FCC Should Examine Main Studio Rule; Puerto Rico Telephone Calls for Waiver
The FCC should investigate the possible impact on emergency communications of doing away with the main studio rule before voting it out, said Common Frequency in a letter filed in docket 17-106. The repeal of the rule is on the…
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agenda for commissioners’ meeting Tuesday. In Puerto Rico, “it was local origination capacity and a live human broadcast staff relaying local emergency information that made the possibility of saving thousands of lives possible,“ Common Frequency said, calling the proposal to eliminate the requirement “troubling.” The rulemaking “aims to turn the nation’s outlets for news, public affairs, and emergency information dissemination into internet streams from centralized sources,” Common Frequency said. “It is imperative for the Commission to investigate the impact of the local main studio prior to voting upon the R&O [report and order],” the filing said. The Wireline Bureau should waive the recertification process for some Lifeline customers of the Puerto Rico Telephone Company until April 1, PRTC said in an emergency petition Monday. The customers in question are being affected by network and power outages and “significant displacement,” the petition said. “This limited suspension and waiver will protect consumers who are unlikely to receive and respond to USAC’s [Universal Service Administrative Co.] recertification notifications, which would cause their Lifeline service to be discontinued at a time when it is most needed,” the filing said. The bureau should grant the petition “expeditiously,” said PRTC.