Do you know what FCC telecom and broadcast deadlines are approaching? The team at Fletcher Heald & Hildreth does, and provided a great quick-look at what should be on your calendar right now, and marked in red. Here’s all of the info for your convenience.
Telecom Deadlines:
July – No scheduled reporting/ certification deadlines for this month.
August 1, 2018 – Quarterly Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet – All interstate telecommunications service providers, including resellers and Interconnected VoIP providers of interstate services must report, on the FCC Form 499-Q, historical revenue for the second quarter (April to June 2018) and projected revenue for fourth quarter (October to December 2018) for the purpose of determining applicable Federal Universal Service Fund contributions.
Rural Call Completion Reporting – Covered providers of long-distance voice services must report first-quarter call completion details on the FCC Form 480. Covered providers include, generally, all wireline and wireless carriers, and all interconnected and non-interconnected VoIP providers, making the initial long-distance call path choice for more than 100,000 retail subscriber lines.
Numbering Resource Utilization/ Forecast Reporting – All telecommunications carriers receiving telephone numbers from the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA), a pooling administrator, or another telecommunications carrier must report their current telephone number holdings.
August 3, 2018 – Quarterly 911 Live Call Data Reports – Nationwide CMRS providers must report aggregate live call data collected for the preceding quarter.
Biannual 911 Live Call Data Reports – Non-Nationwide CMRS providers must report aggregated live call data for the preceding quarter.
Indoor 911 Call Location Accuracy Second Progress Report – All CMRS providers must submit their first progress reports on the implementation of indoor 911 call location accuracy requirements.
NEAD Privacy and Security Plan – Nationwide CMRS providers must develop and submit a detailed NEAD Privacy and Security Plan with their Second Progress Reports.
August 14, 2018 – Quarterly PIU Reporting and Certification – Prepaid calling card providers (PCCPs) must report the percentage of interstate use (PIU) factors and associated call volumes to carriers that provide them with transport services. Additionally, PCCPs must file traffic information and a certification signed by a company officer stating that the provider is in compliance with the FCC’s PIU and USF reporting requirements.
Broadcast Deadlines:
July 10, 2018 – Repack Transition Progress Report – All full-power and Class A television stations repacked as a result of the incentive auction must file a report in LMS to detail their progress toward completion of the transition.
Children’s Television Programming Reports – For all commercial television and Class A television stations, the second quarter 2018 Children’s Television Programming Reports must be filed electronically with the Commission. These reports then should be automatically included in the Online Public Inspection File, but we would recommend checking, as the FCC bases its initial judgments of filing compliance on the contents and dates shown in the Online Public File. Please note that use of the Licensing and Management System for the children’s reports requires the use of the licensee FRN to log in; therefore, you should have the FRN and password handy before you start the process.
Commercial Compliance Certifications – For all commercial television and Class A television stations, a certification of compliance with the limits on commercials during programming for children ages 12 and under, or other evidence to substantiate compliance with those limits, must be uploaded to the online public inspection file.
Website Compliance Information – Television and Class A television station licensees must upload and retain in their Online Public Inspection File records sufficient to substantiate a certification of compliance with the restrictions on display of website addresses during programming directed to children ages 12 and under.
Issues/Programs Lists – For all commercial and noncommercial radio, television, and Class A television stations, a listing of each station’s most significant treatment of community issues during the past quarter must be uploaded to the station’s online public inspection file. The list should include a brief narrative describing the issues covered and the programs which provided the coverage, with information concerning the time, date, duration, and title of each program.
Class A Television Continuing Eligibility Documentation – The Commission requires that all Class A Television stations maintain in their Online Public Inspection Files documentation sufficient to demonstrate that the station is continuing to meet the eligibility requirements of broadcasting at least 18 hours per day and broadcasting an average of at least three hours per week of locally produced programming. While the Commission has given no guidance as to what this documentation must include or when it must be added to the public file, we believe that a quarterly certification which states that the station continues to broadcast at least 18 hours per day, that it broadcasts on average at least three hours per week of locally produced programming, and lists the titles of such locally produced programs should be sufficient.
August 1, 2018 – EEO Public File Reports – All radio and television stations with five or more full-time employees located in California, Illinois, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Wisconsin must upload the reports to the online public file. For all stations with websites, the report must be posted there as well. Per announced FCC policy, the reporting period may end ten days before the report is due, and the reporting period for the next year will begin on the following day.
EEO Mid-Term Reports – All television stations located in California with five or more full-time employees must electronically file a mid-term EEO report on FCC Form 397, with the last two EEO public file reports attached.
August 6, 2018 – FM Translator Interference Complaint Rules – Comments are due in response to the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (MB Docket 18-119) requesting comments on a proposal to streamline the rules on interference caused by FM translators and to expedite the translator complaint resolution process.
