Court Should Reject Appeal From Class A That Transmitted From Unauthorized Location for 6 Years, FCC Says
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit should reject former Indiana Class A broadcaster Kingdom of God’s appeal of FCC decisions revoking its license for broadcasting from an unauthorized location for more than six years (see 1701310063), the…
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agency said in a brief (in Pacer) filed Friday. Kingdom of God was found in 2015 to have been broadcasting for several years from a different location than its license and at a different power level. Since unauthorized broadcasting doesn’t count as broadcasting under rules, its license was automatically forfeited for failing to broadcast at its licensed frequency and location for more than 12 months, the brief said. Kingdom of God argued it was broadcasting but not at the location authorized, and informed the commission of the new location in an application for special temporary authority. “The entire purpose of the Communications Act is to ensure that broadcasting takes place in accordance with the terms and conditions of licenses granted by the Commission,” the brief said. After repeated appeals to the agency and full commission, the regulator directed staff “to dismiss summarily” subsequent pleadings from Kingdom of God, the brief said. “In choosing not to broadcast from its licensed location for more than six years, Kingdom ran afoul of Section 312(g) of the Communications Act and its license expired as a matter of law.” Kingdom of God didn’t comment.