On March 31, 2020, the FCC adopted a Report and Order to implement the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. The Program was established in the CARES Act, and the FCC was appropriated $200 million to provide to eligible medical facilities to provide telehealth services to their patients. A more detailed discussion of…
The FCC announced the opening of a new filing window to modify pending applications proposing new digital Low Power TV and TV translator service in rural areas. This filing window will permit applicants with long-pending applications who have subsequently been displaced by the Incentive Auction and the repacking process to…
The Federal Communications Commission released a Public Notice reminding broadcast licensees that the filing window for Broadcast Biennial Ownership Reports (FCC Form 323 and 323-E) will open on November 1, 2019. All licensees of commercial and noncommercial AM, FM, full-power TV, Class A Television and Low Power Television stations must…
On October 10, 2019, the FCC announced that it will hold a full-power FM Broadcast auction for 130 new construction permits starting on April 28, 2020. For now, the FCC is seeking comment on the procedures for the auction, although it does not propose any significant changes from past FM…
The FCC’s Media Bureau today announced changes to the filing window for submitting Biennial Ownership Reports for commercial and noncommercial stations. The opening of the filing window will be delayed from October 1, 2019 to November 1, 2019, and the window will now close on January 31, 2020, rather than…
Twelve large telecom companies and the attorneys general of 50 states and the District of Columbia announced yesterday an agreement on eight voluntary principles that the companies will adopt to combat illegal and unwanted robocalls. The announcement comes as regulators, telecom companies, and legislators continue to grapple with a worsening…
As we noted in last week’s post, television stations eligible to file 2018 distant signal copyright royalty claims with the United States Copyright Royalty Board must do so by July 31, 2019. While that due date still seems far away (especially to those accustomed to the FCC’s real-time electronic filing…
The availability of broadband Internet service in apartment buildings, condominiums, and office buildings, or what the FCC calls multiple tenant environments (MTE), was the subject of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and Declaratory Ruling released on Friday of last week. Prior FCC decisions have attempted to strike a balance…
For many consumers, answering a phone call from an unknown number has effectively turned into a gamble. Is it a potential new client? A medical emergency? Or, more likely, is it an incredible offer-to-stay-at-a-Caribbean-resort-of-your-choosing-please-hold-for-a-representative? Not surprisingly, no issue generates more complaints at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal…
Last April, the broadcast industry was abuzz with the need to register previously unlicensed earth stations in order to reduce the chance of future displacement. In April 2018, the deadline for submitting the registrations was announced, and after two extensions, all fixed-satellite service (FSS) earth stations in use prior to…