Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 153 / Tuesday, August 11, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 40089 

1See Assessment and Collection of Regulatory 

Fees for Fiscal Year 2009, MD Docket No. 09–65, 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order, 24 FCC 

Rcd 5966 (2009) (FY 2009 NPRM and Order). 

2 47 U.S.C. 159(a). 

3See Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009, P.L. 

111–8, for the FY 2009 appropriations act language 

for the Commission establishing the amount of 

$341,875,000 of offsetting collections to be assessed 

and collected by the Commission pursuant to 

section 9 of the Communications Act. 

4See FY 2009 NPRM and Order. 

5See Appendix A for the list of commenters and 

abbreviated names. 

6See comments from American Association of 

Paging Carriers (AAPC); Coalition of CanadianBased Service Providers (Coalition); Independent 

Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance 

(ITTA); and United States Telecom Association 

(USTelecom). 

7See Assessment and Collection of Regulatory 

Fees for Fiscal Year 2008, MD Docket No. 08–65, 

Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking, 24 FCC Rcd 6389 (2008) (FY 2008 

Report and Order). 

capped, thereby eliminating direct 

contact with contaminated soil. The site 

is also fenced, prohibiting trespassing. 

Exposure to groundwater contributed a 

risk of 3 × 10–4 and an HI of 3.3 to the 

overall risk and hazard calculations for 

the site. If the groundwater risk 

assessment were performed today, 

following the practices for calculating 

an exposure point concentration (an 

upper bound estimate of the mean 

concentration) described in the Risk 

Assessment Guidance for Superfund, 

Part A (1989), and later clarified in the 

‘‘Supplemental Guidance to RAGS: 

Calculating the Concentration Term’’ 

(1992), the risk and hazard estimates 

would be within the acceptable risk 

range. Therefore, EPA determined that 

no response action under CERCLA was 

appropriate. 

V. Deletion Action 

The EPA, with concurrence of the 

State of New Jersey through the New 

Jersey Department of Environmental 

Protection, has determined that all 

appropriate response actions under 

CERCLA, have been completed. 

Therefore, EPA is deleting the Site from 

the NPL. 

Because EPA considers this action to 

be noncontroversial and routine, EPA is 

taking it without prior publication. This 

action will be effective October 13, 2009 

unless EPA receives significant adverse 

comments by September 10, 2009. If 

significant adverse comments are 

received within the 30-day public 

comment period, EPA will publish a 

timely withdrawal of this direct final 

notice of deletion before the effective 

date of the deletion, and it will not take 

effect. EPA will prepare a response to 

comments and continue with the 

deletion process on the basis of the 

notice of intent to delete and the 

comments already received. There will 

be no additional opportunity to 

comment. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Chemicals, Hazardous 

substances, Hazardous waste, 

Intergovernmental relations, Penalties, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Superfund, Water 

pollution control, Water supply. 

Dated: July 27, 2009. 

George Pavlou, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region II. 

■ For the reasons set out in this 

document, 40 CFR part 300 is amended 

as follows: 

PART 300—[AMENDED] 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 300 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1321(c)(2); 42 U.S.C. 

9601–9657; E.O. 12777, 56 FR 54757, 3 CFR, 

1991 Comp., p. 351; E.O. 12580, 52 FR 2923; 

3 CFR, 1987 Comp., p. 193. 

■ 2. Table 1 of Appendix B to part 300 

is amended by removing ‘‘Delilah 

Road’’, ‘‘Egg Harbor Township, NJ.’’ 

[FR Doc. E9–19066 Filed 8–10–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 1 

[MD Docket No. 09–65; MD Docket No. 08– 

65; FCC 09–62] 

Assessment and Collection of 

Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2009 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: In this document, we amend 

our Schedule of Regulatory Fees to 

collect $341,875,000 in regulatory fees 

for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, pursuant to 

section 9 of the Communications Act of 

1934, as amended (the Act). These fees 

are mandated by Congress and are 

collected to recover the regulatory costs 

associated with the Commission’s 

enforcement, policy and rulemaking, 

user information, and international 

activities. 

DATES: Effective September 10, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Daniel Daly, Office of Managing Director 

at (202) 418–1832, or Roland Helvajian, 

Office of Managing Director at (202) 

418–0444. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction 

1. In this Report and Order we 

conclude the Assessment and Collection 

of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year (FY) 

2009 proceeding 1 to collect 

$341,875,000 in regulatory fees for FY 

2009, pursuant to section 9 of the 

Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended (the Act). Section 9 regulatory 

fees are mandated by Congress and are 

collected to recover the regulatory costs 

associated with the Commission’s 

enforcement, policy and rulemaking, 

user information, and international 

activities.2 The annual regulatory fee 

amount to be collected is established 

each year in the Commission’s annual 

appropriations act which is adopted by 

Congress and signed by the President 

and which funds the Commission.3 In 

this annual regulatory fee proceeding, 

we retain many of the established 

methods, policies, and procedures for 

collecting section 9 regulatory fees 

adopted by the Commission in prior 

years. Consistent with our established 

practice, we intend to collect these 

regulatory fees during a filing window 

in September 2009 in order to collect 

the required amount by the end of our 

fiscal year. 

II. Report and Order 

2. On May 14, 2009, we released a 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and 

Order (FY 2009 NPRM and Order, 74 FR 

26329, June 2, 2009) seeking comment 

on regulatory fee issues for FY 2009.4

The section 9 regulatory fee proceeding 

is an annual rulemaking process to 

ensure the Commission collects the fee 

amount required by Congress each year. 

In the FY 2009 NPRM and Order, we 

proposed to largely retain the section 9 

regulatory fee methodology used in the 

prior fiscal year except as discussed 

below. We received nine comments and 

two reply comments.5 We address the 

issues raised in our FY 2009 NPRM and 

Order below. 

A. FY 2009 Regulatory Fee Assessment 

Methodology—Development of FY 2009 

Regulatory Fees 

3. We note at the outset that in the 

context of their comments on the FY 

2009 regulatory fee proceeding, 

commenters 6 discussed the 

Commission’s Further Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking, which 

accompanied the FY 2008 regulatory fee 

Report and Order (FY 2008 Report and 

Order, 73 FR 50285, August 26, 2008).7

Through that proceeding the 


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8FY 2008 Report and Order at paragraph 2. 

9FY 2009 NPRM and Order at paragraphs 2–5; FY 

2008 Report and Order at paragraphs 55 and 56. 

10 In an effort to explore how the Commission 

could comprehensively make the regulatory fee 

process more equitable, the Commission sought and 

received comments during FY 2008 about the 

regulatory fee process, the calculation of regulatory 

fees, and issues relating to specific categories of 

fees. FY 2008 Report and Order at paragraphs 25– 

58. The comprehensive regulatory fee revision 

issues raised in the FY 2008 Further Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking remain outstanding at this 

time. 

11 In many instances, the regulatory fee amount is 

a flat fee per licensee or regulatee. In some 

instances, the fee amount represents a per-unit fee 

(such as for International Bearer Circuits), a per-unit 

subscriber fee (such as for Cable, Commercial 

Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) Cellular/Mobile and 

CMRS Messaging), or a fee factor per revenue dollar 

(Interstate Telecommunications Service Provider 

(ITSP) fee). The payment unit is the measure upon 

which the fee is based, such as a licensee, regulatee, 

or subscriber fee. 

12The databases we consulted are the following: 

the Commission’s Universal Licensing System 

(ULS), International Bureau Filing System (IBFS), 

Consolidated Database System (CDBS) and Cable 

Operations and Licensing System (COALS). We also 

consulted industry sources including, but not 

limited to, Television & Cable Factbook by Warren 

Publishing, Inc. and the Broadcasting and Cable 

Yearbook by Reed Elsevier, Inc., as well as reports 

generated within the Commission such as the 

Wireline Competition Bureau’s Trends in 

Telephone Service and the Wireless 

Telecommunications Bureau’s Numbering Resource 

Utilization Forecast and Annual CMRS Competition 

Report. 

13 In addition, beginning in FY 2005, we 

established a procedure by which we set regulatory 

fees for AM and FM radio and VHF and UHF 

television Construction Permits each year at an 

amount no higher than the lowest regulatory fee in 

that respective service category. For example, the 

regulatory fee for a Construction Permit for an AM 

radio station will never be more than the regulatory 

fee for an AM Class C radio station serving a 

population of less than 25,000. 

14See Assessment and Collection of Regulatory 

Fees for Fiscal Year 2008, Second Report and Order, 

24 FCC Rcd 4208, paragraph 1 (May 12, 2009) 

(Submarine Cable Order). 

15See FY 2009 NPRM and Order at Appendix A. 

16See Submarine Cable Order at paragraphs 1 

and 6. 

17 Id. at 6. 

18 47 U.S.C. 159(b)(4)(B); Letter concerning 

permitted amendment from Office of Managing 

Director, Federal Communications Commission to 

Chair and Ranking Members of U.S. House of 

Representatives’ Committees on Energy and 

Commerce and Appropriations and applicable 

Subcommittees and to Chair and Ranking Members 

of the United States Senate Committees on 

Commerce, Science, and Transportation and 

Appropriations and applicable Subcommittees (sent 

April 15, 2009). 

Commission sought comment on how it 

could comprehensively make the 

Commission’s regulatory fee process 

more equitable.8 In the FY 2009 NPRM 

and Order, we adopted two proposals 

raised in the Further Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking in the FY 2008 Report and 

Order.9 The other outstanding matters 

stemming from the Further Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking in the FY 2008 

Report and Order will be decided at a 

later time in a separate Report and 

Order.10

4. In our FY 2009 regulatory fee 

assessment, we will use the same 

section 9 regulatory fee assessment 

methodology adopted for FY 2008. Each 

fiscal year, the Commission 

proportionally allocates the total 

amount that must be collected via 

section 9 regulatory fees. The results of 

our FY 2009 regulatory fee assessment 

methodology (including a comparison to 

the prior year’s results) are contained in 

Appendix B. To collect the 

$341,875,000 required by Congress, we 

adjust the FY 2008 amount upward by 

approximately 9.6 percent and allocate 

this amount across the various fee 

categories. Consistent with past 

practice, we then divide the FY 2009 

amount by the number of payment units 

in each fee category to determine the 

unit fee.11 As in prior years, for cases 

involving small fees, e.g., licenses that 

are renewed over a multiyear term, we 

divide the resulting unit fee by the term 

of the license and then round these unit 

fees consistent with the requirements of 

section 9(b)(2) of the Act. 

5. In calculating the FY 2009 

regulatory fees listed in Appendix C, we 

further adjusted the FY 2008 list of 

payment units (see Appendix D) based 

upon licensee databases and industry 

and trade group projections. In some 

instances, Commission licensee 

databases were used; in other instances, 

actual prior year payment records and/ 

or industry and trade association 

projections were used in determining 

the payment unit counts.12 Where 

appropriate, we adjusted and rounded 

our final estimates to take into 

consideration events that may impact 

the number of units for which regulatees 

submit payment, such as waivers and 

exemptions that may be filed in FY 

2009, and fluctuations in the number of 

licensees or station operators due to 

economic, technical, or other reasons. 

Therefore, our estimated FY 2009 

payment units are based on FY 2008 

actual payment units, but the number 

may have been rounded or adjusted 

slightly to account for these variables. 

1. AM and FM Radio Stations 

6. As in previous years, we consider 

additional factors in determining 

regulatory fees for AM and FM radio 

stations. We did not receive any 

comments on the use of these factors. 

These factors are facility attributes and 

the population served by the radio 

station. The calculation of the 

population served is determined by 

coupling current U.S. Census Bureau 

data with technical and engineering 

data, as detailed in Appendix E. 

Consequently, the population served, as 

well as the class and type of service 

(AM or FM), will continue to determine 

the regulatory fee amount to be paid.13

2. Submarine Cable Methodology 

7. In a Second Report and Order 

(Submarine Cable Order, 24 FCC Rcd) 

released on March 24, 2009, the 

Commission adopted a new submarine 

cable bearer circuit methodology that 

assessed regulatory fees on a per cable 

landing license basis, with higher fees 

for larger submarine cable systems and 

lower fees for smaller systems, without 

distinguishing between common 

carriers and non-common carriers.14 For 

the other categories of international 

bearer circuits—common carrier and 

non-common carrier satellite facilities 

and common carrier terrestrial 

facilities—the Submarine Cable Order 

retained the existing regulatory fee 

methodology of assessing fees on a per 

64 kbps circuit basis. 

8. By way of brief background, in the 

proposed fee rates for submarine cable 

systems in the FY 2009 NPRM and 

Order,15 the Commission allocated the 

total FY 2009 bearer circuit expected 

revenue into two revenue components: 

a submarine cable revenue component 

(87.6 percent) and a satellite/terrestrial 

revenue component (12.4 percent) using 

the Consensus Proposal allocation 

adopted by the Commission in the 

Submarine Cable Order.16 According to 

the Consensus Proposal, this allocation 

of 87.6 percent (submarine cable) and 

12.4 percent (satellite/terrestrial) was 

calculated by determining the revenue 

obligations of submarine cable systems 

with the revenue obligations of the 

satellite and terrestrial facilities using 

the FY 2008 revenue requirement as its 

basis.17 For calculating these new bearer 

circuit fees, we will use these allocation 

percentages of 87.6 percent (submarine 

cable) and 12.4 percent (satellite and 

terrestrial) as a starting point. Consistent 

with the Commission’s annual process 

of updating its schedule of regulatory 

fees based on the most recent data, we 

will re-examine the allocation 

percentages described above on an 

annual basis as the starting point for 

applying the new submarine cable 

methodology. 

9. After the adoption of the 

Submarine Cable Order, the 

Commission notified Congress on April 

15, 2009 per section 9(b)(4)(B) of the 

Communications Act of the 

methodology change.18 The pending 90- 

day congressional notification period 

expired on July 15, 2009. The new 

bearer circuit methodology is effective. 


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19FY 2008 Report and Order at paragraphs 55 and 

56. 20FY 2009 NPRM and Order at paragraph 5. 21 47 U.S.C. 159(b)(4)(B); Letter concerning 

permitted amendment from Office of Managing 

Director, Federal Communications Commission to 

Chair and Ranking Members of U.S. House of 

Representatives’ Committees on Energy and 

Commerce and Appropriations and applicable 

Subcommittees and to Chair and Ranking Members 

of the United States Senate Committees on 

Commerce, Science, and Transportation and 

Appropriations and applicable Subcommittees (sent 

May 20, 2009). 

22FY 2009 NPRM and Order at paragraph 10. 

23 Id. 

24 Id. 

25 Id. at paragraph 11. 

26See Assessment and Collection of Regulatory 

Fees for Fiscal Year 1997, MD Docket No. 96–186, 

Report and Order, 12 FCC Rcd 17161, 17184–85, 

paragraph 60 (1997) (FY 1997 Report and Order). 

27FY 2009 NPRM and Order at paragraph 12. 

28AAPC Comments at 1–4. 

29 Id. at 2. 

30The subscriber base in the paging industry 

declined 83 percent from 40.8 million to 6.95 

million, from FY 1997 to FY 2008, according to FY 

2008 collection data as of September 30, 2008. 

31FY 2009 NPRM and Order at paragraph 13–14. 32Bestel USA, Hibernia Atlantic US, and Level 3 

Communications comments at 3–4. 

33Coalition comments at 3, 8–9. 

34Sprint comments at 1. 

35AT&T comments at 1. 

36 Verizon and Verizon Wireless comments at 

2–3. 

37AT&T reply comments at 1–2. 

The FY 2009 regulatory fee rates for 

submarine cable systems included in 

the FY 2009 Schedule of Regulatory 

Fees in Appendix C reflect the 

Commission’s adoption of the 

methodology in the Submarine Cable 

Order. 

3. Elimination of Regulatory Fee 

Categories for International Public Fixed 

Radio and International High Frequency 

Broadcast Stations 

10. In our FY 2008 Report and Order, 

we sought comment on eliminating 

several categories of services from our 

schedule of regulatory fees.19 The 

Commission received no comments on 

those proposals. In the FY 2009 NPRM 

and Order, the Commission adopted an 

Order which eliminated the regulatory 

fee categories for International Public 

Fixed Radio and International High 

Frequency Broadcast Stations.20

11. After the adoption of the FY 2009 

NPRM and Order, the Commission 

notified Congress on May 20, 2009 per 

section 9(b)(4)(B) of the 

Communications Act of the 

methodology change.21 After the 

pending 90-day congressional 

notification period expires, i.e., after 

August 18, 2009, the elimination of 

these two regulatory fee categories will 

become effective. The FY 2009 Schedule 

of Regulatory Fees in Appendix C 

reflects the elimination of these two 

categories based on the Commission’s 

action in the FY 2009 NPRM and Order. 

B. Regulatory Fee Obligations for Digital 

Broadcasters 

12. In our FY 2009 NPRM and Order, 

we reiterated that consistent with past 

years, we would not assess FY 2009 

regulatory fees for both digital and 

analog licenses from a licensee in the 

process of transitioning from analog to 

digital.22 Furthermore, we stated that 

stations that were broadcasting in both 

analog and digital on October 1, 2008 

would be assessed FY 2009 regulatory 

fees for their analog license only.23 Also 

consistent with our past practice, we 

noted that stations that were 

broadcasting in digital only on October 

1, 2008 would not be assessed 

regulatory fees for their digital license 

for FY 2009.24

13. In our FY 2009 NPRM and Order, 

we proposed that beginning in FY 2010, 

we plan to collect regulatory fees from 

digital broadcasters, and we sought 

comment on this plan to collect 

regulatory fees on full-power digital 

broadcast stations beginning with FY 

2010, i.e., the fiscal year after the nationwide transition date on June 12, 2009.25

We received no comments on this issue. 

Our goal is to ensure that digital 

broadcasters will pay their share of 

regulatory fees in the years after the 

nation-wide transition is complete. 

Therefore, in FY 2010, we will collect 

regulatory fees from digital broadcasters. 

During the FY 2010 regulatory fee 

process, we will again remind digital 

broadcasters of their regulatory fee 

obligations. 

C. Commercial Mobile Radio Service 

Messaging Service 

14. Commercial Mobile Radio Service 

(CMRS) Messaging Service, which 

replaced the CMRS One-Way Paging fee 

category in 1997, includes all 

narrowband services.26 In the FY 2009 

NPRM and Order, we proposed 

maintaining the messaging service 

regulatory fee at $0.08 per subscriber, 

the rate first established for this service 

in FY 2002.27

15. One commenter, AAPC, addressed 

this issue.28 AAPC submits that 

maintaining the fee at the existing level 

is the minimum reasonable and 

appropriate action under the prevailing 

circumstances in the paging industry.29

We conclude that for FY 2009 we 

should continue this regulatory fee rate 

at $0.08 per subscriber due to the 

declining subscriber base in this 

industry.30

D. International Bearer Circuits 

1. Terrestrial Non-Common Carrier 

Circuits 

16. As part of our comprehensive 

effort to review our regulatory fees 

process for possible ways to make the 

process more equitable, we sought 

comment in our FY 2009 NPRM and 

Order on whether, beginning in FY 

2010, carriers providing international 

service over terrestrial circuits should 

also pay international bearer circuit 

(IBC) fees on non-common carrier 

circuits.31 Five parties filed comments 

or reply comments. In joint comments, 

Bestel USA Inc., Hibernia Atlantic US 

LLC, and Level 3 Communications LLC 

(Joint Commenters) argue that carriers 

should not be assessed regulatory fees 

on their non-common carrier circuits, in 

part, because the Commission does not 

authorize those services or collect data 

on them, and thus there is no burden on 

the Commission to regulate these 

services.32 The Coalition of CanadianBased Service Providers (Coalition) 

echoes these arguments, contending that 

international terrestrial fiber-based noncommon carriers are not regulated by 

the Commission, they do not hold 214 

licenses, and are not subject to 

enforcement and policymaking 

activities.33 Sprint Nextel (Sprint) 

opposes the imposition of regulatory 

fees on terrestrial non-common carrier 

bearer circuits that are used exclusively 

for providing Internet/IP services.34

AT&T, on the other hand, argues that in 

the interest of providing equitable 

treatment of all providers, per circuit 

fees should be levied on non-common 

carrier terrestrial circuits.35 Verizon and 

Verizon Wireless agree with Joint 

Commenters, the Coalition and Sprint, 

that non-common carrier services over 

terrestrial international circuits is 

inherently different from such services 

over satellite circuits and submarine 

cable systems.36 In its reply comments, 

AT&T argues that non-common carrier 

terrestrial circuits currently receive an 

unfair cost advantage because they are 

not assessed a regulatory fee, and it is 

possible that common carriers will 

increasingly market capacity on a noncommon carrier basis to avoid paying 

these fees, thereby increasing the fees 

for the smaller pool of remaining 

common carrier circuits.37

17. The commenters present a number 

of competing arguments on whether 

carriers should be assessed regulatory 

fees for their terrestrial non-common 

carrier circuits. In the FY 2009 NRPM 

and Order, we sought comment on 

whether we should make such an 

assessment starting in FY 2010, at the 

earliest. Given the complexity of the 


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38FY 2009 NPRM and Order at paragraph 15. 

39FY 2009 NPRM and Order at paragraph 16. 

40 Geostationary orbit space station (GSO) 

licensees received regulatory fee pre-bills for 

satellites that (1) were licensed by the Commission 

and operational on or before October 1 of the 

respective fiscal year; and (2) were not co-located 

with and technically identical to another 

operational satellite on that date (i.e., were not 

functioning as a spare satellite). Non-geostationary 

orbit space station (NGSO) licensees received 

regulatory fee pre-bills for systems that were 

licensed by the Commission and operational on or 

before October 1 of the respective fiscal year. 

41An assessment is a proposed statement of the 

amount of regulatory fees owed by an entity to the 

Commission (or proposed subscriber count to be 

ascribed for purposes of setting the entity’s 

regulatory fee) but it is not entered into the 

Commission’s accounting system as a current debt. 

A pre-bill is considered an account receivable in the 

Commission’s accounting system. Pre-bills reflect 

the amount owed and have a payment due date of 

the last day of the regulatory fee payment window. 

Consequently, if a pre-bill is not paid by the due 

date, it becomes delinquent and is subject to our 

debt collection procedures. See also 47 CFR 

1.1161(c), 1.1164(f)(5), and 1.1910. 

42See FY 2009 NPRM and Order at paragraph 20. 

43American Cable Association (ACA) comments 

at 4. 

legal, policy and equity issues involved, 

we decline to make a determination at 

this time. We may further consider this 

issue in the future. 

E. Administrative and Operational 

Issues 

18. In our FY 2009 NPRM and Order, 

we sought general comment on ways to 

improve our procedures in collecting 

annual section 9 regulatory fees.38 We 

received comments from the American 

Cable Association (ACA) regarding the 

fee notification of CARS (Cable 

Television Relay Service) and Earth 

Station licensees, and one specific 

comment from AT&T to send annual 

notification assessments to licensees of 

submarine cable systems. We received 

no reply comments relating to our 

collection procedures and processes. We 

will address these comments in the 

appropriate paragraphs below. 

1. Mandatory Use of Fee Filer 

19. In our FY 2009 NPRM and Order, 

we proposed to institute a mandatory 

filing requirement using the 

Commission’s electronic filing and 

payment system (also known as Fee 

Filer).39 Fee Filer is not a new system 

at the Commission, and although we 

have strongly encouraged its use for 

many years for the filing and payment 

of annual regulatory fees, we proposed 

this year to make its use mandatory. We 

received no comments and no reply 

comments regarding this matter. 

20. For the reasons discussed in the 

FY 2009 NPRM and Order, we conclude 

that beginning in the FY 2009 regulatory 

fee cycle, licensees filing their annual 

regulatory fee payments must begin the 

process by entering the Commission’s 

Fee Filer system with a valid FRN and 

password. Therefore, it is very 

important for licensees to have a current 

and valid FRN address on file in the 

Commission’s Registration System 

(CORES). Licensees will also need to 

have their FRN passwords available 

when entering the Commission’s CORES 

registration system. In some instances, it 

will be necessary to use a specific FRN 

and password that is linked to a 

particular regulatory fee bill. Going 

forward, only Form 159–E documents 

generated from Fee Filer will be 

permitted when sending in a regulatory 

fee payment to U.S. Bank. By requiring 

licensees to use Fee Filer to begin the 

regulatory fee payment process, errors 

resulting from illegible handwriting on 

hardcopy Form 159’s will be greatly 

reduced, and we will be able to create 

an electronic record of licensee payment 

attributes that are more easily traced 

than those payments that are simply 

mailed in with a hardcopy Form 159. 

21. There are many benefits to 

licensees for using the Commission’s 

electronic filing and payment system: 

(1) Expeditious submission of payment; 

(2) no postage or courier costs (when 

paid through Fee Filer); (3) fewer errors 

caused by illegible handwriting or 

payments submitted without an FRN 

number or the appropriate data 

attributes (e.g., payers will avoid 

receiving delinquency notices because 

of payment submission errors); (4) 

improved recordkeeping and payment 

reconciliation; (5) reduced 

administrative burden on both licensees 

and on Commission staff in processing 

regulatory fee payments; (6) less 

expensive than a wire transfer; and (7) 

a reduced burden of preparing, mailing, 

and storing paper documents. 

22. We realize that not all licensees 

are able to pay their regulatory fees 

using Fee Filer. In some instances, the 

regulatory fee payment may be greater 

than $99,999, in which case, the use of 

a credit card will be limited by 

restrictions placed on it by the U.S. 

Treasury. For those licensees who 

choose to pay by check or money order 

or pay via wire transfer, a voucher Form 

159–E will be needed before mailing the 

check to the Commission’s lockbox 

bank, or in the case of a wire transfer, 

faxing the Form 159–E to the lockbox 

bank. For those licensees choosing to 

make a payment using their bank 

account (also known as an Automated 

Clearing House (‘‘ACH’’) payment), the 

submission of Form 159–E to the 

lockbox bank will not be necessary. In 

such situations, regardless of whether a 

payment is made online or submitted 

with a check or money order along with 

a Form 159–E, the Commission’s 

requirement now is to begin the process 

of paying regulatory fees by starting 

with Fee Filer. The primary difference 

is that by starting the payment process 

using Fee Filer, even if the payment is 

then mailed to the Commission’s 

lockbox bank, a voucher Form 159–E 

will be generated that will have 

important electronic attributes 

associated with this regulatory fee 

payment. 

23. The mandatory use of Fee Filer to 

begin the regulatory fee payment 

process is an important step forward in 

providing our licensees with a 

paperless, electronic environment to use 

when conducting business with the 

Commission. This practice of using Fee 

Filer will not only enable the 

Commission to process regulatory fee 

payments more efficiently and 

accurately, it will also benefit licensees 

by reducing the administrative burden 

of filing and paying annual regulatory 

fees. Because no comments or reply 

comments were submitted to the 

contrary regarding this issue, we will 

institute a mandatory use of Fee Filer to 

begin the process of filing to pay annual 

regulatory fees. Beginning in the FY 

2009 regulatory fee cycle, only Form 

159–E documents generated from Fee 

Filer will be permitted when sending in 

a regulatory fee payment to U.S. Bank. 

2. Notification and Collection of 

Regulatory Fees 

a. Pre-Bills 

24. In prior years, the Commission 

mailed pre-bills via surface mail to 

licensees in select regulatory fee 

categories: Interstate 

telecommunications service providers 

(ITSPs), Geostationary (GSO) and NonGeostationary (NGSO) satellite space 

station licensees,40 holders of Cable 

Television Relay Service (CARS) 

licenses, and Earth Station licensees.41

The remaining regulatees did not 

receive pre-bills. In our FY 2009 NPRM 

and Order, we proposed to show the 

attributes of these pre-bills on Fee Filer, 

but not actually mail them out to 

licensees via surface mail.42 We 

received one general comment from the 

American Cable Association (ACA), and 

one specific comment from AT&T. We 

received no reply comments. 

25. The ACA contends that because 

there are many small cable operators 

and independent earth station licensees, 

the Commission should provide notice 

to each licensee via e-mail when the 

pre-bill information for CARS and Earth 

Stations is available for viewing in Fee 

Filer.43 ACA understands why the 


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44 Id. at 4. 

45 Id. at 5. 

46 Id. 

47AT&T comments at 3. 

48 Id. at 3. 

49See Submarine Cable Order at paragraph 1. 

50State Associations at 6–7. 

51 Id. at 7. 

52 Id. 

53See Implementation of Section 9 of the 

Communications Act, 9 FCC Rcd 5333, 5346 (1994), 

recon. granted, 10 FCC Rcd 12759 (1995) 

(Implementation of Section 9 Order). 

54 Implementation of Section 9 Order, 10 FCC Rcd 

at 12762, paragraph 13. 

55 Id. at 12762, paragraph 14. 

56 Id. at 12762, paragraph 15. 

Commission has decided to discontinue 

mailing these pre-bills, but contends 

that the Commission should consider email as an alternate way of notifying 

small operators that their bill 

information is available in Fee Filer.44

ACA also contends that if the 

Commission decides to cease mailing 

pre-bill notices, it is likely that many 

small operators will be unaware of this 

change, and as a result, some operators 

may inadvertently miss the filing 

deadline while waiting for receipt of the 

pre-bill.45 For this reason, ACA suggests 

that cable operators with 5,000 or fewer 

subscribers should receive a 180-day 

grace period for FY 2009 CARS and 

Earth Station regulatory fee payments.46

In its comments, AT&T recommends 

that the Commission send a separate 

annual fee assessment notification to 

each submarine cable licensee 

informing them of their obligation to 

pay submarine cable regulatory fees.47

26. The Commission does not 

maintain a systematic listing of e-mail 

addresses for individual CARS and 

Earth Station licensees, and so, 

attempting to use such a listing to 

contact small cable operators and 

independent earth station licensees may 

not prove useful. However, because all 

pre-bills will be loaded into Fee Filer, 

once Fee Filer becomes operational, this 

will be the signal by which licensees 

can view their pre-bill information 

online. As we have for many years, the 

Commission will post a Public Notice 

online announcing the date Fee Filer 

will become operational, and once this 

Notice is published, licensees will know 

that they can view their pre-bill 

information in Fee Filer. Having 

provided this Notice to licensees and 

having urged licensees to use Fee Filer 

for several years, the Commission will 

not provide a 180-day grace period for 

regulatory fee payments as ACA 

suggests. 

27. In its comments, AT&T suggests 

that the Commission notify licensees of 

their obligation to pay submarine cable 

system regulatory fees. AT&T contends 

that because there is a new regulatory 

fee methodology for submarine cable 

fees, and there can be multiple license 

holders for each submarine cable 

system, the Commission should try to 

contact the license holders of submarine 

cable systems to inform them of their 

obligation to pay submarine cable 

regulatory fees.48 In the Submarine 

Cable Order,49 the Commission did 

implement a regulatory fee methodology 

change for submarine cable systems. 

Although there may be multiple license 

holders for each submarine cable 

system, the total number of license 

holders is small and information 

available for each license holder is 

relatively accurate. However, rather 

than sending individual notification 

assessments to each submarine cable 

licensee, as AT&T suggests, the 

Commission in FY 2009 will publish a 

Public Notice that identifies the license 

holders of each submarine cable system. 

This Public Notice will serve as notice 

to all submarine cable license holders of 

their FY 2009 obligation to pay 

regulatory fees under the new 

methodology. 

III. Procedural Matters 

28. Included below are procedural 

items as well as our current payment 

and collection methods that we have 

revised over the past several years to 

expedite the processing of regulatory fee 

payments. We include these payments 

and collection procedures here as a 

useful way to remind regulatory fee 

payers and the public about these 

aspects of the annual regulatory fee 

collection process. For FY 2009, we 

have not changed our procedures with 

the exception of Pre-Bills, which as 

discussed above the Commission will 

no longer be sending out via surface 

mail. We also discuss at the outset a 

procedural matter about waivers raised 

by a commenter. 

29. In its comments, the Named State 

Broadcasters Associations (State 

Associations) suggested that the 

Commission’s standard for deciding 

whether to grant a waiver for financial 

hardship should be revised to allow 

greater flexibility.50 The State 

Associations commented that the 

current recession is crippling stations 

nationwide.51 Furthermore, the State 

Associations commented that: 

‘‘Especially during this period of deep 

recession, if a station shows the 

Commission (i) that its revenues are 

down substantially and that it has had 

to cut expenses, including employee 

layoffs, furloughs, and salary reductions 

in order to keep the station operating, or 

(ii) that it has broken, or is close to 

breaking, loan covenants or is otherwise 

in default of its financing, or (iii) that it 

is on the brink of some form of 

foreclosure or bankruptcy, a waiver of 

the FY 2009 regulatory fee payment 

requirement should be granted.’’ 52

30. We decline to adopt the State 

Associations’ proposals. In establishing 

the regulatory fee program, the 

Commission recognized that in certain 

instances payment of a regulatory fee 

may impose an undue financial 

hardship upon a licensee. The 

Commission therefore decided to grant 

waivers or reductions of its regulatory 

fees in those instances where a 

‘‘petitioner presents a compelling case 

of financial hardship.’’ 53 Under the 

current standard employed by the 

Commission, regulatees can establish 

financial hardship by submitting: 

‘‘Information such as a balance sheet 

and profit and loss statement (audited, 

if available), a cash flow projection 

* * * (with an explanation of how 

calculated), a list of their officers and 

their individual compensation, together 

with a list of their highest paid 

employees, other than officers, and the 

amount of their compensation, or 

similar information.’’ 54 The 

Commission also accepts as evidence of 

financial hardship that licensees’ 

stations are bankrupt, undergoing 

Chapter 11 reorganization, or in 

receivership.55 Furthermore, the 

Commission will accept evidence that a 

broadcast station is not broadcasting 

(dark) as evidence of financial 

hardship.56 The current financial 

hardship standards have proven useful 

as bright line tests that can be 

administered predictably. The 

Commission does not intend to change 

these standards at this time and notes 

that various groups of licensees are 

impacted by the broader economy from 

year to year. Modifying our financial 

hardship waiver standards to 

accommodate fluctuating economic 

changes and a potentially limitless 

variety of different financial showings 

would not assure that waivers are 

granted predictably, fairly, and 

efficiently, and would therefore not be 

in the public interest. 

A. Public Notices and Fact Sheets 

31. Each year we post public notices 

and fact sheets pertaining to regulatory 

fees on our web site. These documents 

contain information about the payment 

due date and the regulatory fee payment 

procedures. We will continue to post 


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57As stated previously at footnote 42, an 

assessment is a proposed statement of the amount 

of regulatory fees owed by an entity to the 

Commission (or proposed subscriber count to be 

ascribed for purposes of setting the entity’s 

regulatory fee) but it is not entered into the 

Commission’s accounting system as a current debt. 

58Some of those refinements have been to 

provide licensees with a Commission-authorized 

web site to update or correct any information 

concerning their facilities, and to amend their feeexempt status, if need be. Also, our notifications 

now provide licensees with a telephone number to 

call in the event that they need customer assistance. 

The notifications themselves have been refined so 

that licensees of fewer than four facilities receive 

individual fee assessment postcards for their 

facilities; whereas licensees of four or more 

facilities now receive a single assessment letter that 

lists all of their facilities and the associated 

regulatory fee obligation for each facility. 

59 If there is a change of address for the facility, 

it is the licensee’s responsibility to make the 

address change in the Media Bureau’s CDBS 

system, as well as in the Commission’s Registration 

System (CORES). The Commission-authorized web 

site for media services licensees is http:// 

www.fccfees.com. 

60See Assessment and Collection of Regulatory 

Fees for Fiscal Year 2005 and Assessment and 

Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2004, 

MD Docket Nos. 05–59 and 04–73, Report and 

Order and Order on Reconsideration, 20 FCC Rcd 

12259, 12264, paragraphs 38–44 (2005). 

61 Id. 

62See, e.g., Federal Communications 

Commission, Regulatory Fees Fact Sheet: What You 

Owe—Commercial Wireless Services for FY 2008 at 

1 (rel. Aug. 2008). 

63See Assessment and Collection of Regulatory 

Fees for Fiscal Year 2006, MD Docket No. 06–68, 

Report and Order, 21 FCC Rcd 8092, 8105, 

paragraph 48 (2006). 

this information on http://www.fcc.gov/ 

fees/regfees.html, but as in previous 

years we will not send out public 

notices and fact sheets to regulatees en 

masse. 

B. Assessment Notifications 

1. Media Services Licensees 

32. Beginning in FY 2003, we sent fee 

assessment notifications via surface 

mail to media services entities on a perfacility basis.57 The notifications 

provided the assessed fee amount for 

the facility in question, as well as the 

data attributes that determined the fee 

amount. We have since refined this 

initiative with improved results.58

Consistent with procedures used last 

year, we will continue our notification 

assessment initiative in FY 2009 and 

mail media assessment notifications to 

licensees at their primary record of 

contact populated in our Consolidated 

Database System (CDBS), and to a 

secondary record of contact, if available. 

We again will issue fee assessments for 

AM and FM Radio Stations, AM and FM 

Construction Permits, FM Translators/ 

Boosters, VHF and UHF Television 

Stations, VHF and UHF Television 

Construction Permits, Satellite 

Television Stations, Low Power 

Television (LPTV) Stations and LPTV 

Translators/Boosters, to the extent that 

applicants, permittees and licensees of 

such facilities do not qualify as 

government entities or non-profit 

entities. Fee assessments have not been 

issued for broadcast auxiliary stations in 

prior years, nor will they be issued in 

FY 2009. We will also continue to make 

the Commission-authorized web site 

available to licensees so that they can 

update or correct any information 

regarding their facilities and their feeexempt status.59

33. Although the Commission will 

continue to mail media assessment 

notifications, licensees (including media 

services) will be required to use Fee 

Filer as the first step to paying their 

regulatory fee obligations. The 

notification assessments are primarily 

intended to provide licensees with 

media data attributes and should not be 

considered a substitute to using Fee 

Filer as the first step in filing and paying 

regulatory fees. As explained previously 

in paragraphs 19 through 23, licensees 

must first log onto the Commission’s 

Fee Filer system to begin the process of 

filing and paying their regulatory fees, 

but once in Fee Filer, licensees may pay 

by check or money order, credit card, 

wire transfer, or by ACH. To pay by 

check, money order, or wire transfer, 

licensees must log onto Fee Filer and 

generate a Form 159–E before mailing in 

their payment along with Form 159–E. 

2. CMRS Cellular and Mobile Services 

Assessments 

34. As we have done in prior years, 

we will continue to mail an assessment 

letter to CMRS providers using data 

from the Numbering Resource 

Utilization Forecast (NRUF) report that 

is based on ‘‘assigned’’ number counts 

that have been adjusted for porting to 

net Type 0 ports (‘‘in’’ and ‘‘out’’).60

This letter will include a listing of the 

carrier’s Operating Company Numbers 

(OCNs) upon which the assessment is 

based.61 The letters will not include 

OCNs with their respective assigned 

number counts, but rather, an aggregate 

total of assigned numbers for each 

carrier. 

35. We will also continue our 

procedure of giving entities an 

opportunity to revise their subscriber 

counts by sending an initial and a final 

assessment letter. If the carrier does not 

agree with the number of subscribers 

listed on the initial assessment letter, 

the carrier can correct its subscriber 

count on the letter and return it by the 

date specified in the assessment letter or 

by contacting the Commission and 

stating a reason for the change (e.g., a 

purchase or sale of a subsidiary), the 

date of the transaction, and any other 

pertinent information that will help to 

justify a reason for the change. If we 

receive no response or correction to our 

initial assessment letter, we will expect 

the fee payment to be based on the 

number of subscribers listed on the 

initial assessment. We will review all 

responses to the initial assessment 

letters and determine whether a change 

in the number of subscribers is 

warranted. The final assessment letter 

will inform carriers as to whether we 

have accepted their revision in the 

number of subscribers. 

36. Because some carriers do not file 

the NRUF report, they may not receive 

a letter of assessment. In these 

instances, the carriers should compute 

their fee payment using the standard 

methodology 62 that is currently in place 

for CMRS Wireless services (e.g., 

compute their subscriber counts as of 

December 31, 2008), and submit their 

fee payment accordingly. Whether a 

carrier receives an assessment letter or 

not, the Commission reserves the right 

to audit the number of subscribers for 

which regulatory fees are paid. In the 

event that the Commission determines 

that the number of subscribers is 

inaccurate or that an insufficient reason 

is given for making a correction on the 

initial assessment letter, the 

Commission will assess the carrier for 

the difference between what was paid 

and what should have been paid. 

C. Streamlined Regulatory Fee Payment 

Process 

1. Cable Television Subscribers 

37. We will continue to permit cable 

television operators to base their 

regulatory fee payment on their 

company’s aggregate year-end 

subscriber count, rather than requiring 

them to sub-report subscriber counts on 

a per community unit identifier (CUID) 

basis. 

2. CMRS Cellular and Mobile Providers 

38. In FY 2006, we streamlined the 

CMRS payment process by eliminating 

the requirement for CMRS providers to 

identify their individual calls signs 

when making their regulatory fee 

payment, requiring instead for CMRS 

providers to pay their regulatory fees 

only at the aggregate subscriber level 

without having to identify their various 

call signs.63 We will continue this 

practice in FY 2009. In FY 2007, we 

consolidated the CMRS cellular and 

CMRS mobile fee categories into one fee 

category and as one fee code, thereby 

eliminating the requirement for CMRS 


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64Audio bridging services are toll 

teleconferencing services, and audio bridging 

service providers are required to contribute directly 

to the universal service fund based on revenues 

from these services. On June 30, 2008, the 

Commission released the InterCall Order, in which 

the Commission stated that InterCall, Inc. and all 

similarly situated audio bridging service providers 

are required to contribute directly to the universal 

service fund. See Request for Review by InterCall, 

Inc. of Decision of Universal Service Administrator, 

CC Docket No. 96–45, Order, 23 FCC Rcd 10731 

(2008) (‘‘InterCall Order’’). 

65Cable television system operators should 

compute their basic subscribers as follows: Number 

of single family dwellings + number of individual 

households in multiple dwelling unit (apartments, 

condominiums, mobile home parks, etc.) paying at 

the basic subscriber rate + bulk rate customers + 

courtesy and free service. Note: Bulk-Rate 

Customers = Total annual bulk-rate charge divided 

by basic annual subscription rate for individual 

households. Operators may base their count on ‘‘a 

typical day in the last full week’’ of December 2008, 

rather than on a count as of December 31, 2008. 

66See Submarine Cable Order. 

67 47 U.S.C. 159(c). 

68See 47 CFR 1.1910. 

providers to separate their subscriber 

counts into CMRS cellular and CMRS 

mobile fee categories during the 

regulatory fee payment process. This 

consolidation of fee categories enabled 

the Commission to process payments 

more quickly and accurately. For FY 

2009, we will continue this practice of 

combining the CMRS cellular and 

CMRS mobile fee categories into one 

regulatory fee category. 

3. Interstate Telecommunications 

Service Providers (ITSP) 

39. In FY 2007, we adopted a proposal 

to round lines 14 (total subject 

revenues) and 16 (total regulatory fee 

owed) on FCC Form 159–W to the 

nearest dollar. This revision enabled the 

Commission to process the ITSP 

regulatory fee payments more quickly 

because rounding was performed in a 

consistent manner and eliminated 

processing issues that occurred in prior 

years. In FY 2009, we will continue 

rounding lines 14 and 16 when 

calculating the FY 2009 ITSP fee 

obligation, but as indicated earlier, we 

will not be mailing out Form 159–W via 

surface mail. 

D. Payment of Regulatory Fees 

1. Lock Box Bank 

40. All lock box payments to the 

Commission for FY 2009 will be 

processed by U.S. Bank, St. Louis, 

Missouri, and payable to the FCC. For 

all regulatory fees, the address is: 

Federal Communications Commission, 

Regulatory Fees, P.O. Box 979084, St. 

Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

2. Receiving Bank for Wire Payments 

41. The receiving bank for all wire 

payments is the Federal Reserve Bank, 

New York, New York (TREAS NYC). 

When making a wire transfer, regulatees 

must fax a copy of their Fee Filer 

generated Form 159–E to U.S. Bank, St. 

Louis, Missouri at (314) 418–4232 at 

least one hour before initiating the wire 

transfer (but on the same business day), 

so as to not delay crediting their 

account. Wire transfers initiated after 

6:00 p.m. (EDT) will be credited the 

next business day. Complete 

instructions for making wire payments 

are posted at http://www.fcc.gov/fees/ 

wiretran.html. 

3. De Minimis Regulatory Fees 

42. Regulatees whose total FY 2009 

regulatory fee liability, including all 

categories of fees for which payment is 

due, is less than $10 are exempted from 

payment of FY 2009 regulatory fees. 

4. Standard Fee Calculations and 

Payment Dates 

43. The Commission will accept fee 

payments made in advance of the 

window for the payment of regulatory 

fees. The responsibility for payment of 

fees by service category is as follows: 

• Media Services: Regulatory fees 

must be paid for initial construction 

permits (including construction permits 

for digital television stations) that were 

granted on or before October 1, 2008 for 

AM/FM radio stations, analog VHF/UHF 

full service television stations, and 

satellite television stations. Regulatory 

fees must be paid for all broadcast 

facility licenses granted on or before 

October 1, 2008. In instances where a 

permit or license is transferred or 

assigned after October 1, 2008, 

responsibility for payment rests with the 

holder of the permit or license as of the 

fee due date. 

• Wireline (Common Carrier) 

Services: Regulatory fees must be paid 

for authorizations that were granted on 

or before October 1, 2008. In instances 

where a permit or license is transferred 

or assigned after October 1, 2008, 

responsibility for payment rests with the 

holder of the permit or license as of the 

fee due date. We note that audio 

bridging service providers are included 

in this category.64

• Wireless Services: CMRS cellular, 

mobile, and messaging services (fees 

based on number of subscribers or 

telephone number count): Regulatory 

fees must be paid for authorizations that 

were granted on or before October 1, 

2008. The number of subscribers, units, 

or telephone numbers on December 31, 

2008 will be used as the basis from 

which to calculate the fee payment. 

• The first eleven regulatory fee 

categories in our Schedule of Regulatory 

Fees (see Appendix C) pay ‘‘small multiyear wireless regulatory fees.’’ Entities 

pay these regulatory fees in advance for 

the entire amount of their five-year or 

ten-year term of initial license, and only 

pay regulatory fees again when the 

license is renewed or a new license is 

obtained. We include these fee 

categories in our Schedule of Regulatory 

Fees to publicize our estimates of the 

number of ‘‘small multi-year wireless’’ 

licenses that will be renewed or newly 

obtained in FY 2009. 

• Multichannel Video Programming 

Distributor Services (cable television 

operators and CARS licensees): 

Regulatory fees must be paid for the 

number of basic cable television 

subscribers as of December 31, 2008.65

Regulatory fees also must be paid for 

CARS licenses that were granted on or 

before October 1, 2008. In instances 

where a CARS license is transferred or 

assigned after October 1, 2008, 

responsibility for payment rests with the 

holder of the license as of the fee due 

date. 

• International Services: Regulatory 

fees must be paid for earth stations, 

geostationary orbit space stations and 

non-geostationary orbit satellite systems 

that were licensed and operational on or 

before October 1, 2008. In instances 

where a license is transferred or 

assigned after October 1, 2008, 

responsibility for payment rests with the 

holder of the license as of the fee due 

date. Regulatory fees will be paid for 

international bearer circuits under our 

newly adopted methodology pending a 

90-day Congressional notification for 

this permitted amendment; 66 if for any 

reason the methodology change is not 

instituted in FY 2009, the pre-FY 2009 

methodology will be used to calculate 

FY 2009 bearer circuit regulatory fees. 

E. Enforcement 

44. Regulatory fee payments must be 

received and stamped at the lockbox 

bank by the last day of the regulatory fee 

filing window to be considered timely. 

Section 9(c) of the Act requires us to 

impose an additional charge as a 

penalty for late payment of any 

regulatory fee.67 A late payment penalty 

of 25 percent of the unpaid amount of 

the required regulatory fee will be 

assessed on the first day following the 

deadline date for filing of these fees. 

Failure to pay regulatory fees and/or any 

late penalty will subject regulatees to 

sanctions, including those set forth in 

§ 1.1910 of the Commission’s rules 68

and in the Debt Collection Improvement 


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40096 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 153 / Tuesday, August 11, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

69 Delinquent debt owed to the Commission 

triggers application of the ‘‘red light rule’’ which 

requires offsets or holds on pending disbursements. 

47 CFR 1.1910. In 2004, the Commission adopted 

rules implementing the requirements of the DCIA. 

See Amendment of Parts 0 and 1 of the 

Commission’s Rules, MD Docket No. 02–339, Report 

and Order, 19 FCC Rcd 6540 (2004); 47 CFR Part 

1, Subpart O, Collection of Claims Owed the United 

States. 70 47 CFR 1.1940(d). 71See 47 CFR 1.1161(c), 1.1164(f)(5), and 1.1910. 

72See 5 U.S.C. 603. The RFA, see 5 U.S.C. 601– 

612, has been amended by the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 

(‘‘SBREFA’’), Public Law 104–121, Title II, 110 Stat. 

847 (1996). The SBREFA was enacted as Title II of 

the Contract With America Advancement Act of 

1996 (CWAAA). 

73See 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). The Congressional 

Review Act is contained in Title II, 251, of the 

CWAAA; see Public Law 104–121, Title II, 251, 110 

Stat. 868. 

74 44 U.S.C. 3507(d). 

Act of 1996 (DCIA).69 We also assess 

administrative processing charges on 

delinquent debts to recover additional 

costs incurred in processing and 

handling the related debt pursuant to 

the DCIA and § 1.1940(d) of the 

Commission’s rules.70 These 

administrative processing charges will 

be assessed on any delinquent 

regulatory fee, in addition to the 25 

percent late charge penalty. In case of 

partial payments (underpayments) of 

regulatory fees, the licensee will be 

given credit for the amount paid, but if 

it is later determined that the fee paid 

is incorrect or not timely paid, then the 

25 percent late charge penalty (and 

other charges and/or sanctions, as 

appropriate) will be assessed on the 

portion that is not paid in a timely 

manner. 

45. We will withhold action on any 

applications or other requests for 

benefits filed by anyone who is 

delinquent in any non-tax debts owed to 

the Commission (including regulatory 

fees) and will ultimately dismiss those 

applications or other requests if 

payment of the delinquent debt or other 

satisfactory arrangement for payment is 

not made.71 Failure to pay regulatory 

fees can also result in the initiation of 

a proceeding to revoke any and all 

authorizations held by the entity 

responsible for paying the delinquent 

fee(s). 

F. Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

46. As required by the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA),72 the 

Commission has prepared a Final 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) 

relating to this Report and Order. The 

FRFA is set forth in Appendix F. 

G. Congressional Review Act Analysis 

47. The Commission will send a copy 

of this Report and Order in a report to 

be sent to Congress and the Government 

Accountability Office, pursuant to the 

Congressional Review Act.73

H. Final Paperwork Reduction Act 

Analysis 

48. This Report and Order contains 

modified information collection 

requirements subject to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Public 

Law 104–13. It will be submitted to the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for review under section 3507(d) 

of the PRA.74 Our proposed new form 

for submarine cable operators is 

attached as Appendix G. OMB and the 

general public will be afforded an 

opportunity to comment on the 

modified information collection 

requirements contained in this 

proceeding. In addition, we note that 

pursuant to the Small Business 

Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public 

Law 107–198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), 

we previously sought specific comment 

on how the Commission might ‘‘further 

reduce the information collection 

burden for small business concerns with 

fewer than 25 employees.’’ We received 

no comment regarding such potential 

small business burdens. 

IV. Ordering Clauses 

49. Accordingly, it is ordered that, 

pursuant to sections 4(i) and (j), 9, and 

303(r) of the Communications Act of 

1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 

154(j), 159, and 303(r), this Report and 

Order is hereby adopted. 

50. It is further ordered that the FY 

2009 section 9 regulatory fee assessment 

requirements are adopted as specified 

herein. 

51. It is further ordered that part 1 of 

the Commission’s rules is amended as 

set forth in the Rule Changes, and these 

rules shall become effective September 

10, 2009. 

52. It is further ordered that the 

Commission’s Consumer and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference 

Information Center, shall send a copy of 

this Report and Order, including the 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis in 

Appendix F, to the Chief Counsel for 

Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business 

Administration. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene H. Dortch, 

Secretary. 

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 1 

Administrative practice and 

procedure. 

Rule Changes 

■ For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Federal Communications 

Commission amends 47 CFR part 1 as 

follows: 

PART 1—PRACTICE AND 

PROCEDURE 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 1 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 79 et seq.; 47 U.S.C. 

151, 154(i), 154(j), 155, 157, 225, 303(r), and 

309. 

■ 2. Section 1.1152 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 1.1152 Schedule of annual regulatory 

fees and filing locations for wireless radio 

services. 

Exclusive use services 

(per license) 

Fee 

amount 1 Address 

1. Land Mobile (Above 470 MHz and 220 MHz Local, Base Station & SMRS) (47 CFR, Part 90) 

(a) New, Renew/Mod (FCC 601 & 159) ................................. $40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) New, Renew/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) .... 40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(c) Renewal Only (FCC 601 & 159) ........................................ 40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(d) Renewal Only (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) .......... 40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

220 MHz Nationwide 

(a) New, Renew/Mod (FCC 601 & 159) ................................. 40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) New, Renew/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) .... 40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(c) Renewal Only (FCC 601 & 159) ........................................ 40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(d) Renewal Only (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) .......... 40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

2. Microwave (47 CFR Pt. 101) (Private) 

(a) New, Renew/Mod (FCC 601 & 159) ................................. 30.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) New, Renew/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) .... 30.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 


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Exclusive use services 

(per license) 

Fee 

amount 1 Address 

(c) Renewal Only (FCC 601 & 159) ........................................ 30.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(d) Renewal Only (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) .......... 30.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

3. 218–219 MHz Service 

(a) New, Renew/Mod (FCC 601 & 159) ................................. 65.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) New, Renew/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) .... 65.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(c) Renewal Only (FCC 601 & 159) ........................................ 65.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000 

(d) Renewal Only (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) .......... 65.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

4. Shared Use Services 

Land Mobile (Frequencies Below 470 MHz—except 220 

MHz) 

(a) New, Renew/Mod (FCC 601 & 159) ................................. 20.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) New, Renew/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) .... 20.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(c) Renewal Only (FCC 601 & 159) ........................................ 20.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(d) Renewal Only (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) .......... 20.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

General Mobile Radio Service 

(a) New, Renew/Mod (FCC 605 & 159) ................................. 5.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) New, Renew/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 605 & 159) .... 5.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(c) Renewal Only (FCC 605 & 159) ........................................ 5.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(d) Renewal Only (Electronic Filing) (FCC 605 & 159) .......... 5.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

Rural Radio (Part 22) 

(a) New, Additional Facility, Major Renew/Mod (Electronic 

Filing) (FCC 601 & 159).

20.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) Renewal, Minor Renew/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 

& 159).

20.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

Marine Coast 

(a) New, Renewal/Mod (FCC 601 & 159) ............................... 45.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) New, Renewal/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) 45.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(c) Renewal Only (FCC 601 & 159) ........................................ 45.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(d) Renewal Only (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) .......... 45.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

Aviation Ground 

(a) New, Renewal/Mod (FCC 601 & 159) ............................... 10.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) New, Renewal/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) 10.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(c) Renewal Only (FCC 601 & 159) ........................................ 10.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(d) Renewal Only (Electronic Only) (FCC 601 & 159) ........... 10.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

Marine Ship 

(a) New, Renewal/Mod (FCC 605 & 159) ............................... 10.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) New, Renewal/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 605 & 159) 10.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(c) Renewal Only (FCC 605 & 159) ........................................ 10.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(d) Renewal Only (Electronic Filing) (FCC 605 & 159) .......... 10.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

Aviation Aircraft 

(a) New, Renew/Mod (FCC 605 & 159) ................................. 5.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) New, Renew/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 605 & 159) .... 5.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(c) Renewal Only (FCC 605 & 159) ........................................ 5.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(d) Renewal Only (Electronic Filing) (FCC 605 & 159) .......... 5.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

5. Amateur Vanity Call Signs 

(a) Initial or Renew (FCC 605 & 159) ..................................... 1.34 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) Initial or Renew (Electronic Filing) (FCC 605 & 159) ........ 1.34 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

6. CMRS Cellular/Mobile Services (per unit) 

(FCC 159) ................................................................................ .182 FCC, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

7. CMRS Messaging Services (per unit) 

(FCC 159) ................................................................................ .083 FCC, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

8. Broadband Radio Service 

(formerly MMDS and MDS) ..................................................... 320 FCC, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000.

9. Local Multipoint Distribution Service 320 FCC, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

1 Note that ‘‘small fees’’ are collected in advance for the entire license term. Therefore, the annual fee amount shown in this table that is a 

small fee (categories 1 through 5) must be multiplied by the 5- or 10-year license term, as appropriate, to arrive at the total amount of regulatory 

fees owed. It should be further noted that application fees may also apply as detailed in § 1.1102 of this chapter. 2These are standard fees that are to be paid in accordance with § 1.1157(b) of this chapter. 

3These are standard fees that are to be paid in accordance with § 1.1157(b) of this chapter. 

■ 3. Section 1.1153 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 1.1153 Schedule of annual regulatory 

fees and filing locations for mass media 

services. 

1. AM Class A 

<=25,000 population ................................................................ $675 FCC, Radio, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

25,001–75,000 population ....................................................... 1,350 

75,001–150,000 population ..................................................... 2,025 

150,001–500,000 population ................................................... 3,050 

500,001–1,200,000 population ................................................ 4,400 

1,200,001–3,000,000 population ............................................. 6,750 


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>3,000,000 population ............................................................. 8,100 

2. AM Class B 

<=25,000 population ................................................................ 550 FCC, Radio, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

25,001–75,000 population ....................................................... 1,075 

75,001–150,000 population ..................................................... 1,350 

150,001–500,000 population ................................................... 2,300 

500,001–1,200,000 population ................................................ 3,500 

1,200,001–3,000,000 population ............................................. 5,400 

>3,000,000 population ............................................................. 6,475 

3. AM Class C 

<=25,000 population ................................................................ 500 FCC, Radio, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

25,001–75,000 population ....................................................... 750 

75,001–150,000 population ..................................................... 1,000 

150,001–500,000 population ................................................... 1,500 

500,001–1,200,000 population ................................................ 2,500 

1,200,001–3,000,000 population ............................................. 3,750 

>3,000,000 population ............................................................. 4,750 

4. AM Class D 

<=25,000 population ................................................................ 575 FCC, Radio, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

25,001–75,000 population ....................................................... 875 

75,001–150,000 population ..................................................... 1,450 

150,001–500,000 population ................................................... 1,725 

500,001–1,200,000 population ................................................ 2,875 

1,200,001–3,000,000 population ............................................. 4,600 

>3,000,000 population ............................................................. 5,750 

5. AM Construction Permit ............................................................. 400 FCC, Radio, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

6. FM Classes A, B1 and C3 

<=25,000 population ................................................................ 650 FCC, Radio, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

25,001–75,000 population ....................................................... 1,325 

75,001–150,000 population ..................................................... 1,825 

150,001–500,000 population ................................................... 2,800 

500,001–1,200,000 population ................................................ 4,450 

1,200,001–3,000,000 population ............................................. 7,250 

>3,000,000 population ............................................................. 9,250 

7. FM Classes B, C, C0, C1 and C2 

<=25,000 population ................................................................ 825 FCC, Radio, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

25,001–75,000 population ....................................................... 1,450 

75,001–150,000 population ..................................................... 2,725 

150,001–500,000 population ................................................... 3,550 

500,001–1,200,000 population ................................................ 5,225 

1,200,001–3,000,000 population ............................................. 8,350 

>3,000,000 population ............................................................. 10,850 

8. FM Construction Permits ............................................................ 650 FCC, Radio, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

TV (47 CFR, Part 73) VHF Commercial 

1. Markets 1 thru 10 ....................................................................... 77,575 FCC, TV Branch, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

2. Markets 11 thru 25 ..................................................................... 60,550 

3. Markets 26 thru 50 ..................................................................... 37,575 

4. Markets 51 thru 100 ................................................................... 22,950 

5. Remaining Markets .................................................................... 5,950 

6. Construction Permits .................................................................. 5,950 

UHF Commercial 

1. Markets 1 thru 10 ....................................................................... 24,250 FCC, UHF Commercial, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO, 

63197–9000. 

2. Markets 11 thru 25 ..................................................................... 21,525 

3. Markets 26 thru 50 ..................................................................... 13,350 

4. Markets 51 thru 100 ................................................................... 7,600 

5. Remaining Markets .................................................................... 1,950 

6. Construction Permits .................................................................. 1,950 

Satellite UHF/VHF Commercial 

1. All Markets .................................................................................. 1,275 FCC Satellite TV P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

2. Construction Permits .................................................................. 650 

Low Power TV, Class A TV, TV/FM Translator, & TV/FM Booster 

(47 CFR Part 74).

400 FCC, Low Power, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

Broadcast Auxiliary ......................................................................... 10 FCC, Auxiliary, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

■ 4. Section 1.1154 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 1.1154 Schedule of annual regulatory 

charges and filing locations for common 

carrier services. 

Fee 

amount Address 

Radio Facilities: 


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Fee 

amount Address 

1. Microwave (Domestic Public Fixed) (Electronic Filing) 

(FCC Form 601 & 159).

$30.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

Carriers: 

1. Interstate Telephone Service Providers (per interstate and 

international end-user revenues (see FCC Form 499–A).

.00342 FCC, Carriers, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

■ 5. Section 1.1155 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 1.1155 Schedule of regulatory fees and 

filing locations for cable television services. 

Fee 

amount Address 

1. Cable Television Relay Service ................................................. $260 FCC, Cable, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

2. Cable TV System (per subscriber) ............................................. .88 

■ 6. Section 1.1156 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 1.1156 Schedule of regulatory fees and 

filing locations for international services. 

(a) The following schedule applies for 

the listed services: 

Fee category Fee 

amount Address 

(1) Space Stations (Geostationary Orbit) ....................................... $127,175 FCC, International, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197– 

9000. 

(2) Space Stations (Non-Geostationary Orbit) ............................... 137,225 FCC, International, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197– 

9000. 

(3) Earth Stations: Transmit/Receive & Transmit only (per authorization or registration).210 FCC, International, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197– 

9000. 

(b) (1) International Terrestrial and 

Satellite. Regulatory fees for 

International Bearer Circuits are to be 

paid by facilities-based common carriers 

that have active (used or leased) 

international bearer circuits as of 

December 31, of the prior year in any 

terrestrial or satellite transmission 

facility for the provision of service to an 

end user or resale carrier, which 

includes active circuits to themselves or 

to their affiliates. In addition, noncommon carrier satellite operators must 

pay a fee for each circuit sold or leased 

to any customer, including themselves 

or their affiliates, other than an 

international common carrier 

authorized by the Commission to 

provide U.S. international common 

carrier services. ‘‘Active circuits’’ for 

these purposes include backup and 

redundant circuits. In addition, whether 

circuits are used specifically for voice or 

data is not relevant in determining that 

they are active circuits. 

(2) The fee amount, per active 64 KB 

circuit or equivalent will be determined 

for each fiscal year. Payment, if mailed, 

shall be sent to: FCC, International, P.O. 

Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

International terrestrial and satellite 

(capacity as of December 31, 2008) Fee amount Address 

Terrestrial Common Carrier, Satellite Common Carrier, 

Satellite Non-Common Carrier.

$0.75 per 64 KB Circuit ...... FCC, International, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 

63197–9000. 

(c) Submarine cable: Regulatory fees 

for submarine cable systems will be 

paid annually, per cable landing license, 

for all submarine cable systems 

operating as of December 31 of the prior 

year. The fee amount will be determined 

by the Commission for each fiscal year. 

Payment, if mailed, shall be sent to: 

FCC, International, P.O. Box 979084, St. 

Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

Submarine cable systems 

(capacity as of December 31) 

Fee 

amount Address 

< 2.5 Gbps ...................................................................................... $15,075 FCC, International, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197– 

9000. 

2.5 Gbps or greater, but less than 5 Gbps .................................... 30,125 FCC, International, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197– 

9000. 

5 Gbps or greater, but less than 10 Gbps ..................................... 60,250 FCC, International, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197– 

9000. 

10 Gbps or greater, but less than 20 Gbps ................................... 120,525 FCC, International, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197– 

9000. 


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Submarine cable systems 

(capacity as of December 31) 

Fee 

amount Address 

20 Gbps or greater ......................................................................... 241,025 FCC, International, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197– 

9000. 

Note: The following appendixes will not 

appear in the Code of Federal Regulations. 

Appendix A 

LIST OF COMMENTERS

Commenter Abbreviated name 

American Association of Paging Carriers ....................................................................................................................... AAPC. 

American Cable Association ........................................................................................................................................... ACA. 

AT&T, Inc ........................................................................................................................................................................ AT&T. 

Bestel USA Inc., Hibernia Atlantic US LLC, and Level 3 Communications, LLC .......................................................... Joint Commenters. 

Coalition of Canadian-Based Service Providers ............................................................................................................ Coalition. 

Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance ........................................................................................... ITTA. 

Sprint Nextel ................................................................................................................................................................... Sprint. 

Named State Broadcasters Associations ....................................................................................................................... State Associations. 

United States Telecom Association ................................................................................................................................ USTelecom. 

LIST OF COMMENTERS—REPLY COMMENTS

Commenter Abbreviated name 

AT&T, Inc ........................................................................................................................................................................ AT&T. 

Verizon and Verizon Wireless ........................................................................................................................................ Verizon. 

Appendix B 

CALCULATION OF FY 2009 REVENUE REQUIREMENTS AND PRO-RATA FEES

[Regulatory fees for the categories shaded in gray are collected by the Commission in advance to cover the term of the license and are 

submitted along with the application at the time the application is filed] 

Fee category FY 2009 

payment units Years 

FY 2008 

revenue 

estimate 

Pro-rated 

FY 2009 

revenue 

requirement 

Computed 

new 

FY 2009 

regulatory 

fee 

Rounded 

new 

FY 2009 

regulatory 

fee 

Expected 

FY 2009 

revenue 

PLMRS (Exclusive Use) ...................... 1,200 10 460,000 501,932 42 40 480,000 

PLMRS (Shared use) ........................... 11,500 10 2,300,000 2,509,659 22 20 2,300,000 

Microwave ............................................ 7,500 10 1,960,000 2,138,666 29 30 2,250,000 

218–219 MHz (Formerly IVDS) ........... 3 10 1,800 1,964 65 65 1,950 

Marine (Ship) ....................................... 7,500 10 840,000 916,571 12 10 750,000 

GMRS .................................................. 11,000 5 350,000 381,905 7 5 275,000 

Aviation (Aircraft) ................................. 7,000 10 375,000 409,183 6 5 350,000 

Marine (Coast) ..................................... 275 10 108,500 118,390 43 45 123,750 

Aviation (Ground) ................................. 1,500 10 170,000 185,497 12 10 150,000 

Amateur Vanity Call Signs ................... 15,000 10 184,500 201,318 1.34 1.34 201,000 

AM Class A .......................................... 65 1 227,500 248,238 3,819 3,825 248,625 

AM Class B .......................................... 1,567 1 2,737,000 2,986,494 1,906 1,900 2,977,300 

AM Class C .......................................... 938 1 958,375 1,045,737 1,115 1,125 1,055,250 

AM Class D .......................................... 1,715 1 3,241,400 3,536,873 2,062 2,050 3,515,750 

FM Classes A, B1 & C3 ...................... 3,045 1 6,764,000 7,405,656 2,432 2,425 7,384,125 

FM Classes B, C, C0, C1 & C2 ........... 3,051 1 8,292,175 9,073,132 2,974 2,975 9,076,725 

AM Construction Permits ..................... 107 1 39,425 43,019 402 400 42,800 

FM Construction Permits 1 ................... 224 1 179,400 145,600 650 650 145,600 

Satellite TV ........................................... 127 1 149,225 162,828 1,282 1,275 161,925 

Satellite TV Construction Permit .......... 3 1 1,785 1,948 649 650 1,950 

VHF Markets 1–10 ............................... 42 1 2,984,100 3,257,932 77,570 77,575 3,258,150 

VHF Markets 11–25 ............................. 55 1 3,050,925 3,330,848 60,561 60,550 3,330,250 

VHF Markets 26–50 ............................. 75 1 2,581,425 2,818,550 37,581 37,575 2,818,125 

VHF Markets 51–100 ........................... 118 1 2,480,950 2,708,256 22,951 22,950 2,708,100 

VHF Remaining Markets ...................... 200 1 1,092,000 1,191,542 5,958 5,950 1,190,000 

VHF Construction Permits 1 ................. 3 1 22,400 17,850 5,950 5,950 17,850 

UHF Markets 1–10 ............................... 87 1 1,931,475 2,109,219 24,244 24,250 2,109,750 

UHF Markets 11–25 ............................. 81 1 1,596,950 1,744,200 21,533 21,525 1,743,525 

UHF Markets 26–50 ............................. 110 1 1,344,700 1,468,956 13,354 13,350 1,468,500 

UHF Markets 51–100 ........................... 164 1 1,142,400 1,247,604 7,607 7,600 1,246,400 


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CALCULATION OF FY 2009 REVENUE REQUIREMENTS AND PRO-RATA FEES—Continued 

[Regulatory fees for the categories shaded in gray are collected by the Commission in advance to cover the term of the license and are 

submitted along with the application at the time the application is filed] 

Fee category FY 2009 

payment units Years 

FY 2008 

revenue 

estimate 

Pro-rated 

FY 2009 

revenue 

requirement 

Computed 

new 

FY 2009 

regulatory 

fee 

Rounded 

new 

FY 2009 

regulatory 

fee 

Expected 

FY 2009 

revenue 

UHF Remaining Markets ..................... 195 1 347,400 379,068 1,944 1,950 380,250 

UHF Construction Permits 1 ................. 15 1 32,400 29,250 1,950 1,950 29,250 

Broadcast Auxiliaries ........................... 27,500 1 276,000 301,159 11 10 275,000 

LPTV/Translators/Boosters/Class A TV 3,450 1 1,277,500 1,393,952 404 400 1,380,000 

CARS Stations ..................................... 650 1 153,750 167,765 258 260 169,000 

Cable TV Systems ............................... 64,500,000 1 51,840,000 56,565,522 0.8769 0.88 56,760,000 

Interstate Telecommunication Service 

Providers .......................................... 46,800,000,000 1 146,638,000 160,004,920 0.0034189 0.00342 160,056,000 

CMRS Mobile Services (Cellular/Public 

Mobile) .............................................. 276,000,000 1 44,200,000 48,280,138 0.1749 0.180 49,680,000 

CMRS Messag. Services ..................... 7,000,000 1 560,000 560,000 0.080 0.080 560,000 

BRS2 .................................................... 1,725 1 501,500 552,000 320 320 552,000 

LMDS ................................................... 335 1 98,825 107,200 320 320 107,200 

Per 64 kbps Int’l Bearer Circuits Terrestrial (Common) & Satellite (Common & Non-Common) 1,482,372 1 8,137,500 1,106,700 0.747 0.75 1,111,779 

Submarine Cable Providers (see chart 

in Appendix C) 3 ............................... 32.44 1 ...................... 7,818,300 241,008 241,000 7,818,040 

Earth Stations ...................................... 4,050 1 780,000 851,102 210 210 850,500 

Space Stations (Geostationary) ........... 87 1 10,140,500 11,064,866 127,182 127,175 11,064,225 

Space Stations (Non-Geostationary .... 6 1 754,500 823,277 137,213 137,225 823,350 

* * * Total Estimated Revenue to 

be Collected .............................. .......................... ............ 313,305,285 341,814,783 .................... .................... 342,998,994 

* * * Total Revenue Requirement .......................... ............ 312,000,000 341,875,000 .................... .................... 341,875,000 

Difference ...................................... .......................... ............ 1,305,285 39,783 .................... .................... 1,123,994 

1The FM Construction Permit revenues and the VHF and UHF Construction Permit revenues were adjusted to set the regulatory fee to an 

amount no higher than the lowest licensed fee for that class of service. The reductions in the FM Construction Permit revenues are offset by increases in the revenue totals for FM radio stations. Similarly, reductions in the VHF and UHF Construction Permit revenues are offset by increases in the revenue totals for VHF and UHF television stations, respectively. 2 MDS/MMDS category was renamed Broadband Radio Service (BRS). See Amendment of Parts 1, 21, 73, 74 and 101 of the Commission’s 

Rules to Facilitate the Provision of Fixed and Mobile Broadband Access, Educational and Other Advanced Services in the 2150–2162 and 2500– 

2690 MHz Bands, Report & Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 19 FCC Rcd 14165, 14169, paragraph 6 (2004). 3The chart at the end of Appendix C lists the submarine cable bearer circuit regulatory fees (common and non-common carrier basis) that resulted from the adoption of the following proceedings: Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2008, Second Report and 

Order (MD Docket No. 08–65, RM–11312), released March 24, 2009; and Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2009 

and Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2008, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order (MD Docket No. 09–65, MD 

Docket No. 08–65), released on May 14, 2009. 

Appendix C 

FY 2009 SCHEDULE OF REGULATORY FEES

[Regulatory fees for the categories shaded in gray are collected by the Commission in advance to cover the term of the license and are 

submitted along with the application at the time the application is filed] 

Fee category 

Annual regulatory fee 

(U.S. $’s) 

PLMRS (per license) (Exclusive Use) (47 CFR part 90) ........................................................................................................................ 40 

Microwave (per license) (47 CFR part 101) ............................................................................................................................................ 30 

218–219 MHz (Formerly Interactive Video Data Service) (per license) (47 CFR part 95) .................................................................... 65 

Marine (Ship) (per station) (47 CFR part 80) .......................................................................................................................................... 10 

Marine (Coast) (per license) (47 CFR part 80) ....................................................................................................................................... 45 

General Mobile Radio Service (per license) (47 CFR part 95) ............................................................................................................... 5 

Rural Radio (47 CFR part 22) (previously listed under the Land Mobile category) ............................................................................... 20 

PLMRS (Shared Use) (per license) (47 CFR part 90) ............................................................................................................................ 20 

Aviation (Aircraft) (per station) (47 CFR part 87) .................................................................................................................................... 5 

Aviation (Ground) (per license) (47 CFR part 87) ................................................................................................................................... 10 

Amateur Vanity Call Signs (per call sign) (47 CFR part 97) ................................................................................................................... 1.34 

CMRS Mobile/Cellular Services (per unit) (47 CFR parts 20, 22, 24, 27, 80 and 90) ........................................................................... .18 

CMRS Messaging Services (per unit) (47 CFR parts 20, 22, 24 and 90) .............................................................................................. .08 

320 


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FY 2009 SCHEDULE OF REGULATORY FEES—Continued 

[Regulatory fees for the categories shaded in gray are collected by the Commission in advance to cover the term of the license and are 

submitted along with the application at the time the application is filed] 

Fee category 

Annual regulatory fee 

(U.S. $’s) 

Broadband Radio Service (formerly MMDS/MDS) (per license) (47 CFR part 21) ................................................................................

Local Multipoint Distribution Service (per call sign) (47 CFR, part 101) ................................................................................................ 320 

AM Radio Construction Permits .............................................................................................................................................................. 400 

FM Radio Construction Permits .............................................................................................................................................................. 650 

TV (47 CFR part 73) VHF Commercial: 

Markets 1–10 .................................................................................................................................................................................... 77,575 

Markets 11–25 .................................................................................................................................................................................. 60,550 

Markets 26–50 .................................................................................................................................................................................. 37,575 

Markets 51–100 ................................................................................................................................................................................ 22,950 

Remaining Markets ........................................................................................................................................................................... 5,950 

Construction Permits ........................................................................................................................................................................ 5,950 

TV (47 CFR part 73) UHF Commercial: 

Markets 1–10 .................................................................................................................................................................................... 24,250 

Markets 11–25 .................................................................................................................................................................................. 21,525 

Markets 26–50 .................................................................................................................................................................................. 13,350 

Markets 51–100 ................................................................................................................................................................................ 7,600 

Remaining Markets ........................................................................................................................................................................... 1,950 

Construction Permits ........................................................................................................................................................................ 1,950 

Satellite Television Stations (All Markets) ............................................................................................................................................... 1,275 

Construction Permits—Satellite Television Stations ............................................................................................................................... 650 

Low Power TV, Class A TV, TV/FM Translators & Boosters (47 CFR part 74) ..................................................................................... 400 

Broadcast Auxiliaries (47 CFR part 74) .................................................................................................................................................. 10 

CARS (47 CFR part 78) .......................................................................................................................................................................... 260 

Cable Television Systems (per subscriber) (47 CFR part 76) ................................................................................................................ .88 

Interstate Telecommunication Service Providers (per revenue dollar) ................................................................................................... .00342 

Earth Stations (47 CFR part 25) ............................................................................................................................................................. 210 

Space Stations (per operational station in geostationary orbit) (47 CFR part 25) also includes DBS Service (per operational station) (47 CFR part 100) ........................................................................................................................................................................ 127,175 

Space Stations (per operational system in non-geostationary orbit) (47 CFR part 25) ......................................................................... 137,225 

International Bearer Circuits—Terrestrial/Satellites (per 64KB circuit) ................................................................................................... .75 

International Bearer Circuits—Submarine Cable .................................................................................................................................... (1) 

1See table below. 

FY 2009 SCHEDULE OF REGULATORY FEES (Continued) 

FY 2009 Radio Station Regulatory Fees 

Population served AM class 

A 

AM class 

B 

AM class 

C 

AM class 

D 

FM 

classes 

A, B1 & 

C3 

FM 

classes 

B, C, C0, 

C1 & C2 

<= 25,000 ................................................................................................. $675 $550 $500 $575 $650 $825 

25,001–75,000 ......................................................................................... 1,350 1,075 750 875 1,325 1,450 

75,001–150,000 ....................................................................................... 2,025 1,350 1,000 1,450 1,825 2,725 

150,001–500,000 ..................................................................................... 3,050 2,300 1,500 1,725 2,800 3,550 

500,001–1,200,000 .................................................................................. 4,400 3,500 2,500 2,875 4,450 5,225 

1,200,001–3,000,00 ................................................................................. 6,750 5,400 3,750 4,600 7,250 8,350 

> 3,000,000 .............................................................................................. 8,100 6,475 4,750 5,750 9,250 10,850 

FY 2009 SCHEDULE OF REGULATORY FEES—INTERNATIONAL BEARER CIRCUITS—SUBMARINE CABLE

Submarine cable systems 

(capacity as of December 31, 2008) Fee amount Address 

< 2.5 Gbps ................................................................................... $15,075 FCC, International, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197– 

9000. 

2.5 Gbps or greater, but less than 5 Gbps ................................ 30,125 FCC, International, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197– 

9000. 

5 Gbps or greater, but less than 10 Gbps ................................. 60,250 FCC, International, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197– 

9000. 

10 Gbps or greater, but less than 20 Gbps ............................... 120,525 FCC, International, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197– 

9000. 

20 Gbps or greater ..................................................................... 241,025 FCC, International, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197– 

9000. 


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1 47 CFR 73.150 and 73.152. 

2See Map of Estimated Effective Ground 

Conductivity in the United States, 47 CFR 73.190 

Figure R3. 

3 47 CFR 73.313. 

1 5 U.S.C. 603. The RFA, 5 U.S.C. 601–612 has 

been amended by the Contract With America 

Advancement Act of 1996, Public Law 104–121, 

Continued 

Appendix D 

Sources of Payment Unit Estimates for 

FY 2009 

In order to calculate individual service fees 

for FY 2009, we adjusted FY 2008 payment 

units for each service to more accurately 

reflect expected FY 2009 payment liabilities. 

We obtained our updated estimates through 

a variety of means. For example, we used 

Commission licensee data bases, actual prior 

year payment records and industry and trade 

association projections when available. The 

databases we consulted include our 

Universal Licensing System (ULS), 

International Bureau Filing System (IBFS), 

Consolidated Database System (CDBS) and 

Cable Operations and Licensing System 

(COALS), as well as reports generated within 

the Commission such as the Wireline 

Competition Bureau’s Trends in Telephone 

Service and the Wireless 

Telecommunications Bureau’s Numbering 

Resource Utilization Forecast. 

We tried to obtain verification for these 

estimates from multiple sources and, in all 

cases, we compared FY 2009 estimates with 

actual FY 2008 payment units to ensure that 

our revised estimates were reasonable. Where 

appropriate, we adjusted and/or rounded our 

final estimates to take into consideration the 

fact that certain variables that impact on the 

number of payment units cannot yet be 

estimated exactly. These include an 

unknown number of waivers and/or 

exemptions that may occur in FY 2009 and 

the fact that, in many services, the number 

of actual licensees or station operators 

fluctuates from time to time due to economic, 

technical, or other reasons. When we note, 

for example, that our estimated FY 2009 

payment units are based on FY 2008 actual 

payment units, it does not necessarily mean 

that our FY 2009 projection is exactly the 

same number as FY 2008. We have either 

rounded the FY 2009 number or adjusted it 

slightly to account for these variables. 

Fee category Sources of payment unit estimates 

Land Mobile (All), Microwave, 218–219 MHz, Marine 

(Ship & Coast), Aviation (Aircraft & Ground), GMRS, 

Amateur Vanity Call Signs, Domestic Public Fixed.

Based on Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) projections of new applications and renewals taking into consideration existing Commission licensee data 

bases. Aviation (Aircraft) and Marine (Ship) estimates have been adjusted to take 

into consideration the licensing of portions of these services on a voluntary basis. 

CMRS Cellular/Mobile Services ......................................... Based on WTB projection reports, and FY 08 payment data. 

CMRS Messaging Services ............................................... Based on WTB reports, and FY 08 payment data. 

AM/FM Radio Stations ....................................................... Based on CDBS data, adjusted for exemptions, and actual FY 2008 payment units. 

UHF/VHF Television Stations ............................................ Based on CDBS data, adjusted for exemptions, and actual FY 2008 payment units. 

AM/FM/TV Construction Permits ....................................... Based on CDBS data, adjusted for exemptions, and actual FY 2008 payment units. 

LPTV, Translators and Boosters, Class A Television ....... Based on CDBS data, adjusted for exemptions, and actual FY 2008 payment units. 

Broadcast Auxiliaries .......................................................... Based on actual FY 2008 payment units. 

BRS (formerly MDS/MMDS) ..............................................

LMDS 

Based on WTB reports and actual FY 2008 payment units. 

Based on WTB reports and actual FY 2008 payment units. 

Cable Television Relay Service (CARS) Stations ............. Based on data from Media Bureau’s COALS data base and actual FY 2008 payment 

units. 

Cable Television System Subscribers ............................... Based on publicly available data sources for estimated subscriber counts and actual 

FY 2008 payment units. 

Interstate Telecommunication Service Providers .............. Based on FCC Form 499–Q data for the four quarters of calendar year 2008, the 

Wireline Competition Bureau projected the amount of calendar year 2008 revenue 

that will be reported on 2008 FCC Form 499–A worksheets in April 2009. 

Earth Stations ..................................................................... Based on International Bureau (IB) licensing data and actual FY 2008 payment units. 

Space Stations (GSOs & NGSOs) .................................... Based on IB data reports and actual FY 2008 payment units. 

International Bearer Circuits .............................................. Based on IB reports and submissions by licensees. 

Submarine Cable Licenses ................................................ Based on IB license information. 

Appendix E 

Factors, Measurements, and Calculations 

That Go Into Determining Station Signal 

Contours and Associated Population 

Coverages 

AM Stations 

For stations with nondirectional daytime 

antennas, the theoretical radiation was used 

at all azimuths. For stations with directional 

daytime antennas, specific information on 

each day tower, including field ratio, 

phasing, spacing and orientation was 

retrieved, as well as the theoretical pattern 

root-mean-square of the radiation in all 

directions in the horizontal plane (RMS) 

figure milliVolt per meter (mV/m) @ 1 km) 

for the antenna system. The standard, or 

modified standard if pertinent, horizontal 

plane radiation pattern was calculated using 

techniques and methods specified in 73.150 

and 73.152 of the Commission’s rules.1

Radiation values were calculated for each of 

360 radials around the transmitter site. Next, 

estimated soil conductivity data was 

retrieved from a data base representing the 

information in FCC Figure R3.2 Using the 

calculated horizontal radiation values, and 

the retrieved soil conductivity data, the 

distance to the principal community (5 mV/ 

m) contour was predicted for each of the 360 

radials. The resulting distance to principal 

community contours were used to form a 

geographical polygon. Population counting 

was accomplished by determining which 

2,000 block centroids were contained in the 

polygon. (A block centroid is the center point 

of a small area containing population as 

computed by the U.S. Census Bureau.) The 

sum of the population figures for all enclosed 

blocks represents the total population for the 

predicted principal community coverage 

area. 

FM Stations 

The greater of the horizontal or vertical 

effective radiated power (ERP) (kW) and 

respective height above average terrain 

(HAAT) (m) combination was used. Where 

the antenna height above mean sea level 

(HAMSL) was available, it was used in lieu 

of the average HAAT figure to calculate 

specific HAAT figures for each of 360 radials 

under study. Any available directional 

pattern information was applied as well, to 

produce a radial-specific ERP figure. The 

HAAT and ERP figures were used in 

conjunction with the Field Strength (50–50) 

propagation curves specified in 47 CFR 

73.313 of the Commission’s rules to predict 

the distance to the principal community (70 

dBu (decibel above 1 microVolt per meter) or 

3.17 mV/m) contour for each of the 360 

radials.3 The resulting distance to principal 

community contours were used to form a 

geographical polygon. Population counting 

was accomplished by determining which 

2,000 block centroids were contained in the 

polygon. The sum of the population figures 

for all enclosed blocks represents the total 

population for the predicted principal 

community coverage area. 

Appendix F 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

1. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act (RFA),1 the Commission prepared an 


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40104 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 153 / Tuesday, August 11, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

110 Stat. 847 (1996) (CWAAA). Title II of the 

CWAAA is the Small Business Regulatory 

Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA). 

2See Assessment and Collection of Regulatory 

Fees for Fiscal Year 2009, MD Docket No. 09–65, 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order, (rel. 

May 14, 2009) (FY 2009 NPRM and Order). 

3 5 U.S.C. 604. 

4 5 U.S.C. 603(b)(3). 

5 5 U.S.C. 601(6). 

6 5 U.S.C. 601(3) (incorporating by reference the 

definition of ‘‘small-business concern’’ in the Small 

Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 632). Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

601(3), the statutory definition of a small business 

applies ‘‘unless an agency, after consultation with 

the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business 

Administration and after opportunity for public 

comment, establishes one or more definitions of 

such term which are appropriate to the activities of 

the agency and publishes such definition(s) in the 

Federal Register.’’ 

7 15 U.S.C. 632. 

8See SBA, Office of Advocacy, ‘‘Frequently 

Asked Questions,’’ http://web.sba.gov/faqs 

(accessed Jan. 2009). 

9 Independent Sector, The New Nonprofit 

Almanac & Desk Reference (2002). 

10 5 U.S.C. 601(5). 

11U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the 

United States: 2006, Section 8, p. 272, Table 415. 

12We assume that the villages, school districts, 

and special districts are small, and total 48,558. See 

U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the 

United States: 2006, section 8, p. 273, Table 417. 

For 2002, Census Bureau data indicate that the total 

number of county, municipal, and township 

governments nationwide was 38,967, of which 

35,819 were small. Id. 

13 15 U.S.C. 632. 

14Letter from Jere W. Glover, Chief Counsel for 

Advocacy, SBA, to William E. Kennard, Chairman, 

FCC (May 27, 1999). The Small Business Act 

contains a definition of ‘‘small-business concern,’’ 

which the RFA incorporates into its own definition 

of ‘‘small business.’’ See 15 U.S.C. 632(a) (Small 

Business Act); 5 U.S.C. 601(3) (RFA). SBA 

regulations interpret ‘‘small business concern’’ to 

include the concept of dominance on a national 

basis. See 13 CFR 121.102(b). 

15 13 CFR 121.201, North American Industry 

Classification System (NAICS) code 517110. 

16FCC, Wireline Competition Bureau, Industry 

Analysis and Technology Division, ‘‘Trends in 

Telephone Service’’ at Table 5.3, Page 5–5 (Aug. 

2008) (Trends in Telephone Service). This source 

uses data that are current as of November 1, 2006. 

17 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110. 

18 ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’ at Table 5.3. 

19 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517310. 

20 ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’ at Table 5.3. 

21 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517310. 

22 ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’ at Table 5.3. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) 

of the possible significant economic impact 

on small entities by the policies and rules 

proposed in its Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking.2 Written public comments were 

sought on the FY 2009 fees proposal, 

including comments on the IRFA. This 

present Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

(FRFA) conforms to the RFA.3

I. Need for, and Objectives of, the Report and 

Order 

2. This rulemaking proceeding was 

initiated for the Commission to amend its 

Schedule of Regulatory Fees in the amount 

of $341,875,000, which is the amount that 

Congress has required the Commission to 

recover. The Commission seeks to collect the 

necessary amount through its revised 

Schedule of Regulatory Fees in the most 

efficient manner possible and without undue 

public burden. 

II. Summary of Significant Issues Raised by 

Public Comments in Response to the IRFA 

3. No parties have raised issues in response 

to the IRFA. 

III. Description and Estimate of the Number 

of Small Entities to Which the Rules Will 

Apply 

4. The RFA directs agencies to provide a 

description of, and where feasible, an 

estimate of the number of small entities that 

may be affected by the proposed rules and 

policies, if adopted.4 The RFA generally 

defines the term ‘‘small entity’’ as having the 

same meaning as the terms ‘‘small business,’’ 

‘‘small organization,’’ and ‘‘small 

governmental jurisdiction.’’ 5 In addition, the 

term ‘‘small business’’ has the same meaning 

as the term ‘‘small business concern’’ under 

the Small Business Act.6 A ‘‘small business 

concern’’ is one which: (1) Is independently 

owned and operated; (2) is not dominant in 

its field of operation; and (3) satisfies any 

additional criteria established by the SBA.7

5. Small Businesses. Nationwide, there are 

a total of approximately 27.2 million small 

businesses, according to the SBA.8

6. Small Organizations. Nationwide, there 

are approximately 1.6 million small 

organizations.9

7. Small Governmental Jurisdictions. The 

term ‘‘small governmental jurisdiction’’ is 

defined generally as ‘‘governments of cities, 

towns, townships, villages, school districts, 

or special districts, with a population of less 

than fifty thousand.’’ 10 Census Bureau data 

for 2002 indicate that there were 87,525 local 

governmental jurisdictions in the United 

States.11 We estimate that, of this total, 

84,377 entities were ‘‘small governmental 

jurisdictions.’’ 12 Thus, we estimate that most 

governmental jurisdictions are small. 

8. We have included small incumbent local 

exchange carriers in this present RFA 

analysis. As noted above, a ‘‘small business’’ 

under the RFA is one that, inter alia, meets 

the pertinent small business size standard 

(e.g., a telephone communications business 

having 1,500 or fewer employees), and ‘‘is 

not dominant in its field of operation.’’ 13 The 

SBA’s Office of Advocacy contends that, for 

RFA purposes, small incumbent local 

exchange carriers are not dominant in their 

field of operation because any such 

dominance is not ‘‘national’’ in scope.14 We 

have therefore included small incumbent 

local exchange carriers in this RFA analysis, 

although we emphasize that this RFA action 

has no effect on Commission analyses and 

determinations in other, non-RFA contexts. 

9. Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers 

(ILECs). Neither the Commission nor the SBA 

has developed a small business size standard 

specifically for incumbent local exchange 

services. The appropriate size standard under 

SBA rules is for the category Wired 

Telecommunications Carriers. Under that 

size standard, such a business is small if it 

has 1,500 or fewer employees.15 According to 

Commission data,16 1,311 carriers have 

reported that they are engaged in the 

provision of incumbent local exchange 

services. Of these 1,311 carriers, an estimated 

1,024 have 1,500 or fewer employees and 287 

have more than 1,500 employees. 

Consequently, the Commission estimates that 

most providers of incumbent local exchange 

service are small businesses that may be 

affected by our proposed action. 

10. Competitive Local Exchange Carriers 

(CLECs), Competitive Access Providers 

(CAPs), ‘‘Shared-Tenant Service Providers,’’ 

and ‘‘Other Local Service Providers.’’ Neither 

the Commission nor the SBA has developed 

a small business size standard specifically for 

these service providers. The appropriate size 

standard under SBA rules is for the category 

Wired Telecommunications Carriers. Under 

that size standard, such a business is small 

if it has 1,500 or fewer employees.17

According to Commission data,18 1005 

carriers have reported that they are engaged 

in the provision of either competitive access 

provider services or competitive local 

exchange carrier services. Of these 1005 

carriers, an estimated 918 have 1,500 or 

fewer employees and 87 have more than 

1,500 employees. In addition, 16 carriers 

have reported that they are ‘‘Shared-Tenant 

Service Providers,’’ and all 16 are estimated 

to have 1,500 or fewer employees. In 

addition, 89 carriers have reported that they 

are ‘‘Other Local Service Providers.’’ Of the 

89, all have 1,500 or fewer employees. 

Consequently, the Commission estimates that 

most providers of competitive local exchange 

service, competitive access providers, 

‘‘Shared-Tenant Service Providers,’’ and 

‘‘Other Local Service Providers’’ are small 

entities that may be affected by our proposed 

action. 

11. Local Resellers. The SBA has 

developed a small business size standard for 

the category of Telecommunications 

Resellers. Under that size standard, such a 

business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer 

employees.19 According to Commission 

data,20 151 carriers have reported that they 

are engaged in the provision of local resale 

services. Of these, an estimated 149 have 

1,500 or fewer employees and two have more 

than 1,500 employees. Consequently, the 

Commission estimates that the majority of 

local resellers are small entities that may be 

affected by our proposed action. 

12. Toll Resellers. The SBA has developed 

a small business size standard for the 

category of Telecommunications Resellers. 

Under that size standard, such a business is 

small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees.21

According to Commission data,22 815 carriers 

have reported that they are engaged in the 

provision of toll resale services. Of these, an 

estimated 787 have 1,500 or fewer employees 

and 28 have more than 1,500 employees. 

Consequently, the Commission estimates that 

the majority of toll resellers are small entities 

that may be affected by our proposed action. 

13. Payphone Service Providers (PSPs). 

Neither the Commission nor the SBA has 

developed a small business size standard 

specifically for payphone services providers. 

The appropriate size standard under SBA 


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23 3 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110. 

24 ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’ at Table 5.3. 

25 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110. 

26 ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’ at Table 5.3. 

27 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110. 

28 ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’ at Table 5.3. 

29 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517310. 

30 ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’ at Table 5.3. 

31We include all toll-free number subscribers in 

this category. 

32 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517310. 

33 ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’ at Tables 18.4, 

18.5, 18.6, and 18.7. 

34 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517410. 

35 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517919. 

36 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS codes 517410 and 

517910 (2002). 

37U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, 

‘‘517410 Satellite Telecommunications’’; http:// 

www.census.gov/naics/2007/def/ND517410.HTM. 

38U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, 

Subject Series: Information, ‘‘Establishment and 

Firm Size (Including Legal Form of Organization),’’ 

Table 4, NAICS code 517410 (issued Nov. 2005). 

39 Id. An additional 38 firms had annual receipts 

of $25 million or more. 

40U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, 

‘‘517919 All Other Telecommunications’’; http:// 

www.census.gov/naics/2007/def/ 

ND517919.HTM#N517919. 

41U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, 

Subject Series: Information, ‘‘Establishment and 

Firm Size (Including Legal Form of Organization),’’ 

Table 4, NAICS code 517910 (issued Nov. 2005). 

42 Id. An additional 14 firms had annual receipts 

of $25 million or more. 

43U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, 

‘‘517210 Wireless Telecommunications Categories 

(Except Satellite)’’; http://www.census.gov/naics/ 

2007/def/ND517210.HTM#N517210. 

44U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 NAICS Definitions, 

‘‘517211 Paging’’; http://www.census.gov/epcd/ 

naics02/def/NDEF517.HTM.; U.S. Census Bureau, 

2002 NAICS Definitions, ‘‘517212 Cellular and 

Other Wireless Telecommunications’’; http:// 

www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/def/NDEF517.HTM. 

45 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210 (2007 

NAICS). The now-superseded, pre-2007 CFR 

citations were 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS codes 

517211 and 517212 (referring to the 2002 NAICS). 

46U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, 

Subject Series: Information, ‘‘Establishment and 

Firm Size (Including Legal Form of Organization,’’ 

Table 5, NAICS code 517211 (issued Nov. 2005). 

rules is for the category Wired 

Telecommunications Carriers. Under that 

size standard, such a business is small if it 

has 1,500 or fewer employees.23 According to 

Commission data,24 526 carriers have 

reported that they are engaged in the 

provision of payphone services. Of these, an 

estimated 524 have 1,500 or fewer employees 

and two have more than 1,500 employees. 

Consequently, the Commission estimates that 

the majority of payphone service providers 

are small entities that may be affected by our 

proposed action. 

14. Interexchange Carriers (IXCs). Neither 

the Commission nor the SBA has developed 

a small business size standard specifically for 

providers of interexchange services. The 

appropriate size standard under SBA rules is 

for the category Wired Telecommunications 

Carriers. Under that size standard, such a 

business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer 

employees.25 According to Commission 

data,26 300 carriers have reported that they 

are engaged in the provision of interexchange 

service. Of these, an estimated 268 have 

1,500 or fewer employees and 32 have more 

than 1,500 employees. Consequently, the 

Commission estimates that the majority of 

IXCs are small entities that may be affected 

by our proposed action. 

15. Operator Service Providers (OSPs). 

Neither the Commission nor the SBA has 

developed a small business size standard 

specifically for operator service providers. 

The appropriate size standard under SBA 

rules is for the category Wired 

Telecommunications Carriers. Under that 

size standard, such a business is small if it 

has 1,500 or fewer employees.27 According to 

Commission data,28 28 carriers have reported 

that they are engaged in the provision of 

operator services. Of these, an estimated 27 

have 1,500 or fewer employees and one has 

more than 1,500 employees. Consequently, 

the Commission estimates that the majority 

of OSPs are small entities that may be 

affected by our proposed action. 

16. Prepaid Calling Card Providers. Neither 

the Commission nor the SBA has developed 

a small business size standard specifically for 

prepaid calling card providers. The 

appropriate size standard under SBA rules is 

for the category Telecommunications 

Resellers. Under that size standard, such a 

business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer 

employees.29 According to Commission 

data,30 88 carriers have reported that they are 

engaged in the provision of prepaid calling 

cards. Of these, an estimated 85 have 1,500 

or fewer employees and three have more than 

1,500 employees. Consequently, the 

Commission estimates that the majority of 

prepaid calling card providers are small 

entities that may be affected by our proposed 

action. 

17. 800 and 800-Like Service 

Subscribers.31 Neither the Commission nor 

the SBA has developed a small business size 

standard specifically for 800 and 800-like 

service (toll free) subscribers. The 

appropriate size standard under SBA rules is 

for the category Telecommunications 

Resellers. Under that size standard, such a 

business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer 

employees.32 The most reliable source of 

information regarding the number of these 

service subscribers appears to be data the 

Commission receives from Database Service 

Management on the 800, 866, 877, and 888 

numbers in use.33 According to our data, at 

the end of December 2007, the number of 800 

numbers assigned was 7,860,000; the number 

of 888 numbers assigned was 5,210,184; the 

number of 877 numbers assigned was 

4,388,682; and the number of 866 numbers 

assigned was 7,029,116. We do not have data 

specifying the number of these subscribers 

that are independently owned and operated 

or have 1,500 or fewer employees, and thus 

are unable at this time to estimate with 

greater precision the number of toll free 

subscribers that would qualify as small 

businesses under the SBA size standard. 

Consequently, we estimate that there are 

7,860,000 or fewer small entity 800 

subscribers; 5,210,184 or fewer small entity 

888 subscribers; 4,388,682 or fewer small 

entity 877 subscribers, and 7,029,116 or 

fewer entity 866 subscribers. 

18. Satellite Telecommunications and All 

Other Telecommunications. These two 

economic census categories address the 

satellite industry. The first category has a 

small business size standard of $15 million 

or less in average annual receipts, under SBA 

rules.34 The second has a size standard of $25 

million or less in annual receipts.35 The most 

current Census Bureau data in this context, 

however, are from the (last) economic census 

of 2002, and we will use those figures to 

gauge the prevalence of small businesses in 

these categories.36

19. The category of Satellite 

Telecommunications ‘‘comprises 

establishments primarily engaged in 

providing telecommunications services to 

other establishments in the 

telecommunications and broadcasting 

industries by forwarding and receiving 

communications signals via a system of 

satellites or reselling satellite 

telecommunications.’’ 37 For this category, 

Census Bureau data for 2002 show that there 

were a total of 371 firms that operated for the 

entire year.38 Of this total, 307 firms had 

annual receipts of under $10 million, and 26 

firms had receipts of $10 million to 

$24,999,999.39 Consequently, we estimate 

that the majority of Satellite 

Telecommunications firms are small entities 

that might be affected by our action. 

20. The second category of All Other 

Telecommunications comprises, inter alia, 

‘‘establishments primarily engaged in 

providing specialized telecommunications 

services, such as satellite tracking, 

communications telemetry, and radar station 

operation. This industry also includes 

establishments primarily engaged in 

providing satellite terminal stations and 

associated facilities connected with one or 

more terrestrial systems and capable of 

transmitting telecommunications to, and 

receiving telecommunications from, satellite 

systems.’’ 40 For this category, Census Bureau 

data for 2002 show that there were a total of 

332 firms that operated for the entire year.41

Of this total, 303 firms had annual receipts 

of under $10 million and 15 firms had annual 

receipts of $10 million to $24,999,999.42

Consequently, we estimate that the majority 

of All Other Telecommunications firms are 

small entities that might be affected by our 

action. 

21. Wireless Telecommunications Carriers 

(except Satellite). This category includes 

cellular, PCS, and certain SMR. Since 2007, 

the Census Bureau has placed wireless firms 

within this new, broad, economic census 

category.43 Prior to that time, such firms were 

within the now-superseded categories of 

‘‘Paging’’ and ‘‘Cellular and Other Wireless 

Telecommunications.’’ 44 Under the present 

and prior categories, the SBA has deemed a 

wireless business to be small if it has 1,500 

or fewer employees.45 Because Census 

Bureau data are not yet available for the new 

category, we will estimate small business 

prevalence using the prior categories and 

associated data. For the category of Paging, 

data for 2002 show that there were 807 firms 

that operated for the entire year.46 Of this 


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47 Id. The census data do not provide a more 

precise estimate of the number of firms that have 

employment of 1,500 or fewer employees; the 

largest category provided is for firms with ‘‘1000 

employees or more.’’ 

48U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, 

Subject Series: Information, ‘‘Establishment and 

Firm Size (Including Legal Form of Organization,’’ 

Table 5, NAICS code 517212 (issued Nov. 2005). 

49 Id. The census data do not provide a more 

precise estimate of the number of firms that have 

employment of 1,500 or fewer employees; the 

largest category provided is for firms with ‘‘1,000 

employees or more.’’ 

50U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, 

‘‘517919 All Other Telecommunications’’; http:// 

www.census.gov/naics/2007/def/ 

ND517919.HTM#N517919. 

51 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517919 (updated 

for inflation in 2008). 

52U.S. Census Bureau, ‘‘2002 NAICS Definitions: 

518111 Internet Service Providers’’; http:// 

www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/def/NDEF518.HTM. 

53U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, 

Subject Series: Information, ‘‘Establishment and 

Firm Size (Including Legal Form of Organization),’’ 

Table 4, NAICS code 518111 (issued Nov. 2005). 

54An additional 45 firms had receipts of $25 

million or more. 

55 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517212. 

56U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, 

‘‘517210 Wireless Telecommunications Categories 

(Except Satellite)’’; http://www.census.gov/naics/ 

2007/def/ND517210.HTM#N517210. 

57U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 NAICS Definitions, 

‘‘517211 Paging’’; http://www.census.gov/epcd/ 

naics02/def/NDEF517.HTM; U.S. Census Bureau, 

2002 NAICS Definitions, ‘‘517212 Cellular and 

Other Wireless Telecommunications’’; http:// 

www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/def/NDEF517.HTM. 

58 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210 (2007 

NAICS). The now-superseded, pre-2007 CFR 

citations were 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS codes 

517211 and 517212 (referring to the 2002 NAICS). 

59U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, 

Subject Series: Information, ‘‘Establishment and 

Firm Size (Including Legal Form of Organization,’’ 

Table 5, NAICS code 517211 (issued Nov. 2005). 

60 Id. The census data do not provide a more 

precise estimate of the number of firms that have 

employment of 1,500 or fewer employees; the 

largest category provided is for firms with ‘‘1,000 

employees or more.’’ 

61U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, 

Subject Series: Information, ‘‘Establishment and 

Firm Size (Including Legal Form of Organization,’’ 

Table 5, NAICS code 517212 (issued Nov. 2005). 

62 Id. The census data do not provide a more 

precise estimate of the number of firms that have 

employment of 1,500 or fewer employees; the 

largest category provided is for firms with ‘‘1,000 

employees or more.’’ 

63Revision of Part 22 and Part 90 of the 

Commission’s Rules to Facilitate Future 

Development of Paging Systems, Second Report and 

Order, 12 FCC Rcd 2732, 2811–2812, paras. 178– 

181 (Paging Second Report and Order); see also 

Revision of Part 22 and Part 90 of the Commission’s 

Rules to Facilitate Future Development of Paging 

Systems, Memorandum Opinion and Order on 

Reconsideration, 14 FCC Rcd 10030, 10085–10088, 

paragraphs 98–107 (1999). 

64Paging Second Report and Order, 12 FCC Rcd 

at 2811, paragraph 179. 

65See Letter from Aida Alvarez, Administrator, 

SBA, to Amy Zoslov, Chief, Auctions and Industry 

Analysis Division, Wireless Telecommunications 

Bureau (‘‘WTB’’), FCC (Dec. 2, 1998) (Alvarez Letter 

1998). 

66See ‘‘929 and 931 MHz Paging Auction Closes,’’ 

Public Notice, 15 FCC Rcd 4858 (WTB 2000). 

67See id. 

68See ‘‘Lower and Upper Paging Band Auction 

Closes,’’ Public Notice, 16 FCC Rcd 21821 (WTB 

2002). 

69See ‘‘Lower and Upper Paging Bands Auction 

Closes,’’ Public Notice, 18 FCC Rcd 11154 (WTB 

2003). 

70 ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’ at Table 5.3. 

71 ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’ at Table 5.3. 

72Amendment of the Commission’s Rules to 

Establish Part 27, the Wireless Communications 

Service (WCS), Report and Order, 12 FCC Rcd 

10785, 10879, para. 194 (1997). 

73See Alvarez Letter 1998. 

total, 804 firms had employment of 999 or 

fewer employees, and three firms had 

employment of 1,000 employees or more.47

For the category of Cellular and Other 

Wireless Telecommunications, data for 2002 

show that there were 1,397 firms that 

operated for the entire year.48 Of this total, 

1,378 firms had employment of 999 or fewer 

employees, and 19 firms had employment of 

1,000 employees or more.49 Thus, we 

estimate that the majority of wireless firms 

are small. 

22. Internet Service Providers. The 2007 

Economic Census places these providers, 

which includes voice over Internet protocol 

(VoIP) providers, in the category of All Other 

Telecommunications.50 The SBA small 

business size standard for such firms is: 

Those having annual average receipts of $25 

million or less.51 The most current Census 

Bureau data on such entities, however, are 

the 2002 data for the previous census 

category 52 called Internet Service Providers. 

The 2002 data show that there were 2,529 

such firms that operated for the entire year.53

Of those, 2,437 firms had annual receipts of 

under $10 million, and an additional 47 

firms had receipts of between $10 million 

and 

$24,999,999.54 Consequently, we estimate 

that the majority of ISP firms are small 

entities that may be affected by our action. 

23. Common Carrier Paging. As noted, the 

SBA has developed a small business size 

standard for Wireless Telecommunications 

Carriers (except Satellite) firms within the 

broad economic census categories of 

‘‘Cellular and Other Wireless 

Telecommunications.’’ 55 Since 2007, the 

Census Bureau has placed wireless firms 

within this new, broad, economic census 

category.56 Prior to that time, such firms were 

within the now-superseded categories of 

‘‘Paging’’ and ‘‘Cellular and Other Wireless 

Telecommunications.’’ 57 Under the present 

and prior categories, the SBA has deemed a 

wireless business to be small if it has 1,500 

or fewer employees.58 Because Census 

Bureau data are not yet available for the new 

category, we will estimate small business 

prevalence using the prior categories and 

associated data. For the category of Paging, 

data for 2002 show that there were 807 firms 

that operated for the entire year.59 Of this 

total, 804 firms had employment of 999 or 

fewer employees, and three firms had 

employment of 1,000 employees or more.60

For the category of Cellular and Other 

Wireless Telecommunications, data for 2002 

show that there were 1,397 firms that 

operated for the entire year.61 Of this total, 

1,378 firms had employment of 999 or fewer 

employees, and 19 firms had employment of 

1,000 employees or more.62 Thus, we 

estimate that the majority of wireless firms 

are small. 

24. In addition, in the Paging Second 

Report and Order, the Commission adopted 

a size standard for ‘‘small businesses’’ for 

purposes of determining their eligibility for 

special provisions such as bidding credits 

and installment payments.63 A small 

business is an entity that, together with its 

affiliates and controlling principals, has 

average gross revenues not exceeding $15 

million for the preceding three years.64 The 

SBA has approved this definition.65 An 

auction of Metropolitan Economic Area 

(MEA) licenses commenced on February 24, 

2000, and closed on March 2, 2000. Of the 

2,499 licenses auctioned, 985 were sold.66

Fifty-seven companies claiming small 

business status won 440 licenses.67 An 

auction of MEA and Economic Area (EA) 

licenses commenced on October 30, 2001, 

and closed on December 5, 2001. Of the 

15,514 licenses auctioned, 5,323 were sold.68

One hundred thirty-two companies claiming 

small business status purchased 3,724 

licenses. A third auction, consisting of 8,874 

licenses in each of 175 EAs and 1,328 

licenses in all but three of the 51 MEAs 

commenced on May 13, 2003, and closed on 

May 28, 2003. Seventy-seven bidders 

claiming small or very small business status 

won 2,093 licenses.69

25. Currently, there are approximately 

74,000 Common Carrier Paging licenses. 

According to the most recent Trends in 

Telephone Service, 281 carriers reported that 

they were engaged in the provision of 

‘‘paging and messaging’’ services.70 Of these, 

an estimated 279 have 1,500 or fewer 

employees and two have more than 1,500 

employees.71 We estimate that the majority of 

common carrier paging providers would 

qualify as small entities under the SBA 

definition. 

26. Wireless Communications Services. 

This service can be used for fixed, mobile, 

radiolocation, and digital audio broadcasting 

satellite uses. The Commission defined 

‘‘small business’’ for the wireless 

communications services (WCS) auction as 

an entity with average gross revenues of $40 

million for each of the three preceding years, 

and a ‘‘very small business’’ as an entity with 

average gross revenues of $15 million for 

each of the three preceding years.72 The SBA 

has approved these definitions.73 The 

Commission auctioned geographic area 

licenses in the WCS service. In the auction, 

which commenced on April 15, 1997 and 

closed on April 25, 1997, there were seven 

bidders that won 31 licenses that qualified as 

very small business entities, and one bidder 

that won one license that qualified as a small 

business entity. 

27. 1670–1675 MHz Services. An auction 

for one license in the 1670–1675 MHz band 

commenced on April 30, 2003 and closed the 

same day. One license was awarded. The 

winning bidder was not a small entity. 

28. Wireless Telephony. Wireless 

telephony includes cellular, personal 

communications services, and specialized 

mobile radio telephony carriers. As noted, 

the SBA has developed a small business size 


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74 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210. 

75 Id. 

76 ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’ at Table 5.3. 

77 ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’ at Table 5.3. 

78See Amendment of Parts 20 and 24 of the 

Commission’s Rules—Broadband PCS Competitive 

Bidding and the Commercial Mobile Radio Service 

Spectrum Cap, Report and Order, 11 FCC Rcd 7824, 

7850–7852, paras. 57–60 (1996) (PCS Report and 

Order); see also 47 CFR 24.720(b). 

79See PCS Report and Order, 11 FCC Rcd at 7852, 

para. 60. 

80See Alvarez Letter 1998. 

81FCC News, ‘‘Broadband PCS, D, E and F Block 

Auction Closes,’’ No. 71744 (rel. Jan. 14, 1997). 

82See ‘‘C, D, E, and F Block Broadband PCS 

Auction Closes,’’ Public Notice, 14 FCC Rcd 6688 

(WTB 1999). 

83See ‘‘C and F Block Broadband PCS Auction 

Closes; Winning Bidders Announced,’’ Public 

Notice, 16 FCC Rcd 2339 (2001). 

84See ‘‘Broadband PCS Spectrum Auction Closes; 

Winning Bidders Announced for Auction No. 58,’’ 

Public Notice, 20 FCC Rcd 3703 (2005). 

85See ‘‘Auction of Broadband PCS Spectrum 

Licenses Closes; Winning Bidders Announced for 

Auction No. 71,’’ Public Notice, 22 FCC Rcd 9247 

(2007). 

86 Id. 

87 Implementation of Section 309(j) of the 

Communications Act—Competitive Bidding 

Narrowband PCS, Third Memorandum Opinion and 

Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 

10 FCC Rcd 175, 196, para. 46 (1994). 

88See ‘‘Announcing the High Bidders in the 

Auction of ten Nationwide Narrowband PCS 

Licenses, Winning Bids Total $617,006,674,’’ Public 

Notice, PNWL 94–004 (rel. Aug. 2, 1994); 

‘‘Announcing the High Bidders in the Auction of 30 

Regional Narrowband PCS Licenses; Winning Bids 

Total $490,901,787,’’ Public Notice, PNWL 94–27 

(rel. Nov. 9, 1994). 

89Amendment of the Commission’s Rules to 

Establish New Personal Communications Services, 

Narrowband PCS, Second Report and Order and 

Second Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making, 15 

FCC Rcd 10456, 10476, para. 40 (2000) 

(Narrowband PCS Second Report and Order). 

90Narrowband PCS Second Report and Order, 15 

FCC Rcd at 10476, para. 40. 

91 Id. 

92See Alvarez Letter 1998. 

93See ‘‘Narrowband PCS Auction Closes,’’ Public 

Notice, 16 FCC Rcd 18663 (WTB 2001). 

94See Reallocation and Service Rules for the 698– 

746 MHz Spectrum Band (Television Channels 52– 

59), Report and Order, 17 FCC Rcd 1022 (2002) 

(Channels 52–59 Report and Order). 

95See Channels 52–59 Report and Order, 17 FCC 

Rcd at 1087–88, paragraph 172. 

96See id. 

97See id., 17 FCC Rcd at 1088, paragraph 173. 

98 See Letter from Aida Alvarez, Administrator, 

SBA, to Thomas Sugrue, Chief, WTB, FCC (Aug. 10, 

1999) (Alvarez Letter 1999). 

99See ‘‘Lower 700 MHz Band Auction Closes,’’ 

Public Notice, 17 FCC Rcd 17272 (WTB 2002). 

100See ‘‘Lower 700 MHz Band Auction Closes,’’ 

Public Notice, 18 FCC Rcd 11873 (WTB 2003). 

101See id. 

102Service Rules for the 698–746, 747–762 and 

777–792 MHz Bands, WT Docket No. 06–150, 

Revision of the Commission’s Rules to Ensure 

Compatibility with Enhanced 911 Emergency 

Calling Systems, CC Docket No. 94–102, Section 

68.4(a) of the Commission’s Rules Governing 

Hearing Aid-Compatible Telephones, WT Docket 

No. 01–309, Biennial Regulatory Review— 

Amendment of Parts 1, 22, 24, 27, and 90 to 

Streamline and Harmonize Various Rules Affecting 

Wireless Radio Services, WT Docket 03–264, 

Former Nextel Communications, Inc. Upper 700 

Continued 

standard for Wireless Telecommunications 

Carriers (except Satellite).74 Under the SBA 

small business size standard, a business is 

small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees.75

According to Trends in Telephone Service 

data, 434 carriers reported that they were 

engaged in wireless telephony.76 Of these, an 

estimated 222 have 1,500 or fewer employees 

and 212 have more than 1,500 employees.77

We have estimated that 222 of these are small 

under the SBA small business size standard. 

29. Broadband Personal Communications 

Service. The broadband personal 

communications services (PCS) spectrum is 

divided into six frequency blocks designated 

A through F, and the Commission has held 

auctions for each block. The Commission has 

created a small business size standard for 

Blocks C and F as an entity that has average 

gross revenues of less than $40 million in the 

three previous calendar years.78 For Block F, 

an additional small business size standard for 

‘‘very small business’’ was added and is 

defined as an entity that, together with its 

affiliates, has average gross revenues of not 

more than $15 million for the preceding three 

calendar years.79 These small business size 

standards, in the context of broadband PCS 

auctions, have been approved by the SBA.80

No small businesses within the SBAapproved small business size standards bid 

successfully for licenses in Blocks A and B. 

There were 90 winning bidders that qualified 

as small entities in the Block C auctions. A 

total of 93 ‘‘small’’ and ‘‘very small’’ business 

bidders won approximately 40 percent of the 

1,479 licenses for Blocks D, E, and F.81 On 

March 23, 1999, the Commission reauctioned 

155 C, D, E, and F Block licenses; there were 

113 small business winning bidders.82

30. On January 26, 2001, the Commission 

completed the auction of 422 C and F 

Broadband PCS licenses in Auction No. 35. 

Of the 35 winning bidders in this auction, 29 

qualified as ‘‘small’’ or ‘‘very small’’ 

businesses.83 Subsequent events, concerning 

Auction 35, including judicial and agency 

determinations, resulted in a total of 163 C 

and F Block licenses being available for 

grant. On February 15, 2005, the Commission 

completed an auction of 188 C block licenses 

and 21 F block licenses in Auction No. 58. 

There were 24 winning bidders for 217 

licenses.84 Of the 24 winning bidders, 16 

claimed small business status and won 156 

licenses. On May 21, 2007, the Commission 

completed an auction of 33 licenses in the A, 

C, and F Blocks in Auction No. 71.85 Of the 

14 winning bidders, six were designated 

entities.86

31. Narrowband Personal Communications 

Services. The Commission held an auction 

for Narrowband PCS licenses that 

commenced on July 25, 1994, and closed on 

July 29, 1994. A second auction commenced 

on October 26, 1994 and closed on November 

8, 1994. For purposes of the first two 

Narrowband PCS auctions, ‘‘small 

businesses’’ were entities with average gross 

revenues for the prior three calendar years of 

$40 million or less.87 Through these 

auctions, the Commission awarded a total of 

41 licenses, 11 of which were obtained by 

four small businesses.88 To ensure 

meaningful participation by small business 

entities in future auctions, the Commission 

adopted a two-tiered small business size 

standard in the Narrowband PCS Second 

Report and Order.89 A ‘‘small business’’ is an 

entity that, together with affiliates and 

controlling interests, has average gross 

revenues for the three preceding years of not 

more than $40 million.90 A ‘‘very small 

business’’ is an entity that, together with 

affiliates and controlling interests, has 

average gross revenues for the three 

preceding years of not more than $15 

million.91 The SBA has approved these small 

business size standards.92 A third auction 

commenced on October 3, 2001 and closed 

on October 16, 2001. Here, five bidders won 

317 (Metropolitan Trading Areas and 

nationwide) licenses.93 Three of these 

claimed status as a small or very small entity 

and won 311 licenses. 

32. Lower 700 MHz Band Licenses. The 

Commission previously adopted criteria for 

defining three groups of small businesses for 

purposes of determining their eligibility for 

special provisions such as bidding credits.94

The Commission defined a ‘‘small business’’ 

as an entity that, together with its affiliates 

and controlling principals, has average gross 

revenues not exceeding $40 million for the 

preceding three years.95 A ‘‘very small 

business’’ is defined as an entity that, 

together with its affiliates and controlling 

principals, has average gross revenues that 

are not more than $15 million for the 

preceding three years.96 Additionally, the 

lower 700 MHz Service had a third category 

of small business status for Metropolitan/ 

Rural Service Area (‘‘MSA/RSA’’) licenses. 

The third category is ‘‘entrepreneur,’’ which 

is defined as an entity that, together with its 

affiliates and controlling principals, has 

average gross revenues that are not more than 

$3 million for the preceding three years.97

The SBA approved these small size 

standards.98 An auction of 740 licenses (one 

license in each of the 734 MSAs/RSAs and 

one license in each of the six Economic Area 

Groupings (EAGs)) commenced on August 

27, 2002, and closed on September 18, 2002. 

Of the 740 licenses available for auction, 484 

licenses were sold to 102 winning bidders. 

Seventy-two of the winning bidders claimed 

small business, very small business or 

entrepreneur status and won a total of 329 

licenses.99 A second auction commenced on 

May 28, 2003, and closed on June 13, 2003, 

and included 256 licenses: 5 EAG licenses 

and 476 Cellular Market Area licenses.100

Seventeen winning bidders claimed small or 

very small business status and won 60 

licenses, and nine winning bidders claimed 

entrepreneur status and won 154 licenses.101

On July 26, 2005, the Commission completed 

an auction of 5 licenses in the Lower 700 

MHz band (Auction No. 60). There were 

three winning bidders for five licenses. All 

three winning bidders claimed small 

business status. 

33. The Commission recently reexamined 

its rules governing the 700 MHz band in the 

700 MHz Second Report and Order.102 An 


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MHz Guard Band Licenses and Revisions to Part 27 

of the Commission’s Rules, WT Docket No. 06–169, 

Implementing a Nationwide, Broadband, 

Interoperable Public Safety Network in the 700 MHz 

Band, PS Docket No. 06–229, Development of 

Operational, Technical and Spectrum 

Requirements for Meeting Federal, State and Local 

Public Safety Communications Requirements 

Through the Year 2010, WT Docket No. 96–86, 

Second Report and Order, FCC 07–132 (2007) (700 

MHz Second Report and Order). 

103See ‘‘Auction of 700 MHz Band Licenses 

Scheduled for January 16, 2008; Comment Sought 

on Competitive Bidding Procedures For Auction 

73,’’ Public Notice, FCC Rcd 15004 (WTB 2007). 

104See id. 

105See Service Rules for the 746–764 MHz Bands, 

and Revisions to Part 27 of the Commission’s Rules, 

Second Report and Order, 15 FCC Rcd 5299 (2000) 

(746–764 MHz Band Second Report and Order). 

106See 746–764 MHz Band Second Report and 

Order, 15 FCC Rcd at 5343, para. 108. 

107See id. 

108See id., 15 FCC Rcd 5299, 5343, para. 108 

n.246 (for the 746–764 MHz and 776–794 MHz 

bands, the Commission is exempt from 15 U.S.C. 

632, which requires Federal agencies to obtain SBA 

approval before adopting small business size 

standards). 

109See ‘‘700 MHz Guard Bands Auction Closes: 

Winning Bidders Announced,’’ Public Notice, 15 

FCC Rcd 18026 (2000). 

110See ‘‘700 MHz Guard Bands Auction Closes: 

Winning Bidders Announced,’’ Public Notice, 16 

FCC Rcd 4590 (WTB 2001). 

111 47 CFR 90.814(b)(1). 

112 47 CFR 90.814(b)(1). 

113See Alvarez Letter 1999. 

114See ‘‘Correction to Public Notice DA 96–586 

‘FCC Announces Winning Bidders in the Auction 

of 1020 Licenses to Provide 900 MHz SMR in Major 

Trading Areas,’ ’’ Public Notice, 18 FCC Rcd 18367 

(WTB 1996). 

115See ‘‘Multi-Radio Service Auction Closes,’’ 

Public Notice, 17 FCC Rcd 1446 (WTB 2002). 

116See ‘‘800 MHz Specialized Mobile Radio 

(SMR) Service General Category (851–854 MHz) and 

Upper Band (861–865 MHz) Auction Closes; 

Winning Bidders Announced,’’ Public Notice, 15 

FCC Rcd 17162 (2000). 

117See, ‘‘800 MHz SMR Service Lower 80 

Channels Auction Closes; Winning Bidders 

Announced,’’ Public Notice, 16 FCC Rcd 1736 

(2000). 

118See generally 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 

517210. 

119 Id. 

120 Id. 

121Amendment of Part 90 of the Commission’s 

Rules to Provide For the Use of the 220–222 MHz 

Band by the Private Land Mobile Radio Service, 

Third Report and Order, 12 FCC Rcd 10943, 11068– 

70, paras. 291–295 (1997). 

auction of 700 MHz licenses commenced 

January 24, 2008. For the Lower 700 MHz 

band, 176 licenses over Economic Areas in 

the A Block, 734 licenses over Cellular 

Market Areas in the B Block, and 176 

licenses over EAs in the E Block are available 

for licensing.103 Winning bidders may be 

eligible for small business status (those with 

attributable average annual gross revenues 

that exceed $15 million and do not exceed 

$40 million for the preceding three years), or 

very small business status (those with 

attributable average annual gross revenues 

that do not exceed $15 million for the 

preceding three years). 

34. Upper 700 MHz Band Licenses. In the 

700 MHz Second Report and Order, the 

Commission revised its rules regarding 

Upper 700 MHz licenses. On January 24, 

2008, the Commission commenced Auction 

73 in which several licenses in the Upper 700 

MHz band are available for licensing: 12 

licenses over Regional Economic Area 

Groupings (REAGs) in the C Block, and one 

nationwide license in the D Block.104

Winning bidders may be eligible for small 

business status (those with attributable 

average annual gross revenues that exceed 

$15 million and do not exceed $40 million 

for the preceding three years), or very small 

business status (those with attributable 

average annual gross revenues that do not 

exceed $15 million for the preceding three 

years. 

35. 700 MHz Guard Band Licenses. In the 

700 MHz Guard Band Order, the Commission 

adopted size standards for ‘‘small 

businesses’’ and ‘‘very small businesses’’ for 

purposes of determining their eligibility for 

special provisions such as bidding credits 

and installment payments.105 A small 

business in this service is an entity that, 

together with its affiliates and controlling 

principals, has average gross revenues not 

exceeding $40 million for the preceding three 

years.106 Additionally, a very small business 

is an entity that, together with its affiliates 

and controlling principals, has average gross 

revenues that are not more than $15 million 

for the preceding three years.107 SBA 

approval of these definitions is not 

required.108 An auction of 52 Major 

Economic Area (MEA) licenses commenced 

on September 6, 2000, and closed on 

September 21, 2000.109 Of the 104 licenses 

auctioned, 96 licenses were sold to nine 

bidders. Five of these bidders were small 

businesses that won a total of 26 licenses. A 

second auction of 700 MHz Guard Band 

licenses commenced on February 13, 2001, 

and closed on February 21, 2001. All eight 

of the licenses auctioned were sold to three 

bidders. One of these bidders was a small 

business that won a total of two licenses.110

36. Specialized Mobile Radio. The 

Commission awards ‘‘small entity’’ bidding 

credits in auctions for Specialized Mobile 

Radio (SMR) geographic area licenses in the 

800 MHz and 900 MHz bands to firms that 

had revenues of no more than $15 million in 

each of the three previous calendar years.111

The Commission awards ‘‘very small entity’’ 

bidding credits to firms that had revenues of 

no more than $3 million in each of the three 

previous calendar years.112 The SBA has 

approved these small business size standards 

for the 900 MHz Service.113 The Commission 

has held auctions for geographic area licenses 

in the 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands. The 900 

MHz SMR auction began on December 5, 

1995, and closed on April 15, 1996. Sixty 

bidders claiming that they qualified as small 

businesses under the $15 million size 

standard won 263 geographic area licenses in 

the 900 MHz SMR band. The 800 MHz SMR 

auction for the upper 200 channels began on 

October 28, 1997, and was completed on 

December 8, 1997. Ten bidders claiming that 

they qualified as small businesses under the 

$15 million size standard won 38 geographic 

area licenses for the upper 200 channels in 

the 800 MHz SMR band.114 A second auction 

for the 800 MHz band was held on January 

10, 2002 and closed on January 17, 2002 and 

included 23 BEA licenses. One bidder 

claiming small business status won five 

licenses.115

37. The auction of the 1,053 800 MHz SMR 

geographic area licenses for the General 

Category channels began on August 16, 2000, 

and was completed on September 1, 2000. 

Eleven bidders won 108 geographic area 

licenses for the General Category channels in 

the 800 MHz SMR band qualified as small 

businesses under the $15 million size 

standard.116 In an auction completed on 

December 5, 2000, a total of 2,800 Economic 

Area licenses in the lower 80 channels of the 

800 MHz SMR service were awarded.117 Of 

the 22 winning bidders, 19 claimed small 

business status and won 129 licenses. Thus, 

combining all three auctions, 40 winning 

bidders for geographic licenses in the 800 

MHz SMR band claimed status as small 

business. 

38. In addition, there are numerous 

incumbent site-by-site SMR licensees and 

licensees with extended implementation 

authorizations in the 800 and 900 MHz 

bands. We do not know how many firms 

provide 800 MHz or 900 MHz geographic 

area SMR pursuant to extended 

implementation authorizations, nor how 

many of these providers have annual 

revenues of no more than $15 million. One 

firm has over $15 million in revenues. In 

addition, we do not know how many of these 

firms have 1500 or fewer employees.118 We 

assume, for purposes of this analysis, that all 

of the remaining existing extended 

implementation authorizations are held by 

small entities, as that small business size 

standard is approved by the SBA. 

39. 220 MHz Radio Service—Phase I 

Licensees. The 220 MHz service has both 

Phase I and Phase II licenses. Phase I 

licensing was conducted by lotteries in 1992 

and 1993. There are approximately 1,515 

such non-nationwide licensees and four 

nationwide licensees currently authorized to 

operate in the 220 MHz band. The 

Commission has not developed a definition 

of small entities specifically applicable to 

such incumbent 220 MHz Phase I licensees. 

To estimate the number of such licensees that 

are small businesses, we apply the small 

business size standard under the SBA rules 

applicable to Wireless Telecommunications 

Carriers (except Satellite).119 This category 

provides that a small business is a wireless 

company employing no more than 1,500 

persons.120 The Commission estimates that 

most such licensees are small businesses 

under the SBA’s small business standard. 

40. 220 MHz Radio Service—Phase II 

Licensees. The 220 MHz service has both 

Phase I and Phase II licenses. The Phase II 

220 MHz service is a new service, and is 

subject to spectrum auctions. In the 220 MHz 

Third Report and Order, the Commission 

adopted a small business size standard for 

defining ‘‘small’’ and ‘‘very small’’ 

businesses for purposes of determining their 

eligibility for special provisions such as 

bidding credits and installment payments.121

This small business standard indicates that a 

‘‘small business’’ is an entity that, together 


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122 Id. at 11068, para. 291. 

123 Id. 

124See Letter from Aida Alvarez, Administrator, 

SBA, to Daniel Phythyon, Chief, WTB, FCC (Jan. 6, 

1998) (Alvarez to Phythyon Letter 1998). 

125See generally ‘‘220 MHz Service Auction 

Closes,’’ Public Notice, 14 FCC Rcd 605 (1998). 

126See ‘‘FCC Announces It is Prepared to Grant 

654 Phase II 220 MHz Licenses After Final Payment 

is Made,’’ Public Notice, 14 FCC Rcd 1085 (1999). 

127See ‘‘Phase II 220 MHz Service Spectrum 

Auction Closes,’’ Public Notice, 14 FCC Rcd 11218 

(1999). 

128See ‘‘Multi-Radio Service Auction Closes,’’ 

Public Notice, 17 FCC Rcd 1446 (2002). 

129See ‘‘Auction of Phase II 220 MHz Service 

Spectrum Licenses Closes,’’ Public Notice, 22 FCC 

Rcd 11573 (WTB 2007). 

130See 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210. 

131See generally 13 CFR 121.201. 

132Federal Communications Commission, 60th 

Annual Report, Fiscal Year 1994, at paragraph 116. 

133See 47 CFR 101 et seq. for common carrier 

fixed microwave services (except Multipoint 

Distribution Service). 

134Persons eligible under parts 80 and 90 of the 

Commission’s Rules can use Private OperationalFixed Microwave services. See 47 CFR Parts 80 and 

90. Stations in this service are called operationalfixed to distinguish them from common carrier and 

public fixed stations. Only the licensee may use the 

operational-fixed station, and only for 

communications related to the licensee’s 

commercial, industrial, or safety operations. 

135Auxiliary Microwave Service is governed by 

Part 74 of Title 47 of the Commission’s rules. See 

47 CFR Part 74. This service is available to licensees 

of broadcast stations and to broadcast and cable 

network entities. Broadcast auxiliary microwave 

stations are used for relaying broadcast television 

signals from the studio to the transmitter, or 

between two points such as a main studio and an 

auxiliary studio. The service also includes mobile 

television pickups, which relay signals from a 

remote location back to the studio. 

136 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210. 

137See Amendment of the Commission’s Rules 

Regarding the 37.0–38.6 GHz and 38.6–40.0 GHz 

Bands, ET Docket No. 95–183, Report and Order, 12 

FCC Rcd 18600 (1997). 

138 Id. 

139See Letter from Aida Alvarez, Administrator, 

SBA, to Kathleen O’Brien Ham, Chief, Auctions and 

Industry Analysis Division, WTB, FCC (Feb. 4, 

1998); See Letter from Hector Barreto, 

Administrator, SBA, to Margaret Wiener, Chief, 

Auctions and Industry Analysis Division, WTB, 

FCC (Jan. 18, 2002). 

140See Rulemaking to Amend Parts 1, 2, 21, 25, 

of the Commission’s Rules to Redesignate the 27.5– 

29.5 GHz Frequency Band, Reallocate the 29.5–30.5 

Frequency Band, to Establish Rules and Policies for 

Local Multipoint Distribution Service and for Fixed 

Satellite Services, Second Report and Order, Order 

on Reconsideration, and Fifth Notice of Proposed 

Rule Making, 12 FCC Rcd 12545, 12689–90, 

paragraph 348 (1997) (LMDS Second Report and 

Order). 

141See LMDS Second Report and Order, 12 FCC 

Rcd at 12689–90, paragraph 348. 

142See id. 

143 See Alvarez to Phythyon Letter 1998. 

144See ‘‘Interactive Video and Data Service 

(IVDS) Applications Accepted for Filing,’’ Public 

Notice, 9 FCC Rcd 6227 (1994). 

with its affiliates and controlling principals, 

has average gross revenues not exceeding $15 

million for the preceding three years.122 A 

‘‘very small business’’ is defined as an entity 

that, together with its affiliates and 

controlling principals, has average gross 

revenues that do not exceed $3 million for 

the preceding three years.123 The SBA has 

approved these small size standards.124

Auctions of Phase II licenses commenced on 

September 15, 1998, and closed on October 

22, 1998.125 In the first auction, 908 licenses 

were auctioned in three different-sized 

geographic areas: three nationwide licenses, 

30 Regional Economic Area Group (EAG) 

Licenses, and 875 Economic Area (EA) 

Licenses. Of the 908 licenses auctioned, 693 

were sold.126 Thirty-nine small businesses 

won 373 licenses in the first 220 MHz 

auction. A second auction included 225 

licenses: 216 EA licenses and 9 EAG licenses. 

Fourteen companies claiming small business 

status won 158 licenses.127 A third auction 

included four licenses: 2 BEA licenses and 2 

EAG licenses in the 220 MHz Service. No 

small or very small business won any of 

these licenses.128 The Commission 

conducted a fourth auction in 2007 with 

three of the five winning bidders claiming 

small or very small business status.129

41. Private Land Mobile Radio (PLMR). 

PLMR systems serve an essential role in a 

range of industrial, business, land 

transportation, and public safety activities. 

These radios are used by companies of all 

sizes operating in all U.S. business 

categories, and are often used in support of 

the licensee’s primary (nontelecommunications) business operations. 

For the purpose of determining whether a 

licensee of a PLMR system is a small 

business as defined by the SBA, we use the 

broad census category, Wireless 

Telecommunications Carriers (except 

Satellite). This definition provides that a 

small entity is any such entity employing no 

more than 1,500 persons.130 The Commission 

does not require PLMR licensees to disclose 

information about number of employees, so 

the Commission does not have information 

that could be used to determine how many 

PLMR licensees constitute small entities 

under this definition. We note that PLMR 

licensees generally use the licensed facilities 

in support of other business activities, and 

therefore, it would also be helpful to assess 

PLMR licensees under the standards applied 

to the particular industry subsector to which 

the licensee belongs.131

42. The Commission’s 1994 Annual Report 

on PLMRs 132 indicates that at the end of 

fiscal year 1994, there were 1,087,267 

licensees operating 12,481,989 transmitters 

in the PLMR bands below 512 MHz. We note 

that any entity engaged in a commercial 

activity is eligible to hold a PLMR license, 

and that the revised rules in this context 

could therefore potentially impact small 

entities covering a great variety of industries. 

43. Fixed Microwave Services. Fixed 

microwave services include common 

carrier,133 private operational-fixed,134 and 

broadcast auxiliary radio services.135 At 

present, there are approximately 22,015 

common carrier fixed licensees and 61,670 

private operational-fixed licensees and 

broadcast auxiliary radio licensees in the 

microwave services. The Commission has not 

created a size standard for a small business 

specifically with respect to fixed microwave 

services. For purposes of this analysis, the 

Commission uses the SBA small business 

size standard for the category Wireless 

Telecommunications Carriers (except 

Satellite), which is 1,500 or fewer 

employees.136 The Commission does not 

have data specifying the number of these 

licensees that have no more than 1,500 

employees, and thus are unable at this time 

to estimate with greater precision the number 

of fixed microwave service licensees that 

would qualify as small business concerns 

under the SBA’s small business size 

standard. Consequently, the Commission 

estimates that there are 22,015 or fewer 

common carrier fixed licensees and 61,670 or 

fewer private operational-fixed licensees and 

broadcast auxiliary radio licensees in the 

microwave services that may be small and 

may be affected by the rules and policies 

proposed herein. We note, however, that the 

common carrier microwave fixed licensee 

category includes some large entities. 

44. 39 GHz Service. The Commission 

created a special small business size standard 

for 39 GHz licenses—an entity that has 

average gross revenues of $40 million or less 

in the three previous calendar years.137 An 

additional size standard for ‘‘very small 

business’’ is: An entity that, together with 

affiliates, has average gross revenues of not 

more than $15 million for the preceding three 

calendar years.138 The SBA has approved 

these small business size standards.139 The 

auction of the 2,173 39 GHz licenses began 

on April 12, 2000 and closed on May 8, 2000. 

The 18 bidders who claimed small business 

status won 849 licenses. 

45. Local Multipoint Distribution Service. 

Local Multipoint Distribution Service 

(LMDS) is a fixed broadband point-tomultipoint microwave service that provides 

for two-way video telecommunications.140

The auction of the 986 LMDS licenses began 

on February 18, 1998 and closed on March 

25, 1998. The Commission established a 

small business size standard for LMDS 

licenses as an entity that has average gross 

revenues of less than $40 million in the three 

previous calendar years.141 An additional 

small business size standard for ‘‘very small 

business’’ was added as an entity that, 

together with its affiliates, has average gross 

revenues of not more than $15 million for the 

preceding three calendar years.142 The SBA 

has approved these small business size 

standards in the context of LMDS 

auctions.143 There were 93 winning bidders 

that qualified as small entities in the LMDS 

auctions. A total of 93 small and very small 

business bidders won approximately 277 A 

Block licenses and 387 B Block licenses. On 

March 27, 1999, the Commission reauctioned 161 licenses; there were 32 small 

and very small businesses winning that won 

119 licenses. 

46. 218–219 MHz Service. The first auction 

of 218–219 MHz (previously referred to as 

the Interactive and Video Data Service or 

IVDS) spectrum resulted in 178 entities 

winning licenses for 594 Metropolitan 

Statistical Areas (MSAs).144 Of the 594 

licenses, 567 were won by 167 entities 

qualifying as a small business. For that 

auction, the Commission defined a small 


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145 Implementation of Section 309(j) of the 

Communications Act—Competitive Bidding, Fourth 

Report and Order, 9 FCC Rcd 2330 (1994). 

146Amendment of Part 95 of the Commission’s 

Rules to Provide Regulatory Flexibility in the 218– 

219 MHz Service, Report and Order and 

Memorandum Opinion and Order, 15 FCC Rcd 1497 

(1999). 

147 Id. 

148 See Alvarez to Phythyon Letter 1998. 

149Amendment of Part 90 of the Commission’s 

Rules to Adopt Regulations for Automatic Vehicle 

Monitoring Systems, Second Report and Order, 13 

FCC Rcd 15182, 15192, paragraph 20 (1998) 

(Automatic Vehicle Monitoring Systems Second 

Report and Order); see also 47 CFR 90.1103. 

150Automatic Vehicle Monitoring Systems 

Second Report and Order, 13 FCC Rcd at 15192, 

para. 20; see also 47 CFR 90.1103. 

151See Alvarez Letter 1998. 

152The service is defined in section 22.99 of the 

Commission’s rules, 47 CFR 22.99. 

153BETRS is defined in 22.757 and 22.759 of the 

Commission’s rules, 47 CFR 22.757 and 22.759. 

154 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210. 

155The service is defined in section 22.99 of the 

Commission’s rules, 47 CFR 22.99. 

156 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS codes 517210. 

157Amendment of Part 22 of the Commission’s 

Rules to Benefit the Consumers of Air-Ground 

Telecommunications Services, Biennial Regulatory 

Review—Amendment of Parts 1, 22, and 90 of the 

Commission’s Rules, Amendment of Parts 1 and 22 

of the Commission’s Rules to Adopt Competitive 

Bidding Rules for Commercial and General Aviation 

Air-Ground Radiotelephone Service, WT Docket 

Nos. 03–103 and 05–42, Order on Reconsideration 

and Report and Order, 20 FCC Rcd 19663, 

paragraphs 28–42 (2005). 

158 Id. 

159See Letter from Hector V. Barreto, 

Administrator, SBA, to Gary D. Michaels, Deputy 

Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access Division, 

WTB, FCC (Sept. 19, 2005). 

160 Vessels that are not required by law to carry 

a radio and do not make international voyages or 

communications are not required to obtain an 

individual license. See Amendment of Parts 80 and 

87 of the Commission’s rules to Permit Operation 

of Certain Domestic Ship and Aircraft Radio 

Stations Without Individual Licenses, Report and 

Order, WT Docket No. 96–82, 11 FCC Rcd 14849 

(1996). 

161 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210. 

162A licensee may have a license in more than 

one category. 

163Amendment of the Commission’s Rules 

Concerning Maritime Communications, PR Docket 

No. 92–257, Third Report and Order and 

Memorandum Opinion and Order, 13 FCC Rcd 

19853 (1998). 

164See ‘‘Automated Maritime 

Telecommunications System Spectrum Auction 

Scheduled for September 15, 2004, Notice and 

Filing Requirements, Minimum Opening Bids, 

Upfront Payments and Other Auction Procedures,’’ 

Public Notice, 19 FCC Rcd 9518 (WTB 2004); 

‘‘Auction of Automated Maritime 

Telecommunications System Licenses Scheduled 

for August 3, 2005, Notice and Filing Requirements, 

Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront Payments and 

Other Auction Procedures for Auction No. 61,’’ 

Public Notice, 20 FCC Rcd 7811 (WTB 2005). 

165 47 CFR 80.1252. 

166This service is governed by Subpart I of Part 

22 of the Commission’s rules. See 47 CFR 22.1001– 

22.1037. 

business as an entity that, together with its 

affiliates, has no more than a $6 million net 

worth and, after federal income taxes 

(excluding any carry over losses), has no 

more than $2 million in annual profits each 

year for the previous two years.145 In the 

218–219 MHz Report and Order and 

Memorandum Opinion and Order, we 

defined a small business as an entity that, 

together with its affiliates and persons or 

entities that hold interests in such an entity 

and their affiliates, has average annual gross 

revenues not exceeding $15 million for the 

preceding three years.146 A very small 

business is defined as an entity that, together 

with its affiliates and persons or entities that 

hold interests in such an entity and its 

affiliates, has average annual gross revenues 

not exceeding $3 million for the preceding 

three years.147 The SBA has approved of 

these definitions.148 A subsequent auction is 

not yet scheduled. Given the success of small 

businesses in the previous auction, and the 

prevalence of small businesses in the 

subscription television services and message 

communications industries, we assume for 

purposes of this analysis that in future 

auctions, many, and perhaps most, of the 

licenses may be awarded to small businesses. 

47. Location and Monitoring Service 

(LMS). Multilateration LMS systems use nonvoice radio techniques to determine the 

location and status of mobile radio units. For 

purposes of auctioning LMS licenses, the 

Commission has defined ‘‘small business’’ as 

an entity that, together with controlling 

interests and affiliates, has average annual 

gross revenues for the preceding three years 

not exceeding $15 million.149 A ‘‘very small 

business’’ is defined as an entity that, 

together with controlling interests and 

affiliates, has average annual gross revenues 

for the preceding three years not exceeding 

$3 million.150 These definitions have been 

approved by the SBA.151 An auction for LMS 

licenses commenced on February 23, 1999, 

and closed on March 5, 1999. Of the 528 

licenses auctioned, 289 licenses were sold to 

four small businesses. 

48. Rural Radiotelephone Service. The 

Commission has not adopted a size standard 

for small businesses specific to the Rural 

Radiotelephone Service.152 A significant 

subset of the Rural Radiotelephone Service is 

the Basic Exchange Telephone Radio System 

(BETRS).153 In the present context, we will 

use the SBA’s small business size standard 

applicable to Wireless Telecommunications 

Carriers (except Satellite), i.e., an entity 

employing no more than 1,500 persons.154

There are approximately 1,000 licensees in 

the Rural Radiotelephone Service, and the 

Commission estimates that there are 1,000 or 

fewer small entity licensees in the Rural 

Radiotelephone Service that may be affected 

by the rules and policies proposed herein. 

49. Air-Ground Radiotelephone Service.155

The Commission has previously used the 

SBA’s small business definition applicable to 

Wireless Telecommunications Carriers 

(except Satellite), i.e., an entity employing no 

more than 1,500 persons.156 There are 

approximately 100 licensees in the AirGround Radiotelephone Service, and under 

that definition, we estimate that almost all of 

them qualify as small entities under the SBA 

definition. For purposes of assigning AirGround Radiotelephone Service licenses 

through competitive bidding, the 

Commission has defined ‘‘small business’’ as 

an entity that, together with controlling 

interests and affiliates, has average annual 

gross revenues for the preceding three years 

not exceeding $40 million.157 A ‘‘very small 

business’’ is defined as an entity that, 

together with controlling interests and 

affiliates, has average annual gross revenues 

for the preceding three years not exceeding 

$15 million.158 These definitions were 

approved by the SBA.159 In May 2006, the 

Commission completed an auction of 

nationwide commercial Air-Ground 

Radiotelephone Service licenses in the 800 

MHz band (Auction No. 65). On June 2, 2006, 

the auction closed with two winning bidders 

winning two Air-Ground Radiotelephone 

Services licenses. Neither of the winning 

bidders claimed small business status. 

50. Aviation and Marine Radio Services. 

There are approximately 26,162 aviation, 

34,555 marine (ship), and 3,296 marine 

(coast) licensees.160 The Commission has not 

developed a small business size standard 

specifically applicable to all licensees. For 

purposes of this analysis, we will use the 

SBA small business size standard for the 

category Wireless Telecommunications 

Carriers (except Satellite), which is 1,500 or 

fewer employees.161 We are unable to 

determine how many of those licensed fall 

under this standard. For purposes of our 

evaluations in this analysis, we estimate that 

there are up to approximately 62,969 

licensees that are small businesses under the 

SBA standard.162 In December 1998, the 

Commission held an auction of 42 VHF 

Public Coast licenses in the 157.1875– 

157.4500 MHz (ship transmit) and 161.775– 

162.0125 MHz (coast transmit) bands. For 

this auction, the Commission defined a 

‘‘small’’ business as an entity that, together 

with controlling interests and affiliates, has 

average gross revenues for the preceding 

three years not to exceed $15 million dollars. 

In addition, a ‘‘very small’’ business is one 

that, together with controlling interests and 

affiliates, has average gross revenues for the 

preceding three years not to exceed $3 

million dollars.163 Further, the Commission 

made available Automated Maritime 

Telecommunications System (AMTS) 

licenses in Auctions 57 and 61.164 Winning 

bidders could claim status as a very small 

business or a very small business. A very 

small business for this service is defined as 

an entity with attributed average annual gross 

revenues that do not exceed $3 million for 

the preceding three years, and a small 

business is defined as an entity with 

attributed average annual gross revenues of 

more than $3 million but less than $15 

million for the preceding three years.165

Three of the winning bidders in Auction 57 

qualified as small or very small businesses, 

while three winning entities in Auction 61 

qualified as very small businesses. 

51. Offshore Radiotelephone Service. This 

service operates on several ultra high 

frequencies (UHF) television broadcast 

channels that are not used for television 

broadcasting in the coastal areas of states 

bordering the Gulf of Mexico.166 There is 

presently 1 licensee in this service. We do 

not have information whether that licensee 

would qualify as small under the SBA’s small 


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167 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210. 

168 Id. 

169See Amendment of the Commission’s Rules 

Regarding Multiple Address Systems, Report and 

Order, 15 FCC Rcd 11956, 12008, paragraph 123 

(2000). 

170 Id. 

171See Alvarez Letter 1999. 

172See ‘‘Multiple Address Systems Spectrum 

Auction Closes,’’ Public Notice, 16 FCC Rcd 21011 

(2001). 

173See 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210. 

174See ‘‘Auction of 1.4 GHz Bands Licenses 

Scheduled for February 7, 2007,’’ Public Notice, 21 

FCC Rcd 12393 (WTB 2006). 

175See ‘‘Auction of 1.4 GHz Band Licenses 

Closes; Winning Bidders Announced for Auction 

No. 69,’’ Public Notice, 22 FCC Rcd 4714 (2007) 

(Auction No. 69 Closing PN). 

176Auction No. 69 Closing PN, Attachment C. 

177See Auction No. 69 Closing PN. 

178 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210. 

179Teligent acquired the DEMS licenses of 

FirstMark, the only licensee other than TRW in the 

24 GHz band whose license has been modified to 

require relocation to the 24 GHz band. 

180Amendments to Parts 1, 2, 87 and 101 of the 

Commission’s Rules To License Fixed Services at 24 

GHz, Report and Order, 15 FCC Rcd 16934, 16967, 

paragraph 77 (2000) (24 GHz Report and Order); see 

also 47 CFR 101.538(a)(2). 

181 24 GHz Report and Order, 15 FCC Rcd at 

16967, para. 77; see also 47 CFR 101.538(a)(1). 

182See Letter from Gary M. Jackson, Assistant 

Administrator, SBA, to Margaret W. Wiener, Deputy 

Chief, Auctions and Industry Analysis Division, 

WTB, FCC (July 28, 2000). 

183Amendment of Parts 21 and 74 of the 

Commission’s Rules with Regard to Filing 

Procedures in the Multipoint Distribution Service 

and in the Instructional Television Fixed Service 

and Implementation of Section 309(j) of the 

Communications Act—Competitive Bidding, MM 

Docket No. 94–131 and PP Docket No. 93–253, 

Report and Order, 10 FCC Rcd 9589, 9593, 

paragraph 7 (1995) (MDS Auction R&O). 

184 47 CFR 21.961(b)(1). 

185 47 U.S.C. 309(j). Hundreds of stations were 

licensed to incumbent MDS licensees prior to 

implementation of Section 309(j) of the 

Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. 309(j). For 

these pre-auction licenses, the applicable standard 

is SBA’s small business size standard. 

186The term ‘‘small entity’’ within SBREFA 

applies to small organizations (nonprofits) and to 

small governmental jurisdictions (cities, counties, 

towns, townships, villages, school districts, and 

special districts with populations of less than 

50,000). 5 U.S.C. 601(4)–(6). We do not collect 

annual revenue data on EBS licensees. 

business size standard for Wireless 

Telecommunications Carriers (except 

Satellite) services.167 Under that SBA small 

business size standard, a business is small if 

it has 1,500 or fewer employees.168

52. Multiple Address Systems (MAS). 

Entities using MAS spectrum, in general, fall 

into two categories: (1) Those using the 

spectrum for profit-based uses, and (2) those 

using the spectrum for private internal uses. 

With respect to the first category, the 

Commission defines ‘‘small entity’’ for MAS 

licenses as an entity that has average gross 

revenues of less than $15 million in the three 

previous calendar years.169 ‘‘Very small 

business’’ is defined as an entity that, 

together with its affiliates, has average gross 

revenues of not more than $3 million for the 

preceding three calendar years.170 The SBA 

has approved of these definitions.171 The 

majority of these entities will most likely be 

licensed in bands where the Commission has 

implemented a geographic area licensing 

approach that would require the use of 

competitive bidding procedures to resolve 

mutually exclusive applications. The 

Commission’s licensing database indicates 

that, as of January 20, 1999, there were a total 

of 8,670 MAS station authorizations. Of 

these, 260 authorizations were associated 

with common carrier service. In addition, an 

auction for 5,104 MAS licenses in 176 EAs 

began November 14, 2001, and closed on 

November 27, 2001.172 Seven winning 

bidders claimed status as small or very small 

businesses and won 611 licenses. On May 18, 

2005, the Commission completed an auction 

(Auction No. 59) of 4,226 MAS licenses in 

the Fixed Microwave Services from the 928/ 

959 and 932/941 MHz bands. Twenty-six 

winning bidders won a total of 2,323 

licenses. Of the 26 winning bidders in this 

auction, five claimed small business status 

and won 1,891 licenses. 

53. With respect to the second category, 

which consists of entities that use, or seek to 

use, MAS spectrum to accommodate internal 

communications needs, we note that MAS 

serves an essential role in a range of 

industrial, safety, business, and land 

transportation activities. MAS radios are 

used by companies of all sizes, operating in 

virtually all U.S. business categories, and by 

all types of public safety entities. For the 

majority of private internal users, the small 

business size standard developed by the SBA 

would be more appropriate. The applicable 

size standard in this instance appears to be 

that of Wireless Telecommunications Carriers 

(except Satellite). This definition provides 

that a small entity is any such entity 

employing no more than 1,500 persons.173

The Commission’s licensing database 

indicates that, as of January 20, 1999, of the 

8,670 total MAS station authorizations, 8,410 

authorizations were for private radio service, 

and of these, 1,433 were for private land 

mobile radio service. 

54. 1.4 GHz Band Licensees. The 

Commission conducted an auction of 64 1.4 

GHz band licenses, beginning on February 7, 

2007,174 and closing on March 8, 2007.175 In 

that auction, the Commission defined ‘‘small 

business’’ as an entity that, together with its 

affiliates and controlling interests, had 

average gross revenues that exceed $15 

million but do not exceed $40 million for the 

preceding three years, and a ‘‘very small 

business’’ as an entity that, together with its 

affiliates and controlling interests, has had 

average annual gross revenues not exceeding 

$15 million for the preceding three years.176

Neither of the two winning bidders sought 

designated entity status.177

55. Incumbent 24 GHz Licensees. This 

analysis may affect incumbent licensees who 

were relocated to the 24 GHz band from the 

18 GHz band, and applicants who wish to 

provide services in the 24 GHz band. The 

applicable SBA small business size standard 

is that of Wireless Telecommunications 

Carriers (except Satellite). This category 

provides that such a company is small if it 

employs no more than 1,500 persons.178 The 

broader census data notwithstanding, we 

believe that there are only two licensees in 

the 24 GHz band that were relocated from the 

18 GHz band, Teligent 179 and TRW, Inc. It 

is our understanding that Teligent and its 

related companies have fewer than 1,500 

employees, though this may change in the 

future. TRW is not a small entity. There are 

approximately 122 licensees in the Rural 

Radiotelephone Service, and the Commission 

estimates that there are 122 or fewer small 

entity licensees in the Rural Radiotelephone 

Service that may be affected by the rules and 

policies proposed herein. 

56. Future 24 GHz Licensees. With respect 

to new applicants in the 24 GHz band, we 

have defined ‘‘small business’’ as an entity 

that, together with controlling interests and 

affiliates, has average annual gross revenues 

for the three preceding years not exceeding 

$15 million.180 ‘‘Very small business’’ in the 

24 GHz band is defined as an entity that, 

together with controlling interests and 

affiliates, has average gross revenues not 

exceeding $3 million for the preceding three 

years.181 The SBA has approved these 

definitions.182 The Commission will not 

know how many licensees will be small or 

very small businesses until the auction, if 

required, is held. 

57. Broadband Radio Service. Broadband 

Radio Service systems, previously referred to 

as Multipoint Distribution Service (MDS) and 

Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service 

(MMDS) systems, and ‘‘wireless cable,’’ 

transmit video programming to subscribers 

and provide two-way high speed data 

operations using the microwave frequencies 

of the Broadband Radio Service (BRS) and 

Educational Broadband Service (EBS) 

(previously referred to as the Instructional 

Television Fixed Service (ITFS)).183 In 

connection with the 1996 BRS auction, the 

Commission established a small business size 

standard as an entity that had annual average 

gross revenues of no more than $40 million 

in the previous three calendar years.184 The 

BRS auctions resulted in 67 successful 

bidders obtaining licensing opportunities for 

493 Basic Trading Areas (BTAs). Of the 67 

auction winners, 61 met the definition of a 

small business. BRS also includes licensees 

of stations authorized prior to the auction. At 

this time, we estimate that of the 61 small 

business BRS auction winners, 48 remain 

small business licensees. In addition to the 

48 small businesses that hold BTA 

authorizations, there are approximately 392 

incumbent BRS licensees that are considered 

small entities.185 After adding the number of 

small business auction licensees to the 

number of incumbent licensees not already 

counted, we find that there are currently 

approximately 440 BRS licensees that are 

defined as small businesses under either the 

SBA or the Commission’s rules. 

58. In addition, the SBA’s Cable Television 

Distribution Services small business size 

standard is applicable to EBS. There are 

presently 2,032 EBS licensees. All but 100 of 

these licenses are held by educational 

institutions. Educational institutions are 

included in this analysis as small entities.186

Thus, we estimate that at least 1,932 

licensees are small businesses. Since 2007, 

Cable Television Distribution Services have 

been defined within the broad economic 


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187U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, 

‘‘517110 Wired Telecommunications Carriers’’ 

(partial definition); http://www.census.gov/naics/ 

2007/def/ND517110.HTM#N517110. 188 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110. 189U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, 

Subject Series: Information, Table 4, Receipts Size 

of Firms for the United States: 2002, NAICS code 

517510 (issued November 2005). 190 Id. An additional 61 firms had annual receipts 

of $25 million or more. 191U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, 

‘‘515120 Television Broadcasting’’ (partial 

definition); http://www.census.gov/naics/2007/def/ 

ND515120.HTM#N515120. 192 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 515120 (updated 

for inflation in 2008). 193See FCC News Release, ‘‘Broadcast Station 

Totals as of December 31, 2007,’’ dated March 18, 

2008; http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/ 

Daily_Business/2008/db0318/DOC-280836A1.pdf. 194We recognize that BIA’s estimate differs 

slightly from the FCC total given supra. 

195 ‘‘[Business concerns] are affiliates of each 

other when one concern controls or has the power 

to control the other or a third party or parties 

controls or has the power to control both.’’ 13 CFR 

21.103(a)(1). 

196See FCC News Release, ‘‘Broadcast Station 

Totals as of December 31, 2007,’’ dated March 18, 

2008; http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/ 

Daily_Business/2008/db0318/DOC-280836A1.pdf. 

197See generally 5 U.S.C. 601(4), (6). 

198See FCC News Release, ‘‘Broadcast Station 

Totals as of December 31, 2007,’’ dated March 18, 

2008; http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/ 

Daily_Business/2008/db0318/DOC-280836A1.pdf. 

199U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, 

‘‘515112 Radio Stations’’; http://www.census.gov/ 

naics/2007/def/ND515112.HTM#N515112. 

200 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 515112 (updated 

for inflation in 2008). 

201 ‘‘Concerns and entities are affiliates of each 

other when one controls or has the power to control 

the other, or a third party or parties controls or has 

the power to control both. It does not matter 

whether control is exercised, so long as the power 

to control exists.’’ 13 CFR 121.103(a)(1) (an SBA 

regulation). 

202 13 CFR 121.102(b) (an SBA regulation). 

203 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS codes 515112 and 

515120. 

204See supra note 242. 

205See 15 U.S.C. 632. 

206U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, 

‘‘517110 Wired Telecommunications Carriers’’ 

(partial definition); http://www.census.gov/naics/ 

2007/def/ND517110.HTM#N517110. 

census category of Wired 

Telecommunications Carriers; that category 

is defined as follows: ‘‘This industry 

comprises establishments primarily engaged 

in operating and/or providing access to 

transmission facilities and infrastructure that 

they own and/or lease for the transmission of 

voice, data, text, sound, and video using 

wired telecommunications networks. 

Transmission facilities may be based on a 

single technology or a combination of 

technologies.’’ 187 The SBA has developed a 

small business size standard for this category, 

which is: all such firms having 1,500 or fewer 

employees. To gauge small business 

prevalence for these cable services we must, 

however, use current census data that are 

based on the previous category of Cable and 

Other Program Distribution and its associated 

size standard; that size standard was: All 

such firms having $13.5 million or less in 

annual receipts.188 According to Census 

Bureau data for 2002, there were a total of 

1,191 firms in this previous category that 

operated for the entire year.189 Of this total, 

1,087 firms had annual receipts of under $10 

million, and 43 firms had receipts of $10 

million or more but less than $25 million.190

Thus, the majority of these firms can be 

considered small. 

59. Television Broadcasting. This 

Economic Census category ‘‘comprises 

establishments primarily engaged in 

broadcasting images together with sound. 

These establishments operate television 

broadcasting studios and facilities for the 

programming and transmission of programs 

to the public.’’ 191 The SBA has created the 

following small business size standard for 

Television Broadcasting firms: those having 

$14 million or less in annual receipts.192 The 

Commission has estimated the number of 

licensed commercial television stations to be 

1,379.193 In addition, according to 

Commission staff review of the BIA 

Publications, Inc., Master Access Television 

Analyzer Database (BIA) on March 30, 2007, 

about 986 of an estimated 1,374 commercial 

television stations (or approximately 72 

percent) had revenues of $13 million or 

less.194 We therefore estimate that the 

majority of commercial television 

broadcasters are small entities. 

60. We note, however, that in assessing 

whether a business concern qualifies as small 

under the above definition, business (control) 

affiliations 195 must be included. Our 

estimate, therefore, likely overstates the 

number of small entities that might be 

affected by our action, because the revenue 

figure on which it is based does not include 

or aggregate revenues from affiliated 

companies. In addition, an element of the 

definition of ‘‘small business’’ is that the 

entity not be dominant in its field of 

operation. We are unable at this time to 

define or quantify the criteria that would 

establish whether a specific television station 

is dominant in its field of operation. 

Accordingly, the estimate of small businesses 

to which rules may apply does not exclude 

any television station from the definition of 

a small business on this basis and is therefore 

possibly over-inclusive to that extent. 

61. In addition, the Commission has 

estimated the number of licensed 

noncommercial educational (NCE) television 

stations to be 380.196 These stations are 

nonprofit, and therefore considered to be 

small entities.197

62. In addition, there are also 2,295 low 

power television stations (LPTV).198 Given 

the nature of this service, we will presume 

that all LPTV licensees qualify as small 

entities under the above SBA small business 

size standard. 

63. Radio Broadcasting. This Economic 

Census category ‘‘comprises establishments 

primarily engaged in broadcasting aural 

programs by radio to the public. 

Programming may originate in their own 

studio, from an affiliated network, or from 

external sources.’’ 199 The SBA has 

established a small business size standard for 

this category, which is: Such firms having $7 

million or less in annual receipts.200

According to Commission staff review of BIA 

Publications, Inc.’s Master Access Radio 

Analyzer Database on March 31, 2005, about 

10,840 (95%) of 11,410 commercial radio 

stations had revenues of $6 million or less. 

Therefore, the majority of such entities are 

small entities. 

64. We note, however, that in assessing 

whether a business concern qualifies as small 

under the above size standard, business 

affiliations must be included.201 In addition, 

to be determined to be a ‘‘small business,’’ 

the entity may not be dominant in its field 

of operation.202 We note that it is difficult at 

times to assess these criteria in the context 

of media entities, and our estimate of small 

businesses may therefore be over-inclusive. 

65. Auxiliary, Special Broadcast and Other 

Program Distribution Services. This service 

involves a variety of transmitters, generally 

used to relay broadcast programming to the 

public (through translator and booster 

stations) or within the program distribution 

chain (from a remote news gathering unit 

back to the station). The Commission has not 

developed a definition of small entities 

applicable to broadcast auxiliary licensees. 

The applicable definitions of small entities 

are those, noted previously, under the SBA 

rules applicable to radio broadcasting 

stations and television broadcasting 

stations.203

66. The Commission estimates that there 

are approximately 5,618 FM translators and 

boosters.204 The Commission does not collect 

financial information on any broadcast 

facility, and the Department of Commerce 

does not collect financial information on 

these auxiliary broadcast facilities. We 

believe that most, if not all, of these auxiliary 

facilities could be classified as small 

businesses by themselves. We also recognize 

that most commercial translators and 

boosters are owned by a parent station 

which, in some cases, would be covered by 

the revenue definition of small business 

entity discussed above. These stations would 

likely have annual revenues that exceed the 

SBA maximum to be designated as a small 

business ($7.0 million for a radio station or 

$14.0 million for a TV station). Furthermore, 

they do not meet the Small Business Act’s 

definition of a ‘‘small business concern’’ 

because they are not independently owned 

and operated.205

67. Cable Television Distribution Services. 

Since 2007, these services have been defined 

within the broad economic census category 

of Wired Telecommunications Carriers; that 

category is defined as follows: ‘‘This industry 

comprises establishments primarily engaged 

in operating and/or providing access to 

transmission facilities and infrastructure that 

they own and/or lease for the transmission of 

voice, data, text, sound, and video using 

wired telecommunications networks. 

Transmission facilities may be based on a 

single technology or a combination of 

technologies.’’ 206 The SBA has developed a 

small business size standard for this category, 

which is: All such firms having 1,500 or 

fewer employees. To gauge small business 

prevalence for these cable services we must, 

however, use current census data that are 

based on the previous category of Cable and 

Other Program Distribution and its associated 

size standard; that size standard was: All 

such firms having $13.5 million or less in 


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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 153 / Tuesday, August 11, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 40113 

207 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110. 

208U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, 

Subject Series: Information, Table 4, Receipts Size 

of Firms for the United States: 2002, NAICS code 

517510 (issued November 2005). 

209 Id. An additional 61 firms had annual receipts 

of $25 million or more. 

210 47 CFR 76.901(e). The Commission 

determined that this size standard equates 

approximately to a size standard of $100 million or 

less in annual revenues. Implementation of Sections 

of the 1992 Cable Act: Rate Regulation, Sixth Report 

and Order and Eleventh Order on Reconsideration, 

10 FCC Rcd 7393, 7408 (1995). 

211These data are derived from: R.R. Bowker, 

Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2006, ‘‘Top 25 

Cable/Satellite Operators,’’ pages A–8 & C–2 (data 

current as of June 30, 2005); Warren 

Communications News, Television & Cable 

Factbook 2006, ‘‘Ownership of Cable Systems in the 

United States,’’ pages D–1805 to D–1857. 

212 47 CFR 76.901(c). 

213Warren Communications News, Television & 

Cable Factbook 2006, ‘‘U.S. Cable Systems by 

Subscriber Size,’’ page F–2 (data current as of Oct. 

2005). The data do not include 718 systems for 

which classifying data were not available. 

214 47 U.S.C. 543(m)(2); see 47 CFR 76.901(f) & 

nn. 1–3. 

215 47 CFR 76.901(f); see Public Notice, FCC 

Announces New Subscriber Count for the Definition 

of Small Cable Operator, DA 01–158 (Cable 

Services Bureau, Jan. 24, 2001). 

216These data are derived from: R.R. Bowker, 

Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2006, ‘‘Top 25 

Cable/Satellite Operators,’’ pages A–8 & C–2 (data 

current as of June 30, 2005); Warren 

Communications News, Television & Cable 

Factbook 2006, ‘‘Ownership of Cable Systems in the 

United States,’’ pages D–1805 to D–1857. 

217The Commission does receive such 

information on a case-by-case basis if a cable 

operator appeals a local franchise authority’s 

finding that the operator does not qualify as a small 

cable operator pursuant to section 76.901(f) of the 

Commission’s rules. See 47 CFR 76.909(b). 

218 47 U.S.C. 571(a)(3)–(4). See Annual 

Assessment of the Status of Competition in the 

Market for the Delivery of Video Programming, 

Thirteenth Annual Report, 24 FCC Rcd 542, 606 

paragraph 135 (2009) (‘‘Thirteenth Annual Cable 

Competition Report’’). 

219See 47 U.S.C. 573. 

220U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, 

‘‘517110 Wired Telecommunications Carriers’’; 

http://www.census.gov/naics/2007/def/ 

ND517110.HTM#N517110. 

221 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110. 

222U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, 

Subject Series: Information, Table 4, Receipts Size 

of Firms for the United States: 2002, NAICS code 

517510 (issued November 2005). 

223 Id. An additional 61 firms had annual receipts 

of $25 million or more. 

224A list of OVS certifications may be found at 

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/ovs/csovscer.html. 

225See Thirteenth Annual Cable Competition 

Report, 24 FCC Rcd at 606–07 paragraph 135. BSPs 

are newer firms that are building state-of-the-art, 

facilities-based networks to provide video, voice, 

and data services over a single network. 

226U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, 

‘‘517110 Wired Telecommunications Carriers’’ 

(partial definition); http://www.census.gov/naics/ 

2007/def/ND517110.HTM#N517110. 

227 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110. 

228U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, 

Subject Series: Information, Table 4, Receipts Size 

of Firms for the United States: 2002, NAICS code 

517510 (issued November 2005). 

229 Id. An additional 61 firms had annual receipts 

of $25 million or more. 

230Amendment of Parts 2 and 25 of the 

Commission’s Rules to Permit Operation of NGSO 

FSS Systems Co-Frequency with GSO and 

Continued 

annual receipts.207 According to Census 

Bureau data for 2002, there were a total of 

1,191 firms in this previous category that 

operated for the entire year.208 Of this total, 

1,087 firms had annual receipts of under $10 

million, and 43 firms had receipts of $10 

million or more but less than $25 million.209

Thus, the majority of these firms can be 

considered small. 

68. Cable Companies and Systems. The 

Commission has also developed its own 

small business size standards, for the 

purpose of cable rate regulation. Under the 

Commission’s rules, a ‘‘small cable 

company’’ is one serving 400,000 or fewer 

subscribers, nationwide.210 Industry data 

indicate that, of 1,076 cable operators 

nationwide, all but eleven are small under 

this size standard.211 In addition, under the 

Commission’s rules, a ‘‘small system’’ is a 

cable system serving 15,000 or fewer 

subscribers.212 Industry data indicate that, of 

7,208 systems nationwide, 6,139 systems 

have under 10,000 subscribers, and an 

additional 379 systems have 10,000–19,999 

subscribers.213 Thus, under this second size 

standard, most cable systems are small. 

69. Cable System Operators. The 

Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 

also contains a size standard for small cable 

system operators, which is ‘‘a cable operator 

that, directly or through an affiliate, serves in 

the aggregate fewer than 1 percent of all 

subscribers in the United States and is not 

affiliated with any entity or entities whose 

gross annual revenues in the aggregate 

exceed $250,000,000.’’ 214 The Commission 

has determined that an operator serving 

fewer than 677,000 subscribers shall be 

deemed a small operator, if its annual 

revenues, when combined with the total 

annual revenues of all its affiliates, do not 

exceed $250 million in the aggregate.215

Industry data indicate that, of 1,076 cable 

operators nationwide, all but ten are small 

under this size standard.216 We note that the 

Commission neither requests nor collects 

information on whether cable system 

operators are affiliated with entities whose 

gross annual revenues exceed $250 

million,217 and therefore we are unable to 

estimate more accurately the number of cable 

system operators that would qualify as small 

under this size standard. 

70. Open Video Systems. The open video 

system (OVS) framework was established in 

1996, and is one of four statutorily 

recognized options for the provision of video 

programming services by local exchange 

carriers.218 The OVS framework provides 

opportunities for the distribution of video 

programming other than through cable 

systems. Because OVS operators provide 

subscription services,219 OVS falls within the 

SBA small business size standard covering 

cable services, which is ‘‘Wired 

Telecommunications Carriers.’’ 220 The SBA 

has developed a small business size standard 

for this category, which is: All such firms 

having 1,500 or fewer employees. To gauge 

small business prevalence for such services 

we must, however, use current census data 

that are based on the previous category of 

Cable and Other Program Distribution and its 

associated size standard; that size standard 

was: All such firms having $13.5 million or 

less in annual receipts.221 According to 

Census Bureau data for 2002, there were a 

total of 1,191 firms in this previous category 

that operated for the entire year.222 Of this 

total, 1,087 firms had annual receipts of 

under $10 million, and 43 firms had receipts 

of $10 million or more but less than $25 

million.223 Thus, the majority of cable firms 

can be considered small. In addition, we note 

that the Commission has certified some OVS 

operators, with some now providing 

service.224 Broadband service providers 

(BSPs) are currently the only significant 

holders of OVS certifications or local OVS 

franchises.225 The Commission does not have 

financial or employment information 

regarding the entities authorized to provide 

OVS, some of which may not yet be 

operational. Thus, again, at least some of the 

OVS operators may qualify as small entities. 

71. Cable Television Relay Service. This 

service includes transmitters generally used 

to relay cable programming within cable 

television system distribution systems. This 

cable service is defined within the broad 

economic census category of Wired 

Telecommunications Carriers; that category 

is defined as follows: ‘‘This industry 

comprises establishments primarily engaged 

in operating and/or providing access to 

transmission facilities and infrastructure that 

they own and/or lease for the transmission of 

voice, data, text, sound, and video using 

wired telecommunications networks. 

Transmission facilities may be based on a 

single technology or a combination of 

technologies.’’ 226 The SBA has developed a 

small business size standard for this category, 

which is: All such firms having 1,500 or 

fewer employees. To gauge small business 

prevalence for cable services we must, 

however, use current census data that are 

based on the previous category of Cable and 

Other Program Distribution and its associated 

size standard; that size standard was: All 

such firms having $13.5 million or less in 

annual receipts.227 According to Census 

Bureau data for 2002, there were a total of 

1,191 firms in this previous category that 

operated for the entire year.228 Of this total, 

1,087 firms had annual receipts of under $10 

million, and 43 firms had receipts of $10 

million or more but less than $25 million.229

Thus, the majority of these firms can be 

considered small. 

72. Multichannel Video Distribution and 

Data Service. MVDDS is a terrestrial fixed 

microwave service operating in the 12.2–12.7 

GHz band. The Commission adopted criteria 

for defining three groups of small businesses 

for purposes of determining their eligibility 

for special provisions such as bidding 

credits. It defined a very small business as an 

entity with average annual gross revenues not 

exceeding $3 million for the preceding three 

years; a small business as an entity with 

average annual gross revenues not exceeding 

$15 million for the preceding three years; and 

an entrepreneur as an entity with average 

annual gross revenues not exceeding $40 

million for the preceding three years.230


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40114 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 153 / Tuesday, August 11, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

Terrestrial Systems in the Ku-Band Frequency 

Range; Amendment of the Commission’s Rules to 

Authorize Subsidiary Terrestrial Use of the 12.2– 

12.7 GHz Band by Direct Broadcast Satellite 

Licensees and their Affiliates; and Applications of 

Broadwave USA, PDC Broadband Corporation, and 

Satellite Receivers, Ltd. to provide A Fixed Service 

in the 12.2–12.7 GHz Band, ET Docket No. 98–206, 

Memorandum Opinion and Order and Second 

Report and Order, 17 FCC Rcd 9614, 9711, 

paragraph 252 (2002). 

231See Letter from Hector V. Barreto, 

Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration, 

to Margaret W. Wiener, Chief, Auctions and 

Industry Analysis Division, WTB, FCC (Feb.13, 

2002). 

232See ‘‘Multichannel Video Distribution and 

Data Service Auction Closes,’’ Public Notice, 19 

FCC Rcd 1834 (2004). 

233See ‘‘Auction of Multichannel Video 

Distribution and Data Service Licenses Closes; 

Winning Bidders Announced for Auction No. 63,’’ 

Public Notice, 20 FCC Rcd 19807 (2005). 

234 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210. 

235Amendment of the Commission’s Rules 

Concerning Maritime Communications, Third 

Report and Order and Memorandum Opinion and 

Order, 13 FCC Rcd 19853 (1998). 

236 47 CFR Part 90. 

237The Citizens Band Radio Service, General 

Mobile Radio Service, Radio Control Radio Service, 

Family Radio Service, Wireless Medical Telemetry 

Service, Medical Implant Communications Service, 

Low Power Radio Service, and Multi-Use Radio 

Service are governed by Subpart D, Subpart A, 

Subpart C, Subpart B, Subpart H, Subpart I, Subpart 

G, and Subpart J, respectively, of Part 95 of the 

Commission’s rules. See generally 47 CFR Part 95. 

238 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS Code 517210. 

239With the exception of the special emergency 

service, these services are governed by Subpart B 

of part 90 of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR 90.15– 

90.27. The police service includes approximately 

27,000 licensees that serve state, county, and 

municipal enforcement through telephony (voice), 

telegraphy (code) and teletype and facsimile 

(printed material). The fire radio service includes 

approximately 23,000 licensees comprised of 

private volunteer or professional fire companies as 

well as units under governmental control. The local 

government service is presently comprised of 

approximately 41,000 licensees that are state, 

county, or municipal entities that use the radio for 

official purposes not covered by other public safety 

services. There are approximately 7,000 licensees 

within the forestry service which is comprised of 

licensees from state departments of conservation 

and private forest organizations who set up 

communications networks among fire lookout 

towers and ground crews. The approximately 9,000 

state and local governments are licensed to provide 

highway maintenance service and emergency and 

routine communications to aid other public safety 

services to keep main roads safe for vehicular 

traffic. The approximately 1,000 licensees in the 

Emergency Medical Radio Service (EMRS) use the 

39 channels allocated to this service for emergency 

medical service communications related to the 

delivery of emergency medical treatment. 47 CFR 

90.15–90.27. The approximately 20,000 licensees in 

the special emergency service include medical 

services, rescue organizations, veterinarians, 

handicapped persons, disaster relief organizations, 

school buses, beach patrols, establishments in 

isolated areas, communications standby facilities, 

and emergency repair of public communications 

facilities. 47 CFR 90.33–90.55. 

240 47 CFR 1.1162. 

241 5 U.S.C. 601(5). 

242See 47 CFR 1.1162 for the general exemptions 

from regulatory fees. E.g., Amateur radio licensees 

(except applicants for vanity call signs) and 

operators in other non-licensed services (e.g., 

Personal Radio, part 15, ship and aircraft). 

Governments and non-profit (exempt under section 

501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code) entities are 

exempt from payment of regulatory fees and need 

not submit payment. Non-commercial educational 

broadcast licensees are exempt from regulatory fees 

as are licensees of auxiliary broadcast services such 

as low power auxiliary stations, television auxiliary 

service stations, remote pickup stations and aural 

broadcast auxiliary stations where such licenses are 

used in conjunction with commonly owned noncommercial educational stations. Emergency Alert 

System licenses for auxiliary service facilities are 

also exempt as are instructional television fixed 

service licensees. Regulatory fees are automatically 

waived for the licensee of any translator station 

that: (1) Is not licensed to, in whole or in part, and 

does not have common ownership with, the 

licensee of a commercial broadcast station; (2) does 

not derive income from advertising; and (3) is 

dependent on subscriptions or contributions from 

members of the community served for support. 

Receive only earth station permittees are exempt 

from payment of regulatory fees. A regulatee will 

be relieved of its fee payment requirement if its 

total fee due, including all categories of fees for 

which payment is due by the entity, amounts to less 

than $10. 

These definitions were approved by the 

SBA.231 On January 27, 2004, the 

Commission completed an auction of 214 

MVDDS licenses (Auction No. 53). In this 

auction, ten winning bidders won a total of 

192 MVDDS licenses.232 Eight of the ten 

winning bidders claimed small business 

status and won 144 of the licenses. The 

Commission also held an auction of MVDDS 

licenses on December 7, 2005 (Auction 63). 

Of the three winning bidders who won 22 

licenses, two winning bidders, winning 21 of 

the licenses, claimed small business 

status.233

73. Amateur Radio Service. These licensees 

are held by individuals in a noncommercial 

capacity; these licensees are not small 

entities. 

74. Aviation and Marine Services. Small 

businesses in the aviation and marine radio 

services use a very high frequency (VHF) 

marine or aircraft radio and, as appropriate, 

an emergency position-indicating radio 

beacon (and/or radar) or an emergency 

locator transmitter. The Commission has not 

developed a small business size standard 

specifically applicable to these small 

businesses. For purposes of this analysis, the 

Commission uses the SBA small business 

size standard for the category Wireless 

Telecommunications Carriers (except 

Satellite), which is 1,500 or fewer 

employees.234 Most applicants for 

recreational licenses are individuals. 

Approximately 581,000 ship station licensees 

and 131,000 aircraft station licensees operate 

domestically and are not subject to the radio 

carriage requirements of any statute or treaty. 

For purposes of our evaluations in this 

analysis, we estimate that there are up to 

approximately 712,000 licensees that are 

small businesses (or individuals) under the 

SBA standard. In addition, between 

December 3, 1998 and December 14, 1998, 

the Commission held an auction of 42 VHF 

Public Coast licenses in the 157.1875– 

157.4500 MHz (ship transmit) and 161.775– 

162.0125 MHz (coast transmit) bands. For 

purposes of the auction, the Commission 

defined a ‘‘small’’ business as an entity that, 

together with controlling interests and 

affiliates, has average gross revenues for the 

preceding three years not to exceed $15 

million dollars. In addition, a ‘‘very small’’ 

business is one that, together with controlling 

interests and affiliates, has average gross 

revenues for the preceding three years not to 

exceed $3 million dollars.235 There are 

approximately 10,672 licensees in the Marine 

Coast Service, and the Commission estimates 

that almost all of them qualify as ‘‘small’’ 

businesses under the above special small 

business size standards. 

75. Personal Radio Services. Personal radio 

services provide short-range, low power 

radio for personal communications, radio 

signaling, and business communications not 

provided for in other services. The Personal 

Radio Services include spectrum licensed 

under Part 95 of our rules.236 These services 

include Citizen Band Radio Service (CB), 

General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS), Radio 

Control Radio Service (R/C), Family Radio 

Service (FRS), Wireless Medical Telemetry 

Service (WMTS), Medical Implant 

Communications Service (MICS), Low Power 

Radio Service (LPRS), and Multi-Use Radio 

Service (MURS).237 There are a variety of 

methods used to license the spectrum in 

these rule parts, from licensing by rule, to 

conditioning operation on successful 

completion of a required test, to site-based 

licensing, to geographic area licensing. Under 

the RFA, the Commission is required to make 

a determination of which small entities are 

directly affected by the rules being proposed. 

Since all such entities are wireless, we apply 

the definition of Wireless 

Telecommunications Carriers (except 

Satellite), pursuant to which a small entity is 

defined as employing 1,500 or fewer 

persons.238 Many of the licensees in these 

services are individuals, and thus are not 

small entities. In addition, due to the mostly 

unlicensed and shared nature of the 

spectrum utilized in many of these services, 

the Commission lacks direct information 

upon which to base an estimation of the 

number of small entities under an SBA 

definition that might be directly affected by 

the proposed rules. 

76. Public Safety Radio Services. Public 

Safety radio services include police, fire, 

local government, forestry conservation, 

highway maintenance, and emergency 

medical services.239 There are a total of 

approximately 127,540 licensees in these 

services. Governmental entities 240 as well as 

private businesses comprise the licensees for 

these services. All governmental entities with 

populations of less than 50,000 fall within 

the definition of a small entity.241

IV. Description of Projected Reporting, 

Recordkeeping and Other Compliance 

Requirements 

77. With certain exceptions, the 

Commission’s Schedule of Regulatory Fees 

applies to all Commission licensees and 

regulatees. Most licensees will be required to 

count the number of licenses or call signs 

authorized, complete and submit an FCC 

Form 159 Remittance Advice, and pay a 

regulatory fee based on the number of 

licenses or call signs.242 Interstate telephone 


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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 153 / Tuesday, August 11, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 40115 

243 47 CFR 1.1164. 244 47 CFR 1.1164(c). 245Public Law 104–134, 110 Stat. 1321 (1996). 246 31 U.S.C. 7701(c)(2)(B). 247 47 CFR 1.1166. 

248 5 U.S.C. 603. 

249See 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). The Congressional 

Review Act is contained in Title II, section 251, of 

the CWAAA; see Public Law 104–121, Title II, 

section 251, 110 Stat. 868. 

250See 5 U.S.C. 604(b). 

service providers must compute their annual 

regulatory fee based on their interstate and 

international end-user revenue using 

information they already supply to the 

Commission in compliance with the Form 

499–A, Telecommunications Reporting 

Worksheet, and they must complete and 

submit the FCC Form 159. Compliance with 

the fee schedule will require some licensees 

to tabulate the number of units (e.g., cellular 

telephones, pagers, cable TV subscribers) 

they have in service, and complete and 

submit an FCC Form 159. Licensees 

ordinarily will keep a list of the number of 

units they have in service as part of their 

normal business practices. No additional 

outside professional skills are required to 

complete the FCC Form 159, and it can be 

completed by the employees responsible for 

an entity’s business records. 

78. As discussed previously in the 

accompanying Order at paragraphs 19 

through 23, the Commission has concluded 

that beginning in the FY 2009 regulatory fee 

cycle, licensees filing their annual regulatory 

fee payments must begin the process by 

entering the Commission’s Fee Filer system 

with a valid FRN and password. In some 

instances, it will be necessary to use a 

specific FRN and password that is linked to 

a particular regulatory fee bill. Going 

forward, the submission of hardcopy Form 

159 documents will not be permitted for 

making a regulatory fee payment. By 

requiring licensees to use Fee Filer to begin 

the regulatory fee payment process, errors 

resulting from illegible handwriting on 

hardcopy Form 159’s will be reduced, and 

we will create an electronic record of 

licensee payment attributes that are more 

easily traced than those payments that are 

simply mailed in with a hardcopy Form 159. 

79. Licensees and regulatees are advised 

that failure to submit the required regulatory 

fee in a timely manner will subject the 

licensee or regulatee to a late payment 

penalty of 25 percent in addition to the 

required fee.243 If payment is not received, 

new or pending applications may be 

dismissed, and existing authorizations may 

be subject to rescission.244 Further, in 

accordance with the DCIA, federal agencies 

may bar a person or entity from obtaining a 

federal loan or loan insurance guarantee if 

that person or entity fails to pay a delinquent 

debt owed to any federal agency.245

Nonpayment of regulatory fees is a debt owed 

the United States pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3711 

et seq., and the DCIA. Appropriate 

enforcement measures as well as 

administrative and judicial remedies, may be 

exercised by the Commission. Debts owed to 

the Commission may result in a person or 

entity being denied a federal loan or loan 

guarantee pending before another federal 

agency until such obligations are paid.246

80. The Commission’s rules currently 

provide for relief in exceptional 

circumstances. Persons or entities may 

request a waiver, reduction or deferment of 

payment of the regulatory fee.247 However, 

timely submission of the required regulatory 

fee must accompany requests for waivers or 

reductions. This will avoid any late payment 

penalty if the request is denied. The fee will 

be refunded if the request is granted. In 

exceptional and compelling instances (where 

payment of the regulatory fee along with the 

waiver or reduction request could result in 

reduction of service to a community or other 

financial hardship to the licensee), the 

Commission will defer payment in response 

to a request filed with the appropriate 

supporting documentation. 

V. Steps Taken To Minimize Significant 

Economic Impact on Small Entities, and 

Significant Alternatives Considered 

81. The RFA requires an agency to describe 

any significant alternatives that it has 

considered in reaching its approach, which 

may include the following four alternatives: 

(1) The establishment of differing compliance 

or reporting requirements or timetables that 

take into account the resources available to 

small entities; (2) the clarification, 

consolidation, or simplification of 

compliance or reporting requirements under 

the rule for small entities; (3) the use of 

performance, rather than design, standards; 

and (4) an exemption from coverage of the 

rule, or any part thereof, for small entities.248

In the NPRM, we sought comment on 

alternatives that might simplify our fee 

procedures or otherwise benefit filers, 

including small entities, while remaining 

consistent with our statutory responsibilities 

in this proceeding. We received no comments 

specifically in response to the IRFA. 

82. Several categories of licensees and 

regulatees are exempt from payment of 

regulatory fees. Also, waiver procedures 

provide regulatees, including small entity 

regulatees, relief in exceptional 

circumstances. We note that small entities 

should be assisted by our implementation of 

the Fee Filer program, and that we have 

continued our practice of exempting fees 

whose total sum owed is less than $10.00. 

VI. Report to Congress 

83. The Commission will send a copy of 

this Report and Order, including this FRFA, 

in a report to be sent to Congress and the 

Government Accountability Office pursuant 

to the Congressional Review Act.249. In 

addition, the Commission will send a copy 

of this Report and Order, including the 

FRFA, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of 

the Small Business Administration. A copy 

of this Report and Order and FRFA (or 

summaries thereof) will also be published in 

the Federal Register.250

Appendix G 

Proposed Letter to Submarine Cable 

Operators 

[insert address of submarine cable operator] 

Re:/Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year [insert 

year] 

Our annual regulatory fee assessment for 

submarine cable operators is based on the 

total capacity for the submarine cable system. 

For this reason, we require submarine cable 

operators to advise us of the appropriate 

category for determining regulatory fees. 

Please indicate below the correct category 

and return this letter to us by February 15, 

20lll. 

Submarine cable systems 

(capacity as of December 31) 

Please 

check the 

appropriate 

category 

<2.5 Gbps. 

2.5 Gbps or greater, but less 

than 5 Gbps. 

5 Gbps or greater, but less than 

10 Gbps. 

10 Gbps or greater, but less 

than 20 Gbps. 

20 Gbps or greater. 

Thank you for your assistance in this 

matter. 

Certification Statement 

I lllll certify under penalty of 

perjury that the foregoing and supporting 

information is true and correct to the best of 

my knowledge, information and belief. 

Signature lllll Date lllll 

Appendix H 

FY 2008 SCHEDULE OF REGULATORY FEES

Fee category 

Annual 

regulatory fee 

(U.S. $’s) 

PLMRS (per license) (Exclusive Use) (47 CFR part 90) ................................................................................................................ 40 

Microwave (per license) (47 CFR part 101) .................................................................................................................................... 40 

218–219 MHz (Formerly Interactive Video Data Service) (per license) (47 CFR part 95) ............................................................ 60 

Marine (Ship) (per station) (47 CFR part 80) .................................................................................................................................. 10 


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40116 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 153 / Tuesday, August 11, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

FY 2008 SCHEDULE OF REGULATORY FEES—Continued 

Fee category 

Annual 

regulatory fee 

(U.S. $’s) 

Marine (Coast) (per license) (47 CFR part 80) ............................................................................................................................... 35 

General Mobile Radio Service (per license) (47 CFR part 95) ....................................................................................................... 5 

Rural Radio (47 CFR part 22) (previously listed under the Land Mobile category) ....................................................................... 20 

PLMRS (Shared Use) (per license) (47 CFR part 90) .................................................................................................................... 20 

Aviation (Aircraft) (per station) (47 CFR part 87) ............................................................................................................................ 5 

Aviation (Ground) (per license) (47 CFR part 87) ........................................................................................................................... 10 

Amateur Vanity Call Signs (per call sign) (47 CFR part 97) ........................................................................................................... 1.23 

CMRS Mobile/Cellular Services (per unit) (47 CFR parts 20, 22, 24, 27, 80 and 90) ................................................................... .17 

CMRS Messaging Services (per unit) (47 CFR parts 20, 22, 24 and 90) ...................................................................................... .08 

Broadband Radio Service (formerly MMDS/MDS) (per license sign) (47 CFR part 21) ................................................................ 295 

Local Multipoint Distribution Service (per call sign) (47 CFR, part 101) ........................................................................................ 295 

AM Radio Construction Permits ...................................................................................................................................................... 415 

FM Radio Construction Permits ...................................................................................................................................................... 600 

TV (47 CFR part 73) VHF Commercial: 

Markets 1–10 ............................................................................................................................................................................ 71,050 

Markets 11–25 .......................................................................................................................................................................... 53,525 

Markets 26–50 .......................................................................................................................................................................... 33,525 

Markets 51–100 ........................................................................................................................................................................ 21,025 

Remaining Markets ................................................................................................................................................................... 5,600 

Construction Permits ................................................................................................................................................................ 5,600 

TV (47 CFR part 73) UHF Commercial: 

Markets 1–10 ............................................................................................................................................................................ 21,225 

Markets 11–25 .......................................................................................................................................................................... 19,475 

Markets 26–50 .......................................................................................................................................................................... 11,900 

Markets 51–100 ........................................................................................................................................................................ 6,800 

Remaining Markets ................................................................................................................................................................... 1,800 

Construction Permits ................................................................................................................................................................ 1,800 

Satellite Television Stations (All Markets) ....................................................................................................................................... 1,175 

Construction Permits—Satellite Television Stations ....................................................................................................................... 595 

Low Power TV, TV/FM Translators & Boosters (47 CFR part 74) ................................................................................................. 365 

Broadcast Auxiliary (47 CFR part 74) ............................................................................................................................................. 10 

CARS (47 CFR part 78) .................................................................................................................................................................. 205 

Cable Television Systems (per subscriber) (47 CFR part 76) ........................................................................................................ .80 

Interstate Telecommunication Service Providers (per revenue dollar) ........................................................................................... .00314 

Earth Stations (47 CFR part 25) ..................................................................................................................................................... 195 

Space Stations (per operational station in geostationary orbit) (47 CFR part 25) also includes Direct Broadcast Satellite Service (per operational station) (47 CFR part 100) .......................................................................................................................... 119,300 

Space Stations (per operational system in non-geostationary orbit) (47 CFR part 25) ................................................................. 125,750 

International Bearer Circuits (per active 64KB circuit) .................................................................................................................... .93 

International Public Fixed (per call sign) (47 CFR part 23) ............................................................................................................ 2,025 

International (HF) Broadcast (47 CFR part 73) ............................................................................................................................... 860 

FY 2008 SCHEDULE OF REGULATORY FEES (Continued) 

FY 2008 Radio Station Regulatory Fees 

Population served AM Class 

A 

AM Class 

B 

AM Class 

C 

AM Class 

D 

FM 

Classes 

A, B1 & 

C3 

FM 

Classes 

B, C, C0, 

C1 & C2 

< =25,000 ................................................................................................. $650 $500 $450 $525 $600 $775 

25,001–75,000 ......................................................................................... 1,325 1,025 650 775 1,225 1,375 

75,001–150,000 ....................................................................................... 1,975 1,275 875 1,300 1,675 2,550 

150,001–500,000 ..................................................................................... 2,975 2,175 1,325 1,550 2,600 3,325 

500,001–1,200,000 .................................................................................. 4,300 3,325 2,200 2,575 4,125 4,900 

1,200,001–3,000,000 ............................................................................... 6,600 5,100 3,300 4,125 6,700 7,850 

> 3,000,000 .............................................................................................. 7,925 6,125 4,175 5,150 8,550 10,200 

[FR Doc. E9–19104 Filed 8–10–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 


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