Remel, Inc. and its corporate parent, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc were fined $30,000 by the Federal Comunications Commission this past week for operating a base repeater on 462.575 MHz. This frequency is part of the General Mobile Radios Service (GMRS) and licensed under part 95. The company admitted that the frequency was in use without a license since 2002. However, Remel, Inc. had apparently ceased operation sometime in 2012 due to enforcement notice of inquiry. This prompted the company to file for a Special Temporary Authorization.
In determining the amount in fines to be levied the Commission states, "Given the totality of the circumstances, ...., we conclude that a significant upward adjustment of the base forfeiture is warranted. In this regard, we are particularly mindful that the apparent unlawful operation in this case continued for more than nine years... In fact, the duration of the unauthorized operation is almost double the relevant five - year license term, and under current rules, the Companies were not even eligible to obtain a GMRS license." The FCC also took into consideration "Thermo Fisher’s status as a multi-billion dollar global enterprise".
Thermo Fisher's has a reported revenue of over $12.5 billion for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2012, and has 39,000 employees.
