CommLawBlog

While supporting the decision, Commissioner O’Rielly criticizes FCC’s “cost/benefit” analysis In what four out of five FCC Commissioners seem to view as a no-brainer, the Emergency Alert System just got three more event codes and two slightly-revised geographic location codes. The odd man out? Commissioner O’Rielly. He doesn’t question the potential utility of the new/revised … Continue Reading

Normally non-controversial biennial action spiced up this year by partial dissent from Commissioner O’Rielly Thanks to Congress, the FCC has got to charge application fees and, also thanks to Congress, those fees have got to be adjusted every two years in light of changes in the Consumer Price Index. The last time the Commission tweaked … Continue Reading

FCC takes steps in anticipation of extensive auxiliary operation at upcoming conventions, inauguration It looks like Louis Libin won’t be getting much time off this month, or next January either, for that matter. That’s because he has been designated as the single point of contact for frequency coordination operations under Section 74.24 at (deep breath, … Continue Reading

Despite what your Cloud provider may suggest, there’s room for you to negotiate – and plenty of reasons to do so. Have you been thinking about moving some, maybe all, of your services or data to the Cloud? The push to get you to do just that is on, spurred by Amazon, Google and various … Continue Reading

Sensitive frequencies now available to companies developing medical devices. A small fraction of frequency bands need extraordinary protection from radio interference. Some, like those used for radio astronomy, depend on extremely sensitive receivers. Others carry signals essential to safety, like search-and rescue bands and GPS, which helps to land airplanes as well as to find … Continue Reading

Less than a week ago we reported that the FCC has invited comments on a draft revision of its EAS Operating Handbook proposed by the Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC). We mentioned that the comment period would be short – 15 days from Federal Register publication – which suggested that the FCC wants … Continue Reading

EAS participants must register and complete Form One pronto; FCC also seeks comment on new approach to the EAS Handbook Attention, all you EAS participants. The Commission has formally opened up its new EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS), which means that you’ve got until August 26, 2016 to get into the site and complete Form … Continue Reading

Same action grants extra time for recognizing non-accredited labs. Of course you remember our recent post about the FCC’s change to its procedures for accrediting overseas test labs, and its grant of extra time for recognizing non-accredited labs. And of course you’ve been on tenterhooks (whatever they are) waiting for these changes to take effect. … Continue Reading

Proposal would put other agencies on 90-day clock to complete review of possible national security issues. In an effort to facilitate foreign investment in U.S. common carrier and broadcast licensees, the FCC has proposed changes in the way it processes proposals involving reportable levels of foreign ownership. Historically, a major source of delay in the … Continue Reading

A week or two ago we introduced you to Karyn Ablin, a new arrival at FHH but an old-hand in a number of practice areas, including particularly copyright law. We should have held off on the welcoming post, because no sooner had we put it up but Karyn added yet another honor that we could … Continue Reading

Slowly but surely the post-repack regulatory landscape for LPTVs and TV translators is getting established. Back in December, the Commission adopted a number of provisions addressing the predicaments likely to be faced by the LPTV/translator industries once the Broadcast Incentive Auction – and the consequent channel repack – and over and done with. As part … Continue Reading

Action paves way for continued equipment approvals in China, elsewhere As we’ve reported, about 18 months ago the Commission issued new rules modifying its equipment authorization procedures. Those procedures, of course, have long relied in large measure on independent labs that test devices and certify their compliance with FCC standards. In a key change, in … Continue Reading

Action paves way for continued equipment approvals in China, elsewhere As we’ve reported, about 18 months ago the Commission issued new rules modifying its equipment authorization procedures. Those procedures, of course, have long relied in large measure on independent labs that test devices and certify their compliance with FCC standards. In a key change, in … Continue Reading

With the voice of experience, the FCC’s sister Commission provides support, criticism. As we alerted you a couple of months ago, the FCC is in the process of crafting rules intended to protect the private/propriety information (PI) of those of us accessing the Internet through Internet Service Providers (ISPs). If eventually adopted, the rules would … Continue Reading

We suspect that a lot of our readers have been anxiously awaiting the D.C. Circuit’s latest decision in the Net Neutrality proceeding. Here it is, just released. We here in the CommLawBlog bunker haven’t yet had a chance to review and digest the 115-page majority opinion (co-authored by Judges David Tatel and Sri Srinivasan), much … Continue Reading

Fletcher Heald & Hildreth is proud to announce that it has become affiliated with the IURISGAL International Network of Law Firms, an independent network – the first and only network – of law firms capable of providing legal services to their clients in the Spanish language. IURISGAL presently includes nearly 40 firms located across four continents. … Continue Reading

FHH lawyer Mitchell Lazarus began his professional life as an electrical engineer … until he took a wrong turn, he says, and ended up in the law. But that hasn’t tarnished his cred among the tech audience, as demonstrated by his regular appearances in the pages of IEEE Spectrum, the leading global magazine for electrical … Continue Reading

In petitions for reconsideration, wireless Internet service providers and car manufacturers go head to head over out-of-band emissions limits. This was supposed to be a simple rule fix. Why are we still talking about it? An unlicensed band at 5.8 GHz is heavily used for Wi-Fi, among other things. It is a particular favorite of … Continue Reading

This summer, many competition-hungry spectators will flock to Rio for the Olympics. But others may prefer to stay home and watch a different competition unfold: the Spectrum Olympics, pitting Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) against Wi-Fi. The prize? Determining how best to share the 5.850-5.925 GHz band (also referred to as the “U-NII-4 band”). Two … Continue Reading

Answer: Unclear, but it could be more often that you might think. In the ongoing litigation over whether recording artists are entitled to performance right royalties for the public performance of pre-February 15, 1972 recordings, we have a new wrinkle. A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has … Continue Reading

[Blogmeister’s Note: To re-state an obvious but important point that our blogger, Kevin, has previously made, neither he nor we are “employment” lawyers. But readers and others have expressed enough interest in the coming changes to the federal minimum wage and overtime rules that he thought it a good idea to take a look at … Continue Reading

Commission seeks comment on steps to improve, expand accessibility of video-described programming Way back at the dawn of the century (the 21st Century, that is), the FCC adopted rules requiring video providers to include “video descriptions” in their transmission. “Video description” involves the insertion, into natural pauses in the program’s dialogue, of audio-narrated descriptions of … Continue Reading

Failure to respond to FCC notices can have adverse consequences. When the FCC proposed to fine Chinese company C.T.S. Technology $34,912,500 a couple of years ago for marketing jammers in the United States, we predicted it would have trouble collecting. Silly us – we underestimated the FCC’s problems in even communicating with C.T.S., which did not … Continue Reading

Bureau announces, sort of, deadline for eligibility for first post-Spectrum Auction displacement window. LPTV and TV Translator licensees have known for some time – at least since last December – that they’re going to need to be “operating” as of a certain date in order to be eligible for the first displacement window that will … Continue Reading

Three’s the charm, as the Third Circuit sends the FCC’s Quadriennial Review proceeding back to the Commission for a third time We once described the FCC’s quadrennial ownership review process as Sisyphean in nature. Keeping with that analogy, we can report that the rock has now rolled back down the hill … again. But this … Continue Reading

Just last week we reported on the FCC’s overhaul of the Lifeline program. The Commission’s sweeping decision has now been published in the Federal Register. As frequent visitors here know, that publication does a couple of things. First, it sets the effective date for some, but by no means all, of the new rules. That … Continue Reading

Congress increasingly focused on dictating spectrum use. If you have your eye on some spectrum for a particular use, you’d likely go to the FCC and participate in a rulemaking proceeding, or perhaps initiate one, proposing that the rules be revised to specify that your preferred spectrum could be used for your preferred use. Maybe … Continue Reading

FHH lawyer and CommLawBlog contributor Mitchell Lazarus recognized The National Spectrum Management Association (NSMA) is an organization of “like minded individuals who take spectrum and regulatory issues very seriously.” Many of its members have been in the spectrum business for decades. Proper stewardship of the spectrum, says their website, is not just “their job but … Continue Reading

Faster, simpler, cheaper process, but no greater support The federal Lifeline program – a program overseen by the FCC and originally designed to provide subsidized phone service to low-income households – has never been a model of efficiency or consistency. Four years ago the Commission tried to tighten things up on the Lifeline front. And … Continue Reading

If it’s May, it must be time for proposed regulatory fees – and sure enough, here they are! In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), the FCC has got the ball rolling down the road that, for many regulatees, will lead us to a payment deadline sometime in September (or maybe August, but don’t count … Continue Reading

Recon, appeal deadlines also established Early last month we reported on the FCC’s “grant” of a petition by several organizations – Independent Spanish Broadcasters Association, the Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ, Inc., and the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, to be specific – who wanted the Commission to require the provision … Continue Reading

Three-day program in San Francisco will feature FHH’s Laura Stefani and Dan Kirkpatrick along with other eminent FCC practitioners providing insight into All Things FCC. Attention, all you Friends of CommLawBlog! San Francisco beckons, again. The American Conference Institute is presenting its second annual “FCC Boot Camp” program there from June 27-29, 2016. And this … Continue Reading