Interference Investigation in Golden, Colorado
On November 17, 2006, the Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau Denver District Office issued an Official Citation (Citation No. C20073280002) to John Elway Pontiac, Buick, GMC, West in Golden, Colorado. The citation stems from an investigation into harmful radio frequency interference affecting licensed broadcast operations.
On October 17, 2006, the Denver Office received a complaint regarding a signal interfering with KCNC-TV's 2 GHz Electronic News Gathering (ENG) Channel 5, operating across 2059–2076 MHz. The affected receive site was located in Golden, Colorado, and the channel was licensed to CBS Television Stations, Inc.
- File Number: EB-06-DV-397
- Citation Number: C20073280002
- Release Date: November 17, 2006
- Affected Channel: KCNC-TV 2 GHz ENG Channel 5 (2059–2076 MHz)
Source of Spurious Emissions and Regulatory Findings
On October 18 and 19, 2006, an FCC agent inspected the area and traced the interfering transmission to a cluster of two wireless cameras monitoring the west premise of the Elway Pontiac car dealership. The agent determined that an unstable spurious signal ranging from 2059 to 2063 MHz emanated from the equipment, which operated at a fundamental frequency of approximately 2400 MHz.
Under Section 15.5(b) of the Commission's Rules, the operation of intentional, unintentional, or incidental radiators is strictly conditioned on causing no harmful interference. On October 19, 2006, the offending certified low-power communication unit was inspected and subsequently removed from service by a security technician.
- Rule Cited: 47 C.F.R. Section 15.5(b)
- Spurious Emission Range: 2059–2063 MHz
- Fundamental Device Frequency: Approximately 2400 MHz
- Resolution: Offending device was removed from service by a technician
Potential Sanctions and Next Steps
The citation formally warned Elway Pontiac that future violations of the Communications Act or Commission rules could result in substantial monetary forfeitures, seizure of equipment under in rem forfeiture proceedings, or criminal sanctions including imprisonment.
The FCC granted the dealership 14 days from the citation date to request an interview at the Denver District Office in Lakewood, Colorado, or to submit a written statement specifying corrective actions taken to resolve the violation.
- Interview/Response Window: Within 14 days of citation release
- FCC District Office: Lakewood, Colorado
- Statutory Authority: Section 503(b)(5) of the Communications Act