FCC Open Meeting (October 2011)

The Federal Communications Commission vacated its 2007 “enhanced disclosure” rules that would have forced stations to expend untold money and man-hours to detail the various kinds of programming they aired so that self-appointed watchdogs of the public interest could judge whether said programming justified the stations’ continued existence. But FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski couldn’t leave it at that. Instead of congratulating themselves for dumping some unworkable rules and showing the world that a Democrat-controlled agency could actually deregulate something, Chairman Genachowski and the other commissioners moved forward with plans to substitute new disclosure rules that may be just as onerous, unnecessary and wrong-headed as the 2007 rules.

Thanks to the Supreme Court’s decision last year to allow corporations and unions to make unlimited campaign contributions, Americans in the coming year may be blitzed by $1 billion of essentially anonymous television ads. Sponsors will hide behind the facade of made-up names for empty organizations. Why? So voters can’t question messages because of ad buyers’ motives. Congress or the Federal Communications Commission could guarantee the common-sense right to judge a political message by the intent of the messenger. But the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has no intention to pass such a disclosure law.

The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to comprehensively reform its Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation systems.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) took a major step toward modernizing the way television broadcasters inform the public about how they serve their communities.

On Oct 27, the Federal Communications Commission will hold its monthly meeting, and the big item on the agenda is FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's proposal to overhaul the agency's $8 billion Universal Service Fund.

Political TV commercials may be notable in the coming election not for the attack ads or the penchant to go negative but for a new level of transparency regulators are considering to shed light on who is buying the ads and how much they pay. The Federal Communications Commission is expected to vote Oct 27 on a notice of proposed rulemaking that could require broadcasters to post information about political ads and other data on the Internet.

On Oct 27, the Federal Communications commission will proffer a new batch of disclosure rules to replace the ones it passed in 2007 but hasn’t been enforcing.

United Church of Christ, OC Inc. and its partners in the Public Interest Public Airwaves Coalition are looking forward to a FCC vote this Thursday October 27 that will help members of the public understand the role of TV broadcasters by improving the relevance of publicly-available information and moving it online by next summer. Building on years of fact-finding, the FCC is poised this week to start a proceeding that will quickly modernize the current antiquated system of TV broadcaster public files -- which members of the public must currently visit in-person at a station’s studio.

Sen Mark Warner (D-VA) wrote the Federal Communications Commission to say he’s "very concerned" that the universal service reform proposal "appears to award the vast majority of funding to incumbents with little or no opportunity for competitive broadband providers to participate."

The Federal Communications Commission next week is expected to scrap its 2007 Enhanced Disclosure decision to require broadcasters to file more detailed programming reports and put them online for easier public inspection, but that is only so the current FCC can start over and figure out the best way to achieve that goal.

The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on reforming the Universal Service Fund -- in particular the high-cost universal service system.

Although new devices/phones, the economy, and jobs seem to dominate the headlines, the Federal Communications Commission remains focused on a key priority of the Obama Administration: making sure broadband Internet is available and adopted by all Americans. Developments in the last week point toward bigger policy decisions expected by the end of October.

When the Federal Communications Commission indicated it would act this year to reform the $8 billion fund used to boost rural telecom access, the reaction was almost universally positive. But questions abound about the cost of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's plan and whether it will remain technology-neutral, in part because he has yet to release a detailed draft.

With two weeks to go until the Federal Communications Commission votes on whether to adopt major reforms to the Universal Service program, the American Cable Association still hopes to persuade the FCC to make certain changes to the brokered reform solution proposed by large and small telcos.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced that the following items will be on the tentative agenda for the next open meeting scheduled for Thursday, October 27, 2011.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski outlined a plan to reform and modernize the Universal Service Fund (USF) and Intercarrier Compensation system (ICC) in a speech delivered at FCC headquarters. The plan will, if adopted by the FCC later this month, reform USF/ICC to unleash enormous benefits including expanded broadband infrastructure for millions of Americans. In addition, the plan will deliver more value for the money for wireless consumers, increase private investment, and spur near-term and long-term job creation. In addition, the plan will provide dedicated support to extend mobile broadband to large areas of the country that are currently shut out from the benefits of advanced mobile services.

Reaction came swiftly to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski's speech outlining the FCC's Universal Service Fund/Intercarrier Compensation regime reforms.

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) has asked Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski to complete the FCC's Universal Service and intercarrier compensation reforms and get them out the door by next month.

Lawmakers who spearheaded efforts to get makers of smartphones, tablet computers and communications services to better meet the needs of the disabled are pressing the Federal Communications Commission to resist industry pressure to short-circuit landmark law. As the FCC nears an Oct. 11 deadline for a vote on ways to implement the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, commissioners are being urged by some key House and Senate Democrats to stand their ground.