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Court of Appeals: FCC Must Reimburse Fees Stemming from BPL Challenge (Jul 14, 2008) -- The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ordered that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reimburse ARRL for the docketing fee and the cost of reproducing copies of briefs and appendices in the ARRL's successful challenge of the FCC's broadband over power line (BPL) rules. The Order, issued on July 9 following review of an opposition from the FCC and a reply from the ARRL, awarded the ARRL's full claim of $6,096.18. Commenting on the Order, ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, observed: "While this is just a small fraction of the cost of our judicial appeal, the Order is significant because the Court did not buy the FCC's arguments that the ARRL had only achieved 'partial success' in its appeal and that our claim of costs was excessive. In addition, the FCC falsely claimed that the ARRL 'was unsuccessful in persuading the Court to vacate the rules it challenged.' In fact, the ARRL never sought to do so since the BPL rules adopted by the FCC, inadequate as they are, were still better than nothing. The award of these fees affirms that, contrary to the 'spin' the FCC has tried to put on the Court's remand, the ARRL substantially prevailed in its appeal." Link to this item

The ARRL is a member-society and International Secretariat of the International Amateur Radio Union.