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FCC Releases 2008 Regulatory Fees Schedule; Initiates Comprehensive Review of Regulatory Fee Regime

August 13 , 2008
printable version

Comments Due: 30 Days After Federal Register Publication

Reply Comments Due: 60 Days After Federal Register Publication

            The FCC recently issued its regulatory fees schedule for FY 2008 (attached), which retains the fee structure and rates the Commission proposed earlier this year (see our “Memorandum to Clients” dated May 22, 2008).  In addition, the Commission released a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to consider comprehensive changes to reflect marketplace realities and more fairly distribute regulatory fees among communications industry segments.  Among other things, the Commission seeks comment on:

  • Establishing regulatory fees for digital broadcasters;
  • Collecting per subscriber regulatory fees from DBS providers and incumbent local exchange carriers (“ILECs”) (rather than assessing such fees based on space station authorizations (for DBS providers) or revenues (for ILECs));
  • Imposing regulatory fees on IPTV providers and other service categories (e.g., Wi-Fi services);
  • Addressing any disparities in regulatory fee obligations for wireline and wireless carriers; and
  • Changing the method cable operators use to calculate bulk rate customers to more accurately reflect MDU subscriber counts.

            As shown in the attached fee schedule, the FY 2008 fees reflect a seven percent increase over FY 2007.  Certain fees which may be of particular interest are:

Cable systems (per basic sub)   $0.80 (up from $0.75)
CARS              $205 per station (up from $185)
TV (VHF)         $5,600 to $71,050 (based on market size) 1
TV (UHF)         $1,800 to $21,225 (based on market size)
FM Radio         $600 to $10,200 (based on class/pop. size)
AM Radio        $450 to $7,925 (based on class/pop. size)
Broadcast Microwave Auxiliaries  $10 (same as FY 2007)                                  

As a general matter, regulatory fees for licenses, permits and other authorizations that are not based on a subscriber, unit, or circuit count must be submitted for any authorization held as of October 1, 2007.  In the case of regulated entities whose fees are based on a per basic subscriber or other unit count basis, such as cable system operators, the number of the regulatee’s customers on December 31, 2007 is used to calculate the fee payment.3 Basic cable subscribers include single family dwellings, each individual household in a multiple dwelling unit, bulk rate customers and courtesy/free service customers.4

 Like last year, cable operators that have e-mail addresses populated in the Media Bureau’s Cable Operations and Licensing System will receive e-mail reminders to notify them of the amount due and the payment filing window.

With respect to broadcast stations, the FCC will continue generating regulatory fee assessment postcards and letters that indicate the regulatory fee owed and mailing them to the licensee’s primary and secondary contact persons identified in the Commission’s Consolidated Database System.  The notifications also will direct parties to an FCC website, www.fccfees.com, to update or correct fee information, or to certify their fee-exempt status (typically only for governmental entities), as necessary.

            As in the past, regulated entities whose total regulatory fee liability amounts to less than $10 will be exempt from paying such fees.  Payment of regulatory fees may be made either via paper or electronically during or before the fee filing window.  Late payments are subject to a 25% penalty and administrative processing charges, and failure to pay could result in the Commission’s withholding of action on and/or dismissal of applications filed by licensees/regulatees.  Nonpayment also could result in initiation of authorization revocation proceedings.  Additional details regarding payment procedures and September filing window dates should soon be available on the FCC’s website.  The FCC strongly encourages regulatees to file their FY 2008 regulatory fee payments electronically via fee filer.
           
We would be pleased to respond to any questions regarding these matters.


1 As noted above, there are currently no regulatory fee obligations imposed on digital television stations.  Stations that broadcast in both analog and digital format must pay regulatory fees only with respect to their analog facilities.  Stations that operate in digital-only format do not have to pay any regulatory fees. 

3 Cable operators can base the required subscriber count on a typical day during the last week of December 2007, rather than on December 31, 2007 specifically.

4 Currently, bulk rate customers are calculated on an equivalized basis, where the total annual bulk rate charge is divided by the basic annual subscription rate for individual households.