The March 31 FCC commissioners' meeting will be livestream only and all items will be voted beforehand on circulation, agency officials said in interviews this week. The unusual format stems from the agency’s COVID-19 prevention measures, which have most staffers teleworking and headquarters closed to visitors without special permission.
After a broadcast tower company suspended work for two weeks because of the novel coronavirus, the FCC announced Tuesday it will allow stations that can’t meet the upcoming phase 9 deadline because of COVID-19-related delays to shift to the next phase (see 2003170023). Phase 10, which begins May 3, is scheduled to be the final phase of the repacking.
The FCC Incentive Auction Task Force and the Media Bureau are allowing stations in the current repack phase affected by delays related to the novel coronavirus to wait until the next phase, said a public notice Tuesday. The repack just began phase 9, scheduled to end May 1. Stations that can’t meet that deadline will be granted a waiver of that deadline and a reassignment to phase 10, May 2-July 3, the PN said.
The FCC is scheduled to move to its new headquarters in late June, officials told us. The agency wouldn’t comment on the details of the move to the new building, Sentinel Square III at 45 L St. NE. Officials told us the new offices will be more “open concept” than in the current building. Real estate industry officials say that’s in line with other federal agencies that have relocated (see 1701120044). During the move, agency staff will telework from home for a week while the offices are packed up and relocated, FCC officials said. It’s not clear how the move plan interacts with the agency’s current pandemic response, which also involves telework (see 2003120063).
Broadcast officials differ on what canceling the NAB Show from its April slot (see 2003110036) means for the industry, they said in interviews last week. Many said there are other avenues to connect with clients and vendors and new tech, but some said the show is a “one-stop shop” that can’t really be replicated.
FCC staffers are being encouraged to work from home starting Friday and have been told to remove perishables from agency refrigerators and take their plants home, Chief of Staff Matthew Berry emailed staff Thursday in a memo obtained by Communications Daily. The agency also released a public notice Thursday banning all visitors from its facilities unless they receive special permission from the Office of Managing Director. It declined to detail what that permission may entail.
The FCC released drafts Tuesday of proposed items for the March 31 commissioners’ meeting, including details of proposals to deregulate voice incumbent pricing and require authentication of caller ID information, plus Media Bureau proposals on ATSC 3.0 and program carriage. Chairman Ajit Pai outlined the agenda Monday (see 2003090050).
Broadcasters and device manufacturers widely support an FCC proposal to allow AM radio stations to voluntarily go all-digital, in comments posted in docket 19-311 by Monday night’s deadline. New rules should involve “a straightforward procedure for stations to notify the Commission of a change to all-digital operations and, likewise, a notification of reversion to analog or hybrid operations,” said Bryan Broadcasting, the originator of the petition that spawned the NPRM. Hubbard and others praised all-digital AM. The company operates such a station under experimental license (see 1911200056).
Coronavirus concerns are forcing the cancellation of more industry summits and prompting the FCC to ban nonessential travel and participation in large gatherings (see 2003040061). America's Communications Association Thursday also announced the cancellation of its March summit.
The FCC is suspending “noncritical” domestic and international travel for employees (see 2003040060) and its involvement in “non-critical large gatherings that involve participants from across the country and/or around the world.” That's until further notice as a preventive measure related to the coronavirus, said a public notice Wednesday. Chairman Ajit Pai, Commissioner Brendan Carr, and Media Bureau staff were all slated to participate in the NAB Show April 18-22 in Las Vegas. The commission and NAB didn’t comment. The agency is also barring visitors to headquarters and facilities who in the past 14 days “have been in any country that is the subject of a COVID-19- related CDC Level 3 Travel Warning.” Those countries are currently China, Iran, Italy and South Korea, the PN said. “Similarly, employees and contractors who, during the most recent 14 days, have been in any of these countries are being asked not to enter FCC facilities.” An aide to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said a planned hearing on artificial intelligence co-hosted by the commissioner will still take place in Detroit March 16. “The Chairman’s Office, in consultation with the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, the Office of Managing Director, and Office of General Counsel, will continue to monitor developments and will implement additional precautions (or relax current precautions) should circumstances warrant,” the PN said.