HARRY C. MARTIN

Under a proposal released in October, the FCC plans to host on its website all television station public files. The proposed plan Licensees would have

Three new pieces of legislation would compensate broadcasters for giving up spectrum.

The FCC has approved the first white space database and the first user devices. Such devices were to begin operation on Jan. 26, 2012, in the Wilmington,

The FCC has issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making to implement the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM Act), which the president

In June, the Senate Commerce Committee approved S.911, a bipartisan bill that represents the most detailed effort yet to make TV band spectrum auctions

The commission is proposing a new enhanced disclosure form (Form 355) for television stations. The 2007 version of this form, which was never implemented,

The Senate seeks a spectrum inventory, but with a kick

The Supreme Court has decided not to hear an appeal filed by Cablevision relative to last year's decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second

Frequency coordination is required for most microwave broadcast auxiliary changes

The long-delayed extension of the law covering direct broadcast satellite retransmission of television stations became effective at the end of May. While

The CALM Act would be effective by Christmas 2012.

The FCC approved deployment of white-space devices

In the National Broadband Plan (NBP) released March 16, the FCC proposes a Mobile Future Auction, which will permit existing spectrum licensees, particularly

In May, the FCC addressed some practical issues related to the DTV conversion, which is now set for February 2009. Below is a summary of the actions taken.

In April, the commission issued a notice seeking comment on possible revisions to Form 395-B, an annual employment report that must be filled out by broadcasters.

Moving to your analog channel? Avoid coverage losses.

With the major DTV rulemaking proceedings out of the way, the commission has been working on resolving remaining DTV transition issues as they occur.

In response to complaints filed by public interest groups in November 2006, the FCC has fined Comcast $20,000 for carrying portions of video news releases

The FCC will permit use of TV white space after the DTV transition.

The July 1 deadline for all stations to commence operation of their DTV facilities with either replication or maximized facilities or face the loss of

In December 2007, the FCC issued its long-awaited localism report. With it came rule proposals that, if adopted, would impose new regulatory burdens on

As of Feb. 17, 2009, all U.S. TV stations are expected to cease broadcasting in analog and commence digital-only operations. For viewers with digital

With less than a year-and-a-half before the end of analog TV broadcasting (except for Class A, LPTV and TV translators), the FCC continues to issue orders