “numerous inconsistencies between the licensed parameters and the constructed facilities of a large number of fixed microwave licenses that it acquired from 2009 through 2012.” Those facilities were operated by the carrier’s subsidiaries New Cingular Wireless PCS and AT&T Mobility Puerto Rico.
The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau said it then investigated the licensing history of approximately 250 AT&T stations, which resulted in the FCC adoption of a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture to AT&T in 2015 tied to the investigation. As part of the settlement, AT&T said it has agreed to implement a compliance plan to conduct timely reviews of acquired wireless fixed microwave stations in future, file periodic progress reports on compliance efforts and correct noncompliance discovered within 60 days.
“We expect every person or company that receives a license from the commission will operate within the parameters of that authorization,” said Travis LeBlanc, chief of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau. “Any licensee who operates outside those parameters threatens the integrity of communications networks, increases the risk of harmful interference and breaks the law.”
AT&T has recently had to send off a number of checks to the FCC for various violations. The carrier in late July was dinged more than $170,000 in fines and compensation tied to overcharging a pair of Florida school districts through the government’s E-rate Program and improper use of Universal Service Fund subsidies tied to the overcharges. Shortly thereafter, AT&T said it would provide $6.8 million in refunds and pay nearly $1 million in fines tied to unauthorized third-party billing for the telecom operator’s wireline business.
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