Meet Signal Finder – a Florida company founded by engineers with experience at Clear Channel and Motorola. For an hourly fee it tracks pirate stations and provides detailed reports on their signal quality, strength, and interference potential (relative to the client). It’s an FCC enforcement action wrapped with a bow.
Key bit: “The commission has been quiet about Signal Finder’s efforts to this point, [Signal Finder vice president Steven] Grey said. ‘One FCC enforcement officer told me that having us pinpoint a pirate could expedite the process. However, they still need to do their complete investigation. That leaves our clients the option of taking action against unlicensed broadcasters in civil court,’ he said.”
Combined with a new state law criminalizing pirate radio, the stage is set for vigilantism among spectrum users: sue ’em off the air or throw ’em in jail, choose your poison.
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