The FCC proposed a $10,000 fine for KTZZ(FM) owner Jeannine Mason for operating a studio-transmitter link without a license.
During an inspection of the station in Conrad, Mont., an FCC agent monitored the STL signal on 946.5 MHz, which appeared to be associated with KTZZ. The agent determined that the STL was transmitting KTZZ’s audio, with its call sign, from the main studio in Black Eagle, Mont.
The agent and the general manager spoke and the GM admitted the station had no license for the STL and they had stopped operating the STL last September. The station began using a phone line to transmit the audio from the studio to the transmitter.
In December, the Enforcement Bureau issued a Notice of Violation. Mason didn’t deny the violation and said the STL was turned off once she was told it was unlicensed. She told the commission the station had begun an application for frequency coordination and licensing of the STA.
She has 30 days to appeal or pay the penalty.