Recent Articles

FCC Extends Outage Reporting Obligations to Interconnected VoIP Providers

Stephen E. Coran
March 01, 2012 21:33

The Federal Communications Commission recently released its Report and Order adopting rules by which interconnected VoIP providers must report service outages. In a reversal of what the FCC had proposed in its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the FCC declined to impose similar obligations on...

Congress Makes Sweeping Changes to Spectrum Policy; Authorizes TV Band Incentive Auctions

Stephen E. Coran
February 21, 2012 18:49

On Friday, overwhelming majorities of both the House and the Senate passed a payroll extension bill that includes important changes to spectrum policy.  The legislation is expected to raise $15 billion for the Federal Treasury and to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. The details of the...

FCC Fines Radio Broadcaster $44,000 For Lack of Sponsorship Identification

David G. O’Neil
February 10, 2012 14:15

Last week the Federal Communications Commission fined a radio broadcaster $44,000 for violating the Commission’s sponsorship identification rules. Even more of an attention getter than the amount of the fine is the way FCC determined the fine -- by fining the broadcaster for each...

Will M.I.A.'s "Middle Finger Malfunction" at the Super Bowl Lead to FCC Fines?

Jonathan E. Allen
February 06, 2012 20:20

Stop me if you’ve heard this before.  An entertainer’s provocative gesture during the Super Bowl halftime show riles viewers and leads to calls for action by the Federal Communications Commission. Sound familiar?  This football season, the entertainer in question is musical...

U.S. Supreme Court Considers the FCC's Authority to Regulate Fleeting Expletives, Nudity on Broadcast TV

Jonathan E. Allen
January 13, 2012 18:21

If there was one surprise in this week’s oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court about FCC regulation of broadcast indecency, it was the nudity in the courtroom.  The Court is considering the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to regulate nudity and “fleeting...

NEW FCC RULES BAN LOUD COMMERCIALS; PROMOTE "CALM"

David G. O’Neil
December 22, 2011 16:22

The FCC has adopted new rules governing how loud commercials may be in digital programming, in response to the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (“CALM”) Act.  As a result, beginning December 13, 2012, all digital TV broadcasters, digital cable operators and other...

FCC Adopts USF Reforms, Seeks to Boost Broadband Deployment

Stephen E. Coran
October 27, 2011 23:17

Earlier today, the FCC voted to adopt rules to reform the Universal Service Fund and Intercarrier Compensation systems and to create a "Connect America Fund" designed to extend broadband infrastructure to unserved areas.  In the video below, I discuss today's vote and what...

Coming Soon: FCC to Require TV Broadcasters to Post Contents of Public File Online

David G. O’Neil
October 27, 2011 22:50

The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) took a major step today toward requiring television broadcasters to place the contents of their local public inspection file online.  With today’s action, the FCC is fast-tracking a 2007 Report and Order that required television...

Lebron Fined $15,000 by FCC

September 21, 2011 21:17

Today’s announcement from the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau – a proposed forfeiture of $15,000 against Lebron – caught our attention. We are all aware that certain NBA players have a lot of time on their hands during the National Basketball Association lockout. Nevertheless,...

Rini Coran, PC Co-Sponsors WCAI DC Social Networking Event

September 21, 2011 19:43

Rini Coran, PC, the Wireless Communications Association International, Select Spectrum, AT&T, Altius Communications, Tessco and Telecom Hub are co-sponsoring a networking event today in Northern Virginia geared toward professionals in the wireless industry.  Join Robert Rini (on Twitter,...