Monty Tayloe, Associate Editor, covers broadcasting and the Federal Communications Commission for Communications Daily. He joined Warren Communications News in 2013, after spending 10 years covering crime and local politics for Virginia regional newspapers and a turn in television as a communications assistant for the PBS NewsHour. He’s a Virginia native who graduated Fork Union Military Academy and the College of William and Mary. You can follow Tayloe on Twitter: @MontyTayloe .
Biography for Monty TayloeRecent Articles by Monty TayloeThe aviation industry raised concerns about an NAB-supported FCC proposal to allow increased power for digital FM, in comments posted in docket 22-405 for Thursday’s deadline. Interference from FM digital broadcasting at the upper end of the 88-108 MHz band” could disrupt the operations of navigation and landing systems and “present a significant safety hazard," said the Air Line Pilots Association, International in comments echoed by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), the Aerospace Industries Association and others. GAMA is in talks with NAB about the matter, filings said. Though comments in the docket show wide support for the FCC proposals from broadcasters, NPR, Cumulus and REC Networks also raised concerns about interference and notifications.Read More >>
The FCC voted Thursday to streamline satellite applications, provide spectrum for commercial space launches, limit robocaller access to phone numbers, and target a robocalling enterprise with a $116 million forfeiture. Commissioner-designate Anna Gomez didn’t attend the agency's open meeting, which is expected to be the last one with FCC’s current 2-2 makeup. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel declined to say what the agency’s path might be once she has a Democratic majority, “We had four members of the agency here today” and there will be “five in the not-too-distant future, so I would recommend you stay tuned,” Rosenworcel said during a news conference. The agency also approved an order updating the 5G Fund for Rural America (see 2309210035).Read More >>
Nexstar and DirecTV signed a deal on retransmission rights for 176 Nexstar stations, ending a 76-day blackout for those stations but leaving behind an open FCC complaint, an ongoing antirust court battle and a continuing blackout for 27 other stations owned by Mission Broadcasting and White Knight Broadcasting but operated by Nexstar through shared service agreements. DirecTV and Nexstar announced “a comprehensive new multi-year distribution agreement” in a joint release Monday, a day after announcing the return of Nexstar’s programming to DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-Verse. Terms of the agreements weren't disclosed.Read More >>
Low-power broadcasters WWOO-LD Boston and XGen Network demonstrated an alternative to ATSC 3.0 in a livestream Wednesday by using 5G broadcast technology to send a television signal to a cellphone, airing a news broadcast and an emergency alert. WWOO is the only station broadcasting 5G in the U.S., and does so under an FCC experimental license. Though the tech is far behind ATSC 3.0 in implementation, it has been accepted by international cellular standards-making body 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and is expected to be receivable in next-generation mobile devices without additional hardware -- unlike 3.0, say 5G broadcast advocates. 3.0 “is a much more robust program right now,” but “we can get into cellphones,” said XGen CEO Frank Copsidas, who also heads the LPTV Broadcasters Association.Read More >>
Lawyers for DOJ and 48 states, in opening statements Tuesday in the government's antitrust bench trial against Google in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, argued that the tech company exercised monopoly power through ad sales tools and through deals requiring its search engine to be the default on Android phones and in some browsers. “Monopoly maintenance starts with defaults,” said Kenneth Dintzer, DOJ senior trial counsel.Read More >>
The aviation industry raised concerns about an NAB-supported FCC proposal to allow increased power for digital FM, in comments posted in docket 22-405 for Thursday’s deadline. Interference from FM digital broadcasting at the upper end of the 88-108 MHz band” could disrupt the operations of navigation and landing systems and “present a significant safety hazard," said the Air Line Pilots Association, International in comments echoed by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), the Aerospace Industries Association and others. GAMA is in talks with NAB about the matter, filings said. Though comments in the docket show wide support for the FCC proposals from broadcasters, NPR, Cumulus and REC Networks also raised concerns about interference and notifications.Read More >>
The FCC voted Thursday to streamline satellite applications, provide spectrum for commercial space launches, limit robocaller access to phone numbers, and target a robocalling enterprise with a $116 million forfeiture. Commissioner-designate Anna Gomez didn’t attend the agency's open meeting, which is expected to be the last one with FCC’s current 2-2 makeup. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel declined to say what the agency’s path might be once she has a Democratic majority, “We had four members of the agency here today” and there will be “five in the not-too-distant future, so I would recommend you stay tuned,” Rosenworcel said during a news conference. The agency also approved an order updating the 5G Fund for Rural America (see 2309210035).Read More >>
Nexstar and DirecTV signed a deal on retransmission rights for 176 Nexstar stations, ending a 76-day blackout for those stations but leaving behind an open FCC complaint, an ongoing antirust court battle and a continuing blackout for 27 other stations owned by Mission Broadcasting and White Knight Broadcasting but operated by Nexstar through shared service agreements. DirecTV and Nexstar announced “a comprehensive new multi-year distribution agreement” in a joint release Monday, a day after announcing the return of Nexstar’s programming to DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-Verse. Terms of the agreements weren't disclosed.Read More >>
Low-power broadcasters WWOO-LD Boston and XGen Network demonstrated an alternative to ATSC 3.0 in a livestream Wednesday by using 5G broadcast technology to send a television signal to a cellphone, airing a news broadcast and an emergency alert. WWOO is the only station broadcasting 5G in the U.S., and does so under an FCC experimental license. Though the tech is far behind ATSC 3.0 in implementation, it has been accepted by international cellular standards-making body 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and is expected to be receivable in next-generation mobile devices without additional hardware -- unlike 3.0, say 5G broadcast advocates. 3.0 “is a much more robust program right now,” but “we can get into cellphones,” said XGen CEO Frank Copsidas, who also heads the LPTV Broadcasters Association.Read More >>
Lawyers for DOJ and 48 states, in opening statements Tuesday in the government's antitrust bench trial against Google in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, argued that the tech company exercised monopoly power through ad sales tools and through deals requiring its search engine to be the default on Android phones and in some browsers. “Monopoly maintenance starts with defaults,” said Kenneth Dintzer, DOJ senior trial counsel.Read More >>