Pai Releases Media Modernization, Main Studio, Other Draft Items for May Meeting
A draft item that would review nearly all of the FCC’s media regulations is hugely broad and likely will loop in controversial topics such as retransmission consent alongside narrower procedural rules, broadcast and pay-TV attorneys told us Thursday, after the draft public notice on the review was released. The Modernization of Media Regulation PN is planned for a vote at the commission’s May 18 meeting, as is a draft NPRM on eliminating the main studio rule for TV and radio broadcasters. Though the review item excepts media ownership and accessibility rules from the review, it includes every other media rule, according to the draft PN. Media entities likely will treat the proceeding “like a wish list,” asking the FCC to do away with every rule they don’t like, said Fletcher Heald broadcast attorney Frank Jazzo. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced both draft items at NAB 2017 (see 1704250065). Pai also is seeking votes on an open internet NPRM (see 1704270044) and on smaller wireless, wireline and satellite items at the meeting.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
The media review item is very broad and seeks comment on only what rules the FCC should review, so it’s unlikely any commissioner will vote against it, said several attorneys. When the proceeding gets to the point of eliminating or changing rules, it likely would get more controversial. The reaction to the main studio rule is less clear, attorneys said. Though the proposal was universally lauded by broadcasters at the NAB show, unions may oppose it if it leads to job losses, Jazzo said. The proposal would further reduce broadcasting’s connection to localism, said Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood, saying Free Press opposes the proposal. Pai and Commissioner Mike O’Rielly expressed support for eliminating the main studio rule, but it’s not clear how Commissioner Mignon Clyburn would vote, especially since it’s only an NPRM, attorneys said.
Entities with strong positions on the FCC’s retransmission consent rules are expected to raise those issues in the review, attorneys said. That could extend to asking the FCC to again consider eliminating the syndicated exclusivity and network nonduplication rules (see 1701180025), said broadcast and pay attorneys. A proposal to do so backed by then-Chairman Tom Wheeler fizzled in the face of strong opposition from broadcasters under the previous FCC, and this iteration of the agency is seen as much more pro-broadcast, broadcast attorneys said. There are many more procedural rules and outdated onerous requirements that would be less controversial for the commission to eliminate, said broadcast attorney Jack Goodman. He cited rules on TV stations that change ownership to inform viewers of the boards of their new companies, and notice requirements for stations electing must-carry status. It’s not clear if the FCC intends this to be a “broad inquiry” or focused on more specific rules, he said.
The draft modernization item puts special focus on small business. “We also seek input regarding specific rules from which small businesses should receive regulatory relief,” the draft item said. “We will take such comments into consideration in determining whether to propose modifying or eliminating the rules brought to our attention.”
The draft main studio NPRM tentatively concludes that “technological innovations have rendered a local studio unnecessary,” since viewer communication with local broadcasters is more commonly done online. The draft also proposes to eliminate requirements that the main studio “must have full-time management and staff present during normal business hours, and that it must have program origination capability.” It proposes retaining a local telephone number, and seeks comment on applying the rule change only to a subset of stations, the draft item said.
Other Items
Pai also proposed a report and order on the agency’s Part 95 Personal Radio Services (PRS) rules. The draft order would change rules for both General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) and Family Radio Service (FRS) devices -- including citizen band radios and some walkie-talkies. The FCC has had an NPRM on the Part 95 rules before it since 2010. The main docket on the NPRM, 10-119, has been quiet, with only one filing this year. Motorola Solutions reported on April 13 meetings with aides to all three FCC commissioners about potential changes to the Part 95 rules.
The FCC released a draft order that notes the rules now take in “devices used to locate lost persons, retrieve data from implanted medical devices, provide auditory assistance for hearing-impaired persons, track property for law enforcement purposes, and increase highway safety through vehicle electronics that are integrated with Intelligent Transportation Systems.”
“The rules will increase the number of communications channels for both GMRS and FRS, expand digital capabilities to GMRS (currently allowed for FRS), and increase the power/range for certain FRS channels to meet consumer demands for longer range communications,” said an FCC fact sheet. “This action achieves a thorough review of Part 95 rules and creates a new rule structure where common administrative rules are consolidated to reduce duplication and individual subparts are structured with a common numbering scheme. It removes outdated and unnecessary rules while clarifying others.”
A draft Connect America Fund item would address rural telco concerns about a rate floor that requires rate-of-return carriers to charge customers a certain amount for basic voice service to avoid losing USF support. The rate floor is scheduled to rise July 1 from $18 per month to $20 per month, with another rise to $22 per month scheduled for July 1, 2018. The draft item contains an order that would freeze the rate floor at $18 per month, and an NPRM that would propose to eliminate the rate floor altogether, along with associated reporting requirements.
"NTCA is delighted to see the draft notice proposing to eliminate the rate floor policy that has punished smaller carriers and perplexed rural consumers in recent years, along with a draft order that would halt the escalating effects of the rate floor pending action on that notice,” said CEO Shirley Bloomfield. WTA also welcomed the draft. "We’ve been advocating for rate floor relief for our members since it went into effect and this is a positive step," said Derrick Owens, vice president-government affairs.
Also on the tentative agenda is an draft NPRM to reduce regulatory burdens on fixed-satellite service earth stations when in motion on vessels, vehicles and aboard aircraft.