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 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
Hurricane Irene has produced at least one arguable benefit: because of disruptions caused by the storm, the Commission has extended the deadlines for comments in the LPFM/FM translator proceeding.… Continue Reading
Deadlines for comments and reply comments have been set with respect to on the Commission's latest effort to improve the accuracy of E-911 location identification capabilities.… Continue Reading
With some proceedings, the FCC seems content to let its handiwork age tastefully before getting published in the Federal Register. That's definitely not the case with the LPFM/FM Translator Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.… Continue Reading
Sometimes the best surprise is no surprise at all. And the FCC has surprised at least some of us with its release of the final 2011 regulatory fee schedule.… Continue Reading
Even as privacy advocates are getting increasingly nervous about the extent to which our communications devices keep tabs on our whereabouts, the FCC is looking to make it easier to monitor our location more precisely and over a broader range of devices.… Continue Reading
The long-running stand-off between FM translator applicants and LPFM applicants may finally be heading toward some resolution as the FCC moves to implement the Local Community Radio Act. It looks like LPFM applicants are likely to get first crack at the available spectrum.… Continue Reading
As a further indication of the increasing significance of VoIP on the communications landscape, the Commission is proposing to extend its outage reporting requirements to interconnected VoIP and broadband Internet access service providers (including Internet backbone network providers).… Continue Reading
The FCC has released its proposed 2011 regulatory fees, and with only few exceptions, they reflect increases - in some cases, significant increases - over last year's numbers.… Continue Reading
Last week we reported on a proposal to expand the requirement that VoIP providers contribute to the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) Fund. Deadlines for comments on that proposal have now been set.… Continue Reading
At Congress's direction, the FCC is moving forward with proposals that would (a) substantially increase regulatory burdens on VoIP providers and (b) immerse the Commission in areas that aren't exactly within its area of expertise.… Continue Reading
OET has just released an Erratum to the NPRM in the experimental licensing proceeding. It advises that one of the two docket numbers listed in the original caption of that NPRM was wrong.… Continue Reading
Comment deadlines have been set in the proceeding which could lead to dramatic changes in the FCC's experimental licensing processes.… Continue Reading
Comment deadlines have just been set in the proceeding which would pave the way for the re-purposing of TV spectrum for broadband use.… Continue Reading
