The Federal Communications Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau has been conducting an audit of the construction and operational status of Private Land Mobile Radio stations, including public safety radio licenses operating below 800mhz. The FCC has announced that it will proceed with the cancellation of licensees who haven't responded to the audit.

Public safety agencies that face loss of their FCC license fall into two categories, undeliverable and non-responsive. If the FCC audit letter was undeliverable, agencies have until March 27 to notify the FCC that your radio system is still in operation to avoid license cancellation. The FCC began a final round of audit mailings on Friday, Feb. 27, for those agencies that fall into the non-responsive category. If a response to the latest audit letter is not received by the FCC by March 31, the license will cancel automatically.

FCC rules require construction within a specified time and require that stations remain operational in order for the FCC license to remain valid. When a licensee fails to construct its authorized facilities within the requisite construction period or discontinues operation for a period of one year, the license cancels automatically.

Complete information on the FCC's license audit is available at http://wireless.fcc.gov/licensing/audits/plmrs/index.html. The page contains information on the audit and easy-to-use tools that will allow agencies to determine if a license is at risk, and if it is, how to notify the FCC of the license status.

After accessing the page, users can search by call sign or state/territory. If users have already responded to the audit, they will see “Buildout Completed” under “Response,” along with the date the FCC letter was sent and the date your agency replied. No further action is required. If the search results in a listing of the “Licensee Name” and a list of dates when letters were sent, the licensee must act immediately to notify the FCC of license status.

Response forms can be downloaded from the Web site in either a PDF or Word format. Completed forms can be faxed to 717-338-2696 or mailed to FCC, 2001 PLMR Spectrum Audit Responses, 1270 Fairfield Road, Gettysburg, Pa. 17325.

Once the form has been submitted, users should check the Web site daily to make sure that records are updated.