As it has for many months now, the FCC at its January Open Meeting continued its review of the Rural Health Care Program (RHCP). This time, it issued a proposed $18.7M fine against health care telecommunications service provider DataConnex. A reseller of telecommunications services, DataConnex is alleged to have taken in millions of dollars from … Continue Reading
It’s that time of year again! (Well, again after a one-year hiatus, that is.) Time for our annual reminder that the annual customer proprietary network information (CPNI) certifications are due by March 1 for most (but not necessarily all) telecommunications carriers and interconnected VoIP providers. CPNI includes a variety of sensitive customer data such as, … Continue Reading
Do you know what FCC filing deadlines are in the coming months? We do. Time to mark up calendars so you’re not late on these important deadlines. Call FHH if you have trouble meeting this deadlines or need assistance. February 9 – Revising Requirements for “Twilight Towers” – Comments are due with regard to the Public … Continue Reading
Last Friday, the FCC published the December Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the national ownership cap in the Federal Register. As we wrote about back in December, the NPRM addresses the current prohibition on any entity owning or controlling television stations that reach more than 39 percent of US television households. The NPRM requests comment … Continue Reading
The FCC’s final Order on Reconsideration in its media ownership proceeding was published in the Federal Register on Jan. 8. This latest step in the long-running saga of the FCC’s attempts to reform its media ownership rules relaxes many media ownership rules. Absent Court intervention or Commission reconsideration, those changes will take effect on Feb. … Continue Reading
Since Chairman Pai took over the leadership of the FCC, he has emphasized that one of his main goals has been to “close the digital divide and bring the benefits of the Internet age to all Americans.” So it comes as no surprise that the FCC has taken several measures recently to overhaul the Lifeline … Continue Reading
On the eve of the 2018 mid-term elections, broadcasters will soon have to navigate the FCC’s rules on political broadcasting. To assist with this, Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth’s Dan Kirkpatrick, Frank Montero, and Scott Johnson, were joined by the FCC’s Bobby Baker and Gary Schonman to present, in collaboration with the Colorado Broadcasters Association, a webinar on … Continue Reading
CommLawBlog is happy to say that Fletcher Heald & Hildreth has, once again, served as lead legal advisor on more transactions than any other law firm, according to S&P Global’s Media and Entertainment and New Media category. This is the EIGHTH (yup! You read that right!) year in a row that we have received this … Continue Reading
Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth and CommLawBlog are happy to welcome well-known broadcast attorney Mark Lipp to our broadcast and media practice. Mark joins FHH as a member effective as of Jan. 15. Mark is well-known for representing broadcast stations in a variety of FCC issues including enforcement, renewals, auctions, litigation, and transactions. He also advises … Continue Reading
January 16, 2018 – Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth is proud to announce that, through its efforts, the FCC’s Incentive Auction Task Force and the Media Bureau division on Jan. 11, 2018 granted a request to allow 20 broadcast TV stations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to construct post-incentive auction facilities early. The … Continue Reading
A Proposed Fine of $13.4M for Undisclosed Sponsored Content Serves as a Warning to Other Broadcast Stations As we closed the books on 2017, the FCC announced that it plans to fine Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. a record $13.4M, for having not adequately disclosed sponsored content in its programming. The fine was calculated by the … Continue Reading
On Dec.14, the FCC released a Public Notice unveiling a draft Program Comment that will supposedly resolve the longstanding issues surrounding collocating equipment on so-called “Twilight Towers.” Twilight Towers have been stuck in limbo as a result of an ambiguity in the Commission’s rules. Since 2001, the Commission has had rules in place that require … Continue Reading
Join us on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018 from 2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. EST for a political broadcasting rules refresher webinar! Presented in collaboration with the Colorado Broadcasters Association and Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, the webinar will be hosted by FHH’s all-star attorneys Frank Montero, Scott Johnson, and Dan Kirkpatrick. And, as an added bonus, … Continue Reading
Last week the FCC unanimously adopted a new member to the Emergency Alert Systems (EAS) family: the “Blue Alert.” Transmitted through the broadcast EAS and Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) systems, the Blue Alert is a voluntary alert code that can be used by state and local authorities to alert the public of credible “threats to … Continue Reading
Last week, the Federal Communications Commission took steps to review and update its Rural Health Care Program (RHCP) via a Notice of Proposed Rule Making and Order. The item seeks comment on how to improve RHCP, including extending a waiver to allow for the rollover of RHCP funds from Fiscal Year 2017 into mid-2018. The … Continue Reading
The fight over the Open Internet (better known as net neutrality) continued Thursday with the Federal Communications Commission voting to reverse the 2015 Title II Order, which reclassified broadband Internet access as a “telecommunications service.” This decision means that the Internet will return to its pre-2015 Title I “information service” classification (For a history of how … Continue Reading
Our websites are global, our e-commerce offerings reach customers around the world, our Internet radio broadcasts elicit responses from listeners around the globe and our consultants often hail from London to New Delhi. Whether people pay us, whether we pay them, or whether we just correspond with people interested in our products, services and programs, … Continue Reading
Effective Jan. 8, 2018, AM, FM, and television broadcast stations will no longer be required to maintain a main studio. The Commission voted back in October to eliminate the Main Studio Rule based on findings that the cost of maintaining a main studio outweighed the benefits. The Order was published in the Federal Register on … Continue Reading
It’s never too early to get a jump start on upcoming deadlines as the New Year approaches. Below is a list of upcoming FCC deadlines to keep on your radar. Note our list is not comprehensive. Other proceedings may apply to you. Please do not hesitate to contact FHH if you have any questions. January 10, 2018 … Continue Reading
As we reported back in October, the Commission has proposed to end the requirement that all digital television, LPTV, and TV translator stations file annual ancillary/supplementary services reports. Plus, it instead requires only stations which actually offer such ancillary/supplementary services to file the forms and report on any revenues received. While this proposal has been … Continue Reading
If you’re a traditional landline user who grew up prank calling friends, you’re probably familiar with the dialing code *67, which blocked the outgoing Caller ID information from being transmitted to the call recipient. But you probably didn’t know that, under one of the FCC’s privacy rules, your decision to block your Caller ID transmission … Continue Reading
Acting with commendable promptness, the Media Bureau has relieved virtually all television stations from the requirement to file ancillary/supplementary service reports, at least for this year and likely for future years as well. These reports are traditionally due on Dec. 1 of every year. As we reported back in October, the reports are the ones … Continue Reading
Changes to the equipment authorization rules the FCC adopted last July appeared in the Federal Register this morning and take effect today. Major changes include the option of putting required labeling on a device’s display screen, and combination of the former verification and Declaration of Conformity procedures into a new procedure called Supplier’s Declaration of … Continue Reading
