FCC Affirms Enforcement Bureau Fine Against Mobile Relay

The Federal Communications Commission denied an appeal from a California-based company that repeatedly disregarded its obligations to reasonably share a channel with other licensees. Mobile Relay Associates disputed the FCC Enforcement Bureau’s earlier imposition of a fine for improperly monopolizing use of a shared wireless communications channel, failing to monitor the channel to detect possible interference problems, and actually causing interference to co-channel licensees. The Bureau had warned the company repeatedly to change its behavior, but Mobile Relay did not do so. That, in turn, prompted the Bureau to impose a $25,000 fine. The full FCC has now affirmed the Bureau’s action and demanded payment of the fine. The Memorandum Opinion and Order adopted June 13 denies Mobile Relay’s application for review of the Enforcement Bureau’s 2020 denial of the company’s petition for reconsideration of the Enforcement Bureau’s earlier Forfeiture Order.