FCC Sets December 2 Deadline for Filing 2015 Biennial Ownership Reports for Commercial Broadcast Stations

By |2015-08-06T11:55:42-05:00August 6th, 2015|Legal News|

The FCC today released an Order setting December 2 as the date for the filing of FCC Form 323 Ownership Reports by commercial broadcast stations. All commercial broadcasters must submit this report. While the report is technically supposed to be filed by November 1 every other year, that date has routinely been extended as the… Continue Reading

When An FM Nondirectional Antenna is Really Directional – Round 2, The FCC Does Not Back Down

By |2015-08-06T11:27:42-05:00August 6th, 2015|Legal News|

Whether an FM antenna that is purportedly nondirectional should be reclassified as a directional antenna, requiring that the station which uses it back down its power, was a question that the FCC addressed a few months ago in a case we wrote about here.  There, the FCC concluded that the antenna was in fact designed to… Continue Reading

Update: Comment Deadlines Set in Equipment Authorization, E-Labeling Proceeding

By |2015-08-06T05:56:11-05:00August 6th, 2015|Legal News|

We recently reported on the FCC’s proposal to overhaul its equipment authorization processes. (Also as we reported separately just yesterday, that proposal includes provisions for possible expansion of the FCC’s e-labeling rules as mandated by Congress.) The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking has now made it into the Federal Register which, as we all know, means … Continue Reading

Expansion of Electronic Labeling Options Out for Comment

By |2015-08-05T19:51:03-05:00August 5th, 2015|Legal News|

Following Congressional directive, FCC would allow e-labeling for most devices with integrated electronic displays. As attentive readers will recall, late last year Congress passed the E-LABEL Act (yes, that is indeed an acronym; it stands for “the Enhance Labeling, Accessing, and Branding of Electronic Licenses Act”). That Act directed the FCC to provide some means … Continue Reading

August Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – While Incentive Auction Dominates the News, Other Dates to Watch

By |2015-08-05T11:50:19-05:00August 5th, 2015|Legal News|

With tomorrow’s FCC meeting to detail dates and procedures for the TV incentive auction dominating the headlines, there are other August regulatory dates that should not be overlooked. While we never can get to all of the relevant dates in our monthly highlight article, here are a few items worth your consideration. For one, we… Continue Reading

FCC Proposes to Revamp Equipment Authorization Rules, Again

By |2015-08-03T05:41:47-05:00August 3rd, 2015|Legal News|

Changes will update policies and procedures to accommodate developing technologies. Among the FCC’s many functions is one known to a small community of technical experts – and, of course, CommLawBlog readers: the equipment authorization program. These procedures seek to ensure that devices capable of emitting radio-frequency energy comply with the FCC’s requirements as to frequency, … Continue Reading

Update: Last of the New E911 Rules Now in Effect

By |2015-08-02T11:56:27-05:00August 2nd, 2015|Legal News|

Back in February the FCC released its new E911 standards designed to improve E911 location capability. As we reported in March, most of those new standards were to take effect in April … except for a small handful that happened to be “information collections” and thus subject to the hilariously named Paperwork Reduction Act. Thanks … Continue Reading

FCC Enforcement Monitor

By |2015-07-30T13:58:50-05:00July 30th, 2015|Legal News|

July 2015 Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others. This month’s issue includes: Repetitive Children’s Programming Costs TV Licensee $90,000 It’s Nice to Be Asked: FCC Faults Red-Lighted Licensee’s Failure to Request STA FCC Proposes $25,000 […]

Update: Media Bureau Suspends Deadlines for Comments on Proposed Reservation of UHF Channel Space for Unlicensed Use, Wireless Mics

By |2015-07-29T12:03:34-05:00July 29th, 2015|Legal News|

Last month we reported on the Commission’s proposal to preserve vacant UHF TV channel space in every geographic area of the country for use by unlicensed TV white space devices and wireless microphones. The deadlines for comments on the proposal were set tout de suite, and things seemed to be moving merrily along on the … Continue Reading

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