The Internet’s stunning growth, from its beginnings through maturity in 2005, relied on common carrier rules. (Blogmeister’s note: Even more than usual, this post reflects the views of its author and not necessarily those of Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, its other lawyers, or its clients.) The FCC’s latest effort at net neutrality rules is a … Continue Reading
Despite 2012 interference to Newark airport GPS system, Gary Bojczak skates with lowball $2,360 fine – if he keeps his jammer off for three years. Readers with long memories will recall Mr. Gary P. Bojczak, who operated an illegal jammer in order (apparently) to defeat the GPS tracking device his employer had installed in his … Continue Reading
How far can a court go in ordering broadcasters to comply with the terms of a contract? By trying to get a court to enforce a contract signed with a broadcaster, is the suing party infringing on a licensee’s control over its broadcast station license? These questions are addressed in a letter that the FCC… Continue Reading
The FCC yesterday released an order fining a public broadcaster $10,000 for failing to prepare and place in its public file 13 consecutive quarterly issues programs lists. The licensee had pleaded that the radio station fine should be reduced given that the public file failure began when it acquired the station from a local college that… Continue Reading
The FCC’s proceeding on revitalizing AM radio is headed into its second phase, looking at further steps that it can take to assist the oldest broadcast service adapt and thrive in the new media world. In the Fall, the FCC adopted certain policy and rule changes to help AM stations, most notably allowing wider use… Continue Reading
FCC releases samples of file formats to be provided to reverse auction participants during auction. In case we were all figuring that the reverse auction was going to be a walk in the park, the FCC has given us a glimpse of Reverse Auction Future by posting the “reverse auction file format specifications” that will … Continue Reading
We have previously reported that one party (Latina Broadcasters of Daytona Beach, LLC) has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to stay either (a) the exclusion of Latina’s application from the upcoming reverse auction) or (b) the reverse auction itself. And now the Videohouse Three (about whose appeal we have also … Continue Reading
Temporary moratorium in place since 1998 now permanent. For nearly 20 years most of you have been free from state and local taxes on your Internet access – and also from multiple or discriminatory state/local taxes on e-commerce. You’ve got Congress to thank for that. You may not have realized, however, that that freedom has … Continue Reading
FCC opens rulemaking to address white space geolocation questions. Everybody interested in 600 MHz – whether broadcasters sweating the repacking process, carriers planning to bid on new spectrum, or one of the many other current spectrum users wondering what the future will look like – share a common concern: How will the FCC ensure that … Continue Reading