Recent Articles

FTC Releases New Rule Provisions That Expand Company Responsibilities Under The CAN-SPAM Act

May 15, 2008 22:37

On Monday, May 12, 2008, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) released a several new rules under the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (“CAN-SPAM Act” or “Act”). The Act and the implementing rules establish standards for sending commercial email...

Leased Access Order Imposes Significant Regulatory Burdens on Cable Providers

February 07, 2008 23:06

On November 27, 2007, the Federal Communications Commission (“Commission” or “FCC”) released an Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in its Leased Access Proceeding (“FNPRM”). The Order was released on February 1, 2008.In the Report and Order, the Commission modified its leased access...

FCC Releases Proposals to Reform USF

February 01, 2008 20:36

On Tuesday, January 29, 2008, the Federal Communications Commission ("Commission") released three Notices of Proposed Rulemaking ("NPRM") to examine the deficiencies in the high-cost Universal Service Fund ("USF"). The Commission asks for comment in three areas: (1) changes to the identical support...

NCTA Appeals Commission’s MDU Order

January 24, 2008 21:38

On January 22, 2008, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (“NCTA”) filed a Petition to Stay a Federal Communications Commission (“Commission”) Order, prohibiting exclusive contracts between multichannel video programming distributors (“MVPDs”) subject to section 628 of the...

Recent Forbearance Petitions Demonstrate Need for Meaningful Intercarrier Compensation Reform

January 16, 2008 16:01

On January 11, 2008, Embarq filed a forbearance petition with the Commission to eliminate the “Enhanced Service Provider” (“ESP”) Exemption to interstate access charges. Embarq claims that grant of its petition would make ESPs telecommunications carriers, thus subject to regulation. ESPs would no...

FCC Seeks Comment in MDU Exclusivity Proceeding

January 08, 2008 15:56

On Monday, January 7, 2008 an FCC order which voids exclusive contracts between multichannel video programming distributors (“MVPDs”) subject to section 628 of the Communications Act and owners of multiple dwelling units (“MDUs”) was published in the Federal Register. The FCC also released a...

Martin in the Hot Seat (Again)

December 18, 2007 20:09

Today, the Federal Communications Commission (“Commission” or “FCC”) voted to overturn its 32-year old media ownership prohibition. Under the ban, broadcasters in the nation’s 20 largest markets are prohibited from also owning a newspaper. Today’s vote is somewhat surprising due to the intense...

GAO Urges the FCC to Develop a Comprehensive DTV Transition Plan

December 13, 2007 20:49

The Federal Communications Commission (“Commission”) has suffered yet another embarrassing moment in its highly criticized digital television (“DTV”) transition planning. On December 11, the General Accountability Office released a report, expanding upon points made in prior Congressional...

Commission Seeks to Extend Do-Not-Call Registry Beyond 5-Year Limit

December 06, 2007 17:14

On November 27, the Commission adopted a NPRM that examined whether numbers placed on the Do-Not-Call registry should be kept on the list beyond the current 5-year period. The NPRM proposes that telemarketers would be obligated to honor the registrations either until the number was removed by...

Commission Examines Formalized Forbearance Procedures

December 03, 2007 15:12

In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) released on November 30, 2007, the Commission responded to a petition filed by several CLECs asking the Commission to tighten its procedural requirements for granting forbearance under Section 10 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (“Act”). The CLECs...