Today:  FCC Form 477 Filing Interface, Incentive Auction Task Force, FTC Summary of Consumer Complaints

FCC Form 477 Filing Interface

The FCC announced that its Form 477 filing interface has been reopened and that the new filing deadline for Form 477 data as of Dec. 31, 2016 is March 24, 2017.  See the Regulatory Mix dated 2/27/17  Filers who submitted their Form 477 filings prior to the closing of the site do not need to take any further action; those filings remain in “Submitted” status. In addition, filers who started the filing process prior to the closing of the site do not need to re-upload any files or re-enter any records provided previously and should see those data after logging in to the interface.

FCC Incentive Auction Task Force

The FCC announced the agenda for its March 13, 2017, workshop on post-incentive auction transition procedures. See the Regulatory Mix dated 2/22/17. The agenda will cover topics such as: (1) overview and incentive auction status update; (2) step-by-step review of the procedures for broadcast stations filing applications for construction permits during the 39-month  transition period; and (3) review of procedures for submitting bank account information to ensure payment of reverse auction winnings and reimbursement of eligible expenses.  There will also be a Question & Answer session with panel of FCC staff.  Attendees are encouraged to pre-register.

FTC Summary of Consumer Complaints

The FTC released its annual survey of consumer complaints as published in its Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book.  The Consumer Sentinel Network (CSN) is a secure online database of millions of consumer complaints available only to law enforcement, as well as data provided by various state and federal agencies and non-government entities such as the Council of Better Business Bureaus, PrivacyStar, and the National Consumers League.  The 2016 Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book is based on unverified complaints reported by consumers.  The data show that debt collection complaints remained at the top of the list.  Telephone and mobile services complaints came in at number four and internet services at number 12. 

The complaint categories making up the top 12 are:

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The Regulatory Mix, TMI’s daily blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of a TMI Briefing.

Listen to TMI's Hal Stringer participating on this Telecom Reseller podcast regarding FCC Form 477 Reporting.