Upcoming FCC Broadcast and Telecom Deadlines for May – July
Broadcast Deadlines:
May 4, 2020
FM Boosters and Hyper-local Broadcasting - Comments are due with regard to a petition for rulemaking by GeoBroadcast Solutions LLC asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC" or the Commission") to permit radio broadcasters to use single frequency network (SFN) technology to provide hyper-local programming, emergency alerting, and advertising.
TV White Space Device Rules - Comments are due with regard to the FCC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing targeted changes to the Part 15 (Radiofrequency devices) white space devices rules in the TV bands (channels 2-35).
May 14, 2020
Significantly Viewed Local TV Stations - Comments are due with regard to the FCC's NPRM examining whether to update the methodology for determining whether a TV broadcast station is significantly viewed" in a community outside of its local television market and thus may be treated as a local station in that community and permitted under FCC rules to be carried by cable systems and satellite operators.
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 Licensing 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 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 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.
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, the District of Columbia, Idaho, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, 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.
June 2, 2020
TV White Space Device Rules - Reply Comments are due with regard to the FCC's NPRM proposing targeted changes to the Part 15 (Radiofrequency devices) white space devices rules in the TV bands (channels 2-35).
June 15, 2020
Significantly Viewed Local TV Stations - Reply Comments are due with regard to the FCC's NPRM examining whether to update the methodology for determining whether a TV broadcast station is significantly viewed" in a community outside of its local television market and thus may be treated as a local station in that community and permitted under FCC rules to be carried by cable systems and satellite operators.
July 10, 2020
Children's Television Programming Reports - For the first time, and after two delays, all commercial television and Class A television stations must file electronically annual children's television programming reports with the Commission, although the first one will cover only the portion of the year which began with the effective date of the revised rules (September 16-December 31, 2019). These reports should be automatically included in the OPIF, 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.
Issues/Programs Lists - For all commercial and noncommercial radio, television, and Class A television stations, listings of each station's most significant treatment of community issues during both the first and second quarters of 2020 must be placed in the station's OPIF. The lists should include brief narratives 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. Although with the postponed deadline, it should not matter whether these reports are formatted as one report or two, we would recommend retaining two separate reports and uploading one for each quarter to avoid confusing future reviewers.
Class A Television Stations Continuing Eligibility Documentation - The Commission requires that all Class A Television Stations maintain in their OPIF 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. Whether you upload one document or two in this category, make sure you include both the first and second quarters in the time period covered.
Telecom Deadlines:
May 1, 2020
Quarterly Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet (FCC Form 499-Q) - FCC rules require telecommunications carriers and interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (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 Universal Service Fund (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, Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (ILECS), and Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (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 (Due 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.