As we had anticipated, the Commission has officially activated its Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) in connection with the arrival of Hurricane Matthew. Because of the urgency of the situation, the FCC has asked the NAB to get the word out to broadcast stations, and we here in the CommLawBlog bunker are more than happy … Continue Reading
With Matthew, the first big hurricane to threaten Florida and the Carolinas in several years, barreling up the coast, the FCC has started its anticipatory disaster response. A public notice released this afternoon alerts the public that Commission personnel will be available, 24/7, to assist communications providers as they deal with the effects of the storm. … Continue Reading
Sure, we all still have a ways to go before the Incentive Auction wraps, but it’s not too early to start thinking about relocation reimbursements. As we all know, TV stations re-assigned to new channels as a result of the auction (and the consequent spectrum repack) will be entitled to reimbursement from the Feds. Ditto … Continue Reading
As we all know, the FCC has been planning the second nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System for months. To monitor how the test goes, the Commission developed a whole new online reporting system – the EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) – for which all EAS participants had to register separately a month ago. … Continue Reading
Just a quick reminder for all EAS participants. The second-ever nationwide test of the EAS system is still set for Wednesday, September 28, 2016 at 2:20 p.m. (ET). This is a command-performance-all-hands-on-deck gig for all participants, so you should be sure that your EAS gear is ready to go and your staff has been alerted … Continue Reading
Many FCC forms completed on a “routine” basis may need extra attention. Anyone who fills in pretty much any FCC form should be familiar with the certifications required by those forms. Anyone who “signs” an FCC form (whether electronically or otherwise) must be familiar with them; more importantly, the signatory must be sure that the … Continue Reading
In migration to cloud-based platform, FCC stops mailing some ULS, ASR notices. If you’re a frequent flyer in the FCC’s Universal Licensing System (ULS) or Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) system, don’t panic if you notice a sudden drop-off in hard-copy letters from the FCC. The FCC is moving both systems to a cloud-based platform and, … Continue Reading
It’s official. The Commission has finally let us all know that we will have to have this year’s regulatory fees paid no later than September 27. Fee Filer is now up and running (you can get there at this link), so anyone so inclined can get a jump on things right away. But don’t forget … Continue Reading
On the Friday before Labor Day weekend, the Commission released the final listing of regulatory fees for 2016. Those fees will have to be paid sometime before September 30, but as of September 4, the Commission had neither announced the deadline nor opened up its Fee Filer system for acceptance of reg fees. Maybe the … Continue Reading
Modified programmer compliance certifications, complaint procedures, to take effect September 22, 2016 For nearly two decades the FCC has been working to insure that television programming is appropriately accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing through closed captioning technology. In 2014 it finally got around to developing quality control standards which it applied not … Continue Reading
Latest edition of FCC Handbook features blank spaces galore to be filled in by EAS participants themselves. Two days after we posted a reminder about the upcoming deadline for EAS participants to (a) register on the Commission’s new EAS Test Reporting System and (b) submit their Form Ones (or should that be “Forms One”?) through … Continue Reading
Attention all you EAS participants. The deadline for registering with the Commission’s EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) AND submitting your ETRS Form One is fast approaching. We alerted you to the August 26, 2016 deadline a couple of months ago – but, what with the distractions of summer and all, we figure it’s a good … Continue Reading
Last month we reported on the addition of three new event codes (those would be EWW, SSA and SSW) and two revised location codes to the laundry list of EAS-related codes to be used in the headers of emergency announcements. As we noted back then, the FCC’s original order didn’t seem to mention exactly when … Continue Reading
Congress orders FAA to require marking for some towers 200’ or less [Blogmeister’s Note: This post was originally published on the website of Radio World. Our friends at RW have graciously given us permission to include it here.] If you own a tower that’s between 50 and 200 feet tall, the chances are that you … Continue Reading
A couple of weeks ago we reported on the FCC’s adoption of a new schedule of application fees. Since the new schedule ups fees across-the-board, anybody who was planning to file a fee-able application in the near term might want to file sooner rather than later, to take advantage of the outgoing fees before they, … Continue Reading
Last month we reported on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) through which the FCC is seeking comment on the way it processes proposals involving reportable levels of foreign ownership. The NPRM has now wended its way into the Federal Register, which means that the deadlines for comments and replies have been set. Get out … Continue Reading
Chairman blogs that FCC will not be modifying “totality of the circumstances” test on his watch. In the long-running retransmission consent war pitting broadcasters against MVPDs, a major threat to the status quo has been averted: according to a blog posted on the FCC’s website by Chairman Tom Wheeler, the Commission has opted not to … Continue Reading
While supporting the decision, Commissioner O’Rielly criticizes FCC’s “cost/benefit” analysis In what four out of five FCC Commissioners seem to view as a no-brainer, the Emergency Alert System just got three more event codes and two slightly-revised geographic location codes. The odd man out? Commissioner O’Rielly. He doesn’t question the potential utility of the new/revised … Continue Reading
Normally non-controversial biennial action spiced up this year by partial dissent from Commissioner O’Rielly Thanks to Congress, the FCC has got to charge application fees and, also thanks to Congress, those fees have got to be adjusted every two years in light of changes in the Consumer Price Index. The last time the Commission tweaked … Continue Reading
FCC takes steps in anticipation of extensive auxiliary operation at upcoming conventions, inauguration It looks like Louis Libin won’t be getting much time off this month, or next January either, for that matter. That’s because he has been designated as the single point of contact for frequency coordination operations under Section 74.24 at (deep breath, … Continue Reading
Keeping up with the cost-of-living … If you happened to feel a vague, somewhat disturbing, shudder recently, don’t worry: it was just the upper limit of potential FCC fines being raised across the board. By Order effective July 1, 2016 (or maybe August 1 – we’ll get to that), the Commission followed up on a … Continue Reading
Less than a week ago we reported that the FCC has invited comments on a draft revision of its EAS Operating Handbook proposed by the Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC). We mentioned that the comment period would be short – 15 days from Federal Register publication – which suggested that the FCC wants … Continue Reading
EAS participants must register and complete Form One pronto; FCC also seeks comment on new approach to the EAS Handbook Attention, all you EAS participants. The Commission has formally opened up its new EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS), which means that you’ve got until August 26, 2016 to get into the site and complete Form … Continue Reading
Proposal would put other agencies on 90-day clock to complete review of possible national security issues. In an effort to facilitate foreign investment in U.S. common carrier and broadcast licensees, the FCC has proposed changes in the way it processes proposals involving reportable levels of foreign ownership. Historically, a major source of delay in the … Continue Reading
