Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, Special Counsel for the Spectrum Enforcement Division

FCC enforcer Riley Hollingsworth retires

The man who took ham radio out of the hands of trouble makers and made it family friendly once again, has retired from public service. Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, who held the title of Special Counsel for the Spectrum Enforcement Division of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau officially retired from the agency
on July 3rd.

In his final major public appearance at last May's Dayton Hamvention, he took a moment to thank the amateur radio community for its support:

Hollingsworth: "You have a great service overall, and it’s a major underpinning of the communications system in this country. And you demonstrate this on a daily basis. And we tank you all for the way you help us with enforcement in your radio service and every thank-you that you give us, believe me, is deeply appreciated. Thank you. (applause)

Hollingsworth came to the position of rules enforcer more than a decade ago. It was a time when years of neglect by the FCC had permitted many of the popular ham bands to become over run by a small but vocal number of licensed amateurs who had no respect for the rights of others. These were hams who seemed to believe that the Part 97 Amateur Service rules did not pertain to them. Hams who claimed that their jamming and harassment of others was constitutionally protected freedom of expression and freedom of speech. It was Hollingsworth who would change all of that.

It was not very long before some of the most high profile offenders began receiving warning notices from Hollingsworth. Those that ignored the letters soon found that they were the subject of further FCC action. In some cases fines were issued. In others the FCC and the offender entered into agreements where the latter accepted operating restrictions or voluntarily surrendered their licenses for a given period of time.

There were also a number of license renewal set-asides. That's where a radio ham is not permitted to renew a license until a charged offense was adjudicated. It didn't take that person off the air, but was a clear message that the FCC had that operators on the air operating habits under a proverbial microscope.

That said, more than a few of the situations did not require FCC enforcement action. As Hollingsworth said in his Dayton address, many times complaints that he received got solved without any intervention at all:

Hollingsworth: "You would be amazed at the number of complaints I get that seem to be good complaints. And they are good complaints on the face of it. But if I check on them a few days later or a week or so later, the problem has gone away. A lot of it is unintentional or having second thoughts."

Whenever possible, Hollingsworth approach was that negotiation was a far better way to approach a given situation than going the route of license suspension or revocation. And in most cases it worked. In the small number where it didn't, he and others in the FCC's Enforcement Bureau were more than ready to act. And act the agency would.

Gerritsen pictured being led away in a previous arrest

In one rather egregious case in California, FCC enforcement action begun by Hollingswoth's office and that of the Los Angeles FCC Field Office lead to FBI involvement in the case of former radio ham Jack Gerritsen, the ex-KG6IRO.

Eventually Gerritsen was arrested, tried and convicted on six counts that included willful and malicious interference with radio communications and transmitting without a license. In 2006 Gerritsen was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined $15,225.

But Gerritsen was the mot extreme of the extreme. In most cases, the first letter and maybe a phone call was all that was needed to make a problem go away. And in his remarks at Hamvention 2008, Hollingsworth reminded the audience that the number of hams who cause problems is relatively small:

Hollingsworth: "You have some poor operators and rude operators and operators who don't care and who are hateful and bitter about life in general, but every group has that. Whether its doctors, electricians, lawyers, whatever, Every group has a certain percentage of people like that in these time. But what you have to do, and remind yourself every day is to stay on the high road. And report to us if you can't resolve a problem after you have given it a chance to go away."

And taking the high road was always what Riley Hollingsworth's tenure as Special Counsel for the FCC's Spectrum Enforcement Division was always all about. And by taking the high road, he helped to breath new life into our world of Amateur Radio.

For his efforts in helping to eliminate the problem of malicious interference that had been increasing on the ham bands Hollingsworth was named to receive the 2006 Dayton Hamvention Special Achievement Award.

Now he's out of the ham radio limelight, and hopes to enjoy many years of hamming. He also hopes to talk to many of you on the air from his home station, K4ZDH.

Source: ARNewsline™