Upcoming FCC Broadcast and Telecom Deadlines for April-June
Broadcast Deadlines:
April 1, 2019:
License Renewal Pre-Filing Announcements - Radio stations located in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia must begin their pre-filing announcements with regard to their applications for renewal of license. These announcements must be continued on April 16, May 1, and May 16.
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Public File Reports - All radio and television station employment units with five (5) or more full-time employees located in Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas must place EEO Public File Reports in their public inspection files. All stations must also upload the reports to the online public file. For all stations with websites, the report must be posted there as well. Per announced FCC policy, the reporting period may end ten days before the report is due, and the reporting period for the next year will begin on the following day.
EEO Mid-Term Reports - All television stations with five or more full-time employees and located in Delaware or Pennsylvania must electronically file a mid-term EEO report on FCC Form 397, with the last two EEO public file reports attached.
April 10, 2019:
Repack Transition Progress Report - All full-power and Class A television stations repacked as a result of the incentive auction, other than those in Phase 1 or Phase 2 that have completed the repacking process, including filing reports of completion, must file a report in the Licensing and Management System (LMS) to detail their progress toward completion of the transition.
Children's Television Programming Reports - For all commercial television and Class A television stations, the first quarter 2019 children's television programming reports must be filed electronically with the Commission. These reports then should be automatically included in the online public inspection file, but we would recommend checking, as the FCC bases its initial judgments of filing compliance on the contents and dates shown in the online public file. Please note that the required use of the LMS for the children's reports means that you should have the licensee FCC registration number and password at hand before you start the process.
Commercial Compliance Certifications - For all commercial television and Class A television stations, a certification of compliance with the limits on commercials during programming for children ages 12 and under, or other evidence to substantiate compliance with those limits, must be uploaded to the online public inspection file.
Website Compliance Information - Television and Class A television station licensees must upload and retain in their online public inspection files record sufficient to substantiate at license renewal time certification of compliance with the restrictions on display of website addresses during programming directed to children ages 12 and under.
Issues/Programs Lists - For all commercial and noncommercial radio, television, and Class A television stations, a listing of each station's most significant treatment of community issues during the last quarter must be placed in the station's online public inspection file. The list should include a brief narrative describing the issues covered and the programs which provided the coverage, with information concerning the time, date, duration, and title of each program.
Class A Television Continuing Eligibility Documentation - The Commission requires that all Class A Television maintains in their online public inspection files documentation sufficient to demonstrate that the station is continuing to meet the eligibility requirements of broadcasting at least 18 hours per day and broadcasting an average of at least three hours per week of locally produced programming. While the Commission has given no guidance as to what this documentation must include or when it must be added to the public file, we believe that a quarterly certification which states that the station continues to broadcast at least 18 hours per day, that it broadcasts on average at least three hours per week of locally produced programming, and lists the titles of such locally produced programs should be sufficient.
April 29, 2019:
Quadrennial Review of Broadcast Ownership Rules - Comments are due with regard to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (MB Docket 18-349, FCC-18-179A1) which initiated the required 2018 Quadrennial Review of broadcast ownership rules.
May 29, 2019:
Quadrennial Review of Broadcast Ownership Rules - Reply comments are due with regard to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (MB Docket 18-349, FCC-18-179A1) which initiated the required 2018 Quadrennial Review of broadcast ownership rules.
Telecom Deadlines:
April 1, 2019:
Form 499-A - The annual Form 499 filing, Form 499-A, must be filed by telecommunications carriers and interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers. Carriers report their prior year's annual revenues using the form, and the FCC uses that information to reconcile, or true-up, a carrier's Universal Service Fund (USF) contributions over the past year based on the carriers quarterly Form 499-Q revenue projections. Carriers that overpaid their contributions will receive a credit, and USAC will bill carriers that underpaid their USF contributions.
Rate of Return Reporting FCC Form 492 - Local exchange carriers (LECs) groups of affiliated carriers must file FCC Form 492 within three months of the end of each calendar year. Each LEC or group of affiliated carriers may make corrections to the report within 6 months of the due date for the report. Two copies of the report must be filed with the Secretary of the Commission with an additional copy filed with the Wireline Competition Bureau, Industry Analysis and Technology Division.
Automated Reporting Management Information System (ARMIS) Reporting - Certain incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) must file ARMIS reports annually by April 1. The Commission has made significant changes to ARMIS reporting over the years to reduce the reporting burden. That said, carriers subject to the reporting thresholds are still required to report some ARMIS information, including pole attachment reporting. Information subject to ARMIS reporting also may vary depending on whether a carrier is a mid-size or large ILEC or a mandatory price-cap, elective price-cap, or non-price-cap ILEC. If you have any questions about the FCC's changes to ARMIS reporting, you should contact experienced telecommunications counsel.
Section 43.21(c) Letter - Common carriers with operating revenue in excess of the indexed revenue threshold must file a letter with the Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau showing the carriers operating revenues for the prior year and the value of its total communications plant at the end of the year. The indexed revenue threshold is defined in Section 32.9000 of the Commission's rules. The threshold is an inflation-adjusted amount calculated based on the annual revenue of $100 million in 1992.
Recordkeeping Compliance Certification and Contact Information Registry (RCCCI Registry) - Any entity subject to the disability access obligations in Sections 255, 716, and 717 of the Communications Act, and the FCC's associated rules must submit recordkeeping compliance certifications and updated contact information annually by April 1. Covered entities are required to provide contact information for an agent upon whom service may be made of disability access complaints, notice, inquiries, orders, decisions, and other pronouncements. Covered entities also must provide contact information for consumer inquiries related to disability access. RCCCI Registry compliance applies broadly to equipment manufacturers, telecommunications service providers, interconnected VoIP services and Advanced Communications Services (including non-interconnected VoIP, electronic messaging providers, and interoperable video conferencing providers).
May 1, 2019:
Quarterly Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet (FCC Form 499-Q) - FCC rules require telecommunications carriers and interconnected VoIP providers to file quarterly revenue statements reporting historical revenue for the prior quarter and projecting revenue for the next quarter. The projected revenue is used to calculate contributions to the USF for high cost, rural, insular and tribal areas as well as to support telecommunications services for schools, libraries, and rural health care providers. USF assessments are billed monthly.
Geographic Rate Averaging Certification - Non-dominant interstate interexchange providers operating on a detariffed must certify that their service complies with the provider's geographic rate average and rate integration obligations. The certification is due annually by May 1 and must be signed by an officer of the company under oath. Certifications should be sent to the FCC's Office of the Secretary, directed to the attention of:
Office of the Secretary
Attn: Chief, Pricing Policy Division
Room 5-A225
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, DC 20554
Rural Call Completion Reporting (FCC Form 480) ELIMINATED - On April 17, 2018, the FCC released an Order removing the rural call completion reporting requirements. Starting with the May 1, 2018 rural call completion report, covered providers (i.e., certain long-distance voice providers) have no longer been required to file FCC Form 480 on a quarterly basis. Therefore, there is no rural call completion reporting requirement for May 1, 2019.
Numbering Resource Utilization Forecast (NRUF) (FCC Form 502) - Twice a year, service providers with numbers from the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA), a Pooling Administrator, or another telecommunications carrier must file a numbering resource utilization forecast. Subscriber toll-free numbers are not included in the report. Interconnected VoIP providers are subject to the reporting requirement along with other service providers who receive NANPA numbers, such as wireless carriers, paging companies, ILECs, and CLECs.
May 15, 2019:
Quarterly Percentage of Internet Usage (PIU) Certification - USF prepaid calling card providers must file a certification stating that it is making the required USF contributions. The certification must be signed by an officer of the company under penalty of perjury and can be filed electronically using the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS). The Quarterly PIC Certification due May 1, 2019 will cover the First Quarter of 2019 (January 1, 2019 through March 31, 2019).
May 31, 2019:
Annual Employment Report and Discrimination Complaint Requirement (FCC Form 395) - FCC licensees or permittees of common carrier stations with 16 or more full-time employees must complete FCC Form 395 and file it with the Commission by May 31 annually. The report should be filed in Docket No. 16-233 of the FCC's ECFS filing systems. However, filers should not submit any confidential information using ECFS. If a filer seeks confidential treatment of any information in its Form 395 filing, the filer should submit a redacted version of the report using ECFS and send a request for confidential treatment along with its non-redacted Form 395 filing to the FCC at:
Office of the Secretary
Federal Communications Commission
Attn: Industry Analysis and Technology Division, Wireline Competition Bureau
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, DC 20554
In addition to the Form 395 filing, all licensees or permittees of common carrier stations, regardless of the number of employees, must submit discrimination reports to the Commission. Filers that submit Form 395 can satisfy this requirement by completing Section V of Form 395 and need not submit a separate report.