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> August 31, 2000

Robert M. Horne Tissany Mints

President Apartment 1126

American Blast Fax, Inc. 2355 N. Highway 360

16200 Addison Road Grand Prairie, Texas 75050[^1]

Suite 250

Addison, Texas 75001

Robert M. Horne

Lara L. Horne

American Blast Fax, Inc.

13612 Midway Road, Suite 525

Dallas, Texas 75244

> RE: EB-00-TC-169

Dear Mr. & Ms. Horne:

This is an official **CITATION** issued pursuant to section 503(b)(5) of
the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the Communications Act).

It has come to our attention that your company recently sent an
unsolicited advertisement to a telephone facsimile machine (see
attachment). Pursuant to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991
(TCPA) and the Commission's rules, it is unlawful to use a "telephone
facsimile machine, computer, or other device to send an unsolicited
advertisement to a telephone facsimile machine." 47 U.S.C. §
227(b)(1)(C); 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(3).

In addition to the violation identified above, it appears that your
company has also violated the provisions of the TCPA and the
Commission's rules that require any person or entity who sends a message
via a telephone facsimile machine to clearly mark "in a margin at the
top or bottom of each transmitted page of the message or on the first
page of the transmission, the date and time it is sent and an
identification of the business, other entity, or individual sending the
message and the telephone number of the sending machine or of such
business, other entity, or individual." 47 U.S.C. § 227(d)(1)(B); 47
C.F.R. § 68.318(d).

[Please be advised that subsequent violations of the Communications Act
or of the Commission's rules may result in the imposition of monetary
forfeitures not to exceed \$11,000 for each such violation or each day
of a continuing violation.]{.underline} *See* 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(3).

The phrase "unsolicited advertisement" is defined in the TCPA and the
Commission's rules as "any material advertising the commercial
availability or quality of any property, goods, or services which is
transmitted to any person without that person's prior express invitation
or permission." 47 U.S.C. § 227(a)(4); 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(f)(5). Both
the TCPA and the Commission's rules define "telephone facsimile machine"
as "equipment which has the capacity

to transcribe text or images, or both, from paper into an electronic
signal and to transmit that signal over a regular telephone line, or to
transcribe text or images (or both) from an electronic signal received
over a regular telephone line onto paper." 47 U.S.C. § 227(a)(2); 47
C.F.R. § 64.1200(f)(2). Addressing the TCPA's definition of "telephone
facsimile machine," the Commission stated that "\[f\]ax modem boards are
the functional equivalent of stand-alone facsimile machines." *Rules and
Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991*,
10 FCC Rcd 12391, 12405, para. 29 (1995).

Pursuant to section 503(b)(5) of the Communications Act, you may request
a personal interview at the Commission's Field Office nearest to your
place of business. The nearest office appears to be the Dallas Office at
9330 LBJ Freeway, Room 1170, Dallas, Texas 75243-3429, which you can
contact by telephone at (972) 907-0053. You must request an interview
within 21 days of the date of this citation. Alternatively, you may
submit a written statement to the following address within 21 days of
the date of this citation:

Kurt A. Schroeder

Deputy Chief, Telecommunications Consumers Division

Enforcement Bureau

Federal Communications Commission

445-12^th^ Street, S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20554

If you choose to submit a written statement, your written statement
should specify what actions have been taken to correct the violation
outlined above. Please reference EB-00-TC-169 when corresponding with
the Commission.

Under the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(e)(3), we are informing
you that the Commission's staff will use all relevant material
information before it to determine what, if any, enforcement action is
required to ensure your compliance with the TCPA and the Commission's
rules. This will include any information that you disclose in your
interview or written statement. [Please be advised that if you choose
not to respond to this citation and a Notice of Forfeiture is issued,
your unresponsiveness will be considered in our assessment of a
forfeiture amount]{.underline}.

You should also be aware that the knowing and willful making of any
false statement, or the concealment of any material fact, in reply to
this citation is punishable by fine or imprisonment under 18 U.S.C. §
1001.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation.

Sincerely,

Kurt A. Schroeder

> Deputy Chief, Telecommunications Consumers Division

Enforcement Bureau

Federal Communications Commission

Enclosures

[^1]: Tissany Mints is named in the citation because the
    Telecommunications Consumers Division has been advised that she is
    the subscriber to the telephone number that consumers should use "to
    delete fax number" listed in the facsimile advertisement.