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Federal Communications Commission 
1919 - M Street, N.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).  
 
 
 
Report No. CI 98-28  COMPLIANCE & INFORMATION ACTION        December 4, 1998 
 
FCC AUDIT OF ANTENNA STRUCTURES 
INDICATES POOR COMPLIANCE 
WITH REGISTRATION RULES 
 
The Federal Communications Commission said today that, based on a recent Commission audit of 
existing antenna structures, owners of those structures requiring an FCC registration who have 
not done so must register their structures immediately.  The audit, conducted by the 
Commission's Compliance and Information Bureau (CIB), found that 368 of the 1,331 structures 
audited, or 28 percent, were not registered as required by FCC rules. 
 
The Commission requires that certain structures that may pose a hazard to air navigation must be 
registered with the Commission.  The majority of these structures are also required to display 
special painting and lighting in the interest of air traffic safety.  Part 17 of the Commission's Rules 
(47 C.F.R. '17) requires that all existing structures which needed painting or lighting prior to July 
1, 1996, had to be registered with the Commission prior to July 1, 1998. 
 
The Commission rules also require the owner to display the registration number in a visible 
location near the base of the structure.  The audit discovered, however, that the registration 
number was missing from more than half of those structures already registered. The audit will 
now serve as the Commission's starting point to actively increase its efforts to boost compliance. 
 
Richard D. Lee, CIB Bureau Chief, said, "The Commission places special emphasis on the 
obligation of antenna structure owners to register their structures, post the registration number at 
the site, and provide a copy of the registration to all tenant licensees. We consider the antenna 
structure registration program an essential part of air traffic safety. We will, therefore, step up our 
efforts to audit antenna structures for proper registration. Failure to comply may result in the 
issuance of monetary forfeitures to the owners." 
 
 - FCC - 
 
 News Media contact:  David Fiske at 202-418-0500. 
 Compliance and Information Bureau contact:  Jim Voigt at 202-418-1174.