Media Contact: Will Wiquist, (202) 418-0509 will.wiquist@fcc.gov For Immediate Release FCC PROPOSES $151,005 FINE AGAINST UNLICENSED RADIO BROADCASTER IN BOSTON Station Operator Ignored Repeated Warnings from FCC Field Agents -- WASHINGTON, December 12, 2019—The Federal Communications Commission today proposed the maximum allowable fine, $151,005, against Acerome Jean Charles, the operator of a longstanding unlicensed radio station in Boston, Massachusetts, called Radio Concorde. Despite FCC warnings, Jean Charles apparently continued to broadcast radio signals without a license at power levels requiring an FCC license. The FCC received a complaint from a local Boston-area licensed broadcaster alleging that Radio Concorde’s broadcasting on 106.3 MHz was interfering with the broadcaster’s new FM translator station at 106.1 MHz. FCC Enforcement Bureau field agents investigated the complaint and formally and repeatedly warned Jean Charles, instructing him to cease unauthorized broadcasts, and outlining the consequences if he continued to do so. Unauthorized radio broadcast stations—also known as pirate radio stations—operate illegally, undermine the Commission’s efforts to manage radio spectrum, and can interfere with licensed communications, including authorized broadcasts and public safety transmissions. Under the Act, “[n]o person shall use or operate any apparatus for the transmission of energy or communications or signals by radio” within the United States without a license granted by the FCC. Among the narrow exceptions to these rules, unlicensed low power operation in the FM broadcast band are permitted at very low power levels (250 microvolts/meter). Radio Concorde, according to evidence collected by FCC field agents, broadcast at much higher power levels and thus required a license. The apparently illegal radio station was broadcasting at 106.3 MHz from the Mattapan neighborhood in Boston. The proposed action, formally called a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, or NAL, contains only allegations that advise a party on how it has apparently violated the law and may set forth a proposed monetary penalty. The Commission may not impose a greater monetary penalty in this case than the amount proposed in the NAL. Neither the allegations nor the proposed sanctions in the NAL are final Commission actions. The party will be given an opportunity to respond and the Commission will consider the party’s submission of evidence and legal arguments before acting further to resolve the matter. Action by the Commission December 12, 2019 by Notice of Apparently Liability for Forfeiture (FCC 19-134). Chairman Pai, Commissioners O’Rielly, Carr, Rosenworcel, and Starks approving. Chairman Pai, Commissioners O’Rielly and Starks issuing separate statements. ### Media Relations: (202) 418-0500 / ASL: (844) 432-2275 / TTY: (888) 835-5322 / Twitter: @FCC / www.fcc.gov 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. Cir. 1974).