CommLawBlog

On January 2, 2020, we wrote about an FCC proposal to modify the present requirement for cable TV systems to give 30 days’ notice to subscribers when a program channel may be removed because of failure to agree on retransmission consent terms. The deadlines for Comments and Reply Comments have now been announced. Initial Comments...… Continue Reading

The Federal Communication Commission (“FCC”) has proposed to establish “988” as a nationwide abbreviated telephone dialing code to reach the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis hotline. An 800 number (1-800-273-TALK) already universally connects to suicide counselors, but people facing a suicide crisis might not remember such a long number. The same hotline will...… Continue Reading

Washington-area based telecommunications, media, and technology law firm Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, P.L.C. is pleased to announce that Thomas F. Urban II has joined the firm as Of Counsel. Tom has experience representing clients in everything from business disputes and class action cases to RICO actions and complex mortgage fraud cases. When it comes to...… Continue Reading

The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has proposed to repeal Section 73.3556 of its Rules, which prohibits two commercial AM or two commercial FM radio stations from devoting more than 25% of the hours in an average broadcast week to duplicating programming if they are commonly controlled (through either common ownership or time brokerage) and the...… Continue Reading

Retransmission consent negotiations have been coming down to the wire more and more in recent years, as broadcasters have sought to recoup more of the value they feel their signals have, and cable operators have resisted increases in their expenses. Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) rules currently require cable operators to notify both subscribers and the...… Continue Reading

The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has changed in its rules for selecting winners from groups of mutually exclusive (“MX”) noncommercial educational full-power radio (“NCE”) and Low Power FM (“LPFM”) applicants and has made it easier for MX applicants to negotiate voluntary time-sharing agreements. In the FCC’s Report and Order, it has also shortened the minimum...… Continue Reading

On December 4, 2019, we wrote that the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has invited a new round of comments on the fate of analog Low Power Television (“LPTV”) stations that transmit on Channel 6 and target their audio channel to FM radio receivers. A notice in the Federal Register has announced that the deadline for...… Continue Reading

With the start of a new year upon us, it’s worth giving some thought to what needs to be accomplished in the coming year. Each month, we write about upcoming deadlines for broadcasters and telecommunications providers regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), but in addition to the fixed regulatory filing deadlines discussed in these...… Continue Reading

The Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition (FWCC) has adopted a resolution commending Julius Knapp of the FCC on his long and distinguished career. Mr. Knapp announced his retirement recently after over 40 years in government service, most recently as the FCC’s Chief Engineer and head of its Office of Engineering and Technology. Mr. Knapp established a...… Continue Reading

The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has invited comments on whether it should allow AM radio broadcast stations to abandon their analog signals in favor of an all-digital signal format. Preliminary tests have shown that all-digital signals provide improved audio quality and immunity from interference. While the FCC does not propose to require any AM station...… Continue Reading

The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has invited a new round of comments on the fate of analog Low Power Television (“LPTV”) stations that transmit on Channel 6 and target their audio channel to FM radio receivers. Nearly all of the television broadcast industry has already converted to digital operation. There are no more analog full...… Continue Reading

If you filed any applications for new Low Power Television (LPTV) stations during the 2009 application window, your applications have not yet been granted, and channels you requested have been displaced by a full power or Class A TV station as a result of the spectrum repack, you now have an opportunity to request new...… Continue Reading

About 80% of the 240 million phone calls received by 911 public safety answering points (PSAPs) come from wireless callers. The goal of regulators is that technology automatically identify the location of callers even if callers don’t know where they are or are unable to speak the information because of injury or constraint by an...… Continue Reading

Broadcast Deadlines: December 1, 2019 License Renewal Pre-Filing Announcements – Radio stations licensed in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi must begin broadcasts of their pre-filing announcements with regard to their applications for renewal of the license. These announcements must be continued on December 16, January 1, and January 16. Radio Post-Filing Announcements – Radio stations...… Continue Reading

Your Emergency Alert System (EAS) equipment may have stopped passing through tests received via the equipment’s Internet connection to the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) because one of the trust root certificates used to validate digital signatures associated with alerts expired a little over a week ago. If your EAS equipment is rejecting...… Continue Reading

Cannabidiol (“CBD”) oil, a product that can be derived from hemp or marijuana plants, is an undeniably hot commodity right now. You may have seen CBD gummies, CBD topical creams, and even CBD-infused pillows for sale at your local store. At this point you are wondering if your broadcast station can advertise these products. CommLawBlog...… Continue Reading

Capitol Hill As the year’s legislative calendar winds down, a large new infrastructure spending program with dedicated funding for broadband appears dead. Attention is on smaller pieces of bi-partisan legislation addressing unwanted robocalls, narrowly targeted funding for “digital dead zones,” and mapping. Targeted infrastructure funding is partly addressed by a Senate appropriations bill that devotes...… Continue Reading

Broadcast Deadlines: October 30, 2019 Closed Captioning – Reply Comments due in response to the FCC’s Public Notice (CG Docket 05-231, DA-19-776A1) requesting comments on a Petition for Declaratory Ruling and/or Rulemaking on Live Closed Captioning Quality Metrics and the Use of Automatic Speech Recognition Technologies by Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing,...… Continue Reading

The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has invited comments on a petition filed jointly by America’s Public Television Stations (“APTS”) and the National Association of Broadcasters (“NAB”), requesting a relaxation of restrictions on where digital television stations may locate Distributed Transmission System (“DTS”) antennas. Digital television technology allows a station to broadcast from multiple transmitters on...… Continue Reading

The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has announced that on April 28, 2020, it will offer for sale at auction 130 FM channels that are currently vacant. These are channels formerly occupied by stations that lost or cancelled their licenses, channels sold to bidders who failed to pay their bids, channels that were offered but drew...… Continue Reading

As we wrote about in August on CommLawBlog, Low Power TV (LPTV), TV Translator Stations, and FM stations intending to request reimbursement for expenses incurred as a result of the repack of full-power and Class A television stations were required to file their Initial Reimbursement Form (Form 2100, Schedule 399) by October 15, 2019. Now...… Continue Reading

Capitol Hill As the year’s legislative calendar winds down, a large new infrastructure spending program with dedicated funding for broadband appears dead. Attention now is on smaller but important pieces of bi-partisan broadband legislation such as the Secure and Trusted Communications Act, introduced in the House of Representatives on September 24. The bill would prohibit...… Continue Reading

Broadcast Deadlines: October 1, 2019 License Renewal Applications Due – Applications for renewal of license for radio stations located in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands must be filed in the Commission’s Licensing and Management System (LMS). These applications must be accompanied by Schedule 396, the Broadcast Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program Report, also...… Continue Reading

With primaries in some states happening as soon as March, and the Democratic primary contest already hotly contested by a large field of candidates, the 2020 election cycle is certain to be one of the most contentious and hard-fought in recent memory – as well as one of the longest. While far more limited in...… Continue Reading

On August 8, we discussed changes proposed in the technical rules for Low Power FM (LPFM) stations, in an article titled “REC ‘N’ Roll in the FM Band: LPFM Changes Proposed, NCE-FM Changes Requested.” The LPFM Proposals have now been published in the Federal Register, and comment deadlines have been announced. Initial Comments are due...… Continue Reading

The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has announced in an order published on September 17, 2019 that it will delay the filing deadline to January 31, 2020, for broadcast ownership reports (two months later than the original deadline). This applies to licensees of commercial and noncommercial AM, FM, TV, Class A, and Low Power Television (LPTV)...… Continue Reading

Capitol Hill House Democrats’ “Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s America Act” (LIFT America Act) –containing $40 billion dedicated for broadband, largely through reverse auctions – remains pending. While prospects for significant federal spending on a new broadband program remain in limbo, Congress has allocated further funding to the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) ReConnect funding...… Continue Reading

With Federal, state, and local elections on the horizon (to say nothing of FCC license renewals), it’s a good time to brush up on the FCC’s political broadcasting rules. This webinar, presented in collaboration with the Colorado Broadcasters Association, and led by Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth attorneys Dan Kirkpatrick and Frank Montero, and featuring special...… Continue Reading

As we begin the march into cooler weather, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or the “Commission”) has released the final schedule of regulatory fees for 2019 and their due date. Despite some initial confusion around the release of the deadline, the confirmed date is September 24, 2019 and the Fee Filer website is now active...… Continue Reading

As we previously reported, many of the revised children’s TV rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or the “Commission”) in July are to go into effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, and we now know what that effective date will be: September 16, 2019. That effective date will apply to...… Continue Reading

Broadcast Deadlines: September 16, 2019 Children’s TV Programming – Support for E/I Programs on Other Stations – Comments are due in response to the FCC’s Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which seeks to further revise the children’s television programming rules and policies to establish standards that would give broadcasters greater flexibility to meet their obligation...… Continue Reading

The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has adopted new rules requiring manufacturers, importers, vendors, installers and managers of multi-line telephone systems (“MLTS”) to configure those systems to provide automated location information (called “dispatchable location”) and a location-specific callback number when a caller makes an emergency call to 911, at least to the extent feasible using technology...… Continue Reading

Amidst the polarization in Washington, there remains one thing nearly everyone agrees on; no one likes robocalls. Last month, the House passed the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act, which directs the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) to take several steps to curb robocallers and adopts stiffer penalties for robocallers (particularly robocallers who intentionally violate the...… Continue Reading

Washington-area based telecommunications, media, and technology law firm Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, P.L.C. is pleased to announce that Elizabeth Craig has joined the firm as an Associate. A recent law school graduate from American University’s Washington College of Law, Elizabeth interned with the Federal Communications Commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau’s Mobility Division in 2018. Elizabeth complements...… Continue Reading

Has your low power TV station been displaced by the repack? Or perhaps your FM radio station had to move to new or auxiliary facilities to accommodate a TV station repack on your tower? As we have discussed in previous blog posts, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has been authorized by Congress to distribute reimbursements...… Continue Reading

The Federal Communication Commission (“FCC” or the “Commission”) released the much-discussed changes in its rules relating to children’s television programming on July 12, 2019 in a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making, which include a reduction in the frequency of filing Children’s Television reports and the information required in those reports,...… Continue Reading

Yes, REC Networks (“RECNET”) is on a roll with the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) when it comes to the FM radio broadcast band. Describing itself as a “leading advocate for a citizen’s access to spectrum with a heavy focus on the LPFM and full-service non-commercial radio,” RECNET has succeeded in getting the FCC to propose...… Continue Reading

Unless it is delayed by a real national emergency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) and the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) are on track to conduct a combined nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) on Wednesday, August 7, at 2:20 p.m. EDT. For most participants, this year’s test will be disseminated only using the broadcast...… Continue Reading

On Tuesday, July 30th, Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth’s Frank Montero and Dan Kirkpatrick presented a webinar on the FCC license renewal process to the Florida Association of Broadcasters. They covered many steps in the renewal process including the filing of the required FCC Forms for full power radio and translator stations using the new LMS...… Continue Reading

Broadcast Deadlines: August 1, 2019: License Renewal Pre-Filing Announcements – Radio stations located in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands must begin broadcasts of their pre-filing announcements with regard to their applications for renewal of the license. These announcements must be continued on August 16, September 1, and September 16. Radio Post-Filing Announcements –...… Continue Reading

On June 20, 2019, I blogged about the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC”) plan to vote on July 10 to relax the rules governing the Educational Broadband Service (“EBS”), including eliminating the requirement to devote part of the air time to educational purposes and opening up license eligibility to commercial entities. Sure enough, the FCC voted,...… Continue Reading

On June 7, 2019, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or the “Commission”) released a Report and Order (“R&O”) revising the Commission’s rules under which independent programmers may lease cable TV channels to retransmit their programming (“Leased Access Rules”). Leased Access has rarely been used, due to concerns by both cable operators and programmers, and the...… 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

Let’s get this out of the way: this blog post is going to include an unseemly, in my mind, profane, even obscene, term. I’m just going to put it out there up front, even though I think it’s one of the worst things you can say. And no, the First Amendment doesn’t protect it. It’s...… Continue Reading

I was one of many who traveled (in my case, on foot) to the United States Supreme Court on April 22, 2019 to watch oral arguments in the case of Food Marketing Institute, Inc. v. Argus Leader. I was there because two of my clients joined an amicus brief in support of the newspaper’s fight...… Continue Reading

Broadcast Deadlines: July 3, 2019: Emergency Alert System National Test – Participants’ EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) Form One Due – In preparation for this year’s national EAS test on August 7 at 2:20 p.m. EDT, all EAS participants must file ETRS Form One, which sets forth the EAS equipment that the participant has and...… Continue Reading

As we neared the end of the 2018-2019 Supreme Court term, I was watching with bated breath for the issuance of three opinions relevant to my work and, I assumed, to the interests of our CommLawBlog readers. The cases affected my interests in distinctly different ways: from my “extracurricular” activities to the participation of clients...… Continue Reading

Remember our article in February about the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or the “Commission”) eliminating a requirement for certain broadcast television and radio stations to file a Broadcast Mid-Term Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Report (a/k/a Form 397)? If you’re a regular CommLawBlog reader you might have noticed that fact in our monthly deadlines articles too....… Continue Reading

On May 9, 2019, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or the “Commission”) issued a Report and Order in which it adopted new procedures used to resolve interference complaints against FM translator stations. We previously blogged about the proposed reforms to the complaint procedures in a May 21, 2018 article. Sections 74.1203(a) and 74.1204(f) of the...… Continue Reading