A seller who authorizes a third-party telemarketer to market the seller’s goods or services may be held vicariously liable if the telemarketer violates the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the Federal Communications Commission held in a May 9 declaratory ruling. The FCC’s ruling interprets two subsections of the TCPA. The first subsection — 47 U.S.C…. Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Federal Communications Commission
SpectrumWatch: FCC Considers Alternative Band Plans for Post-Incentive Auction Spectrum
Posted in Broadcasting & Cable, Spectrum & Mobile, TelecommunicationsIn a Public Notice released yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission asked for comments on several possible plans for reorganizing the spectrum currently used by television broadcasters. Initial comments are due June 14, with reply comments due June 28. Under a statute passed last year, broadcast television stations will be allowed to voluntarily participate in an… Continue Reading
Leadership Changes at the Federal Communications Commission
Posted in Broadcasting & Cable, TelecommunicationsChange is in the air at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The agency’s chairman, Julius Genachowski, announced yesterday that he will be stepping down on Friday, May 17. (He had announced his plans to leave the FCC in March, but the date of his departure has been uncertain since then.) Until his successor is confirmed… Continue Reading
FCC Sanctions Toll-Free Number Broker
Posted in TelecommunicationsYesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) handed down a $240,000 forfeiture order against IT Connect, Inc., a company that the FCC found had violated the prohibition on brokering toll-free telephone numbers. In its order, the FCC confirmed that it is unlawful for private entities to sell toll-free numbers for a fee, and it applied the… Continue Reading
FCC Cracks Down For First Time on Mobile Jamming Device Use; Fines in the Six Figures
Posted in Spectrum & Mobile, TelecommunicationsLast week, the FCC for the first time proposed to fine companies for using mobile phone signal jamming devices. The FCC found that two entities, Taylor Oilfield Manufacturing, Inc. and The Supply Room, Inc., willfully and repeatedly imported and operated multiple illegal mobile phone signal jammers in the U.S. Although the FCC in the past… Continue Reading
FCC Adopts Rules Requiring Emergency Information Provided During Non-News Programming To Be Conveyed on Secondary Audio Stream
Posted in Broadcasting & CableNew rules adopted by the FCC require that when television stations in the U.S. display emergency information visually during non-news programming, they must provide the same information aurally on a secondary audio stream. The new rules do not change the requirement that emergency information provided visually during newscasts be conveyed aurally on primary audio. The… Continue Reading
FCC Online Public Inspection File Suffers Outage
Posted in Broadcasting & CableThe public-facing portion of the FCC’s online public inspection file system for broadcast TV stations apparently was unavailable for part of the day on Wednesday. Although the outage was fairly brief — we first saw the error below late in the morning, and we could access the system again by mid-afternoon — it is a reminder that… Continue Reading
Annual Employment Report Requirement For Broadcasters and MVPDs Back in Effect
Posted in Broadcasting & CableThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has published a notice in the Federal Register that the requirement to file an Annual Employment Report is effective immediately. This requirement — entailing the filing of an FCC Form 395-A for multichannel video programming distribution systems (MVPDs) and an FCC Form 396-B for broadcasters — was adopted years ago,… Continue Reading
Commenters Debate FCC Proposals on Ownership Reporting
Posted in Broadcasting & CableInterested parties have filed comments at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding proposed changes to the requirements for ownership reports. In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released in January, the FCC asked for comment on several issues related to the ownership reports filed by broadcast licensees and by others with attributable interests in licensees. Among… Continue Reading
SpectrumWatch: FCC Considers Relocating Spectrum for Wireless Medical Devices in Repacking of Broadcaster Spectrum
Posted in Spectrum & MobileThe Federal Communications Commission sought comment, in connection with the incentive auction and repacking process reported in previous posts, on whether to relocate wireless medical telemetry service (“WMTS”) users from the 608-614 MHz spectrum band, known as Channel 37, or allow unlicensed devices to coexist with WMTS on Channel 37. The proposal elicited comments by… Continue Reading
SpectrumWatch: 3 Key Areas of Industry Agreement Regarding the FCC’s Spectrum Auction and Repacking Proposals
Posted in Broadcasting & Cable, Spectrum & Mobile, TelecommunicationsThe Federal Communications Commission received over 300 comments from the public regarding its proposals to allow broadcast television stations to voluntarily participate in an auction of their spectrum to mobile broadband providers and to involuntarily repack remaining television stations into a smaller television spectrum band. Broadcast television station groups, individual stations, mobile broadband providers, wireless… Continue Reading
FCC Reminds Wireless Service Providers of Jan. 15, 2013, Hearing Aid Compatibility Report Deadline
Posted in Spectrum & MobileThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently issued an enforcement advisory reminding wireless service providers and resellers that they must report on their compliance with the hearing aid compatibility rules by January 15, 2013. Under FCC rules, most wireless service providers must offer consumers a minimum number of hearing-aid compatible phones or other handsets. The purpose… Continue Reading
FCC Proposes Requiring Emergency Information On Secondary Audio Stream
Posted in Broadcasting & CableThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently proposed requiring that when broadcast television stations or cable/satellite companies display emergency information visually during non-news programming, they must provide the same information aurally on a “secondary” audio stream. When viewers tune to a channel, they ordinarily hear the primary audio stream; the secondary audio stream can be used to provide… Continue Reading
FCC Adopts Rules to Promote Expansion of Low-Power FM Stations
Posted in Broadcasting & CableAn order adopted by the Federal Communications Commission at its Nov. 30 open meeting will allow schools, tribal nations, and other community groups to apply to operate new low-power FM (LPFM) radio stations starting in the fall of 2013. LPFM stations, which cover much smaller areas than full-power stations, are intended to promote highly local… Continue Reading
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to Issue Decision in Long-Running LPFM Proceeding
Posted in Broadcasting & CableThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that at its upcoming open meeting, which will take place on November 30, it will issue an order in its proceeding on low power FM radio translators. You can see the agenda here. This is another step in a years-long proceeding to implement the Local Community Radio Act… Continue Reading
Spectrum Watch: FCC Holds Broadcaster LEARN Program Workshop
Posted in Broadcasting & Cable, Spectrum & MobileOn Friday, October 26, 2012, the Federal Communications Commission held its first workshop as part of its Learn Everything About Reverse-Auctions Now (“LEARN”) Program — a series that seeks to provide broadcasters guidance on the incentive auction process by which the FCC will reallocate a to-be-determined amount of broadcast television spectrum in the 600 MHz… Continue Reading
FCC Sets Comment Cycles for Additional Petitions Seeking to Clarify TCPA Provisions
Posted in Privacy & Data Security, TelecommunicationsIn follow up to our previous blog entry on the subject, comment deadlines were set for additional petitions seeking to clarify TCPA provisions and related FCC rules. Comments on these Petitions are due on November 23, 2012, and reply comments are due on December 10, 2012. The Westfax Petition asks the FCC to clarify whether… Continue Reading
Spectrum Watch: UK Completes Digital Television Transition, With Plans to Auction Freed Up Spectrum for 4G Services Within a Year
Posted in Broadcasting & Cable, Spectrum & MobileThis week the United Kingdom completed its five-year transition from analog to digital broadcast television operations. The switch to digital has allowed broadcasters in the UK to offer more channels and high-definition television services to the public. In addition, the transition freed up spectrum that the UK government will auction for fourth generation (4G) mobile broadband services in… Continue Reading
Telemarketing Recap: Recent Key Developments at the FCC, FTC and in the Courts
Posted in Privacy & Data Security, Spectrum & Mobile, TelecommunicationsA number of key developments affecting telemarketing emerged over the past week: 1. The distinction between informational and telemarketing calls was further defined. The 9th Circuit held that calls intended to impart information about a customer rewards program could be construed as “dual purpose” calls subject to federal and state telemarketing restrictions. See Chesbro v…. Continue Reading
Wireless Carriers Meet First Deadline on Anti-“Bill Shock” Alerts
Posted in TelecommunicationsThe Federal Communications Commission announced Wednesday that U.S. wireless carriers are on track to meet voluntary commitments they made one year ago to provide alerts that help customers avoid unexpectedly high bills. Under a voluntary agreement announced by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski in October 2011, members of CTIA-The Wireless Association agreed to provide free, automatic… Continue Reading
Spectrum Watch: A Closer Look at the FCC’s Proposed Rules for First-Ever Incentive Auction and Repacking of Broadcast Spectrum
Posted in Broadcasting & CableAs we reported previously, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Matter of Expanding the Economic and Innovation Opportunities of Spectrum Through Incentive Auctions (“NPRM”), along with an accompanying paper by auction specialists Auctionomics and Power Auctions. In this post, we describe the proposed rules for the incentive… Continue Reading
FCC Allows All-Digital Cable Systems to Encrypt Basic Tier
Posted in Broadcasting & CableCable systems that have converted to all-digital transmission will be allowed to encrypt their basic-tier programming, the Federal Communications Commission decided last week. The FCC on Friday released its full Report and Order, which explained the decision and outlined transitional protections for existing subscribers who might be affected. Background Previously, FCC rules prohibited cable operators… Continue Reading
Spectrum Watch: FCC Releases Agenda for October 26th Reverse Auction Workshop
Posted in Broadcasting & CableThe FCC today released details for its October 26th Broadcaster Learn Everything About Reverse-Auctions Now (“LEARN”) Program Workshop, to be held in the Commission Meeting Room at the FCC’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. and webcast live at www.fcc.gov/live. The workshop is the first in a series that seeks to provide broadcasters guidance on the incentive… Continue Reading
Marking the One-Year Anniversary of the USF/ICC Transformation Order
Posted in TelecommunicationsIn just under a year since the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued the USF/ICC Transformation Order setting forth major reforms to its telecommunications funding and compensation systems, the multi-year reform process continued amidst judicial and regulatory challenges. This post examines how these reforms evolved over the last year through modifications to the Order clarifying various… Continue Reading