FCC fines CP $1.21m for wireless radio licensing violations

Canadian Pacific Railway will pay $1.21 million for operating wireless radio facilities in the U.S. without prior approval from the Federal Communications Commission and failing to obtain authorization for the transfer of wireless radio licenses.    The U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Enforcement Bureau has fined Canadian Pacific Railway Co. (CP) $1.21 million for wireless radio licensing violations, the agency said in a statement.
   The fines resulted from an investigation into the Calgary-based Class I railroad’s operation of more than 100 wireless radio facilities in the U.S. without prior FCC approval, and failure to obtain FCC authorizations for the transfer of control of thirty wireless radio licenses.
   Radio transmitting devices are widely used in the railroad industry for voice and data transmissions related to the safe operation of freight and passenger trains.
   CP’s U.S. subsidiary Soo Line Corp. in 2015 conducted an internal audit that revealed extensive non-compliance with FCC licensing regulations, and the company subsequently disclosed its violations to the Commission.
   Soo Line in 2008 acquired several railroad companies in the United States holding FCC authorizations for wireless radio services. The company’s 2015 internal audit uncovered unauthorized transactions dating back to 2008, and also revealed that Soo Line and its predecessors had constructed, relocated, modified or operated more than 100 wireless facilities without FCC approval, dating as far back as 1979.
   In addition to the monetary civil penalty, CP also agreed to implement a three-year plan to ensure FCC compliance, and the company will continue to maintain an internal compliance plan implemented prior to its discovery of the violations.
   “Wireless facilities are critical to the safe and efficient operation of our nation’s railways,” FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc said of the penalty. “We take seriously our responsibility to ensure that the ownership and operation of all such facilities comply with the FCC’s licensing processes.”