(Washington) Congress ordered the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to do something about illegal radio stations, so now it has. Details of the Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement Act (the PIRATE Act) have been released. It’s the headline story in the January issue of Antenna newsletter, a free benefit of membership in NHAB.
FCC Docket 20-270 resulted in a new schedule of filing fees for 2021. You can check it out in this issue.
An item which may cause future headaches for broadcasters is an FCC mandate requiring broadcasters and other EAS participants to repeat the transmission of alerts issued by the President and Federal Emergency Management Agency warning of national security events. Current rules only require airing the announcement once. It could be a problem for automated or unattended operations.
Other topics in this edition deal with foreign ownership rules, and the launch of all-digital AM radio.
Antenna is written by Washington communications attorney Scott R. Flick, partner in the Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman law firm. Read the January issue here.