Smart City is disappointed in the FCC’s latest enforcement action but is entirely supportive of M.C. Dean’s decision to take the matter to court. In the end, the company believes they will be successful.
The announcement reinforces the continued need for the FCC to issue rulemaking guidance on the issue of network management. FCC Commissioners Pai and O’Reilly both reiterated this need for rulemaking in their dissent opinions included in the M.C. Dean Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture. We and the convention center industry look forward to clarity from the FCC and, if necessary, the federal court system on these important issues.
Read M.C. Dean Building Intelligence Press Release below:
M.C. DEAN TO CHALLENGE ENFORCEMENT BUREAU ACTION
Dulles, Va. (November 2, 2015) – M.C. Dean, Inc. strongly disagrees with the decision by the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau to initiate enforcement action against the company for its management of the Wireless Local Area Network at the Baltimore Convention Center. M.C. Dean acted in good faith and in compliance with applicable law by providing a safe and reliable Wi-Fi service to customers while ensuring that visitors could use their personal Wi-Fi hotspots at the Baltimore Convention Center.
M.C. Dean believes that today’s action by the Enforcement Bureau is legally and factually flawed. M.C. Dean is being accused of violating federal law by using Wi-Fi network management equipment, even though the FCC expressly authorized this equipment and M.C. Dean operated the equipment consistent with the FCC’s rules. Furthermore, the statute that the Enforcement Bureau contends M.C. Dean has violated – section 333 of the Communications Act – does not apply to the circumstances of this case and has never been interpreted by the FCC to cover such activities.
As a matter of due process, the FCC is required to provide regulated parties with notice of what is required of them so they may act accordingly – notice that the FCC utterly failed to provide here. While the FCC tells Congress that there is a “legitimate use” of the type of network management equipment employed by M.C. Dean, the agency refuses to provide any guidance about when and under what circumstances the use of such equipment will be deemed to violate the law. This regulatory approach leaves regulated parties to guess about the lawful use of FCC-authorized equipment, only to be subject to an enforcement action if they guess wrong.
M.C. Dean intends to challenge the Notice of Apparent Liability, which does not represent a determination by the FCC of any wrongdoing by M.C. Dean. The company is optimistic that either the FCC or a court will reject the legal and factual theories set forth in the NAL and find in M.C. Dean’s favor.###
About M.C. Dean, Inc.
M.C. Dean is the region’s premier systems integrator for complex, mission-critical facilities, setting the industry standard for design-build-operate-maintain programs delivering proven energy efficiency and reliability in intelligent infrastructure, security, life-safety, telecommunications, and automation. M.C. Dean is based in Northern Virginia and has 30 offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.mcdean.com.
Media Contacts:
Sharon Hawkins
Marketing Director, M.C. Dean, Inc.
(703) 802-6231 | sharon.hawkins@mcdean.com
