On July 20, 2018, the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau released a Public Notice announcing that FEMA, in collaboration with the FCC, will conduct an Emergency Alert System (“EAS”) test on September 20, 2018 at 2:20 pm EDT.  EAS Participants, which include cable operators, must complete Form One in the EAS Test Reporting System (“ETRS”) by August 27, 2018.

The Bureau also reminded all EAS Participants that they must file the “day of test” information sought by ETRS Form Two on the EAS test date, September 28, 2018, and must file ETRS Form Three on or before November 5, 2018. 

The EAS alert will be transmitted in English and Spanish and include both audio and the text of the test message, which can be used to populate an accessible video crawl.

All EAS Participants are required to register with the ETRS and renew their identifying information required by ETRS Form One on a yearly basis. 

If you have questions about EAS or about preparing your cable system for the upcoming nationwide EAS test, please contact Scott Friedman at (314) 462-9000 or sfriedman@cinnamonmueller.com.

FINAL REMINDER:  Copyright Forms and Fees Due by August 29, 2018

Cable operators must file with the U.S. Copyright Office their Statement of Accounts (Form SA1-2 or SA3) and pay any royalty fees due for the January 2018 – June 2018 accounting period by August 29, 2018. The following forms apply:

• SA1-2 Short Form.  For use by cable systems with semiannual gross receipts of less than $527,600. 
• SA3 Long Form.  For use by cable systems with semiannual gross receipts of $527,600 or more.

Cable operators may now electronically sign and submit their SOAs.   Excel-based SA1-2E Short Form and SA3E Long Form, along with additional instructions regarding the forms, are available for download on the Copyright Office’s Section 111 webpage.  Cable operators may choose to continue to use the paper-based forms as well.

Copyright filings must be accompanied by a filing fee in addition to the royalty payment.  The filing fee is calculated based on the type of form filed:  

Operators must also remit the royalty fee and filing fee in a single electronic payment.  If you have any questions about copyright forms or fees, please contact Bruce Beard at (314) 394-1535 or bbeard@cinnamonmueller.com.

FINAL REMINDER:  FCC Form 477 Due September 4, 2018 

            The next Form 477 is due September 4, 2018.  Telephone, broadband, and interconnected VoIP providers must report information about broadband connections and local telephone service as of June 30, 2018.  

As a reminder, Form 477 must be filed online through the FCC's filing interface.  Instructions for filers can be found here.  Filers can also review a brief summary of the Form 477 changes made in 2014 on the FCC’s website. 

If you have any questions about Form 477, please contact Scott Friedman at 314) 462-9000 or sfriedman@cinnamonmueller.com.