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Frankie Grover Wins Reduction in Fine

But would-be morning host still must pay in Florida illegal transmitter case

The “Frankie Grover Morning Show” didn’t work out so well.

A man who aired a low-power signal on 87.9 MHz in Lakeland, Fla. — also setting up a radio station Web site, and driving a car with a vanity tag “WGBC 1” and an ad for the station in the car window — has been fined for operating an illegal station.

The Federal Communications Commission has fined Frankie Grover for operating the station at the Kingston Lakeside Inn. But Grover won a reduction in the fine from $10,000 to $2,500 based on his inability to pay.

Agents from the Tampa FCC office tracked the station using direction-finding gear and said the signals were way in excess of what would be allowed under Part 15 rules. Grover told them he was responsible for the station but “stated that on an unspecified date and time he spoke to an unidentified person at the FCC who told him it was okay to broadcast as long as no one complained and there was no interference.”

The FCC set him straight, fining him $10,000 in August. The commission confirmed its ruling this week but agreed to reduce the penalty by 75%.

Grover was not using equipment certified for Part 15 use, the FCC added.

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