CommLawBlog

Wow—FCC enforcement actions don’t get any juicier than this: an anonymous whistleblower, alleged misrepresentations to the FCC, and a complex $100 million fine to Straight Path Communications, Inc. for apparently misrepresenting that it had constructed 28 and 39 GHz licenses on applications to renew those licenses! All this is revealed in a Consent Decree between Straight Path and … Continue Reading

Lately, there has been a lot of news about all the political jockeying at the FCC over who will stay and who will go, plus who must leave and who will be appointed. Will he or she be a Republican or Democrat? Will the Democrats stay? Wait….what? Democrats stay? Didn’t Trump win the election? How can … Continue Reading

FHH’s own managing member, Frank Montero was featured in a front page profile interview for Radio World Magazine where he discusses his views on the Trump Administration’s impact on the new FCC and the potential effect on broadcasters. Here is the interview: … Continue Reading

On Friday, January 7, after the sun had set and the FCC’s doors were locked for the night, the agency released two decisions addressing complaints that a dozen TV stations did not provide sufficiently complete information about political advertising in their public inspection files during the 2016 Presidential campaign. That sounds kind of like a … Continue Reading

The FCC’s Media Bureau and the Incentive Auction Task Force are (again!) reminding all television owners (including those participating in the broadcast incentive auction and those who may potentially be subject to repacking) to provide updated contact information for every station in your portfolio. Important information can reach those owners more quickly with a street … Continue Reading

The (seemingly never-ending) saga of the FCC’s attempts to revise its biennial ownership reporting requirements for broadcasters has taken an interesting, and somewhat unexpected turn. As we have previously reported, the Media Bureau early last year adopted new requirements related to the FCC Registration Numbers (FRNs) and “Restricted Use FRNs” (RUFRNs) that interest holders would … Continue Reading

The FCC is asking for public input on streamlining its rules governing deployment of small cell infrastructure to support 5G services by improving the agency’s wireless facilities siting policies. The effort by the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau stems in part from a petition for Declaratory Ruling filed by Mobilitie, LLC titled: “Promoting Broadband for All Americans … Continue Reading

In a decision of interest to other broadcast owners, the FCC cleared the way on Tuesday for Televisa, a Mexican media conglomerate, to own a larger stake of U.S. Spanish-language broadcaster Univision (the Declaratory Ruling may be read here). The two companies jointly filed a Petition for Declaratory Ruling requesting that the agency permit foreign … Continue Reading

Continued use of expired licenses leads to enforcement action The FCC recently released an Order and Consent Decree that, with a $60,000 fine, acts as a bold reminder to manufacturers, utilities, and other companies that they must seek prior Commission approval to transfer FCC dispatch/internal communications licenses when the licensee company is purchased by or … 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

(Stations Fearing a Difficult Choice Before January 1 now have until January 31 to opt in to an interim license agreement and continue playing GMR songs through September.) If you are a radio station, especially a commercial radio station primarily playing music, you are probably aware of the dueling lawsuits filed by the Radio Music … Continue Reading

Non-commercial educational (NCE) television and radio stations received an early Christmas present from the Commission. The agency suspended biennial ownership filing requirements for those that who would otherwise be required to file such reports on Form 323-E. That means NCE licensees and other entities with attributable interests in such stations are not required to biennially … Continue Reading

In what comes as an early Christmas gift for those who play “oldies” music – think Sirius XM Radio, radio broadcasters, and webcasters – and coal in the stockings of the owners of those recordings, New York’s highest state court ruled today that New York does not recognize a public performance right in sound recordings. … Continue Reading

If you’re the owner of a full-power or Class A broadcast television station or are a multichannel video program distributor, and anticipate receiving a winning bid or seeking reimbursement funds from the Commission post-incentive auction, how will you get your money? The FCC has created an online tutorial to explain how this will work. To … Continue Reading

Earlier this week, two broadcasting companies petitioned the FCC to revise its Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) rules to allow broadcasters to rely on Internet recruitment sources when filling job openings. The Commission’s current EEO rules, which date back to 2002, require broadcasters employing five or more full-time employees, and MVPDs employing six or more full-time … Continue Reading

As we reported a few days ago, most large market radio stations are required to have their complete (but for a few exceptions) local public inspection files posted online by no later than Christmas Eve. Perhaps moved by the spirit of the holidays, the Commission has now granted a narrow exception to that requirement for … Continue Reading

Some things to consider before putting a shiny new car on your wish list Last year, the “Internet of Things” was the hot topic in tech, and we advised accordingly. This year, much of the buzz centers on connected and autonomous cars. First up, what do we mean when we talk about “connected cars” and … Continue Reading

An Enhanced Version of CPNI — But Will the New Administration “Undo” The New Rules? Attentive readers of this Blog know that in October, the FCC adopted new rules primarily designed to enhance the privacy and data security requirements imposed on providers of Broadband Internet Access Service (“BIAS”). Some of the new rules have been … Continue Reading

An Enhanced Version of CPNI — But Will the New Administration “Undo” The New Rules? Attentive readers of this Blog know that in October, the FCC adopted new rules primarily designed to enhance the privacy and data security requirements imposed on providers of Broadband Internet Access Service (“BIAS”). Some of the new rules have been … Continue Reading

Many radio owners have a Commission-imposed deadline looming before Christmas. Most radio stations located in large markets, which have been defined by the Commission in this instance to be the Nielsen Top-50 radio markets, will need to make sure that they have their online public files completely uploaded by December 24, 2016. Each full-power commercial … Continue Reading

Many broadcasters are telling FHH they’ve been contacted by the Radio Music License Committee about a lawsuit the RMLC has filed against a new performing rights organization. Called Global Music Rights, it was founded in 2013 with the goal of extracting higher music license fees than those offered through other PROs like ASCAP and BMI. … Continue Reading

Many broadcasters are telling FHH they’ve been contacted by the Radio Music License Committee about a lawsuit the RMLC has filed against a new performing rights organization. Called Global Music Rights, it was founded in 2013 with the goal of extracting higher music license fees than those offered through other PROs like ASCAP and BMI. … Continue Reading

As part of the FCC’s initiative to revitalize AM stations, Puerto Rico station owner Wilfredo Blanco-Pi petitioned the FCC to allow AM stations to employ synchronous boosters, not just on a temporary basis, but permanently. Now, the FCC is seeking comment on the proposal to amend Part 73 of its rules. Comments must be submitted … Continue Reading

A September Commission Order modifying a number of Commission Rules regarding filing and review of foreign ownership in broadcast licensees has now been published in the Federal Register, setting the effective date of at least some of these changes. Many of those rule changes will now go into effect January 30, although some changes regarding … Continue Reading

Is there an easier way to notify the Commission when a station has taken part in the Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program (ABIP)? Or does the FCC need to be notified at all? The agency seeks public input on the issue. The alternative program is a series of agreements between the Enforcement Bureau and a private … Continue Reading

For the past few months, business owners have been frantically preparing for a major change in the Department of Labor (DOL) regulations implementing the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) which would greatly increase the number of employees eligible to receive overtime pay for work in excess of 40 hour per week. These changes, were due … Continue Reading

We have previously written here, here, here, and here about the Radio Music License Committee’s (“RMLC’s”) successful attempt to impose on SESAC some of the same competitive restrictions that limit ASCAP’s and BMI’s ability to demand inflated license prices for publicly performing the musical compositions of their members. It was only a matter of time … Continue Reading

A recent D.C. Circuit Court decision may significantly impact the access charges billed by over-the-top VoIP carriers. In 2015 the Commission issued a declaratory ruling (In re Connect America Fund, 30 FCC Rcd. 1587 (2015) regarding the classification of end office local switching when internet service providers (“ISPs”) collaborate with over-the-top VoIP providers to complete interexchange … Continue Reading

In a unanimous decision, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals this week rejected a claim by small wireless carrier NTCH, Inc. the FCC had unlawfully awarded thousands of licenses to Verizon Wireless in violation of the Communications Act. The case arose out of Verizon’s application in 2012 to acquire numerous licenses from SpectrumCo, a consortium … Continue Reading

(Speculation Abounds, But Much Will Stay the Same) A new administration always brings many questions from clients about how their FCC issues may be impacted. A Trump presidency brings even more questions than usual, because his campaign did not set out detailed proposals on telecommunications and spectrum policy. While much speculation brews inside the Beltway, … Continue Reading

(Notice of Inquiry latest opportunity to weigh in on the future of the DMCA Safe Harbor) “I was dreamin’ when I wrote this, so sue me if I go too fast…” Those are lyrics from the dearly beloved and extremely talented musician Prince’s epic 1982 hit “1999” from the album of the same name. He … Continue Reading

But EAS Participants have a year to advise their SECCs of what, if anything, they’re doing to provide EAS alerts to non-English speaking audiences. As we reported last spring, the FCC declined to require that non-English language announcements be provided by Emergency Alert System participants. But the Commission did decide that all State EAS Plans … Continue Reading

There are a number of upcoming FCC filing deadlines over the next three months that are relevant to broadcasters. You should review these carefully, as some are only applicable to certain licensees while others (the EEO-related and noncommercial ownership reports) are state-specific. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. November … Continue Reading

As we notified our readers in December 2015, the FCC created two filing windows for AM licensees to file for an FM translator. The first window (available only to licensees or permittees of Class C or D AM stations) ran from January 29, 2016 to July 28, 2016. The second window (available to any class … Continue Reading

A Hotly Contested Proceeding Expands the Commission’s Regulatory Authority, But Will Likely End Up in Court After a massive Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, extensive and contentious advocacy from all sides, and public revision of its own proposals, the FCC has just approved an Order enacting rules that impose a wide range of new regulations on Internet … Continue Reading

On October 26, 2016, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) announced agreements it had reached with two major record labels that relieve radio broadcasters from certain compliance conditions associated with the sound recording streaming statutory license that are inconsistent with traditional broadcasting practices. They do not, however, alter radio broadcasters’ royalty payment obligations under the … Continue Reading

Completing a process which began one year and one week earlier, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a final rule in the Federal Register on October 21, 2016 which will change the fees for forty-two different trademark filings. The upshot is that anyone in the very small universe of people who still … Continue Reading