The Regulatory Mix

The Regulatory Mix, TMI’s daily blog of regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court, issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of a TMI Regulatory Bulletin.

 

TELECOM

 

US Congress

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) released a report chronicling the accomplishments of the committee in the 113th Congress. The report also previews a number of the committee’s priorities for the 114th Congress. The Report notes that the Communications and Technology Subcommittee focused its attention on “extending and updating services for consumers, modernizing communications laws to better match the technology of today and the future, and keeping a watchful eye” on the FCC and other responsible agencies. This includes the reauthorization of satellite television legislation and an extensive series of hearings as part of the #CommActUpdate initiative, which is a multiyear effort to assess the decades-old laws governing communications in America. The subcommittee explored issues as wide-ranging as media ownership, the evolution of wired networks and the future of wireless communication, changes in the video marketplace, and opportunities for innovation in spectrum.

 

Among the issues to be addressed by the Committee and its subcommittees in the next two years are a continuation of the #CommActUpdate initiative, data security, and the implications of cyber threats to American commerce.

 

FCC

The FCC announced that its Form 477 filing interface https://apps2.fcc.gov/form477/login.xhtml is now accepting data as of December 31, 2014. The filing deadline for Form 477 data as of December 31, 2014 is March 1, 2015. Form 477 data as of June 30 will be due the following September 1, and data as of December 31 will be due the following March 1.

 

The FCC also revised the dates for its webinar series discussing the detailed proposals for conducting the broadcast television spectrum incentive auction. This includes the proposed procedures for the forward auction, the reverse auction, and integration of the forward and reverse auctions. The revised schedule for the webinars is as follows:

  • Forward Auction Webinar: Thursday, January 15 at 10:30 a.m.
  • Reverse Auction Webinar: Tuesday, January 20 at 10:30 a.m.
  • Integration Webinar: Friday, January 23 at 10:30 a.m.

Additional details about the webinars, including how interested parties can attend, will be

released soon.

 

Regulatory Briefing

 

 

Telecom Regulatory Fees and Assessments

 

VoIP (Digital Phone) Requirements