Lying to an FCC field agent doesn’t help you. That’s the lesson from a cell phone signal jammer investigation the agency voted on yesterday when the Commissioners upheld a $22,000 fine for a Dallas-based business.
It’s illegal to use a cell or signal jammer in the U.S. They interfere with critical communications, like the ability to call the police or fire departments or 911. They can also interfere with aviation and marine communications.
In 2017, AT&T complained to the FCC Enforcement Bureau about interference to a base station in Dallas. After determining where the illegal signals were originating, an FCC agent from the Dallas Field Office visited Ravi’s Import Warehouse with an AT&T representative. The company owner, Anita Bhatia, confirmed that Ravi’s used a jammer to prevent its employees from using their cell phones at work.
According to the FCC, the owner admitted that her son had been warned by AT&T that such operations were illegal. She told the FCC agent she threw out the jammer and wasn’t willing to retrieve it for the agent. She did, however, offer to sell the jammer to the agent, according to the bureau.
After the investigation, the bureau proposed the fine and notified the company. The base amount was $17,000 and the bureau added another $5,000 for the owner’s “egregious conduct” for offering to sell the device to the agent, according to the agency.
Ravi’s Import Warehouse asked for reconsideration, which the bureau denied, finding the company’s excuses that the FCC misapplied the law, were “unfounded.” Ravi’s then petitioned the full Commission for review, claiming that the company had a history of compliance and denying the owner tried to sell the jammer to the agent. Ravi’s asked for the penalty to be reduced.
The Commissioners agreed with the original bureau decision, and let the fine stand.
“When it comes to signal jammers, the Communications Act is clear. You cannot make them, import them, sell them, ship them, or operate them,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel during the vote. “It does not matter if you are using them in a business, classroom, home, or vehicle.” The decision, she emphasized, “makes it clear if you are using unauthorized jamming equipment, we will find you and hold you accountable.”
She noted the bureau used present and former field agents, who can’t be named, in the investigation.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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