Having settled on a framework for clearing the FM translator logjam and getting the LPFM application process up and running (at least in theory), the Commission is losing no time in its efforts to implement that framework.… Continue Reading
The FCC has extended the deadline for reply comments in the proceeding concerning possible expansion of the obligations of video providers with respect to emergency information.… Continue Reading
The FCC is looking to expand its existing rules to require that video providers transmit emergency information aurally using the secondary audio stream.… Continue Reading
The FCC has tentatively set the next LPFM filing window for October, 2013 -- but since that date depends to a great degree on the Commission's ability first to clear out the backlog of 6,000 or so translator applications, a lot of work will have to be done between now and then.… Continue Reading
Ever wonder how the FCC comes up with the precise reg fees it charges? Here's your chance to find out, and maybe even help the Commission move away from reliance on data that the FCC acknowledges are "subjective" and "unreliable".… Continue Reading
A number of modified reporting requirements adopted by the FCC last fall in its mammoth decision overhauling the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation system have now kicked in.… Continue Reading
Hard to believe, but it's again time for the Commission to take a look at competition in the multichannel video programming distribution (MVPD) industry to determine whether the 20-year-old ban on certain exclusive program access deals is still necessary. The deadline for comments has now been set.… Continue Reading
The 4th Report and Order sorting out the LPFM/FM translator situation has been published in the Federal Register, but the next step in the sorting out process is still a ways away.… Continue Reading
It's "see ya" once again to the third-adjacent channel separation requirements for LPFM stations . . . except that some will still be with us.… Continue Reading
Check it out: a semi-brief overview, from the wireless perspective, of the massive order overhauling the Universal Service Fund and Intercarrier Compensation system.… Continue Reading
Call me Ishmael! That's how the Commission might have opened its leviathan Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the proceeding to overhaul the Universal Service Fund.… Continue Reading
The FCC has adopted a framework by which to (a) reform and re-purpose the distribution of billions of dollars in Universal Service Fund money and (b) revise the financial arrangements governing the exchange of traffic between all categories of carriers.… Continue Reading
The captioning requirements will apply only to programming that was previously shown with captions over traditional media such as broadcast or cable. But they represent a stunning expansion of FCC jurisdiction over a vast host of consumer devices not previously regulated. Device manufacturers may well become alarmed.… Continue Reading
New E911 rules designed to make it easier to locate you (and anybody else with a personal communications device) are now set to take effect in November.… Continue Reading
Let's have a big "welcome back" for the video description rules - gone for years, but Congress figured it was time to bring them back and now, voilà!… Continue Reading
