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 We continue to expect that House Democrats will pass their “Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s America Act” (LIFT America Act) infrastructure proposal, however, any deal with President Trump on infrastructure remains on hold. The House bill includes $45 billion in broadband funding – $30 billion in reverse auction funds to be administered by the … Continue Reading
Just in time for the unofficial start of summer, the FCC has issued its 2017 Regulatory Fee Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), beginning a process that culminates with the payment of regulatory fees sometime between late August and the end of September.… Continue Reading
Recently, the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) overruled a Universal Administrative Company’s (USAC) decision that required Cisco to pay into the Universal Service Fund (USF) based on revenue realized from the audio component of its WebEx service. The WCB’s decision seems to shed some light on the factors used in determining whether service providers are … Continue Reading
Just last week we reported on the FCC’s overhaul of the Lifeline program. The Commission’s sweeping decision has now been published in the Federal Register. As frequent visitors here know, that publication does a couple of things. First, it sets the effective date for some, but by no means all, of the new rules. That … Continue Reading
Faster, simpler, cheaper process, but no greater support The federal Lifeline program – a program overseen by the FCC and originally designed to provide subsidized phone service to low-income households – has never been a model of efficiency or consistency. Four years ago the Commission tried to tighten things up on the Lifeline front. And … Continue Reading
We recently reported on the Commission’s decision to impose numerous additional obligations upon rate-of-return regulated incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs), while leaving many rural ILECs with the same or even less compensation to satisfy the significant broadband build-out expenditures mandated by the new regulations. The FCC’s Report and Order, Order and Order on Reconsideration in … Continue Reading
Cost support for ILECs goes down while network obligations go up On March 30, 2016, the FCC released a Report and Order, Order and Order on Reconsideration, and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, imposing numerous additional obligations upon rate-of-return regulated incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs), while leaving many rural ILECs with the same or even … Continue Reading
To the FCC's likely chagrin, the Fifth Circuit has held that USF funds are not "federal funds" within the meaning of the False Claims Act..… Continue Reading
After nearly a year, wholesale telecommunications providers may now be close to getting the clarification needed on the reseller certification process.… Continue Reading
The FCC has released its updated Form 499-A and accompanying instructions. This year's update has some interesting twists. All telecommunications providers are also reminded that the annual FCC Form 499-A filing is due by April Fools' Day (that's April 1, 2013). Late filings can be subject to severe penalties. So don't be foolish - file on time!… Continue Reading
Having completed its long-awaited overhaul of USF expenditures, the FCC has now turned its attention to the contributions side of the house.… Continue Reading
The Bureau is making $25 million available to ETCs to carry out "field experiments" on customers. It wants to see how much free or discounted Internet Joe Consumer needs to get hooked on broadband.… 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
Following up on the landmark USF Order last fall in which it first adopted a plan to distribute Universal Service Fund money for broadband build-outs, The FCC has announced the basic ground rules for the "reverse auction" by which it plans to distribute USF money for broadband build-outs in certain areas.… Continue Reading
With some further fine-tuning, it looks like the rules governing the FCC's revised Lifeline program are in effect or scheduled to take effect shortly (with maybe an exception or two).… Continue Reading
Petitions for reconsideration of the Commission's order reforming the Lifeline program have been filed -- and the deadline for responding to them have now been set.… Continue Reading
That "other" April deadline is right around the corner - that would be the deadline by which all telecommunications carriers are required to file FCC Form 499-A.… Continue Reading
The Commission's magnum opus setting out new rules for the Lifeline program - and proposing more new rules for that program - has been published in the Federal Register.… Continue Reading
Looking to rein in fraud, waste, and abuse in the federal Lifeline program, the FCC has pulled out almost every bureaucratic tool in the box.… 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
