Waukon station walks off with no fine

However, KNEI-FM Waukon IA licensee Wennes Communications Stations, Inc. will have to pay a penalty. It all has to do with a renewal filing that went awry.

In this case, the license was set to expire 2/1/05, requiring filing and fee payment by 10/1/04. Wennes attempted its first-ever attempt at electronic filing for the renewal on 9/30/04, and successfully got the paperwork in, but the filing fee never went through. It recognized the error eventually, paid the fee and procured STAs to keep the station on the air pending resolution of the incident.

The FCC hit Wennes with the standard $7K fine for post-license-expiration late filing. But in reviewing Wennes’ request for a reduction, it agreed with Wennes’ contention that the FCC never notified the company that the fee wasn’t received. It therefore decided to cancel the $7K fine, and instead imposed a simple 25% penalty for the late application fee. The FCC said it will bill the company for $187.50.