On Thursday, November 18, 2021, the FCC will host its November Open Meeting. The headlining item this month addresses the ability to text 988, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 3-digit number. The FCC adopted an item that assigned 988 as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and required certain providers to support calling to that number … Continue Reading
Broadcast Deadlines: June 1, 2021 Radio License Renewal Applications Due – Applications for renewal of license for radio stations located in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming must be filed in Licensing and Management System (LMS). These applications must be accompanied by Schedule 396, the Broadcast Equal Employment Opportunity Program Report (EEO), also … Continue Reading
The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (“NTIA”) has announced the application requirements for the $288 million Broadband Infrastructure Program. This program will make awards in the range of $5 million to $30 million for fixed broadband infrastructure expansion critical to closing the rural/urban digital divide. While state and local governments will be … Continue Reading
The Universal Service Administrative Co. (“USAC”) will soon establish a deadline to file applications for funding from the $7.171 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund recently established by Congress and the FCC. These funds can be used to provide broadband Internet access services, Wi-Fi hotspots, and equipment to non-profit schools (elementary and secondary) and libraries to enable … Continue Reading
Broadcast Deadlines: June 1, 2021 Radio License Renewal Applications Due – Applications for renewal of license for radio stations located in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming must be filed in Licensing and Management System (LMS). These applications must be accompanied by Schedule 396, the Broadcast Equal Employment Opportunity Program Report (EEO), also … Continue Reading
Capitol Hill President Biden on March 11, 2021 signed a further Coronavirus emergency spending package into law – the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act ($1.9 trillion). A very high-level summary of the major spending components of the legislation can be found here (courtesy of CTC Technology & Energy) – but the notable highlights include a … Continue Reading
Broadcast Deadlines: April 1, 2021 Radio License Renewal Applications Due – Applications for renewal of license for radio stations located in Texas must be filed in Licensing and Management System (LMS). These applications must be accompanied by Schedule 396, the Broadcast Equal Employment Opportunity Program Report (EEO), also filed in LMS, regardless of the number … Continue Reading
On March 23, 2021, the Kansas Corporation Commission (“KCC”) issued a long-awaited Order resolving jurisdictional and other issues surrounding interconnection and porting issues between Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) providers and rural local exchange carriers (“LECs”) in Kansas. VoIP providers and rural LECs in Kansas have had a long‑running and contentious battle regarding number porting … Continue Reading
Broadcast Deadlines: March 12, 2021 NPRM: Permit FM Booster Stations to Transmit Geo-Targeted Content – Reply Comments are due in response to the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or the “Commission”) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking with regard to possible changes to the booster station rules that could enable FM broadcasters to use FM booster stations to … Continue Reading
Broadcast Deadlines: February 1, 2021 Radio License Renewal Applications Due – Applications for renewal of license for radio stations located in Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma must be filed in the Licensing and Management System (“LMS”). These applications must be accompanied by Schedule 396, the Broadcast Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) Program Report, also filed in LMS, … Continue Reading
Capitol Hill Although President Trump criticized the final $900 billion COVID-relief legislative package (containing both COVID-relief and an omnibus spending bill that averted a government shutdown) for providing too little financial relief to Americans and too much wasteful spending, on December 27 he signed the package into law.… Continue Reading
The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or the “Commission”) took a significant step forward this month in concretizing its program for extirpating equipment from the country’s communications networks that poses a threat to national security. The Commission’s Order in large part implements the objectives of the Secure and Trusted Networks Act of 2019 (the “Secure Networks … Continue Reading
Capitol Hill What will happen in broadband under a Biden Administration is at the top of everyone’s agenda. While we expect a large infrastructure/stimulus package (to include broadband) in the first 100 days, precise details are yet to emerge. Turning to the lame duck session, emergency broadband funding as part of COVID relief and/or the … Continue Reading
December 1, 2020 Radio License Renewal Applications Due – Applications for renewal of license for radio stations located in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota must be filed in the Licensing and Management System (LMS). These applications must be accompanied by Schedule 396, the Broadcast Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program Report, also filed … Continue Reading
On November 19, the FCC issued a Report and Order for which the Wi-Fi community can be justly grateful at their Thanksgiving celebrations. For some years the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or the “Commission”) has been concerned that the potential for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) in the 5.85 – 5.925 band has never panned out. … Continue Reading
Capitol Hill On November 4, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell indicated he is willing to resume negotiations on COVID-19 relief legislation before the end of the year (he had previously indicated no legislation is possible before the end of the year). Whether this would be standalone legislation or part of a necessary government funding package … Continue Reading
Broadcast Deadlines: November 16, 2020 Amending the Schedule of FCC Application Fees – Comments are due in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC” or the “Commission”) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking requesting comments on proposed changes to its application fee schedule, which the FCC considers to be significant and which include fee amounts, most of … Continue Reading
Yesterday, Fletcher Heald attorneys Frank Montero and Davina Sashkin with Pat Roberts of the Florida Association of Broadcasters (“FAB”), and their special guests Lisa Fowlkes and Christina Clearwater of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, and Craig Fugate, former FEMA Administrator and founder of Fugate Consulting, presented a webinar in consultation with the … Continue Reading
The Federal Communications Commission recently released a Report and Order (“Order”) to promote the use of the STIR/SHAKEN framework (which we wrote a useful primer on) in combatting caller ID spoofing. The FCC is giving carriers until June 30, 2021 to implement STIR/SHAKEN. However, if a carrier wants to receive exemption from the Caller ID … Continue Reading
Broadcast Deadlines: October 1, 2020 Must-Carry/Retransmission Consent Election Deadline – By October 1, all full power and Class A commercial TV stations must upload their must-carry/retransmission consent elections for the 2021-2023 election cycle to their online public inspection files. Stations are now required to send copies of their elections to MVPDs and to the FCC … Continue Reading
The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) under Chairman Pai has been nothing if not relentless in its quest to seek out underused or vacant spectrum and repurpose it for 5G uses. To that end, the FCC has announced its tentative agenda for its September 30, 2020 open meeting and it includes some pre-holiday gifts for spectrum-hungry … Continue Reading
The Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC” or “Commission”) Wireline Bureau on September 3, 2020, released a Public Notice providing additional information regarding the upcoming $100 million Connected Care Pilot Program. You will recall that the Commission launched the pilot in April – joining it together in the same order approving the COVID-19 Telehealth Program (FCC 20-44). … Continue Reading
On September 4, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission released a Public Notice laying out the procedures governing the filing of requests for waiver, reduction, deferral, and installment payment plans for the 2020 regulatory fees. As we explained yesterday in our blog post regarding the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC” or the “Commission”) Report and Order announcing … Continue Reading
Capitol Hill Negotiations on a second large COVID-19 relief legislation effectively broke down August 7. While the President responded with several stop-gap executive actions, both parties seem to recognize relief legislation is urgently needed and there is speculation that some kind of deal will be cut by mid-September. In the meantime, with the Senate technically … Continue Reading
