How the FCC Handles Radio Denial of Service

I am a licensed Amateur Radio operator, but I'm about as active as packet radio. Today, though, I read how the Federal Communications Commission handles those who interfere with radio transmissions.

It was a day a lot of radio amateurs in Southern California had been waiting for a long time. On September 18, US District Court Judge R. Gary Klausner sentenced convicted radio jammer Jack Gerritsen, now 70, to seven years imprisonment and imposed $15,225 in fines on six counts -- one a felony -- that included transmitting without a license and willful and malicious interference with radio transmissions. Before sentencing, Gerritsen apologized to the federal government, the FCC and the local Amateur Radio community, which had endured the brunt of Gerritsen's on-air tirades and outright jamming.

Wow -- seven years in prison with a felony conviction. No wonder my Dad used to warn me about broadcasting without a license.

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