# Presentation: 188863

## Federal Communications Commission

- www.fcc.gov/ocbo/
- Commission Meeting       January 15, 2004

- Federal Communications Commission

## Mission

- Inform FCC policymakers on key issues, serve to promote opportunities for small, minority, and women-owned businesses, and provide outreach to the public.

## Small businesses are an important component of the thriving telecommunications sector of the U.S. economy.

- 97.9% of U.S. telecommunications field employers are small businesses (SBA data)

- 60 to 80% of all net new jobs annually are generated by small businesses (SBA data)

- $290 Billion—value of radio, TV, telephone, and telegraph to U.S. Gross Domestic Product (2001 U.S. Census Bureau data)

##  Office of Communications Business Opportunities

- Intra-Agency

- OCBO

- OSP

- Advisory Committee on Diversity

- WTB

- Small Business Size Standards

- EB

- Small Business Enforcement
- Small Business Administration Ombudsman

- CGB

- Tribal addresses from Small Business Database

- OET

- Unlicenced Spectrum Conference

- OLA

- Section 257 Report Legislative Proposals

- Relationships

##  Office of Communications Business Opportunities

- Small Business Size Standards
- (5 U.S.C. § 632)

- What size is a “small entity”?

- The FCC uses 9 generic SBA telecommunications small entity size standards.

- 	Advanced Wireless Services (example):
*Small Businesses—*those with $40 million or less in annual revenue.
*Very Small Businesses—*those with $15 million or less in annual revenue.

- The FCC needs to know, to provide policy initiatives or special exceptions to assist small entities.

- For FY 2003, OCBO assisted in coordinating 5 special size standards with Bureaus and Offices and the SBA.

- Media

- Spectrum

- Competition

##  Office of Communications Business Opportunities

- National Ombudsman Coordination
- (5 U.S.C. § 657)

- OCBO is the FCC’s liaison to the SBA’s Office of the National Ombudsman.

- OCBO coordinates enforcement matters with EB.

- Handling three Ombudsman-forwarded comments concerning FCC enforcement actions.

- Making presentations at Ombudsman public hearings in Montpelier, Vermont, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa (broadcast statewide).

- Submitting letters and memos to assist the Ombudsman with its annual Report to Congress, which “grades” agencies on their performance.

- During FY 2003, we represented the FCC in three Ombudsman programs by:

- Broadband

- Competition

- Spectrum

- Media

- Homeland Security

- Modernize the FCC

##  Office of Communications Business Opportunities

- Inter-Agency

- OCBO

- Relationships

##  Office of Communications Business Opportunities

- President George W. Bush signed Executive Order 13216 on June 6, 2001.

- 34 federal agencies participate in this White House Initiative on AAPIs.

- OCBO Director serves on policy-making Interagency Working Group.

- OCBO Attorney serves on policy-implementing Coordinating Committee.

- As an independent agency, the FCC voluntarily participates in this White House Initiative, sharing its telecommunications expertise in the small business context.

- Broadband

- Media

- Spectrum

- Competition

- Recently, the FDIC contacted us about utilizing the Universal Service E-Rate program to assist an AAPI community in rural, upstate New York.

##  Office of Communications Business Opportunities

- Spectrum

- Media

- Homeland Security

- Modernize the FCC

- Competition

- Broadband

- Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)—Analyses and Certifications

- OCBO implements the FCC’s RFA compliance.

- Reviews 100 (+) Bureau and Office RFA analyses and certifications in rulemakings.

- Conducts agency-wide training—most recently for 263 rule writers.

- Coordinates issues with the SBA Office of Advocacy.

- Assists Bureaus and Offices in describing industry small entities, using census data and size standards as criteria.

- Guides Bureaus and Offices to consider rulemaking alternatives to lessen the burden on small entities (RFA memo in Agenda Handbook).

- (5 U.S.C. §§ 601, 603-09, 611)

##  Office of Communications Business Opportunities

- “Snapshot” of all federal agencies’s regulations under development.

- Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions
- (5 U.S.C. § 602)

- Regulatory Flexibility Act requirement.

- Fall 2003 Unified Agenda submission contains 134 ongoing FCC rulemakings.

- OCBO coordinates the FCC’s submission with Bureaus and Offices.

- GSA publishes the Unified Agenda.

- Broadband

- Competition

- Spectrum

- Media

- Homeland Security

- Modernize the FCC

- Provides a summary of current regulatory proceedings.

## 2

- Triennial Report to Congress that details the FCC’s actions to eliminate regulatory barriers and identify statutory barriers to market entry that small businesses face.

- Section             Report (47 U.S.C. § 257)

- Goals:

- 3rd Report adopted December 2003, details work and proposals from:

- 5

- 7

- Vigorous economic competition

- Technological advancement

- Promote the public interest, convenience, and necessity

- CGB

- EB

- IB

- MB

- OCBO

- OLA

- OET

- WTB

- WCB

- Broadband

- Competition

- Spectrum

- Media

- Homeland Security

- Modernize the FCC

##  Office of Communications Business Opportunities

- Outreach

- Seminars

- OCBO

- Conferences

- Database growth
-  250 to 3,000 contacts

- Broadband

- Competition

- Spectrum

- Homeland Security

- Modernize the FCC

- Media

##  Office of Communications Business Opportunities

- Fulfillment of OCBO’s mandate to reach out to the small business community.

- 1st periodic OCBO publication tailored for the small and minority and women-owned telecommunications business community.

- Internet accessible: www.fcc.gov/ocbo

- Broadband

- Competition

- Spectrum

- Media

- Homeland Security

- Modernize the FCC

## Goals for 2004-05

- Hold Section 257 Report Small Business Roundtable

- Helping small business is good business.

- Modernize Small Business database

- Institute Compliance Guide Program

- Broadband

- Competition

- Spectrum

- Media

- Homeland Security

- Modernize the FCC

- Host Women in Communications Forum

- Conduct Small Business Seminars and Workshops with Bureaus and Offices