Company Faces FCC Fine for Improper Use of Maritime Distress Channel
The FCC proposed a penalty of $10,000 against Trimont Land Co. for “apparently willfully and repeatedly” operating on channel 156.800 MHz, an international distress, safety and calling channel. The bureau said the channel functions like a maritime 911 channel. Commission…
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action in this area is essential because the improper use of 156.800 MHz hinders the ability of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to monitor the channel for distress signals and to respond to vessels in distress, the bureau said. The FCC investigated after the Coast Guard reported an unknown operator was using the channel in the vicinity of Lake Tahoe, Nevada/California, “in a manner that impaired the USCG’s ability to monitor Lake Tahoe for distress signals,” the bureau said. An FCC agent traced the calls to Northstar Ski Resort and Mt. Pluto in California where an employee reported Trimont had installed a supervisory control and data acquisition system on a pump and water tank system at the summit of the mountain, the bureau said. Trimont didn't comment.