Coffee, Tea or FCC
Frank Jazzo, Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth and Chris Ornelas, NAB

The important issues of the day - spectrum management, retransmission consent and FM chips in cell phones - along with others, will be reviewed, analyzed and discussed by Chris Orneles of the NAB and Frank Jazzo of Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth.

Spectrum Management - Congress approved legislation allowing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to conduct spectrum incentive auctions. Such an auction would allow TV stations that voluntarily give up spectrum to share in part of the auction proceeds. Since the FCC proposed the incentive auction concept in its March 2010 National Broadband Plan, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has supported incentive auctions provided they are truly voluntary and do not harm broadcasters that choose not to participate or the tens of millions of Americans who rely on free, over-the-air broadcasting.

Retransmission Consent Negotiations - In 1992, Congress established a process to provide local television stations the opportunity to negotiate with and seek compensation from pay-television providers (such as cable and satellite) for retransmission of stations’ valuable signals to subscribers. Under the current system, broadcasters and pay-TV providers must work together to reach mutually beneficial agreements.

FM Chips - For little cost, manufacturers can include a radio receiver in mobile phones that would give consumers convenient access to the free entertainment and lifeline services provided by America’s local radio broadcasters.

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