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Federal Communications Commission

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Articles 151 - 180 of 267

Full-Text Articles in Communications Law

Legacy Of Lost Opportunity: Designated Entities And The Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Pcs Spectrum Auction, A, Mark W. Munson Jun 2001

Legacy Of Lost Opportunity: Designated Entities And The Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Pcs Spectrum Auction, A, Mark W. Munson

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The Federal Communications Commission's ("FCC") designated entity policy has challenged the efficiency of the use of auctions to allocate spectrum licenses. As an alternative to comparative hearings and lotteries, auctions provide an effective solution to the costs, administrative burdens, and delays associated with apportioning spectrum. Congress required the FCC to allow firms to participate in the auctions even if they had difficulty in obtaining financing. The FCC gave these firms, known as "designated entities," set-asides and other preferences to assist them in the competitive bidding process. In the broadband Personal Communications Services ("PCS") auctions, however, designated entities frequently were unable …

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The Public Interest Standard: Is It Too Indeterminate To Be Constitutional?, Randolph J. May May 2001

The Public Interest Standard: Is It Too Indeterminate To Be Constitutional?, Randolph J. May

Federal Communications Law Journal

This Article argues that the congressional delegation of public interest authority to the FCC likely violates the nondelegation doctrine that inheres in the constitutional separation of powers scheme and that, even if the courts do not hold the public interest delegation unconstitutional, Congress should revise the Communications Act to set forth more specific guidance for the FCC. In today’s environment of “convergence,” in which competition is flourishing across communications sectors, Congress should not shirk its responsibility to establish fundamental policy for an industry that contributes so much to the overall health of our economy. This Article argues that Congress should …

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The Fcc’S Main Studio Rule: Achieving Little For Localism At A Great Cost To Broadcasters, David M. Silverman, David N. Tobenkin May 2001

The Fcc’S Main Studio Rule: Achieving Little For Localism At A Great Cost To Broadcasters, David M. Silverman, David N. Tobenkin

Federal Communications Law Journal

Localism, the communications law policy that requires spectrum licensees to serve the needs of local communities, represents a bedrock concept in the Communications Act and the Federal Communications Commission’s jurisprudence. The Commission’s sixty-year-old main studio rule provides a vivid example of this principle. Broadcasters often find compliance with this rule difficult and an exercise in form over substance, raising legitimate questions about the continued need and rationale for the rule. This Article examines the rule’s evolution and its current problematic state, and analyzes whether its modification or elimination would better conserve the resources of both broadcasters and the Commission, without …

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The Art Of Writing Good Regulations, Harold W. Furchtgott-Roth Dec 2000

The Art Of Writing Good Regulations, Harold W. Furchtgott-Roth

Federal Communications Law Journal

In this introduction to the three pieces that follow, Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth proposes his view that the regulation-drafting process relies more on art than science. The Commissioner sets out a four-category sliding scale to evaluate regulations, and lists the most frequently noted problems with FCC-promulgated rules.

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The Fcc’S Implementation Of The 1996 Act: Agency Litigation Strategies And Delay, Rebecca Beynon Dec 2000

The Fcc’S Implementation Of The 1996 Act: Agency Litigation Strategies And Delay, Rebecca Beynon

Federal Communications Law Journal

Since it began promulgating rules to implement the local competition provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the FCC has been under attack in the courts. The road has been a rough one, and the Commission has lost on a good many issues. The Commission has regularly accused its opponents in these legal battles-chiefly the incumbent local exchange carriers-of using litigation to impede the implementation of the 1996 Act’s local competition provisions. As discussed in this Article, if litigation has in fact slowed the introduction of competition in the local exchange markets, the Commission itself must share some of the …

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The Fcc And Section 312(A)(7) Of The Communications Act Of 1934: The Development Of The “Unreasonable Access” Clause, Philip J. Gutwein Ii Dec 2000

The Fcc And Section 312(A)(7) Of The Communications Act Of 1934: The Development Of The “Unreasonable Access” Clause, Philip J. Gutwein Ii

Federal Communications Law Journal

Section 312(a)(7) of the Communications Act of 1934 requires that broadcast stations provide legally qualified candidates for federal elective office with reasonable access to advertising time on behalf of their candidacies. The FCC has long struggled with defining "reasonable access." On September 7, 1999, the FCC issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order in which it ruled that broadcast stations may not refuse a request for political advertising time solely because the station does not sell or program such lengths of time. This ruling came in response to a petition for reconsideration of an October 3, 1994 Declaratory Ruling, filed by …

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Too Much Power, Too Little Restraint: How The Fcc Expands Its Reach Through Unenforceable And Unwieldy “Voluntary” Agreements, Bryan N. Tramont Dec 2000

Too Much Power, Too Little Restraint: How The Fcc Expands Its Reach Through Unenforceable And Unwieldy “Voluntary” Agreements, Bryan N. Tramont

Federal Communications Law Journal

The character of a regulatory agency is most severely tested at the zenith of its power. When the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC" or "Commission") breaks free of the limitations imposed by the law, the Commission’s leadership sets its own course. It is at these times, when legal oversight is at a minimum, that it becomes most important for the agency to "pay more attention to justice." Unfortunately, as outlined in this Article, the FCC has often failed this test of institutional character. In at least three contexts, the Commission has proven to be something less than a benevolent master. In …

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Proactive Legislation And The First Amendment, Stuart Minor Benjamin Nov 2000

Proactive Legislation And The First Amendment, Stuart Minor Benjamin

Michigan Law Review

It is a commonplace that the world is changing rapidly, with whole sectors of the economy being transformed. New forms of communication, like the World Wide Web, e-mail, and satellite television, have risen from obscurity to ubiquity in less than a decade. The speed of these changes has led some to express concern about the ability of governments to respond. The fear is that governments cannot keep up with developments as they occur and thus get hopelessly behind. The solution, according to some, is for the government to act proactively - before a harm has arisen, so that the government …

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Joint Statement Of Sumner M. Redstone Chairman And Chief Executive Officer Viacom Inc. And Mel Karmazin President And Chief Executive Officer Of Cbs Corp., Summer M. Redstone, Mel Karmazin May 2000

Joint Statement Of Sumner M. Redstone Chairman And Chief Executive Officer Viacom Inc. And Mel Karmazin President And Chief Executive Officer Of Cbs Corp., Summer M. Redstone, Mel Karmazin

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

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Growing Media Consolidation Must Be Examined To Preserve Our Democracy, Paul Wellstone May 2000

Growing Media Consolidation Must Be Examined To Preserve Our Democracy, Paul Wellstone

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

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Letter Of Introduction, M. Anne Swanson May 2000

Letter Of Introduction, M. Anne Swanson

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

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Viacom-Cbs Merger: Media Competition And Consolidation In The New Millennium, Andrew Jay Schwartzman May 2000

Viacom-Cbs Merger: Media Competition And Consolidation In The New Millennium, Andrew Jay Schwartzman

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

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Reflections On The Fcc’S Recent Approach To Structural Regulation Of The Electronic Mass Media, Lili Levi May 2000

Reflections On The Fcc’S Recent Approach To Structural Regulation Of The Electronic Mass Media, Lili Levi

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

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Private Property Rights And Telecommunications Policy: Hearing Before The H. Comm. On The Judiciary, 106th Cong., Mar. 21, 2000 (Statement Of Viet D. Dinh, Prof. Of Law, Geo. U. L. Center), Viet D. Dinh Mar 2000

Private Property Rights And Telecommunications Policy: Hearing Before The H. Comm. On The Judiciary, 106th Cong., Mar. 21, 2000 (Statement Of Viet D. Dinh, Prof. Of Law, Geo. U. L. Center), Viet D. Dinh

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

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A History And Analysis Of The Federal Communications Commission’S Response To Radio Broadcast Hoaxes, Justin Levine Mar 2000

A History And Analysis Of The Federal Communications Commission’S Response To Radio Broadcast Hoaxes, Justin Levine

Federal Communications Law Journal

Courts have long held that the government can punish an individual for falsely shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theater. But what is a government agency to do when the venue is none other than a theater of the imagination heard throughout the nation? Ever since the broadcast of Orson Welles's War of the Worlds, the FCC has struggled to find a balance in preventing harmful broadcast hoaxes while still encouraging radio to develop vibrant, imaginative programming. What defines a hoax deemed harmful to the public interest versus one that constitutes mere playful entertainment? This Article details the major events and …

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Reporting The Official Truth: The Revival Of The Fcc's News Distortion Policy, Lili Levi Jan 2000

Reporting The Official Truth: The Revival Of The Fcc's News Distortion Policy, Lili Levi

Articles

No abstract provided.

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The Unfinished Business Of Breaking Up "Ma Bell:" Implementing Local Telephone Competition In The Twenty-First Century, Michael T. Osbourne Jan 2000

The Unfinished Business Of Breaking Up "Ma Bell:" Implementing Local Telephone Competition In The Twenty-First Century, Michael T. Osbourne

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Responding to the statutory deadline in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its first Local Competition Order (LCO), In Re Implementation of the Local Competition Provisions in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, First Report and Order, CC Docket No. 96-98 (FCC 96-325), on August 8, 1996. Designed to implement local competition nationwide, this Order in nearly 1500 pages promulgated detailed provisions regarding the relationship between the Regional Bell Operating Companies ("RBOCs") (traditional monopoly providers of local telephone service) and new entrants in local telecommunications. This article focuses on several key provisions in the first LCO …

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Pay For Play: An Old Tactic In A New Environment, Douglas Abell Jan 2000

Pay For Play: An Old Tactic In A New Environment, Douglas Abell

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Promotional strategies involving payola --the payment of cash, drugs, or any other consideration to radio stations and their employees in exchange for airplay-- are generally illegal under federal law. Theoretically, these laws prohibit only undisclosed payola practices. Payola scandals of the late 1980s, however, illustrate that such practices have not ended. In fact, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (the "Act") created an environment in which pay-for-play, a disclosed and fully legal form of payola, could thrive. The possibility of returning to practices reminiscent of illegal payola has, however, sparked debate as to whether record labels should ever pay radio stations …

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The Battle For Portland, Maine, L. Andrew Tollin Dec 1999

The Battle For Portland, Maine, L. Andrew Tollin

Federal Communications Law Journal

In 1985, when the FCC began the competitive process of deciding who would be licensed to provide cellular telephone service to Portland, Maine, chaos and irony reigned. Thirteen years later, after a bitter legal battle among local telephone companies, a provider was finally selected. At one point or another, all three branches of government became involved. The license itself changed hands three times during the case and, in essence, three different telephone systems were constructed. Ultimately, the case was decided on the basis of whether the FCC complied with a preexisting federal law, the Paperwork Reduction Act, in adopting the …

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The Fcc’S Minority Tax Certificate Program: A Proposal For Life After Death, Erwin G. Krasnow, Lisa M. Fowlkes May 1999

The Fcc’S Minority Tax Certificate Program: A Proposal For Life After Death, Erwin G. Krasnow, Lisa M. Fowlkes

Federal Communications Law Journal

In 1995, Congress eliminated the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Minority Tax Certificate Program—a nonintrusive method of encouraging increased participation of minority entrepreneurs as owners in the broadcast and cable industries. Since that time, minorities have faced increased difficulties competing in all facets of the communications industry. These difficulties can be attributed to: (1) increased consolidation within the broadcast industry as a result of provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 relaxing certain broadcast ownership limitations; (2) recent court decisions adverse to minority-specific programs; and (3) continued obstacles faced by minorities in accessing sufficient capital to acquire licenses and compete in …

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The Value Of The Tax Certificate, Kofi Asiedu Ofori, Mark Lloyd May 1999

The Value Of The Tax Certificate, Kofi Asiedu Ofori, Mark Lloyd

Federal Communications Law Journal

Tax certificates are an example of successful incentive regulation. Prior to its repeal in 1995, section 1071 of the Internal Revenue Code permitted the tax-free sale or exchange of media properties to effectuate policies of the Federal Communications Commission. Enacted by Congress in 1943, this provision was originally used to soften the hardship created by involuntary sales of broadcast properties made necessary to reduce ownership concentration in the radio industry. In 1978, the tax certificate was used to promote goals to increase minority ownership of a variety of communications properties. This Article discusses the "value" of tax certificates as a …

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The Common Law In Cyberspace, Tom W. Bell May 1999

The Common Law In Cyberspace, Tom W. Bell

Michigan Law Review

Wrong in interesting ways, counts for high praise among academics. Peter Huber's stirring new book, Law and Disorder in Cyberspace, certainly merits acclaim by that standard. The very subtitle of the book, Abolish the FCC and Let Common Law Rule the Telecosm, announces the daring arguments to follow. A book so bold could hardly fail to make some stimulating errors, the most provocative of which this review discusses. Thanks to his willingness to challenge musty doctrines of telecommunications law and policy, moreover, Huber gets a great deal right. Law and Disorder in Cyberspace argues at length that the Federal Communications …

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From International Competitive Carrier To The Wto: A Survey Of The Fcc’S International Telecommunications Policy Initiatives 1985-1998, Lawrence J. Spiwak Mar 1999

From International Competitive Carrier To The Wto: A Survey Of The Fcc’S International Telecommunications Policy Initiatives 1985-1998, Lawrence J. Spiwak

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

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The First Amendment Case Against Fcc Ip Telephony Regulation, Tuan N. Samahon Mar 1999

The First Amendment Case Against Fcc Ip Telephony Regulation, Tuan N. Samahon

Federal Communications Law Journal

This Comment argues that IP telephony, like handbills and traditional print media, deserves First Amendment protection against FCC regulatory authority. After briefly reviewing the IP telephony phenomenon within the larger context of "digital convergence," the Comment examines the FCC and Supreme Court’s technologically driven First Amendment jurisprudence—particularly, the First Amendment’s conspicuous absence from the IP telephony dialogue, and, correspondingly, the prominence of assurances of regulatory forbearance in Congress, the courts, and the FCC. In response, the Author offers First Amendment content-based and content-neutral arguments against the proposed telephony regulations. At the very least, the affordability and innovation IP telephony offers …

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Thoughts On The Sprint Acquisition., Michael Botein Jan 1999

Thoughts On The Sprint Acquisition., Michael Botein

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

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From International Competitive Carrier To The Wto: A Survey Of The Fcc’S International Telecommunications Policy Initiatives 1985-1998, Lawrence J. Spiwak Dec 1998

From International Competitive Carrier To The Wto: A Survey Of The Fcc’S International Telecommunications Policy Initiatives 1985-1998, Lawrence J. Spiwak

Federal Communications Law Journal

With the creation and implementation of the February 1996 World Trade Organization Agreement on Basic Telecommunications Services, the international telecommunications community has (at least on paper) promised ostensibly to move away from markets characterized by monopolies and toward a world of competition and deregulation. The big question, however, is whether these efforts will actually lead to better economic performance in the market for international telecommunications products and services. This Article examines one particular, yet extremely significant, portion of this inquiry—how much have U.S. international telecommunications policies specifically helped or hindered this process. This Article, after surveying Federal Communications Commission (FCC …

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"Chilling" The Internet? Lessons From Fcc Regulation Of Radio Broadcasting , Thomas W. Hazlett, David W. Sosa Jun 1998

"Chilling" The Internet? Lessons From Fcc Regulation Of Radio Broadcasting , Thomas W. Hazlett, David W. Sosa

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Congress included the Communications Decency Act (CDA) in the Telecommunications Act signed into law on February 8, 1996. The bill seeks to outlaw the use of computers and phone lines to transmit "indecent" material with provisions of jail terms and heavy fines for violators. Proponents of the bill argue it is necessary to protect minors from undesirable speech on the Internet. The CDA was immediately challenged in court by the American Civil Liberties Union, and the special 3-judge federal panel established to hear the case recently declared the Act unconstitutional. Yet, its ultimate adjudication remains in doubt. Ominously, the federal …

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Communications Policy Leadership For The Next Century, Michael K. Powell May 1998

Communications Policy Leadership For The Next Century, Michael K. Powell

Federal Communications Law Journal

Those of us involved in the communications field realize the dramatic changes and challenges posed by the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. In particular, those in charge of implementing the Act's provisions face serious challenges. There are three ways that those in leadership positions may prevail in this "communications revolution" so as to facilitate development. First, it is essential to be familiar with the fields of economics and competitive analysis, and to understand that competition and markets will prove superior devices for managing change. Second, the importance of technology must be emphasized. Finally, emotion or special interest politics …

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The "Public Interest" Standard: The Search For The Holy Grail, Erwin G. Krasnow, Jack N. Goodman May 1998

The "Public Interest" Standard: The Search For The Holy Grail, Erwin G. Krasnow, Jack N. Goodman

Federal Communications Law Journal

During the last eighty years, there is likely no single area of communications policy that has generated as much scholarly discourse, judicial analysis, and political debate as has the simple directive to regulate in the "public interest." While remaining at the heart of current communications regulatory policy debate, the public interest standard has been subject to evolving, and often elusive definitions that reflect the change in American culture from generation to generation. As broadcasters begin the transition to a more flexible digital technology, there have been calls for a reexamination of the public interest standard. But the genius of the …

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A Modest Proposal For Restructuring The Federal Communications Commission, Harry M. Shooshan Iii May 1998

A Modest Proposal For Restructuring The Federal Communications Commission, Harry M. Shooshan Iii

Federal Communications Law Journal

At a time when the FCC is in the process of implementing the massive 1996 Telecommunications Act, a number of commentators have been calling for drastic change in the agency's structure. There most certainly are legitimate questions about how the modern FCC should be organized. A single-administrator model, which has been successful in the United Kingdom, could provide a more stable and predictable regulatory environment than currently exists. The advantages of a single administrator over a multimember commission are substantial and provide a conservative alternative to calls for the elimination of the agency. Such change would enable the FCC to …

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