Public Notice

The Federal Communications Commission’s Restoring Internet Freedom Notice of Proposed Rulemaking has generated an unprecedented number of comments, reply comments, ex parte filings, and other filings in the official record of the proceeding. To facilitate a review of the record, WC Docket No. 17-108, the FCC is making all filings submitted as of November 3, 2017 available via download. Parties interested in exploring the docket are encouraged to use these downloads. These downloads contain a complete set of filings submitted as of November 3, 2017.

We permit interested parties to submit additional comments in the proceeding for the transfer of control of Tribune Media Company (Tribune) to Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (Sinclair). We are also pausing the Commission’s 180-day transaction shot clock in this proceeding for 15 days, until November 2, 2017. For the reasons set forth below, we believe that this action will contribute to a more efficient review of the proposed transaction.

The Incentive Auction Task Force and the Media Bureau announce the issuance of an initial allocation of the TV Broadcaster Relocation Fund in the total amount of $1 billion to begin to reimburse eligible full power and Class A broadcasters and multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), for expenses related to the construction of station facilities on reassigned channels. The Bureau will continue to monitor closely the draw-down of Fund amounts and allocate additional amounts later in the transition period.

With this Public Notice the Wireline Competition Bureau seeks comment on the sufficiency of budgets for category two services under the E-rate program (more formally known as the schools and libraries universal service support program). In the E-rate Modernization Orders, the Commission adopted five-year, pre-discount budgets for schools and libraries. When the Commission adopted these rules in 2014, it established a five-year test period to allow the Commission to determine whether the applicant budgets were effective in ensuring greater access to E-rate funding for internal connections. The Commission directed the Bureau to report on the sufficiency of these applicant budgets before the filing window for funding year 2019 opens. In particular, the Commission directed the Bureau to use FCC Form 471 data from funding years 2015 through 2018 to analyze trends across different types of applicants or regions in the nation, particularly schools that serve students with special education services.

In preparation for this report, we seek comment on the sufficiency of the category two budgets. Specifically, we seek comment from applicants, service providers, and other interested parties about how applicants have used their budgets and the percentage of category two services purchased by applicants that were or will be covered by the budget. Interested parties may file comments on or before October 23, 2017 and reply comments on or before November 7, 2017. Comments and reply comments should reference WC Docket No. 13-184.

This Public Notice serves as notice that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has appointed chairs for the three working groups for the Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment (ACDDE):
Henry Rivera, Senior Advisor, Emma Bowen Foundation, will chair the Broadcast Diversity and Development Working Group.
Heather Gate, Director of Digital Inclusion, Connected Nation, will chair the Digital Empowerment and Inclusion Working Group.
Marc H. Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League, will chair the Diversity in the Tech Sector Working Group.

Chairman Pai previously designated Julia Johnson, President, NetCommunications, LLC, to serve as Chair of the ACDDE, and Diane Sutter, President/CEO, ShootingStar Broadcasting, to serve as Vice Chair. The ACDDE will hold its first meeting on Monday, September 25, 2017.

On June 22, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission adopted a Report and Order in this docket establishing Commission procedures for administering the state opt-out process as provided under the Public Safety Spectrum Act, as well as delineating the two-prong statutory standard by which the Commission will evaluate state alternative plans. The Report and Order resolved all issues, except the standard under which the FCC would review compliance with “Prong 2” of the statutory test. The Report and Order directed the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (Bureau) to issue a Public Notice establishing an expedited comment period for public comment on ex parte filings submitted by the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) on this standard. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said, "With today’s Order, we take another step towards the creation of a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network. Specifically, we finalize the technical criteria the Commission will use to evaluate plans from those states that elect to optout of the network that will be deployed by the First Responder Network Authority."

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced the appointment of 31 members to the Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment (ACDDE), which will meet for the first time on Monday, September 25, 2017. Chairman Pai has designated Julia Johnson, President, NetCommunications, LLC, to serve as Chair of the ACDDE, and Diane Sutter, President/CEO, ShootingStar Broadcasting, to serve as Vice Chair. A full list of ACDDE members is available in the posted Public Notice.

The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) of the Federal Communications Commission has announced the activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) in response to Hurricane Irma. DIRS is a voluntary, web-based system that communications providers, including wireless, wireline, broadcast, cable and Voice over Internet Protocol providers, can use to report communications infrastructure status and situational awareness information during times of crisis. Communications providers are reminded that for providers that participate in DIRS, the separate Network Outage Reporting System (NORS) obligations are suspended for the duration of the DIRS activation with respect to outages in the counties where DIRS has been activated. Reports are requested beginning at 10:00 a.m. on September 7, 2017, and every day after that by 10:00 a.m. until DIRS is deactivated.

By this Order, the Wireline Competition Bureau and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau extend the deadline for filing initial and reply comments in response to the Thirteenth Section 706 Report Notice of Inquiry until September 21, 2017 and October 6, 2017, respectively.

On August 30, 2017, the National Exchange Carrier Association, Inc. (NECA) filed its 2018 Modification of the Average Schedule Universal Service High Cost Loop Support Formula. The proposed formula, if approved, would take effect on January 1, 2018, and remain in effect through December 31, 2018.

The Wireline Competition Bureau seeks comment on the proposed formula. Pursuant to sections 1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission’s rules, interested parties may file comments on or before the dates indicated above. All pleadings are to reference WC Docket No. 05- 337. Comments may be filed using the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), or by filing paper copies.