CommLaw Monitor

News and analysis from Kelley Drye’s communications practice group

This Time It’s Drones: FCC Reminds Retailers, Manufacturers, and Operators of Responsibilities Regarding Equipment Authorization

Simultaneously with issuing a nearly $3,000,000 fine to HobbyKing for marketing unauthorized (and in some cases not capable of being authorized) audio/video (“AV”) transmitters for use with drone mounted cameras, the…

A Case of Bad Hygiene? FCC Proposes More Than $590,000 Penalty for RF Device Marketing Violations, and Commissioner O’Rielly Foreshadows Potentially Tougher Equipment Authorization Enforcement Policies

On May 30, 2018, the Commission issued a Notice of Apparent Liability (“NAL”) proposing a total penalty of $590,380 against a company for marketing noncompliant radio frequency (“RF”) devices in apparent violation of…

FCC Imposes Record-Setting $120 Million Fine for Spoofed Robocall Campaign

In the largest forfeiture ever imposed by the agency, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a $120 million fine against Adrian Abramovich and the companies he controlled for placing over 96 million…

Federal Communications Commission International Reporting Rule Changes Take Effect

Almost six months after releasing its October 2017 Order streamlining, eliminating, and revising certain international reporting requirements, on April 25, 2018, the Federal Communications Commission (“Commission”)…

Tailor-Made: FCC Recognizes Need for Bespoke Rules for Smallsats

On April 17, 2018 the Federal Communications Commission adopted a notice of proposed rulemaking (“ NPRM ”) that seeks to streamline and otherwise tailor the agency’s current one-size-fits-all satellite regulations for…