WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has announced its Enforcement Bureau has settled for $450,000 with AT&T, resolving allegations that AT&T operated fixed wireless stations without authorization or without filing required license modification notices.
“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.”
Under the terms of the settlement, AT&T will develop a plan for compliance that includes timely reviews of wireless fixed microwave stations it purchases in future transactions so as to ensure the stations operate properly, in accordance with licensed parameters.
Wireless stations are used by phone companies to connect directly between towers. They usually either support long-haul backbone connections or connect points on the telephone network that cannot be connected via standard methods. Additionally, the systems can be used to connect cellular sites to the telephone network.