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 NEWS  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  TTY  202  /  418-  2555  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974). 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT:  August  2,  2001  John  Winston  (202)  418-  7450 
 FCC  AND  AMERICAN  TOWER  ENTER  INTO  CONSENT  DECREE  REGARDING  ANTENNA  STRUCTURE  VIOLATIONS 
 Washington,  D.  C.  –  Today,  the  Federal  Communications  Commission  (Commission) 
 announced  that  it  has  entered  into  a  consent  decree  with  American  Tower  Corporation  (ATC) 
 which  terminates  an  enforcement  proceeding  initiated  against  ATC  for  apparent  violations  of  the 
 Commission’s  antenna  structure  rules.  As  part  of  the  consent  decree,  ATC  has  agreed  to  make  a 
 voluntary  contribution  in  the  amount  of  $300,000  to  the  United  States  Treasury. 


 In  addition  to  making  the  $300,000  voluntary  contribution  to  the  United  States  Treasury,  ATC 
 has  agreed  to  implement  a  Compliance  Plan  to  ensure  future  compliance  with  the  antenna 
 structure  rules.  ATC’s  Compliance  Plan  addresses  five  specific  areas:  tower  acquisition  through 
 purchase  or  merger,  tower  construction  and  modification,  monitoring  of  lighting  and  painting, 
 records  of  lighting  outages,  and  responses  to  Notices  of  Violations.  The  Compliance  Plan  also 
 includes  formal  training  for  ATC  personnel  charged  with  FCC  compliance  responsibilities  and 
 periodic  internal  audits  to  assess  the  effectiveness  of  the  Compliance  Plan. 


 In  January  2001,  the  Commission  proposed  a  fine  in  the  amount  of  $212,000  against  ATC  for  36 
 separate  violations  of  the  antenna  structure  rules.  The  Commission  found  that  ATC  apparently 
 failed  to  properly  light  one  antenna  structure  during  construction,  failed  to  register  two  existing 
 antenna  structures,  failed  to  notify  the  Commission  of  ownership  changes  regarding  24  antenna 
 structures,  and  failed  to  post  the  antenna  structure  registration  number  on  nine  antenna  structures. 
 The  Commission  also  directed  the  Enforcement  Bureau  to  conduct  a  further  investigation  into 
 ATC’s  compliance  with  the  antenna  structure  rules. 


 In  light  of  ATC’s  agreement  to  implement  the  Compliance  Plan,  the  Commission  has  terminated 
 the  enforcement  proceeding,  including  the  Enforcement  Bureau’s  further  investigation  into 
 ATC’s  compliance  with  the  antenna  structure  rules. 


 Action  by  the  Commission,  July  2,  2001,  Order  (FCC  01-  198),  Chairman  Powell, 
 Commissioners  Tristani,  Abernathy  and  Copps. 


 Enforcement  Bureau  Contacts:  John  Winston  at  (202)  418-  7450  or  Kathy  Berthot  at  (202)  418-7454. 


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