NAB, MMTC/NABOB Comments Filed In FCC Regulatory Fee Docket

Comments

Among comments filed in the FCC's Docket No. 19-105, the Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2019, were the NAB's complaint that the increase in radio fees is disproportionate and unsupported and the MULTICULTURAL MEDIA,TELECOM AND INTERNET COUNCIL and the NATIONALASSOCIATION OF BLACK OWNED BROADCASTERS asking for an exemption for incubator stations.

The NAB's filing noted that the Commission has in the past had trouble clearly explaining the basis for its fees, leading to this year's proposal, which, the NAB charged, "proposes extraordinary regulatory fee increases for radio stations for Fiscal Year 2019, while providing little or no explanation. Instead, the NPRM offers only conclusory statements about the Commission’s operations and its allocations of regulatory expenses." In addition, the NAB complained about "free riders" (naming GOOGLE, MICROSOFT, QUALCOMM, INTEL, BROADCOM, FACEBOOK, AMAZON, CISCO, and APPLE), unlicensed spectrum users not subject to the fees who could be hit with fees to help pay for the agency's operation. And the NAB noted that the FCC's overall budget is increasing 5.3% but radio fees are up 18-20%, well above increases for other services, with "no coherent explanation" for the disparity; furthermore, the number of payment units for radio dropped by almost 800 stations this year, increasing the fees applied to remaining stations, while in reality the number of AM and commercial FM stations actually increased. "It’s as if these 800 stations boarded Oceanic Flight 815, mysteriously never to be seen again." the NAB wrote.

The MMTC and NABOB cited financial struggles for new entrants for its proposal that the Commission "exempt incubated stations from payment of regulatory fees for the full eight-year term of the license in which their incubation period is contained." The organizations also asked for the FC to authorize the Media Bureau to issue routine fee waivers on a case-by-case basis.

Also filing comments were NEXSTAR and GRAY TELEVISION (jointly), objecting to the fees being the same for full-power primary TV stations and satellite stations; CENTURYLINK, proposing adjustment in the fees proposed for international bearer circuits; and MARANATHA BROADCASTING CO., INC., pointing out that fees for VHF stations remain high while VHF is inferior in digital television.

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