FCC takes to the road in RDF car to apprehend spectrum violators

Mobile Phone News, July 11, 1994

Spectrum pirates beware: The FCC has employed the use of a high-tech machine to catch spectrum bandits that even James Bond would love. The radio direction finding (RDF) car looks like any other vehicle, but the $75,000 machine is primed to catch people who use radio spectrum illegally or who unintentionally interfere with radio waves, reports our sister publication LAND MOBILE RADIO NEWS. The FCC's newest RDF vehicle version is equipped with a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, two 486 notebook computers, two compact screens, CD-ROM mapping technology with moving map display, a two-way radio and other devices.

Although equipped with the latest electronics devices, the car doesn't have external antennas or other protruding devices to tip off violators, said Richard Smith, the FCC's Field Operations Bureau (FOB) chief.

The FCC plans to buy and equip 10 to 15 cars through the end of the calendar year, he said.

The car's direction-finding unit, which Smith contends is the "heart of the RDF circuitry," was built by FCC engineers. He said the FCC is looking at three to four manufacturers for the GPS receivers and to purchase a spectrum analysis unit.

The vehicle instrumentation reminds Smith, a pilot, of an aircraft cockpit. "Traditionally, a direction-finding car had a lot of instrumentation up in the front of the vehicle. We had to take out the passenger's seat [to accommodate all of it]," he said. "This vehicle uses the in-dash units and the trunk."

The CD-ROM disk has a database that includes every street address in the contiguous 48 states and can zoom in on violators through a finely detailed map.

With GPS, the RDF line of bearing can be plotted on the screen. A push of a button plots another RDF bearing.

The location of a transmission causing problems can be pinpointed to where the two bearings intersect. The other compact screen plots frequencies from AM/FM or single-side transmissions.

Without surveillance equipment, the FCC has to rely on complaints from companies experiencing interference.

In 1990, the FCC responded to issues raised by a Petition for Order to Show Cause filed against Lar-Tex, operators of the Laredo, Texas, metropolitan statistical area. The FCC ordered Lar-Tex to contribute $325,000 voluntarily to the U.S. Treasury within 60 days of the order's release (MPN, Aug. 2, 1990, pp. 5- 6).

Lar-Tex was guilty of constructing cell sites outside its cellular geographic service area without prior FCC approval. Lar-Tex's illegal cell sites operated for two years before being reported by its competitor in the cellular market.

Car Busts Spectrum Offenders

The need for the expensive vehicles has not changed since the first RDF vehicle rolled out a few years ago, Smith said. "We have to make sure users comply with FCC rules. Without that [enforcement], all rules and licenses do not have much meaning." Smith's bureau is the FCC's largest, with more than 350 employees and 35 field offices. It has to be--it is responsible for the agency's nationwide enforcement of technical rules and regulations.

"There have been 40,000 complaints [each year] of interference [nationwide]," he said. Once the source of interference or illegal use of a frequency is located, a violator may be issued a letter, or a small or a large fine by FCC officials, Smith said.

"They [the officials] aren't a goon squad, but they aren't going to knock on doors and say, 'We are from the government and we are here to help.'"

In some instances, a court order may be issued to seize the interfering equipment, Smith said. "If it is a serious matter, and this is pretty rare, [violators] could go to jail. We even could levy a fine of up to $1 million. If every one complied with FCC [spectrum] rules, there wouldn't be much reason for us to exist.

"So far, we have some job security [because of the number of violators caught]. With more radio services including cellular and personal communications services (PCS) coming on line, there is going to be [a lot of work] protecting this wonderful natural resource," Smith said.

So far, industry reaction to the car--even with its high price tag--has been positive. "We only need to look at the numbers being [considered] for the upcoming spectrum auctions to understand the value of this finite resource," said National Association of Business and Educational Radio (NABER) President Jay Kitchen. "As a frequency coordinator, we believe that the integrity of the spectrum must be protected and preserved and that the FCC's investment in field operations vehicles is absolutely justified when compared to the value of productivity resulting from the use of spectrum," Kitchen said.