From RCR WIreless News:

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission late Friday continued its campaign of proposing fines for carriers that are delinquent in paying regulatory and universal-service fees by proposing nearly $1.5 million in fines against two companies.

"Together with the similar actions taken on July 25, today's NALs help level the playing field for all telecommunications carriers by demonstrating a no-tolerance policy for any carrier that fails to pay its required universal-service fund and other regulatory obligations. Apparent violations like these distort the marketplace by causing carriers in compliance with the requirements to carry a disproportionate share of the costs of funding these programs and frustrate the purposes for which Congress and the FCC established the programs," said the commission.

An NAL is a notice of apparent liability-a legal term for a proposed fine.

Those receiving NALs have 30 days to either pay the fines or appeal.

The NALs were sent to Telecom Management Inc. and OCMC Inc. TMI is a reseller of long distance, toll-free numbers and phone cards. It does business as Pioneer Telephone. OCMC is also a long-distance reseller.

The proposed fine against TMI is $280,000, and OCMC's proposed fine is nearly $1.2 million.

The FCC began its own investigation into whether telecommunications resellers had made the required universal-service and regulatory payments.

A wireless reseller, InPhonic Inc., was fined more than $819,000 as part of the July 25 action.

The FCC said it was proposing the fine against InPhonic because it believes InPhonic had not registered as a telecommunications carrier and thus had not made necessary payments for universal service, regulatory fees and the telecommunications relay service.