A consent decree has finally ended an enforcement action against Pilot
Travel Centers LLC that could have cost the company $125,000 in fines. In
November 2004 the FCC issued a Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) asserting
that Pilot, despite multiple citations and warnings, continued to market CB
transceivers labeled as Amateur Radio gear but intended for use on both
Citizens Band and amateur frequencies. An FCC Order released May 11 adopts
the attached consent decree between the agency and Pilot and terminates the
forfeiture action. While Pilot agrees to make "a voluntary contribution" of
$90,000 to the US Treasury "without further protest or recourse," the
company does not admit any wrongdoing.

"The parties further agree that this consent decree is for settlement
purposes only and that by agreeing to the consent decree, Pilot does not
admit or deny any liability for violating the [Communications] Act or the
rules in connection with the matters that are the subject of this consent
decree," the agreement stipulates.

Under the terms of the consent decree, Pilot must refrain in the future from
marketing as "Amateur Radio" gear any transmitting devices with built-in
features to facilitate CB operation. The company also must determine in
advance that any CB transmitting gear it offers for sale is FCC
certificated. CB transmitters must receive FCC certification--formerly
called "type acceptance." Amateur Radio transmitting equipment does not
require FCC certification.

Should Pilot plan to sell legitimate Amateur Radio transceivers, it must
ensure before marketing or selling them that the ARRL Lab has reviewed the
equipment in question and determined that it transmits only in the Amateur
Radio bands. The ARRL Lab tests equipment both for QST "Product Review"
articles as well as for compliance with QST advertising policy, which
requires that items offered for sale meet FCC rules.

Further, the consent decree requires Pilot to remove from sale certain
Galaxy brand transceivers (models DX33HML, DX66V and DX99V) and any other
"Amateur Radio" transceivers that have not passed ARRL Lab muster in the
course of product review or advertising compliance testing. Pilot also will
have to ensure that any CB transceivers on sale by entities leasing space on
its premises are FCC certificated.

The consent decree brings to a close an enforcement action dating back more
than six years. In its 2004 NAL, the FCC cited 47 separate instances between
2002 and 2004 when Pilot allegedly had offered for sale various models of
non-certificated Galaxy CB transceivers labeled as "amateur radios" that
easily could be modified for CB operation.

The Order and the consent decree are on the FCC Web site
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-06-53A1.pdf.