WASHINGTON-As the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau prepared to celebrate its one-year anniversary, the agency fined Qualcomm Inc. $25,000 for not complying with the 911 strongest-signal rules.
The fine, which was agreed to as part of a consent decree, was the second one the Federal Communications Commission has levied against a manufacturer for not complying with strongest-signal rules.
FCC rules adopted in June 1999 required all mobile handsets with an analog function sold after Feb. 13, 2000, to be able to connect to a public safety answering point using the best available method even if that required connecting the call using a competing carrier’s signal.
Samsung Telecommunications America Inc. was fined $50,000 in June for not complying with the same rules.
The major proponent of the strongest-signal rules, Carl Hilliard, believes the Qualcomm fine was too stringent because Qualcomm only manufactures handsets for its Globalstar mobile satellite phone service and it has agreed to not sell any of the noncompliant phones-and it does not believe any have been sold to date.
“It just doesn’t seem right. … Let the punishment fit the crime,” said Hilliard, who runs the Wireless Consumers Alliance.
The FCC granted waivers to Nokia Corp. and Motorola Inc., but these two companies filed for the waivers before the deadline so no fines were imposed.
In addition to releasing the consent decree, the FCC granted Qualcomm a waiver from the rules effective until Nov. 30.
The FCC consolidated the enforcement divisions of its various bureaus into a new bureau on Nov. 8, 1999. Last week, David H. Solomon, enforcement bureau chief, said the bureau was working toward addressing and resolving disputes as quickly as possible.
“We have our slogan: `firm, fast and flexible,’ and we have put a lot of attention on the fast part,” said Solomon.
The enforcement bureau has been focusing on wireline-centric issues and highlighted a $750,000 fine imposed by consent decree on BellSouth Corp. for not negotiating in good faith with Covad Communications Co. FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth said in his dissent that the agency was overstepping its jurisdiction and had “browbeat” BellSouth into accepting the consent decree and fine.
The one item that has been referred to an administrative law judge, Solomon said, is a case involving a private land mobile operator. The case could end with the unidentified operator losing his license.
Solomon did not list public-safety issues as a priority for the upcoming year. But when asked whether the enforcement bureau would focus on public-safety issues, he said they were “critical,” but did not elaborate on what areas the bureau would be looking at, except to say the bureau will continue to monitor interference complaints.
