The operators of two unlicensed radio stations in southern New England are facing monetary penalties from the Federal Communications Commission after its agents conducted Boston-area enforcement sweeps last year.
The proposed forfeitures total $45,000 and are part of the commission’s enforcement under the passage of the PIRATE Act.
The operators have 30 days to either pay the forfeitures or respond to the notices of apparent liability in writing, seeking reduction or cancellation.
The two accounts we detail below are according to each of the Enforcement Bureau’s notices, which were published on Aug. 7.
Worcester’s “Opo National” has history
First, in Worcester, Mass., the Enforcement Bureau proposed a penalty of $25,000 against Noah Opoku Gyamfi for operating “Unity Radio” on 103.9 FM last September.
(Read the commission’s notice of apparent liability.)
But the commission said Gyamfi has a history of unlicensed operation preceding the 2020 PIRATE Act’s passage.
On Feb. 22, 2019, Boston field office agents traced transmissions on 103.9 to a commercial building on Fremont Street in Worcester. Field strength measurements exceeded Part 15 limits.
Agents found social media platforms that identified Gyamfi as the CEO of Unity Radio, the moniker under which the station advertised itself.
[Related: “FCC Reaches $10,000 Settlement With Boston Pirate Radio Operator”]
The Enforcement Bureau issued a notice of unauthorized operation to Gyamfi that April. He did not respond.
During its Boston pirate sweep last September, agents from the commission’s Boston and New York field offices discovered an unlicensed station operating on 103.9, traced to a different commercial building in Worcester on Fremont Street.
Agents conducted an on-site inspection of the station. A man who identified himself as “Frank” and “Opo National” admitted agents into the site. At the agents’ request, he powered down the transmitter.
The man denied being the owner of the station during the inspection, but Gyamfi’s X account, the FCC said, and his Facebook page, each use the alias “Opo National” and state that he is Unity Radio’s CEO.
Unity Radio’s Facebook page also included a contact telephone number for which Gyamfi was identified in carrier records as the subscriber, the commission said.
The base forfeiture established under the PIRATE Act is $20,000. Based on Gyamfi’s history, the FCC proposed an upward adjustment for a total penalty of $25,000.
Registered company in Providence
About 35 miles to the southeast in Providence, R.I., the Enforcement Bureau proposed a penalty — jointly and severally — of $20,000 against Amoce Pamphile, Almey Mondestin and the company Radio Evangelique de la Grace, for operating an unlicensed station on 97.1 FM on a date last September.
(Read the commission’s notice of apparent liability.)
In the commission’s account, Boston agents traced the source of the signal — with the moniker of “Radio Evangelique de la Grace” — to a Hendrick St. residence. Agents determined its field strengths exceeded the Part 15 limits.
The agents then matched programming to “Radio Evangelique de la Grace” online stream. They also found social media accounts as well as a website for the station, with a phone number listed for Pamphile.
On Sept. 12, an agent left Pamphile a voicemail. He called the agent back that day, admitting to being the station’s operator.
Pamphile claimed he had spoken with the FCC previously and that they had given him permission to operate the station. The agent explained that the station was unlicensed and must cease operation immediately.
Five days later, Mondestin called the agent. He claimed to be on the station’s company board and he provided a business identification number.
The agent told Mondestin that the station must immediately cease broadcasting. He agreed to comply. The agent did confirm with the original complainant that the station was no longer transmitting.
The Boston field office agent matched the identification number Mondestin provided to the Rhode Island Department of State Corporate database, which listed Pamphile as president for the company and Mondestin as vice president.
The company’s purpose is listed as a “non-commercial radio station.”
For “Radio Evangelique de la Grace,” the Enforcement Bureau did not find any reason to adjust the proposed base forfeiture of $20,000.
[Read more recent Radio World stories about pirate radio enforcement.]
