FCC Imposes $620,500 Penalty on Carrier for Tower Registration and Lighting Violations
October 30, 2015 On October 20, 2015, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau entered into a Consent Decree with an Alaskan wireless carrier, imposing a $620,500 penalty on the carrier and resolving an investigation into non-compliance with the FCC’s antenna structure and registration requirements.
FCC Releases Form 477 Enforcement Advisory- Reminds Voice and Broadband Providers That They Must File Complete and Accurate Form 477s Every Six Months
October 9, 2015 On October 7, 2015, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau released an Enforcement Advisory reminding telephone, broadband, and interconnected VoIP providers that they must file timely, complete, and accurate FCC Form 477 reports every six months. The Enforcement Advisory was issued in conjunction with a Consent Decree that the Bureau entered into with a broadband provider, resolving an investigation into the provider’s repeated failures to file Form 477.
FCC Sets Fiscal Year 2015 Cable Regulatory Fees Regulatory Fee Payments Due by 11:59 PM EDT on September 24, 2015
September 11, 2015 The Commission has released an Order establishing its Fiscal Year 2015 Regulatory Fees:
• 2015 Cable/IPTV regulatory fee: Cable systems (including IPTV systems) that had subscribers as of December 31, 2014 must pay $0.96 per subscriber, a $0.03 decrease from 2014.
• CARS licenses and permits: CARS facilities operating on October 1, 2014 must pay $660.00, a $55 increase from 2014, even if the facility’s license expired after October 1, 2014.
• Interconnected VoIP regulatory fee: $0.00331 for each dollar of interstate and international telecommunications revenue that a provider reports on its Form 499-A.
FCC Adopts Backup Power and Disclosures Rules for Fixed Residential Voice Service Providers
August 21, 2015 On August 6, 2015, the FCC adopted a Report and Order obligating voice service providers to provide backup power sources to customers in order to ensure 911 service during a power outage and to disclose certain information to consumers.
Loans and Loan Guarantees Available for Rural Broadband Deployment
August 10, 2015 The Rural Utilities Service (“RUS”), part of the USDA, is accepting applications for loans under the Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee program for the 2015 fiscal year. Applications are due by September 30, 2015.
July 10, 2015 Last month, the FCC released an Order revising its Emergency Alert System (“EAS”) rules. The revised rules were recently published in the Federal Register and will take effect July 30, 2015 (except for the new reporting requirement, which is subject to OMB approval).