Upcoming FCC Broadcast and Telecom Deadlines for April – June
Broadcast Deadlines:
April 1, 2020
Radio and Television License Renewal Pre-Filing Announcements - Radio stations licensed in Michigan and Ohio, as well as TV stations licensed in Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, must begin broadcasts of their pre-filing announcements concerning their applications for a license renewal. These announcements must be continued on April 16, May 1, and May 16.
Radio License Renewal Applications Due - Applications for renewal of license for radio stations located in Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee must be filed in the Commission's License and Management System (LMS). These applications must be accompanied by Schedule 396, the Broadcast Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program Report, also filed in LMS, regardless of the number of full-time employees.
Radio Post-Filing Announcements - Radio stations licensed in Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee must begin broadcasts of their post-filing announcements concerning their license renewal applications on April 1. These announcements must continue on April 16, May 1, May 16, June 1, and June 16. Once complete, a certification of broadcast, with a copy of the announcement's text, must be posted to the online public inspection file (OPIF) within seven days. Likewise, if it has not already been done, a certification of broadcast and text of the pre-filing announcements should be posted at the same time.
EEO Public File Reports - All radio and television station employment units with five or more full-time employees and located in Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas must place EEO Public File Reports in their OPIFs. 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.
April 6, 2020
All-Digital AM Broadcasting - Reply Comments are due in response to the Commission's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking input on a proposal to allow AM broadcasters to broadcast an all-digital signal using the HD Radio IBOC mode known as MA3.
April 10, 2020
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 first quarter of 2020 must be placed in the station's OPIF. 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 with a brief description of the program.
Class A Television Stations Continuing Eligibility Documentation - The Commission requires that all Class A Television Stations maintain in their OPIFs 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 OPIF, 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 that it lists the titles of such locally produced programs should be sufficient.
June 1, 2020 -
Radio and Television License Renewal Pre-Filing Announcements - Radio stations licensed in Illinois and Wisconsin, as well as TV stations licensed in North Carolina and South Carolina, must begin broadcasts of their pre-filing announcements concerning their applications for renewal of the license. These announcements must be continued on June 16, July 1, and July 16.
Radio License Renewal Applications Due - Applications for renewal of license for radio stations located in Michigan and Ohio must be filed in the LMS. These applications must be accompanied by Schedule 396, the Broadcast Equal EEO Program Report, also filed in LMS, regardless of the number of full-time employees.
Radio Post-Filing Announcements - Radio stations licensed in Michigan and Ohio must begin broadcasts of their post-filing announcements concerning their license renewal applications on June 1. These announcements must continue on June 16, July 1, July 16, August 1, and August 16. Once complete, a certification of broadcast, with a copy of the announcement's text, must be posted to the OPIF within seven days. Likewise, if it has not already been done, a certification of broadcast and text of the pre-filing announcements should be posted at the same time.
Television License Renewal Applications Due - Applications for renewal of license for television stations located in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia must be filed in the Commission's License and Management System. These applications must be accompanied by Schedule 396, the Broadcast EEO Program Report, also filed in LMS, regardless of the number of full-time employees.
Television Post-Filing Announcements - Television stations licensed in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia must begin broadcasts of their post-filing announcements concerning their license renewal applications on June 1. These announcements must continue on June 16, July 1, July 16, August 1, and August 16. Once complete, a certification of broadcast, with a copy of the announcement's text, must be posted to the OPIF within seven days. Likewise, if it has not already been done, a certification of broadcast and text of the pre-filing announcements should be posted at the same time.
EEO Public File Reports - All radio and television station employment units with five or more full-time employees and located in Arizona, Idaho, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah, and Wyoming must place EEO Public File Reports in their OPIFs. 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.
Telecom Deadlines:
April 1, 2020
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 Universal Service Administration Company (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 over 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 Registration ("RCCCI") - Each year, equipment manufacturers and service providers (including traditional telephone providers, interconnected VoIP providers, and Advanced Communications Services, such as non-interconnected VoIP, electronic messaging, and interoperable video conferencing providers) must certify compliance with the FCC's recordkeeping rules related to accessibility of their service by individuals with disabilities. Section 14.31(a) of the FCC's rules requires equipment manufacturers and service providers to maintain certain records related to making telecommunications services accessible to individuals with disabilities. The RCCCI certification requires manufacturers and service providers to certify that they have procedures in place to meet those recordkeeping requirements. The certification is filed online and must be signed by an officer of each company under penalty of perjury.
May 1, 2020
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
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, 2020:
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 PIU Certification due May 15, 2020 will cover the First Quarter of 2020 (January 1, 2020 through March 31, 2020).
May 31, 2020 (Dues June 1, 2020 this year because May 31 falls on a Sunday):
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.