State Broadcasters Push for Flat 2021 Regulatory Fees, Payor Expansion
State broadcast associations said the FCC should “hold the line” on FY 2021 regulatory fees. The request came in calls last week with aides to Commissioners Geoffrey Starks, Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington, said three similar ex parte filings posted…
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in docket 21-190 on Friday (see 2108170065). Broadcast associations from Minnesota, Georgia, Indiana, Montana and Missouri participated in the calls. Requiring broadcasters to face increased regulatory fees to cover the FCC’s broadband mapping efforts violates legislation requiring regulatory fees be tied to the benefit they deliver and is inconsistent with the FCC’s past practice, the representatives said. The FCC’s plan “to charge broadcasters 16% of its operating costs while those same broadcasters hold only 0.07% of the spectrum” regulated by the FCC “is an unsustainable approach,” the filings said. The FCC should keep fees level for broadcasters and launch a separate proceeding to investigate charging regulatory fees to additional entities, such as tech companies, the filings said. “By expanding the universe of payors, the Commission can reduce the impact of the fees on any one particular industry, like broadcasting, while achieving greater fairness for all.”