The FCC yesterday announced a two-week extension of time, through October 31, 2018, for the registration of C-Band earth stations used by many radio and TV stations to receive programming. As we have written before, the FCC is trying to determine what users are in the C-Band (aka the 3.7-4.2 GHz band) as it is… Continue Reading
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FCC Reminds C-Band Satellite Dish Users – Including Broadcasters – To Register By October 17
Posted in AM Radio, FM Radio, General FCC, Programming Regulations, Television, Tower IssuesOn Friday, the FCC issued a reminder to all operators “of fixed-satellite service (FSS) earth stations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band that were constructed and operational as of April 19, 2018 that the filing window to license or register such earth stations closes on October 17, 2018.” This frequency band is commonly referred to as… Continue Reading
December FCC Meeting to be an Important One for Broadcasters and Other Media Companies
Posted in Cable Carriage, Emergency Communications, General FCC, Multiple Ownership Rules, On Line Media, Television, Tower Issues, Website IssuesLast week, just before Thanksgiving, the FCC released the tentative agenda for its December meeting. From that agenda, it appears that the meeting will be an important one for broadcasters and other media companies. Already, the press has spent incredible amounts of time focusing on one item, referred to as “Restoring Internet Freedom” by the… Continue Reading
Commissioner O’Rielly Backs Further Review of Impact of New Law Requiring the Lighting of Short Communications Towers
Posted in Tower IssuesLast year, we wrote about legislation adopted by Congress telling the FAA to adopt rules to require the lighting of towers less than 200 feet tall located in rural areas. That legislation was designed to protect aircraft used for agricultural purposes like crop-dusting from collisions with such towers. The law surprised most of the broadcast… Continue Reading
Rural Towers Under 200 Feet May Need to Have Lights Under New FAA Authorization Law
Posted in Tower IssuesMy law firm has long provided legal advice to companies that operate communications towers, and the lawyers involved in that practice area have alerted me to the following development which will require the marking and lighting of many towers not currently covered by such rules. Broadcasters and tower companies have long relied on FAA rules that… Continue Reading
FCC Application Processing Decisions – No Reasonable Transmitter Site Assurance Necessary for Auction Applications, Change in Control of Nonprofit Governing Board Fatal to Pending Applications
Posted in Broadcast Auctions, General FCC, Noncommercial Broadcasting, Tower IssuesThere were several recent FCC decisions on application processing matters worthy of note. One deals with the processing of commercial applications for FM stations or FM translators that are involved in an auction to resolve disputes, the others with the processing of noncommercial applications (in this case for LPFM stations). None break new ground –… Continue Reading
As Incentive Auction Draws Near, Focus Begins to Shift to TV Spectrum Repacking – and Even FM Broadcasters Take Note of Potential Issues
Posted in Digital Television, FM Radio, Incentive Auctions/Broadband Report, Television, Tower IssuesAt the NAB Convention last week, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler discussed the timing of the incentive auction and how some of the remaining issues may soon be resolved. One subject of talk in a number of NAB sessions, as well as in the trade publications, has been how the repacking of broadcast television spectrum will… Continue Reading
FAA Announces New Standards for Lighting Communications Towers
Posted in Tower IssuesThe FCC this week issued a Public Notice announcing that the FAA has issued a new Advisory for the marking and lighting of new or altered communications towers – highlighting one change that towers above 350 feet above ground will need to have flashing lights, rather than “L-810 steady burning side lights” which were determined… Continue Reading
When is a Nondirectional FM Antenna Really Directional? The FCC Weighs In
Posted in FM Radio, Tower IssuesIn a decision of the FCC Media Bureau’s Audio Division that may be of interest to the more technically minded broadcasters, the Commission found that an FM station’s supposedly nondirectional FM antenna should be treated as directional. This decision was in response to a complaint from another broadcaster on the same channel, arguing that the… Continue Reading
FCC Fines: $17,000 for Unsecure AM Tower Fence (Not Owning the Tower Site is No Excuse); $25,000 for Missing Quarterly Issues Programs Lists; $22,000 for Nonfunctioning EAS and Wrong Tower Coordinates
Posted in AM Radio, Emergency Communications, FCC Fines, General FCC, Public Interest Obligations/Localism, Tower IssuesA flurry of fines against broadcasters have come out of the FCC in the last week. These fines highlight the scrutiny under which owners of broadcast stations can find themselves should an FCC Field Office inspector knock on their door. If the FCC pays a visit and finds a violation, a station is often looking… Continue Reading
Another Fine for Tower Lighting Issues – $20,000 – Warning to Large Companies that Fines May be Enhanced So That They are Not Just a “Cost of Doing Business”
Posted in FCC Fines, Tower IssuesA few weeks ago, we wrote about several recent cases where tower owners were fined for not having their towers lights working in the manner that was required by their licenses. In another case released this week, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau decided that a $20,000 fine was appropriate for a tower owner in Alaska whose… Continue Reading
Two Decisions Clarifying the Processing of FCC Applications for New Commercial and Noncommercial Broadcast Stations – Auction Applications and Reasonable Assurance of Transmitter Site Availability
Posted in Broadcast Auctions, FM Radio, Noncommercial Broadcasting, Tower IssuesLast week, there were two decisions that clarified FCC processing policies for new broadcast stations – one dealing with applications for commercial stations, and the other with applications for noncommercial FM stations. The commercial case made clear that an applicant for a new FM station in the auction process need not have reasonable assurance of… Continue Reading
Four Fines Up to $8000 for Tower Lighting Issues – A Message on the Importance to the FCC of Safety Issues
Posted in FCC Fees, Tower IssuesThere are times that the FCC, though its Daily Releases, appears to be trying to make a point. And Friday was one of those days, when it simultaneously released four separate orders, each fining the owner of a tower used for communications purposes for failures to maintain the required tower lights on those towers. Three… Continue Reading
FCC Meeting to Consider UHF Discount on National TV Multiple Ownership Rules, LPFM Window, and Tower Registration Issues
Posted in FM Translators and LPFM, Multiple Ownership Rules, Tower IssuesOn September 26, the FCC will hold its next open meeting and, according to a Public Notice released Friday, will consider several issues important to different parts of the broadcast industry. For television broadcasters, there will be concerns about the proposal to do away with the “UHF discount,” which gives UHF stations a 50% discount in determining… Continue Reading
FCC Sets New Rules for Determining When New Tower Construction Triggers Financial Responsibility for Disrupting AM Station Antenna Patterns
Posted in AM Radio, Tower IssuesThe rules for determining when construction of a new tower may cause a distortion of the pattern of a nearby AM station, and when the party building the new tower has a financial obligation to remedy any interference caused, were clarified by the Commission in an order released late last week. The order makes clear that all… Continue Reading
FCC Fines Up to $25,000 for Tower Issues Including Lighting and Painting Issues, Inadequate Fencing, Tower Registration in Wrong Name and No Posted ASRN
Posted in FCC Fines, Tower IssuesFailing to properly maintain a communications tower can be expensive, as a number of FCC decisions released in the last few days demonstrate. In several decisions reached in the last week, the Commission faulted tower owners for all sorts of problems – tower lights being out without letting the FAA know, faded paint, missing fencing around… Continue Reading
$11,000 Fine for Broadcast Station Tower Light Outage – FCC Emphasizes the Responsibility of Licensee To Maintain Lights if Tower Owner Does Not
Posted in FCC Fines, Tower IssuesFines for broadcast station tower owners who fail to maintain the required lighting on their tower are not unusual. But in a decision last week, the FCC made clear that, even if the licensee of a broadcast station is not the tower owner, it still has the responsibility for dealing with tower lights that are out,… Continue Reading
$14,000 FCC Fine for Tower Violations – Obstruction Light Out, No FAA Notification and Failure to Update Antenna Survey Registration to Report New Owner
Posted in FCC Fines, Tower IssuesIn a Notice of Apparent Liability, the FCC proposed a $14,000 fine on a broadcaster for a series of violations with respect to its tower. The FCC found that the station failed to have the required lights on the tower operating after sunset on at least two days, failed to notify the FAA of the outage… Continue Reading
FCC Asks for Comments on Whether OTARD Rules Should Limit Local Zoning Authority Restrictions on TV Antennas and Other Reception Devices in Common Areas
Posted in Digital Television, Television, Tower IssuesThe over-the-air reception of television stations has taken on heightened awareness in recent years. In the regulatory world, this prominence comes from the FCC’s consideration of taking back some of the broadcast spectrum for use by wireless broadband based at least partially on the Commission’s belief that broadcasters are not using that spectrum efficiently as many viewers,over the last… Continue Reading
Monitor Required Tower Lighting – FCC Proposes $17,000 Fine for Violations
Posted in FCC Fines, Tower IssuesCommunications towers that are not lit as required often bring big fines from the FCC. In two decisions released today, the Commission followed that precedent. In one case, the FCC proposed a fine of $17,000 to a tower owner after repeated promises to fix lights that were out did not result in any resolution of the issue after… Continue Reading
Short Term License Issued to Radio Stations Because of Violations of RF Radiation Rules – Showing the FCC’s Options for Penalties at License Renewal Time
Posted in FCC Fines, License Renewal, Tower IssuesIn every license renewal application, applicants must certify that their operations are in compliance with the RF radiation standards set out in Section 1.1310 of the Commission’s rules. In connection with the renewal applications of two Hawaii FM stations, the FCC issued short-term one-year renewals of the station’s licenses, rather than the normal 8 year renewals. The… Continue Reading
New FCC Rules Regarding Broadcast and Communications Towers; Further Steps Taken to Protect Migratory Birds
Posted in Tower IssuesWith the recent publication in the Federal Register, several new Commission rules and policies regarding communications towers and migratory birds are now on the books, however, they are not yet effective as the collection of information still requires OMB approval. The Commission’s new rules are an outgrowth of a decision from the Court of Appeals… Continue Reading
A Host of FCC Fines of Over $20,000 for Technical and Tower Issues – And a Presentation on How to Avoid FCC Problems to the Kansas Broadcasters
Posted in FCC Fines, Tower IssuesLast week, I did a presentation on the issues facing broadcasters at the Kansas Association of Broadcasters annual convention (a copy of the slides from my presentation is available here). I spoke about some of the day-to-day issues that can get broadcasters into trouble, as well as some of the big policy issues that broadcasters need… Continue Reading
Buy a Station Recently? Make Sure Your Tower Registration is Updated – FCC Fines Broadcaster $3000 For Not Doing So
Posted in Tower IssuesAmong the many things that broadcasters need to remember when they buy a broadcast station is making sure that the tower registration (the "Antenna Structure Registration" or "ASR") for that station is transferred along with the rest of the station assets. Unlike most registrations and filings done at the time of the Closing of a sale… Continue Reading