[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 115 (Thursday, June 16, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-14210]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: June 16, 1994]


_______________________________________________________________________

Part III





Federal Communications Commission





_______________________________________________________________________



47 CFR Parts 0 and 1




Implementation of Section 9 of the Communications Act--Assessment and 
Collection of Regulatory Fees for the 1994 Fiscal Year and Amendment of 
the Schedule of Application Fees; Rules
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 0 and 1

[MD Docket No. 94-19; FCC 94-140]

 
Implementation of Section 9 of the Communications Act--Assessment 
and Collection of Regulatory Fees for the 1994 Fiscal Year

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Commission has adopted rules to implement section 9 of the 
Communications Act of 1934 to provide for the annual assessment and 
collection of regulatory fees. For fiscal year 1994, the Commission is 
required to utilize the Schedule of Regulatory Fees that Congress 
established in section 9(g) of the Act. The implementation of 
regulatory fees will further the National Performance Review goals of 
reinventing Government by requiring beneficiaries of Commission 
services to pay for such services.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 18, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
H. Walker Feaster, Office of Managing Director at (202) 632-0923.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Report and Order

    Adopted: June 3, 1994.
    Released: June 8, 1994.

    By the Commission: Commissioner Quello issuing a statement; 
Commissioners Ness and Chong not participating.

Table of Contents

I. Introduction
II. Background
III. Discussion
    A. Assessment of Regulatory Fees for FY 1994
    B. Exemptions from Regulatory Fees
    1. Governmental Entities
    2. Nonprofit Entities
    3. Amateur Licensees
    4. Noncommercial Educational Broadcasters
    5. Public Safety Services
    6. Certification of Exempt Status
    C. Waivers, Reductions and Deferments
    D. Procedures for Payment
    1. Categories of Payors
    2. Installment Payments
    3. Advance Payments
    4. Timing of Payment
    5. Method and Location of Payment
    6. Multiple Payments
    7. Electronic Payments
    E. Enforcement
    1. Penalties for Late Payment
    2. Dismissal of Application
    3. Revocation
    4. Debt Collection Act Remedies
IV. Regulatory Fee Categories
    A. Private Radio Services
    1. Exclusive Use
    2. Marine (Coast and Ship Stations)
    3. General Mobile Radio Service
    B. Mass Media Services
    1. Broadcast Stations
    2. Television Stations
    3. Broadcast Auxiliary Stations
    4. ITFS and DBS
    C. Common Carrier Services
    1. Cellular and Public Mobile Licensees
    2. Air-Ground Radiotelephone Service
    3. Space Stations
    4. Earth Stations
    5. Services Interexchange and Local Exchange
    6. International Bearer Circuits
    D. Cable Services
V. Amendments to Application Fee Rules
VI. Confidentiality
VII. Final Regulatory Analysis
VIII. Ordering Clauses

I. Introduction

    1. By this Report and Order, the Commission adopts rules to 
implement section 9 of the Communications Act, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 
159, providing for the annual assessment and collection of regulatory 
fees by the Commission.\1\ The Report and Order establishes the amounts 
of the regulatory fees for Fiscal Year (FY) 1994 and the rules for the 
payment of such fees for fiscal years 1994 and thereafter.\2\ Also, we 
are amending several of the rules governing the collection of the fees 
to be filed with applications and other filings pursuant to section 8 
of the Communications Act, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 158.\3\
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    \1\Section 9 of the Act was added by section 6002(a) of the 
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (hereinafter ``1993 Budget 
Act''). See Pub. L. No. 103-66, Title VI, 6002(a), 107 Stat. 397 
(approved August 10, 1993). Section 9 is codified at 47 U.S.C. 
section 159.
    \2\As discussed below, we will establish the accounting systems 
necessary to make adjustments in the Schedule of Regulatory Fees 
required for the assessment of fees in future years in a subsequent 
and separate rulemaking proceeding. See 47 U.S.C. 159(b)(3), (i).
    \3\47 U.S.C. Sec. 158. See generally 47 CFR part 1, subpart G; 
Establishment of a Fee Collection Program to Implement the 
Provisions of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 
1985, 2 FCC Rcd 947 (1987) (hereinafter ``Fees 1''), recon. granted 
in part, 3 FCC Rcd 5987 (1988) (hereinafter ``Fees 1 
Reconsideration''); Establishment of a Fee Collection Program to 
Implement the Provisions of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 
1989, 5 FCC Rcd 3558 (1990) (hereinafter ``Fees II''), recon. 
granted in part, 6 FCC Rcd 5919 (1991) (hereinafter ``Fees II 
Reconsideration''). See also section 6003(a)(2) of the 1993 Budget 
Act, Pub. L. 103-66, Title VI, Sec. 6003(a)(2), 107 Stat. 401 (1993) 
(making conforming amendments to section 8).
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    2. The rules we adopt below are designed to ensure that (1) 
collection of fees does not adversely affect the Commission's 
regulatory activities, (2) the most effective means possible are 
employed in the collection and deposit of fees, and (3) the paperwork 
(and financial burden) on the public resulting from our collection 
process is kept to an absolute minimum. The accomplish this goal, we 
have, to the extent possible, modeled our regulatory fee rules upon the 
rules that we previously established to govern the collection of fees 
filed with applications and other filings. See 47 CFR 1.1101 et seq. 
Moreover, in the course of fashioning rules to govern regulatory fees, 
we have revised several rules in order to improve the collection 
process related to these fees and, wherever possible, to ease the 
burden on those entities subject to the payment of these fees. 
Implementation of rules governing the collection of regulatory fees 
also furthers the National Performance Review goals of reinventing 
government by requiring beneficiaries of the Commission's services to 
pay the costs associated with these activities.

II. Background

    3. Section 9(a) of the Communications Act requires the Commission 
to collect regulatory fees to recover the annual cost of its 
enforcement activities, policy and rulemaking activities, user 
information services, and international activities. 47 U.S.C. 159(a). 
47 U.S.C. 159(b)(1)(A). The Schedule of Regulatory Charges sets forth 
in section 9(g) the categories of regulated entities subject initially 
to the regulatory fee requirement and designates the fees to be 
collected for each subject category of regulatee. 47 U.S.C. 159(g). The 
Schedule of Fees sets forth annual regulatory fees for specific 
categories of regulatees in Private Radio, Mass Media, Common Carrier 
and Cable Services.\4\
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    \4\Congress included the regulatory fees for cable services in 
the Schedule of Regulatory Fees as a subpart of the fees established 
to recover appropriations related to the regulation of mass media 
services. 47 U.S.C. 159(g). Because we recently established a Cable 
Services Bureau to administer the regulation of cable television 
operations, we have amended our rules to set forth separately the 
regulatory fees applicable to cable services. See section 1.1155, 47 
CFR 1.1155.
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    4. Section 9(f)(1) requires the Commission to adopt rules to 
implement the assessment and collection of the annual regulatory fees. 
47 U.S.C. 159(f)(1). On March 4, 1994, we adopted a Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (``NPRM'') to implement section 9 of the Act.\5\ In the 
NPRM, we concluded that Congress intended the Commission to rely upon 
the Schedule of Regulatory Fees enacted in section 9(g) to recover 
costs for FY 1994.
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    \5\See Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Implementation of 
Section 9 of the Communication Act, FCC 94-46, released March 11, 
1994.
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    5. In addition, the NPRM proposed rules providing for: (1) 
Exemptions from the regulatory fee requirements for governmental 
entities, nonprofit entities, amateur licensees, noncommercial 
educational broadcasters, and licensees in the public safety services, 
(2) standards for waiver, reduction and deferment of regulatory fees, 
(3) procedures for the payment of regulatory fees, including the timing 
and method of payments, and the location for submission of payments, 
and (4) procedures to assure timely payment of regulatory fees, 
including announcements in the Federal Register of the filing times for 
the fee payments, and penalties for late payment and nonpayment of 
fees.

III. Discussion

A. Assessment of Regulatory Fees for FY 1994

    6. The NPRM proposed that for FY 1994, the Commission would utilize 
the Schedule of Regulatory Fees established by Congress in section 9(g) 
of the Act. 47 U.S.C. 159(g). In response to this proposal, several 
commenters suggest that we amend the Schedule of Fees for FY 1994. They 
contend that fees in the Schedule are too high, that the schedule 
provides the wrong mechanism for assessing fees, and that additional 
services should be included in the fee schedule.
    7. In particular, Fireweed Communications Corp.\6\ (Fireweed) 
argues that the regulatory fees impose an unfair and confiscatory 
financial burden on broadcast stations in small markets, and impinge on 
the constitutional right of freedom of speech of Fireweed and its 
listeners. Fireweed contends that the financial burden imposed by the 
regulatory fee would cause it to reduce its programming or even to 
cease its operations. The Joint Commenters, consisting of several cable 
television interests,\7\ argue that we have authority to modify the Fee 
Schedule for FY 1994, to add classes of services that Congress did not 
include in section 9(g)'s fee schedule. In addition, the Joint 
Commenters assert that the Commission is authorized to modify the fee 
schedule for FY 1994 because section 9(b)(3), which governs permissive 
adjustments to the fee schedule, including addition of services to the 
schedule, does not restrict our authority for making changes to fiscal 
years after 1994. In particular, the Joint Commenters contend that 
Direct Broadcast Satellite, if available later this fiscal year, 
Instructional Television Fixed Service, if used for commercial 
purposes, and Multi-channel Multipoint Distribution Services, because 
it is not expressly enumerated as a service subject to the fee 
requirement, should be added to the fee schedule and assessed a fee for 
FY 1994. The Joint Commenters also assert that adopting a fee 
requirement for these services in this proceeding will avoid the 
necessity for immediately initiating a new rulemaking to include these 
services in the fee schedule for FY 1995 and thereafter.
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    \6\Fireweed filed its comments late. It argues that the 
Commission failed to provide proper notice to interested parties and 
asserts that we failed to publish the NPRM  ``in publications likely 
to be obtained by small entities'' or to ``conduct open conferences 
and public meetings'' concerning our proposals as provided in 5 
U.S.C. Sec. 609 (2) and (4). However, section 609 requires only that 
we ``assure that small entities have been given an opportunity to 
participate in the rulemaking'' through means ``such as'' those 
enumerated in section 609. 5 U.S.C. Sec. 609. We have met that 
requirement. The NPRM was published and distributed pursuant to 
section 1.412 of our rules and was distributed to over 100 members 
of the trade press, newspapers, wire services, broadcasters, and 
magazines, including those dealing with consumer, minority and small 
business issues. In addition, the Commission's Daily Digest, which 
included notice of the NPRM, was published on Internet. We will also 
accept and give full consideration to the arguments in Fireweed's 
comments even though they were untimely filed. Further, we will 
accept the late filed comments of MCI Telecommunications 
Corporation.
    \7\The Joint Commenters are Blade Communications, Inc., 
Cablevision Industries Corp., Crown Media, Inc., Multivision Cable 
TV Corp., Parcable, Inc., Providence Journal Company, Sammons 
Communications, Inc., and Star Cable Associates.
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    8. Other parties including Sprint, the Cellular Telephone Industry 
Association (CTIA), Comsat, and the Utilities Telecommunications 
Counsel (UTC), support our conclusion in the NPRM that Congress 
intended that the Schedule set forth in section 9(g) would govern the 
assessment and collection of fees for FY 1994. UTC states that 
Congress' inclusion in section 9(g) of the fee schedule, as well as 
other language in the Act, clearly demonstrates that Congress did not 
intend that the Commission revise the fee schedule so soon after its 
enactment.
    9. We are not persuaded by the arguments urging a reduction in the 
statutory fees or amendment of the service categories subject to the 
regulatory fees. In the NPRM, we concluded that Congress did not intend 
that we change the amounts or the services established by the statutory 
fee schedule for 1994. Our conclusion is supported by the Conference 
Report, which states that we have authority to review and adjust the 
fees after one year.\8\ Congress also enacted the fee schedule after 
reviewing information that we provided concerning the services subject 
to the fees. We do not believe that Congress would have enacted section 
9(g) intending that we immediately amend the service classifications or 
fee amounts in its schedule.
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    \8\H.R. Rep. No. 213, 103 Cong., 1st Sess. 499 (1993) 
(Conference Report).
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    10. In addition, other provisions of section 9 support our 
interpretation. Section 9(i) requires that, before making adjustments 
to the services included in the fee schedule, we must develop 
accounting systems and provide an opportunity for public comments on 
proposed cost allocations. NPRM para. 9. Section 9(b)(4)(B) requires 
that any amendment to the services contained in the statutory fee 
schedule not be effective until 90 days after Congress is notified of 
those revisions. See 47 U.S.C. 159. As a practical matter, the 
Commission could not possibly meet these requirements in time to permit 
section 9 fee collections in FY 1994. Given these statutory 
requirements, we conclude that Congress did not intend that we make any 
changes to the services subjected to the regulatory fee requirement or 
the amounts contained in the schedule for FY94.\9\
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    \9\In view of our conclusion that Congress did not intend us to 
make any changes to its Schedule of Fees for FY 1994, we will not at 
this time assess fees on lifetime restricted radiotelephone and 
radio operator applicants and permittees.
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    11. Also, we do not agree with Joint Commenters that this is the 
appropriate proceeding to amend the Schedule of Fees for future years. 
Such amendments would be premature because we do not now have the 
information necessary to establish regulatory fees for FY 1995. As we 
stated in the NPRM, we intend to commence a separate proceeding in 
connection with the assessment of fees for FY 1995. We will seek in 
that proceeding comment concerning the allocation of costs of our 
enforcement, policy and rulemaking, information services, and 
international services, including any necessary adjustments to the 
classes of services set forth in section 9(g)'s fee schedule. See 47 
U.S.C. 159(i).
    12. Therefore, as we proposed in the NPRM, in order to meet the 
congressional directive to implement the collection of regulatory fees 
in Fiscal Year 1994, we are adopting without modification the Schedule 
of Regulatory Fees enacted by Congress in section 9(g). See 47 U.S.C. 
159(b)(1)(C). The Schedule provides a listing of the specific 
categories of regulatees in the Private Radio, Mass Media, Common 
Carrier and Cable services that are required to pay a regulatory fee. 
We have incorporated the schedule into our rules and we have 
established separate sections of the rules to provide the payment 
schedules for the Private Radio Services (Sec. 1.1152), Mass Media 
Services (Sec. 1.1153), Common Carrier Services (Sec. 1.1154) and Cable 
Services (Sec. 1.1155). In Appendix A of this Report and Order, we have 
included guidelines for the payment of fees for each service subject to 
the regulatory fee requirement.

B. Exemptions From Regulatory Fees

    13. In the NPRM, we proposed to exempt certain discrete categories 
of regulatees from the requirement of file annual regulatory fees. 
Section 9(h) explicitly provides and exemption from the fees for 
governmental entities, nonprofit entities and amateur radio licensees. 
47 U.S.C. 159(h). We concluded that Congress also intended to exempt 
all public safety licensees and noncommercial educational broadcasters 
from the regulatory fee requirements. In the paragraphs below, we 
review each of these categories and consider the comments that address 
each exemption.
1. Governmental Entities
    14. As provided in section 9(h) and proposed in the NPRM, 
governmental entities will exempt from the regulatory fee requirement. 
As proposed, our rule implementing the governmental exemption will 
conform to existing Sec. 1.1112(f) of the rules, which provides an 
exemption for governmental entities from the fee requirements for 
applications and other filing fees. See 47 CFR 1.1112(f); see also 47 
U.S.C. 158(d)(1) (A), (B). Section 1.1112(f) broadly defines the term 
``governmental entity'' to include ``any state, possession, city, 
county, town, village, municipal corporation or similar political 
organization or subpart controlled by publicly elected officials 
exercising sovereign direction and control over their respective 
communities or programs.'' The comments generally support our proposals 
with regard to the exemption for governmental entities.
    15. Cellular Communications of Puerto Rico (CCPR) contends that we 
should limit the government exemption so that only usual and customary 
governmental functions would be exempt. In particular, CCPR argues that 
the Puerto Rico Telephone Company (PRTC) which is controlled by the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and operates a cellular telephone system, 
should be required to pay a regulatory fee to the extent that it 
engages in for profit or competitive operations. Further, CCPR argues 
that exempting PRTC from the regulatory fees for cellular telephone 
systems would give PRTC an unfair competitive advantage. In opposition, 
PRTC argues that Congress did not distinguish between different 
activities, and that as a result all of its operations are subject to 
the governmental exemption.
    16. The governmental exemption is mandated by Congress. Congress 
did not distinguish between various governmental functions, nor did it 
restrict the exemption's availability for any specific governmental 
entities. Therefore, we do not accept CCPR's proposal.
2. Nonprofit Entities
    17. Section 9(h) also exempts nonprofit entities from the 
requirement to file regulatory fees. In the NPRM, we tentatively found 
that Congress intended its exemption for nonprofit entities to cover 
any entity possessing nonprofit, tax exempt status pursuant to section 
501 of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. 501. Congress' exemption of 
nonprofit entities from regulatory fees is substantially broader than 
the limited exemption from the payment of application filing fees that 
Congress afforded in section 8(d)(1) to nonprofit entities licensed in 
the Public Safety Radio Services and tax exempt under section 
501(c)(3). See 47 U.S.C. 158(d)(1); see also 47 CFR 1.1112(b). The 
comments generally support our interpretation of the exemption, and we 
will adopt the exemption as proposed in the NPRM. The nonprofit 
exemption will be available only to those licensees who have 
established their nonprofit status under section 501.
3. Amateur Licensees
    18. Pursuant to section 9(h), we proposed to establish an exemption 
from regulatory fees for amateur radio operators licensed under part 97 
of our rules. However, Congress included in the Schedule of Fees an 
annual regulatory fee covering vanity call signs, and we proposed to 
establish a fee for amateur vanity call signs. We proposed that this 
fee would be assessed if our proposed rules to establish vanity call 
signs become effective. See Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 9 FCC Rd 105 
(1993).
    19. We will adopt the exemption for amateur licensees as set forth 
in NPRM. If our proposal to issue vanity calls signs is adopted, we 
will also assess a regulatory fee in FY 1994 upon persons filing 
applications, pursuant to the charges listed in Congress' fee 
schedule.\10\
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    \10\The American Radio Relay League, Incorporated asserts that 
it has requested Congress to change the vanity call sign annual 
regulatory fee to a one time application fee. We, of course, will 
modify our fee schedule to be consistent with any congressional 
amendment of the fees.
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4. Noncommercial Educational Broadcasters
    20. In the NPRM, we concluded that regulatory fees are not 
applicable to noncommercial educational broadcasters. Congress included 
commercial television and AM and FM radio broadcast licensees and 
permittees in its Schedule of Fees. In contrast, Congress omitted the 
noncommercial educational stations from the category of stations 
subject to the regulatory fee. In addition, and consistent with 
existing section 1.1112(d) of the rules governing application fees, we 
proposed to exempt from the regulatory fee requirement any secondary 
and auxiliary broadcast services, such as low power television 
(``LPTV'') stations, television translators and boosters, remote pickup 
stations and intercity relay stations and other Mass Media, Common 
Carrier, and Private Radio facility authorizations used with 
noncommercial radio, television and instructional services qualifying 
for the exemption. See 47 CFR 1.1112(d). The comments supported the 
exemption for nonprofit educational broadcast stations and we will 
adopt the exemption as set forth in the NPRM.
    21. Further, we affirm the tentative conclusion of the NPRM that 
noncommercial international short-wave will be subject to the 
regulatory fees. Congress did not provide an express exemption for 
these stations and none of the commenters urged us to exempt the 
international short-wave stations. In addition, unlike noncommercial 
LPTV and translator stations, the government does not provide financial 
support to noncommercial international short wave stations through the 
Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) or the National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Thus, the 
considerations that led us to conclude that Congress intended to exempt 
noncommercial educational LPTV and translator stations are not present 
with respect to international short-wave stations. See Fee Collection 
Program, 6 FCC Rcd 5919, 5925 (1991).
5. Public Safety Services
    22. We have received no comments opposing our proposal to exempt 
all licensees in the Special Emergency Radio and Public Safety Radio 
services from regulatory fees even where the licensee does not qualify 
for an exemption as a governmental or nonprofit entity. In the NPRM, we 
noted that the legislative history states that Congress intended to 
exempt public safety licensees from regulatory fees. APCO, in 
supporting our proposal, urges that we limit the public safety 
exemption to entities eligible for Public Safety Radio Service licenses 
pursuant to the provisions of part 90, subpart B, and not exempt 
licensees merely because they are authorized to operate on a public 
safety channel. We agree with APCO that only entities eligible to 
operate as public safety licensees should be entitled to an exemption. 
Therefore, we will restrict the public safety exemption to entities 
eligible to operate in the Special Emergency Radio or Public Safety 
Radio Services.\11\ Under this definition, the fact that a licensee is 
authorized to use a frequency allocated to these services is 
insufficient to gain an exemption as a public safety entity.
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    \11\Moreover, we will not assess a regulatory fee upon Emergency 
Broadcast Service (EBS) licenses for auxiliary service facilities 
that use government-provided equipment because these stations are 
dedicated for EBS and are used solely for public safety purposes.
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6. Certification of Exempt Status
    23. In order to implement our congressional mandate concerning 
exemptions, the NPRM asked the parties to comment on the appropriate 
method for establishing exemptions from regulatory fees. Our goal is to 
minimize the burden on applicants and licensees seeking exemption from 
the regulatory fees. See NPRM at 13, 16, and 21. The commenters 
supported our efforts and urged reporting and exemption certifications 
designed to minimize their paperwork burdens.
    24. Forest Industries Telecommunications (FIT) proposed that the 
Commission allow nonprofit entities to establish their exempt status by 
submitting a Determination Letter issued by the Internal Revenue 
Service (IRS) stating that the applicant has qualified for tax exempt 
status under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Act. The Utilities 
Telecommunications Council (UTC) urges that we reduce the burden on 
entities seeking to obtain a nonprofit exemption by requiring only that 
they file their employer identification numbers (EINs). UCC asserts 
that EINs are sufficient to permit verification of an entity's 
nonprofit status. The National Telephone Cooperative Association (NTCA) 
urges that we also exempt entities that have applied for IRS 
Determination Letters so that IRS administrative delays do not result 
in the denial of exemption from the regulatory fee requirement. NTCA 
requests that our determination of nonprofit status remain effective 
until a change in such status is determined by the IRS.
    25. PRTC urges us to rely upon existing exemptions from application 
fee payments held by governmental entities rather than require these 
entities to provide additional certifications to obtain exemptions from 
the regulatory fee requirement. Similarly, UCC contends that no 
additional certification of exempt status should be required from 
governmental applicants in the Private Radio services since 
applications for these services require information disclosing their 
exempt status.
    26. We agree with PRTC and UCC that we can rely on the data in 
private radio service applications and in the Commission's files to 
determine a regulatee's exempt status. Further, licensees and other 
regulatees for whom we have such data will not be required to file 
documentation to support their exempt status. If, after reviewing the 
information already on file, we are unable to determine a regulatee's 
exempt status we will issue a request that an applicant or licensee 
further document its claim of exempt status. With respect to amateur, 
noncommercial educational broadcast stations and public safety 
licensees, we do not anticipate any problem in establishing their 
eligibility for exempt status because their exempt status is based on 
the nature of their licenses.
    27. When our records contain no evidence of a governmental entity's 
exempt status, we will accept a certification of its governmental 
status. Nonprofit licensees may submit section 501 Determination 
Letters. Because these documents are readily available in the files of 
nonprofit entities, we decline at this time to establish a mechanism to 
verify nonprofit status through EINs. We will also require that an 
entity with a pending request for an IRS Determination Letter submit a 
regulatory fee because the IRS may deny the request for tax exempt 
status. However, we will refund the fee for the period covered by a 
subsequently issued Determination Letter.\12\
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    \12\To obtain a refund a regulatee must demonstrate that the 
period covered by the Determination Letter's finding of tax exempt 
status includes the date that we established for the calculation of 
its fee in the fiscal year for which the refund is requested. 
Further, an entity will be subject to a regulatory fee for the 
fiscal year that the IRS terminates its tax exempt status if the 
termination is made prior to the date for calculating its fees.
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    28. We caution that we expect regulatees to act in good faith. In 
any instance in which payment is overdue, and the licensee or permittee 
cannot establish its entitlement to an exemption, we will assess a 25 
percent penalty for late payment as authorized by Congress.

C. Waivers, Reductions and Deferments

    29. Section 9(d) provides that ``[t]he Commission may waive, 
reduce, or defer payment of a fee in any specific instance for good 
cause shown, where such action would promote the public interest.'' 47 
U.S.C. 159(d). Section 9(d) is similar to, if not identical with 
section 8(d)(2) of the Act related to waivers and deferments of 
application fees. 47 U.S.C. 158(d)(2). Pursuant to section 8(d)(2), we 
have permitted waivers only on a case-by-case basis following a 
demonstration that the public interest clearly overrides the private 
interest of the requester. Thus, in our NPRM, we proposed to restrict 
similarly waivers to encompass only those requests unambiguously 
articulating ``extraordinary and compelling circumstances'' outweighing 
the public interest in recouping the cost of the Commission's 
regulatory services from a particular regulatee.
    30. For those entities required to file regulatory fees with their 
applications, such as licensees in the private radio service, we 
proposed procedures for filing waiver, deferral and reduction requests 
similar to those we have fashioned for application fee waiver requests. 
See 47 CFR 1.1115(e). Persons seeking waiver or reduction of a 
regulatory fee would submit the required fees and forms along with 
their requests for waiver or reduction. We noted that this procedure 
assures efficient collection of necessary fees and avoids the possible 
imposition of a late fee in the event that the licensee's request for 
waiver or reduction is denied. In the case of standard regulatory fees, 
we further proposed that the required fee accompany any request for 
waiver or reduction. In either case, we proposed to return or modify 
the tendered fee upon grant of the waiver or reduction request. 
Finally, we proposed that a request for deferred payment of the 
required fee should be submitted 60 days in advance of the date 
established for the payment of the fee in order to permit review and 
action prior to the fee's due date.
    31. Several state broadcasting associations (State Broadcasters) in 
their joint comments, suggest that the public interest would be served 
by granting permanent or temporary waivers or reduction or deferment of 
fees to Mass Media licensees who can demonstrate that payment of the 
fees would impair their service to the public. The State Broadcasters 
contend that our authority to waive, reduce or defer fee payments in 
such cases is clear if a showing is made that payment of the fee would 
result in degradation of service to the public, citing NBC v. United 
States, 319 U.S. 190 (1943); FCC v. Sanders Bros. Radio Station, 309 
U.S. 470 (1940). In order to demonstrate financial hardship, the State 
Broadcasters urge that they be allowed to submit any relevant evidence, 
including tax records, unaudited balance sheets or any other financial 
statements. Further, the State Broadcasters argue that the fee should 
be automatically waived if a Mass Media licensee is in bankruptcy, 
receivership or trusteeship because this status is a clear signal of 
financial hardship.
    32. The Broadcasters, joined by the National Association of 
Broadcasters (NAB), contend further that the requirement to file the 
regulatory fee payment with a request for waiver is irrational where 
the basis for the waiver request is the financial hardship of the 
licensee. Further, the NAB states that it will be impossible to dispose 
of waiver requests before the fee payments are due for FY 1994 because 
of the short period between the completion of this proceeding and the 
date for submission of fees. Moreover, the NAB stresses that Congress 
contemplated that there would be situations where the financial burden 
imposed by the fee requirement would be so onerous that payment should 
be waived. According to the NAB, if Congress' purpose in providing for 
waiver, reduction or deferment is to have any practical effect, 
according to NAB, we should not require applicants requesting waivers 
for financial hardship to suffer additional financial burden that they 
cannot afford.
    33. We are not persuaded that we should modify our proposal to 
generally require the filing of the regulatory fee with each waiver or 
reduction request. Rather, we continue to believe that our current 
procedure will help ensure efficient collections.
    34. Nevertheless, we recognize that there may be exceptional 
instances in which requiring payment of the regulatory fee along with a 
waiver or reduction request could result in the reduction of service to 
a community or other financial hardship to the licensee or other 
regulatee. In those instances, the licensee should submit, together 
with its waiver request, a petition to defer payment until the waiver 
request is resolved. In order to reduce the burden on regulatees, we 
will accept petitions for waiver, reduction and deferment so long as 
they are filed no later than by the date payment is due. The filing of 
the deferment request will toll the requirement to pay the regulatory 
fee until disposition of the deferment request.\13\
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    \13\We deny NABER's request that we modify the fee that Congress 
required for filing a petition for waiver of a private radio service 
rule. Section 8 of the Communications Act empowers us only to adjust 
fees for applications and other filings based upon changes in the 
Consumer Price Index.
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    35. Petitioners seeking a waiver, deferral or reduction of a 
regulatory fee based upon financial hardship may submit any relevant 
information in support of their request. We will review the supporting 
documents and base our ruling upon the information submitted and any 
additional information available in our records. If a petitioner 
presents a compelling case of financial hardship, no payment of the 
regulatory fee will be due. If the supporting materials do not present 
sufficient evidence of hardship, we will deny the petition. If the fee 
has not already been submitted, the petitioner will then have 30 days 
to file its regulatory fee in order to avoid the assessment of penalty 
charges and the invocation of any other available remedy. The filing of 
a petition for reconsideration will not toll this 30-day period.

D. Procedures for Payment

1. Categories of Payors
    36. Pursuant to section 9(f), we proposed to establish three 
classes of regulatory fee payments, standard, small and large, based 
upon the size of the payment required by the Schedule. The time for 
submitting the fee would be determined by the class of fee payment. 
Persons making ``large'' fee payments for Fiscal Year 1994 would be 
eligible to complete their fee payment in two installments. Moreover, 
we stated that consideration would be given to allowing four 
installment payments for Fiscal Year 1995 and thereafter. We proposed, 
however, that small fee payments be remitted when an application for a 
license of a facility subject to the fee is filed and the payment 
amount is the fee due for the entire term of the license or other 
authorization. We proposed that regulatees subject to a standard fee 
are to submit the fee in a single, annual payment. The specific date 
for the payment of a standard fee would be announced by public notice 
and published in the Federal Register well before the payment's due 
date.\14\
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    \14\GTE has urged that we allow licensees that transfer or 
assign licenses during FY 1994 to pro-rate their fee payments for 
the subject licenses on the basis of the amount of time the license 
was held by each party. The law authorizing section 9 was enacted in 
August 1993 and we believe that the negotiation between the parties 
to a transfer or assignment that occurred this fiscal year would 
ordinarily have included consideration of expenses related to the 
payment of regulatory fees. The party holding the license on the 
date the fees are due will be the party responsible for its payment.
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    37. Brown and Schwaninger (B&S) states that Congress intended to 
establish only two, not three, categories of regulatory fees--large 
fees and small fees--because section 9(f) enumerates only two such 
categories of fee payments. B&S contends that Congress would have 
included in section 9 explicit authority to establish a third category 
if it had intended to provide such authority. In the absence of any 
language in section 9 indicative of a third category, B&S contend that 
we are precluded from adopting a standard fee category and collecting 
standard fees. Instead, B&S reasons that our authority under section 9 
is limited to determining that a particular fee is either large, and 
establishing an installment plan, or the fee is small and collecting it 
in advance for a number of years not to exceed the term of the license.
    38. We reject B&S's interpretation of section 9(f). In section 
9(a), the general authority provision, Congress broadly empowered us 
``to assess and collect regulatory fees. . . .'' Subsection 9(f) 
requires only that our rules include specific provisions providing for 
advance payments in the case of small fees and installment payments for 
larger ones. Nothing in that section, or in logic, compels a conclusion 
that every fee must necessarily fall within a category of either 
``large'' or ``small.'' Section 9(f) is simply silent regarding any 
other substantive aspect of our fee collection system, including 
whether other categories of fee payments may be established. Moreover, 
our conclusion that some regulatees are subject to payment of neither 
large nor small fees and, consequently, are only subject to a single 
annual regulatory ``standard'' fee payment, in no way conflicts with 
Congress' directive to include specific consideration of those payors 
of large and small fees. Therefore, we adopt our proposal to establish 
three categories of regulatory fees.
2. Installment Payments
    39. In the NPRM, we proposed that some fees would be classified as 
``large'' fees and, therefore, eligible for payment by installment. For 
FY 1994, we identified the following fee amounts in the specified 
categories as eligible for payment on the installment plan.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Regulatory fee category                     Large fee      
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VHF and UHF Commercial Television Station........  Above $12,000.       
Cable Television System..........................  Above $18,500.       
Inter-Exchange Carrier...........................  Above $500,000.      
Local Exchange Carrier...........................  Above $700,000.      
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    40. Several parties urge that we expand significantly our proposed 
installment payment eligibility standards. GTE and Sprint request that 
we establish an installment fee benchmark of $250,000 for all classes 
of services that are not allowed to make installment payments under our 
proposal. The Broadcasting Association argues that all mass media 
licensees should be eligible for installment payments and the New 
Jersey Broadcasting Association (New Jersey Association) argues that 
all radio broadcasting licensees, or in the alternative, licensees 
encountering financial hardship should be permitted to make installment 
payments. GE American Communications, Inc. contends that licensees of 
satellite space stations should be afforded installment payment 
eligibility.
    41. For FY 1994, we intend to permit installment payments by a 
reasonable number of regulatees whose fees greatly exceed the average 
fee in a particular service category. Through this means we can ensure 
that we are able to structure a fee collection system that can be 
fairly and efficiently administered, given our available resources and 
our relative inexperience with the regulatory fee program and its 
installment component.\15\
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    \15\Because our fee collection program is not yet capable of 
accounting for installment payments aggregated on other than a 
single service basis, regulatees must pay their fee payments on a 
service by service basis.
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    42. Since little time is left in which to collect fees for FY 1994, 
the practical impact of permitting licensees to make installment 
payments this year should be minimal in any event. In these 
circumstances, we thus find it both fair and prudent to decline to 
expand significantly installment payment eligibility for FY 1994. Also, 
we decline to permit installment payments for radio licensees, since no 
fee greater than $900.00 is imposed on these licensees.
    43. As we gain experience with the regulatory fee program and, in 
particular, with its installment payment component, we will consider 
increasing eligibility to make installment payments. Therefore, with a 
limited exception, we will adopt our proposed installment fee 
standards. As discussed above, if a licensee concludes that payment of 
a fee in its entirety would constitute a financial hardship or if it 
cannot otherwise submit a full payment, the licensee may submit a 
partial payment of the fee with a petition to defer payment of the 
remaining portion of the fee. Interested parties may renew their 
arguments for increased installment opportunities in their comments 
concerning the assessment and collection of regulatory fees for 1995.
    44. Notwithstanding our decision not to expand significantly 
installment payment eligibility this year, we have decided to permit 
space station and system licensees to submit their fees in 
installments. These licensees are relatively few in number, and the 
uniform fee structure for this service does not lend itself to the 
mechanism we used to establish installment payments in categories of 
services with progressive fee structures. Thus, we will permit 
licensees of geosynchronous satellite space stations and low earth 
orbit satellite systems to file their fee payments in installments.
    45. As proposed, regulatees qualifying for installment payments for 
FY 1994 may make their fee payments in two separate and equally divided 
payments with the first payment due on the date set for paying standard 
annual fees. The date for each installment will be announced by Public 
Notice and in the Federal Register. For future fiscal years, we plan to 
permit four installments annually. We have decided not to impose an 
administrative fee with each installment payment. However, any late 
filed installment payment will be subject to a 25 percent late fee and 
the payment of interest for the delinquent amount. Further, any 
regulatee paying its fees by installment will automatically lose its 
eligibility to pay by installments if it fails to make any of its 
payments in a timely fashion.
3. Advance Payments
    46. FIT and UTC support our proposal to require that regulatory fee 
payments in the Private Radio services be made in advance. We will 
require that full payment for Private Radio service regulatory fees due 
over the entire term of the authorization be submitted at the time an 
applicant in the Private Radio service submits its new, renewal or 
reinstatement application.\16\ For example, regulatees in the private, 
shared use services would submit a one time regulatory fee of $35.00 
per license to cover the entire five-year term of their license or 
authorization. Moreover until expiration of that authorization, we will 
not subject regulatees submitting advance fee payments to submit 
another (supplementary) fee payment for the same authorization until 
expiration of that authorization, notwithstanding any subsequent 
increase in the applicable annual fee. In instances in which a license 
is transferred to another service and, therefore, becomes subject to a 
different annual fee, as in the case of Private Radio licensees as they 
become Commercial Mobile Radio Service licensees, we have generally 
decided to apply any advance payment to the new annual fee requirement 
resulting from that reclassification. Thus, the licensee would become 
subject to payment of the difference between its initial fee payment 
and the amount required under the fee schedule for its new service.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\Regulatory fee payments submitted with applications that are 
subsequently dismissed or denied will be returned upon request.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    47. For FY 1994, no Mass Media or Common Carrier regulatory fees 
will be subject to collection as small fees. However, in future years, 
we may decide to collect advance payments of fees in these services in 
the event that we conclude that the fee required is small and our 
experience shows that it is inefficient to collect the fee on an annual 
basis.
4. Timing of Payment
    48. As noted, the date for payment of standard fees will be 
announced by public notice and published in the Federal Register. For 
licensees, permittees and holders of other authorizations in the Common 
Carrier, Mass Media and Cable Services whose fees are not based on a 
subscriber, line or circuit count, fees should be submitted for any 
authorization held as of October 1, 1993. We have selected October 1 as 
the date for calculating these fees since October 1 is the first day of 
the fiscal year and, therefore, current licensees subject to the fees 
would have benefited from out regulatory activities since the beginning 
of the period covered by their payment.\17\
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    \17\In light of this decision, the comments by Orbital 
Communications Corporation, GE American Communications, Inc. and 
Starsys Global Positioning, Inc. concerning appropriate payments for 
satellites that became operational after commencement of the fiscal 
year are moot.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    49. In the case of regulatees whose fee payments are based upon a 
subscriber, line or circuit count, we have decided that the number of a 
regulatee's subscribers, lines or circuits on December 31, 1993 will be 
used to calculate the fee. We have selected the last date of the 
calendar year because many of these entities file reports with us as of 
that date. Others calculate their subscriber numbers as of the last day 
of the calendar year for internal purposes. Therefore, calculation of 
the subscriber fee as of that date will facilitate both an entity's 
computation of its fee payment and our verification that the correct 
fee payment has been submitted. Cable systems should calculate their FY 
1994 regulatory fees using the subscriber data that was provided to the 
Commission for the 1993 Annual Report of Cable Television Systems (FCC 
Form 325A) submission. Accordingly, the number of subscribers will not 
necessarily be based on December 31, 1993, but rather on ``a typical 
day in the last full week of December 1993.'' (See FCC Form 325 
Instructions at page 1). Finally, since entities in the Private Radio 
services pay their fees when applying for an new, renewal or 
reinstatement license, we will require Private Radio applicants to 
submit a regulatory fee with new, renewal and reinstatement 
applications filed following the effective date of these rules.
5. Method and Location of Payment
    50. We proposed to adopt generally the same methods of payment for 
regulatory fees as we established for application fees. See 47 CFR 
1.1108(a). In addition, we proposed to establish a process to permit 
the electronic filing of fee payments, initially on an experimental 
basis. Further, we proposed to permit payment of fees by credit card 
(VISA and Mastercard) in some circumstances subject to the requirement 
that, when a credit card payment is made, the entire fee payment must 
be made in a single credit card transaction.
    51. Several parties have requested clarification of our 
requirements for multiple fee payments by Private Radio licensees.\18\ 
Other parties support our proposals concerning payment methods, 
particularly our decision to accept credit cards and electronic 
payments.\19\
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    \18\See comments filed by FIT, Naber and UTC.
    \19\See comments filed by SWB and Bell Atlantic.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    52. We have designed FCC Forms 159 (Remittance Advice) and 159-C 
(Continuation sheet) to replace Form 155. We are satisfied that the 
forms, and our rules, provide sufficient clarification of our 
requirements concerning multiple fee payments. These forms are to be 
submitted with any regulatory fee payment in the mass media, common 
carrier and cable services. Payors, in the Private Radio services 
making a single regulatory fee payment, other than by electronic means 
or credit card, are not required to file a Form 159 as long as their 
accompanying application form provides the information necessary to 
accomplish the payment.
6. Multiple Payments
    53. Generally, we will permit any entity, including licensees in 
the private radio services, to make multiple section 9 regulatory (and 
section 8 application) fee payments within the same lockbox, including, 
where applicable, installment payments. Under this procedure, a single 
payment form and a single instrument of payment may be used to cover 
multiple regulatory fee payments.\20\ A multiple regulatory fee payment 
also may cover payments by more than a single regulatee. Regulatees 
making combined payments of regulatory fees and application fees within 
the same lockbox for the Private Radio services may make payment with a 
single payment instrument and are to submit with the multiple payment a 
Form 159 and, if needed, a Form 159-C. Also, any regulatee making 
payment by credit card, including licensees in the private radio 
services, must submit a Form 159. See the specific instructions 
concerning the use of Forms 159 and 159-C. A copy of the forms and 
instructions may be obtained from the Federal Communications 
Commission, Forms Distribution Center, 2803 52d Avenue, Hyattsville, MD 
20781.
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    \20\Payors of regulatory fees for vanity call signs must submit 
a Form 159 with their applications.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    54. Each regulatee will remain solely responsible for assuring that 
its applications and authorizations are properly accounted for and 
listed, and for submitting the full, cumulative payment covering each 
of its licenses and authorizations.\21\ As described below, payment 
deficiencies could lead to penalty charges, dismissal of applications 
and revocation of authorizations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \21\Payment of a regulatory fee may be made by a third party, as 
NABER and NECA request. However, the entity subject to the 
requirement to pay the fee will remain responsible for ensuring 
correct and timely payment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    55. As proposed in our NPRM, we are establishing a single lockbox 
at our lockbox bank for the receipt of mass media, common carrier and 
cable regulatory fees. The single lockbox will accept Mass Media, 
Common Carrier and Cable Services regulatory fee payments, and will 
enable regulatees to submit fee payments for these services to the same 
lockbox and to combine their fee payments for these service categories. 
However, Private Radio fees will not be accepted at this lockbox and, 
instead, should be submitted to the lockbox designated for application 
fees covering the category of license or authorization for which the 
payment is made. See sections 1.1152 through 1.1155 for the address, 
including lockbox number regarding payment of regulatory fees for the 
specific categories of service.
7. Electronic Payments
    56. We have decided to proceed cautiously with our implementation 
of electronic fee payments. We require that regulatees intending to 
make fee payments electronically submit a written request to the 
Managing Director and obtain his written authorization or that of his 
designee prior to making their initial electronic payment.\22\ 
Following authorization by the Office of the Managing Director, a payor 
may either instruct its bank to make payment of a regulatory fee 
directly to our lockbox bank or authorize us to direct our lockbox bank 
to withdraw funds directly from the payor's bank account. It is the 
responsibility of the entity subject to the regulatory fee payment to 
assure compliance with our electronic payment procedures. We will 
announce specific procedures for electronic payment by public notice. 
Failure to comply with these procedures will result in the return of 
the fee payment and a penalty of 25 percent if the subsequent refiling 
of the payment is late. Any late payment resulting from a failure to 
comply with our electronic fee payment procedures will also subject the 
payor to the penalties set forth in Sec. 1.1163 of the rules.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \22\NYNEX has suggested that responsibility for recommending 
rules and procedures relating to the electronic payment of 
regulatory fees by common carriers be given to the proposed advisory 
committee that would be established to assist the Common Carrier 
Bureau in the development and implementation of an electronic filing 
system. See Public Notice, 9 FCC Rcd 1293 (1994). Since our system 
for the electronic payment of fees will soon be operational, we 
decline to combine these tasks into a single project. However, the 
Commission staff involved in these undertakings will closely 
coordinate their activities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    57. Credit card payments may be made only with Mastercard and Visa 
since at this time these are the only credit cards authorized for 
payments to the United States Treasury. Credit card payments must be 
accompanied by a Form 159. Failure to accurately enter an authorized 
signature and the credit card name, number and date of expiration in 
blocks 22 and 23 of Form 159 will result in the return of the credit 
card payment and any associated filing.
E. Enforcement
    58. As provided in section 9(c) of the Act, we proposed to enforce 
payment of regulatory fees by: (1) Assessing monetary penalties for 
late payment, (2) dismissal of applications and, (3) in egregious 
cases, revocation of existing licenses and authorizations. 47 U.S.C. 
159(c). In addition, we proposed to pursue delinquent regulatees under 
the Debt Collection Act, 31 U.S.C. 3711 et seq., and related statutory 
provisions.
1. Penalties for Late Payment
    59. Any regulatee that fails timely to pay its regulatory fee or 
make an installment payment shall be assessed a 25 percent penalty. See 
47 U.S.C. 159(c)(1). A regulatory fee is untimely paid when it is not 
received at the lockbox bank by the date we establish for payment.\23\ 
A fee payment is also considered late filed if an instrument of payment 
is not collectible. A 25 percent penalty will be assessed against any 
outstanding amount due on a fee, including any amount past due on an 
installment payment.
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    \23\The NAB and the Society of Broadcast Engineers have proposed 
that we consider a regulatory fee payment to be timely submitted if 
the payment is postmarked by the date it is due. At least for FY 
1994, we have decided to continue our practice of requiring fee 
submissions to be received by the date due. We believe retention of 
this practice for regulatory fee payments for FY 1994 is necessary 
to enable us to process these payments efficiently.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Dismissal of Application
    60. We will dismiss any application, group of applications or other 
filings in the private radio services when a regulatee fails timely to 
submit any regulatory fee or associated penalty. 47 U.S.C. 159(c)(2). A 
fee payment will be considered to be late filed if a timely filed 
instrument of payment is uncollectible and the deficiency is not the 
result of bank error.\24\ Thus, an application required to be submitted 
with a regulatory fee will be returned without action if the fee is not 
filed with the application. Moreover, if the returned application is 
mutually exclusive and must be filed by a date certain (or is required 
to be filed by a date certain for any other reason), the application 
will be dismissed as untimely if resubmitted subsequent to the filing 
deadline.\25\
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    \24\As noted in the NNPRM, we will not accept instruments of 
payment other than cashier's checks for payors who are notified that 
payment will not be accepted by other payment methods. Of course, 
while we discourage the use of cash for the payment of fees 
generally, payment by cash is permissible. See 31 U.S.C. 5193. We 
will not be responsible for cash lost or stolen in the process of 
delivery to our lockbox bank.
    \25\In any case in which a fee payor believes that a monetary or 
other penalty has been wrongfully imposed, the fee payor may file a 
petition requesting that the penalty be set aside.
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3. Revocation
    61. Section 9(c)(3) provides the Commission with authority to 
revoke an existing license or other authorization for nonpayment of a 
regulatory fee. 47 U.S.C. 159(c)(3). We proposed to reserve our 
revocation remedy for egregious cases of nonpayment. Section (9)(c)(3) 
does not require a finding of ``willful or repeated'' failure to make 
payment before a license or authorization may be revoked. Further, the 
section affords the right to a hearing only if a regulatee's response 
to our notice of revocation presents a ``substantial and material 
question of fact.''
    62. Consistent with the statutory framework for revocation, any 
revocation hearing will be resolved by written evidence only and the 
burden of proceeding and the burden of proof will be on the respondent. 
As proposed, we will provide a period of 60 days for a regulatee to 
respond to our notice of revocation in order to assure that the subject 
regulatee will have a full opportunity to obtain the funds needed to 
make payment and to prepare its case. Further, we will assess the 
regulatee for the costs for the conduct of any revocation proceeding 
unless the regulatee ``substantially'' prevails at the hearing. 47 
U.S.C. 159(c)(3). Finally, pursuant to section 9(c)(3), an order of 
revocation will not become final until the respondent regulatee has had 
an opportunity to exhaust its rights to judicial review under section 
402(b)(5) of the Act. 47 U.S.C. 402(b)(5).
    63. MCI recognizes that we should use our authority to revoke 
licenses and assess penalties as tools to enforce payment of fees. 
However, MCI urges that we restrict their use to cases where a licensee 
``willfully'' has acted in bad faith in not paying the required fee. 
MCI states that this is particularly important for licensees with large 
and complex operations in services where licensing information 
currently is not included in our records since licensees with numerous 
authorizations may have no other way to confirm existing licenses. In 
these instances, according to MCI, we should attempt to resolve 
nonpayment issues informally since most fee payment disputes should be 
quickly and easily resolved.
    64. We agree with MCI that our revocation powers should not be 
lightly invoked. We stated in the NPRM that we would reserve the right 
to revoke licenses held by a delinquent regulatee, but that we did not 
foresee the need for revocation, except in egregious circumstances. We 
will not consider a failed payment to be egregious as long as the 
regulatee demonstrates that its deficiency was not due to gross neglect 
in maintaining its records or in preparing to meet its obligation to 
make the fee payments. However, we intend to automatically assess 
delinquent payors a 25 percent penalty for late or missing payments, 
and such assessments will be strictly enforced.
4. Debt Collection Act Remedies
    65. In addition to those specific remedies for nonpayment or 
untimely payment of regulatory fees provided in section 9, we will 
invoke our powers under the Debt Collection Act against any regulatee 
failing to pay a regulatory fee. See 31 U.S.C. 3711 et seq. We will 
afford a regulatee a 30-day period to respond to our notice of 
delinquency before invoking the procedures provided in the Debt 
Collection Act. Moreover, when necessary, we will refer outstanding 
debts of delinquent regulatees to the Internal Revenue Service for 
offset. See 31 U.S.C. 3720A. Included in the recovery of any delinquent 
fee will be an assessment of interest on the debt due, a penalty for 
nonpayment, and the allowable cost incurred due to the federal 
government in the collection process. See 31 U.S.C. 3717.

IV. Regulatory Fee Categories

    66. In our NPRM, we provided an explanation of the regulatory fee 
categories subject to the payment of a fee under the schedule 
established by Congress. 47 U.S.C. 159(g). Where a regulatory fee 
category required additional interpretation or clarification, we relied 
on the legislative history of section 9 and our experience in 
establishing and regulating the various services. The categories and 
amounts set out in the schedule may, by the next fiscal year and in 
subsequent fiscal years, be amended, adjusted, or modified to reflect 
changes in our appropriations, costs and changes in the nature of our 
regulated services. See 447 U.S.C. 159(b) (2), (3).
    67. Several parties have submitted comments regarding the 
regulatory fee categories. Generally, the comments addressed issues 
concerning possible adjustment of the required fees, the absence of 
certain services from the fee schedule, and definitions of terms 
important to payment of the fees. We address these comments below. In 
certain instances, we have clarified our explanation of a fee category 
based upon the comments of the parties. See Appendix B.

A. Private Radio Services

    68. The two basic levels of statutory fees allocated for Private 
Radio Services, exclusive use and shared use services, were established 
on the premise that those licensees who generally receive a higher 
quality communications channel, due to exclusive or lightly shared 
frequency assignments, will pay a higher fee than those who share 
channels of marginal quality.\26\ House Report at 17. In addition, 
because of the relatively small fee amounts levied in the Private Radio 
Services, as we proposed in the Notice, applicants for new licenses, 
reinstatement and renewal licenses will be required to pay a regulatory 
fee covering an entire license term. Applications for modification or 
assignment of an existing authorization do not require payment of a 
regulatory fee since the expiration date of modified or assigned 
licenses will not reflect a new license term.
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    \26\As noted, for FY 1994, we will not impose a regulatory fee 
upon applicants for lifetime restricted radiotelephone permits and 
radio operator licenses.
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1. Exclusive Use
    69. B&S disputes our interpretation of the fee schedule's 
requirement for Private Radio Service fees. Essentially, B&S contends 
that the term ``shared use services,'' as it appears in the Schedule of 
Regulatory Fees, applies to systems that share use of their licensed 
facilities with others. According to B&S, an 800 MHz Specialized Mobile 
Radio Service licensee providing service to end users is an example of 
a shared use service because the SMRs customers are sharing the same 
base station facility. B&S argues that their analysis is consistent 
with 47 CFR 90.179 and precedent interpreting that provision of our 
rules. According to B&S, it follows that ``exclusive use services'' are 
comprised of licensed facilities that are used only by the licensee. An 
example of what B&S considers an exclusive use service is a licensee in 
the Taxicab Radio service that operates an internal communications 
system in the 470-512 MHz band.
    70. B&S confuses the concept of shared use of a particular licensed 
facility with that of shared channel assignments. Under 47 CFR 90.179, 
a licensee or group of licensees may choose to share base station 
facilities on a non-profit or not-for-profit basis. In contrast, shared 
channel assignments require licensees to be licensed for the same 
channel for the same geographic area, and it is this latter concept 
that the Schedule of regulatory fees clearly addresses. As we have 
recently explained in our Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in PR Docket 
No. 92-235,\27\ the private land mobile radio services licensed below 
470 MHz\28\ do not enjoy exclusive use of their channel assignments in 
a particular geographic area, and must accept a greater degree of co-
channel interference.\29\ In contrast, channel assignments above 470 
MHz, including the SMR service, are granted on either an exclusive 
basis, with no other co-channel use authorized in a geographic area, or 
are licensed on an ``earned exclusivity'' basis, where co-channel use 
is capped. Thus, licensees of services above 470 MHz enjoy a lesser 
degree of interference than those below 470 MHz, and, accordingly, are 
required to pay the higher regulatory fee. To accept B&S's 
interpretation would ignore the established demarcation point between 
``shared'' and ``exclusive'' channel assignments that 470 MHz 
represents.
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    \27\8 FCC Rcd 8105, paras 11-13 (1992).
    \28\The 220-222 MHz band is the sole exception, where we have 
created exclusive use channels below 470 MHz.
    \29\While there may be rare instances where a particular 
licensee below 470 MHz does not share its channel assignment with 
other licensees in a geographic area, these licensees have no 
ability to preclude new licensees from requesting the same channel 
assignment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    71. RAM Mobile Data USA Limited Partnership (RMD) states that 900 
MHz SMR licensees should be required to pay a fee based upon their 
total number of licensed Designated Filing Areas (DFA) rather than 
their number of base station and frequencies individually licensed with 
a DFA. RMD contends that an assessment based upon total DFAs licensed 
is more consistent with Congress' intention that regulatory fees be 
``reasonably related to the benefits provided to the payor of the fee 
by the Commission's activities.'' 47 U.S.C. 159(b)(1)(A). Further, RMD 
states that section 9(g)'s fee requirements will compel a consolidation 
of its licenses in order to minimize its fee payments. Similarly, the 
Utilities Telecommunications Council (UTC) objects to the requirement 
that 220 MHz licensees submit fees on a per license basis.
    72. We decline to consider amending the section 9(g) fee schedule 
for FY 1994. As we have stated, Congress did not intend that we adjust 
any aspect of the fee schedule for FY 1994. RMD and UTC may submit 
their proposals for amending the fee schedule in our proceeding to 
establish regulatory fees for FY 1995.\30\
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    \30\RMD asks that we waive our requirement that SMR licensees 
pay their fees in advance and, instead, permit them to submit these 
fees on an annual basis. RMD contends that the overall fees that may 
be imposed on SMR systems are not ``small'' and, therefore, fall 
outside the category of fees that Congress authorized us to collect 
in advance. We decline to allow RMD to pay its fees on an annual 
basis because Congress specifically indicated that fees for private 
radio services licensees, including licensees of SMR systems, would 
be considered small and subject to the payment of fees in advance. 
See H.R. Rep. No. 207, 102d Cong., 1st Sess. 11 (1991).
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    Of course, RMD and any other licensee may surrender or modify their 
licenses and other authorizations in order to minimize their regulatory 
fee burden.
2. Marine (Coast and Ship Stations)
    73. Numerous formal and informal commenters, including the United 
States Coast Guard, raise concerns about our proposal to collect a 
regulatory fee from licensees in the marine service, including 
licensees using radio equipment voluntarily installed on small vessels, 
such as recreational boats.\31\ These parties contend that a waiver, or 
exemption, for vessels that voluntarily carry radio equipment would 
enhance maritime safety and promote the public interest. As support, 
the parties state that marine radio provides a vital link between 
recreational boaters and emergency safety entities, as well as an 
important source for weather and navigational information. Further, 
they contend that the regulatory fee, added to the existing application 
fee, will act as a substantial disincentive for recreational boaters to 
carry, maintain and operate marine communications equipment.
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    \31\In addition to the USCG, the commenters include the National 
Marine Electronics Association, Radio Technical Commission for 
Maritime Services, State of Nevada, Division of Wildlife and the 
United States Power Squadrons. We also received and considered 
informal comments filed by numerous parties concerned about the 
regulatory fee required from recreational boaters.
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    74. We recognize that radio communication between recreational 
boaters and various emergency safety entities provides an important 
public service. However, our authority to waive a fee requirement is 
limited to ``narrow'' and ``compelling circumstances.'' 2 FCC Rcd 947, 
961 (1987); H.R. 3128, H.R. Rep. No. 453, 99th Cong., 1st Sess. 39-42, 
423 (1985). In view of this strict Congressional limitation, we do not 
believe that a ``blanket waiver'' granted to boaters operating marine 
radios is permissible, absent legislative amendment.
3. General Mobile Radio Service
    75. The Personal Radio Steering Group (PRSG) requests that we lower 
the annual fee for licensees in the General Mobile Radio Service 
(GMRS). PRSG states that, because the Schedule of Regulatory Fees does 
not explicitly include a fee for GMRS, we have authority to reduce its 
fee. Moreover, PRSG contends that the service should be subject to a 
lower fee than that for other shared use services because it is 
intended primarily for personal communications, similar to the Amateur 
Radio Service.
    76. We agree with PRSG that section 9(g)'s fee schedule contains no 
explicit terms regarding the GMRS. However, that section does require 
the payment of a fee by ``shared use'' services in the private radio 
service. GMRS is within that category of service and was explicitly 
mentioned in the House Report as a service that would be subject to a 
fee. Therefore, we conclude that GMRS licensees are subject to a $7.00 
fee for each year of the license term, payable in advance upon the 
filing of a GMRS application. We decline to rule on the merits of 
PRSG's argument that its fees should be lowered because, as discussed 
above, we conclude that Congress for FY 1994 intended us to assess fees 
in accordance with its Schedule.

B. Mass Media Services

1. Broadcast Stations
    77. The regulatory fees in the Schedule for Mass Media services 
generally include broadcast licensees, permittees and other regulatees. 
As discussed above, we have exempted noncommercial educational 
broadcasters from regulatory fees. To the extent possible, we intend to 
use the Bureau's computer data bases to verify the identity of 
regulatees subject to regulatory fees in the Mass Media services.
    78. Several commenters contend that the statutory fee schedule is 
unfair to certain categories of licensees in the Mass Media services 
and complain that the schedule fails to impose a fee on other 
categories of regulatees. De La Hunt Broadcasting Corporation and the 
Broadcasting Associations believe that radio broadcaster licensees 
should be assessed regulatory fees on a market-size basis, in a manner 
similar to the fees mandated for television stations. The NAB urges 
that we adjust the schedule for radio broadcast licensees when we 
consider appropriate fees for future years. Further, the Broadcasting 
Associations contends that we should not include a television station 
as being in a major market unless that station serves the metropolitan 
area of that particular market.
    79. We decline to consider any adjustments to the schedule for FY 
1994 for radio and television stations. As we explained above, we 
believe that Congress did not intend that we adjust any aspect of the 
fee schedule it established for FY 1994. Interested parties may submit 
comments, however, addressed to modifying the method for assessment of 
radio and television broadcasting fees at the time we issue our 
proposed schedule of fees for FY 1995.
2. Television Stations
    80. Section (9)(g) provides that the regulatory fee charged a 
television licensee will be determined by the size of its market. We 
recognized in our NPRM that Arbitron no longer provides television 
rating information. However, no party has proposed that we rely on 
another mechanism for determining market size. Therefore, we will 
utilize Arbitron's ADI rankings for 1993-1994 for the determination of 
television markets for assessing our FY 1994 regulatory fees since it 
appears, at this time, that these are the most familiar and readily 
available tools for determining the relative ranking of television 
markets.
    81. KBS License L.P. (KBS) and the NAB argue that satellite 
television stations should not be subject to the same regulatory fee 
payment as fully powered television stations. The NAB contends that 
satellite television stations should be assessed as if they were 
television translator stations. KBS argues that our proposal to assess 
fees for satellite stations at the same level as full powered stations 
is inconsistent with section 9. First, in KBS's view, Congress 
established regulatory fees for commercial television stations, and did 
not set any fee requirement for satellite television stations. Second, 
according to KBS, Congress intended the Commission to charge licensees 
fees based on the regulatory burden they impose, yet satellite stations 
require much less regulatory oversight than full powered stations. 
Also, KBS contends that the fee would place an unfair and illogical 
burden on small market licensees who use satellite television stations 
to reach remote areas in their markets.
    82. Section 9(g)'s fee schedule establishes specific fees for 
commercial television stations. These fees are to be assessed against a 
licensee solely on the basis of the market in which the station 
operates. The text of the schedule makes no distinction between 
commercial stations that are fully operational and those that are 
satellite stations. It is also clear that these satellite stations are 
not ``translator stations,'' which are also listed in the schedule. TV 
translator stations are low-powered facilities that rebroadcast the 
signals of a full service television broadcast station, including a 
satellite station, and are afforded secondary status vis-a-vis full 
service television stations. Also, unlike satellite stations, they are 
not subject to the technical, operational and program service 
obligations that are imposed on all full service broadcast stations, 
including satellite stations.\32\ Consequently, we find that in 
establishing fees for commercial stations, Congress assessed the same 
fee for both commercial fully operational and commercial satellite 
television stations. We therefore reject KBS's argument that Congress 
failed to establish a fee for television satellite stations. However, 
there are anomalies concerning the treatment of satellite stations that 
are a matter of concern to us and that we believe would be appropriate 
for consideration on a case-by-case basis. First, where a licensee 
would be required under the fee schedule to pay a higher fee for its 
satellite station than for the parent station, we will entertain 
petitions to reduce the satellite station's fee to the same amount as 
the fee due for the parent station. In such a case, the licensee would 
be required to submit with its request an amount no greater than the 
fee due from the parent station. Second, in any situation in which 
payment of the fee would cause a diminishment of a licensees ability to 
continue to serve the public, we will entertain requests for waiver or 
reduction of the fee upon an appropriate showing. In this instance, the 
licensee would not be obligated to pay the fee until resolution of its 
waiver request.
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    \32\Unlike other full service television broadcast stations, 
satellite stations have not been subject to the Commission's 
multiple ownership restrictions. However, that distinction is 
currently under review in our Second Further Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking in MM Docket No. 87-8, 6 FCC Rcd 5010 (1991).
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    83. KBS and the NAB may submit comments in our future proceeding to 
establish regulatory fees for FY 1995, supporting their positions 
concerning the need to distinguish between satellite and fully 
operational stations when assessing regulatory fees. As explained 
above, for FY 1994, we shall make no adjustments to Congress' fee 
schedule pursuant to section 9(b).
3. Broadcast Auxiliary Stations
    84. The Society of Broadcast Engineers, Inc. (SBE) believes that 
broadcast auxiliary facilities, such as remote pick-up stations, and 
aural, television and low power auxiliary stations, should not be 
subject to any regulatory fee. SBE explains that there is no 
justification to apply a regulatory fee to these facilities since they 
are essentially self-regulating and impose little burden on our 
resources. As indicated above, we shall not modify any of section 
9(g)'s fee requirements for FY 1994, but SBE may raise these issues in 
future proceedings.
4. ITFS and DBS
    85. Finally, the Joint Parties contend that we should amend the fee 
schedule to add several services not subject to fees for FY 1994. These 
services include the commercial offering of Instructional Television 
Fixed Services (ITFS) and Direct Broadcast Satellite Service (DBS). We 
decline the Joint Parties' request to add these services to the 
schedule for 1994 since Congress did not provide us the authority to 
add any service to the schedule for FY 1994. Moreover, we are aware 
that ITFS is a predominantly nonprofit service with limited commercial 
use and, further, that DBS is not expected to become operational prior 
to the time for calculating fee payments for FY 1994.\33\ To the extent 
that the Joint Parties wish to renew their arguments concerning the 
inclusion of these services for future years, they may do so when we 
consider our fee payment schedule for FY 1995.
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    \33\The Joint Parties point out that the fee schedule contains 
no explicit fee requirement for Multipoint Distribution Service 
(MMDS). However, our schedule, modeled on the schedule contained in 
section 9(g) of the Act, explicitly requires the payment of a 
regulatory fee by Domestic Public Fixed licensees, operating under 
Part 21 of our rules. Since MMDS is a Part 21 service, it is fully 
subject to the regulatory fee prescribed for Part 21 licensees.
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C. Common Carrier Bureau

    86. Most common carrier regulatory fees are based on the size of a 
regulatee's communications operation as determined by its number of 
stations, subscribers, access lines, or antennas. We intend to rely 
upon the Common Carrier Bureau's licensing data bases to confirm the 
identity and fee amount for most radio common carriers to the extent 
possible. We also intend to perform periodic, random audits to 
determine whether individual regulatees have reported the correct 
multiplier.
1. Cellular and Public Mobile Licensees
    87. The Personal Communications Industry Association (PCIA) states 
that we should define the term ``subscriber'' as it applies to Part 22 
and personal communications services licensees. PCIA suggests that we 
require Part 22 licensees to pay their fees based on the number of 
customers on their billing lists and urges that we permit Part 22 
licensees to submit their fee payments pursuant to systemwide 
aggregations of subscribers. Also, PCIA contends that we should permit 
paging licensees to calculate their fees by aggregating their total 
subscribers, rather determining their fee payments by call sign, as 
required by section 9(g), and to submit one instrument of payment per 
carrier system.\34\
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    \34\PCIA also requests that we recalculate the regulatory fee 
for CMRS for FY 1995. PCIA may submit its comments regarding the fee 
for CMRS in the proceeding we establish to prescribe fees for FY 
1995.
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    88. Our rules do not define a mobile service subscriber. For 
purposes of calculating regulatory fees, we will define a subscriber to 
a mobile service as an individual or entity authorized by the mobile 
service provider to operate under its blanket license in exchange for 
monetary consideration. Further, any Part 22 licensee may submit a 
single, aggregate payment to cover the regulatory fees due for each of 
its individual systems. However, each individual system and service 
should be clearly enumerated on the payor's FCC Form 159 accompanying 
the fee payment. PCIA may submit its proposal to modify the method for 
calculating fee payments by paging licensees in our proceeding for 
establishing fees for FY 1995.
2. Air-Ground Radiotelephone Service
    89. Claircom Communications Group, L.P., GTE and In-Flight Phone 
Corporation request clarification of the definition of ``subscriber'' 
in section 9(g) when applied to the payment of regulatory fees for the 
Air-Ground Telephone Service. Unlike conventional telephone service, 
subscribers to that service, usually operators of commercial aircraft, 
lease their service for the purpose of making it available to their own 
customers. There is no contractual relationship between the air-ground 
service operator and the end user of its service. Consequently, as 
suggested by the parties, we will treat the operator of an aircraft in 
which its service is installed as the subscriber to the service and 
charge the fee based upon the number of transceivers leased by the 
operator. Similarly, licensees in the air-ground service should include 
in their total fee a payment on a transceiver basis for service they 
provide to users other than commercial aircraft, such as private 
aircraft.
3. Space Stations
    90. Comsat General Corporation (Comsat), GE American 
Communications, Inc. (GE American), Orbital Communications Corporation 
(Orbital), PanAmSat, L.P. (Panamsat) and Starsys Global Postioning, 
Inc. (Starsys) have submitted comments addressed to our proposals 
concerning the requirements of satellite licensees to submit regulatory 
fees. Comsat and GTE state that the regulatory fee for a geosynchronous 
orbit space station is excessive. Comsat argues that the fee 
requirement should be lowered for FY 1994 because these systems no 
longer require the regulatory attention they received in their earlier 
developmental stage. It argues that the fee also is a disincentive to 
maintaining older and underutilized satellites in orbit for back-up 
purposes and is anticompetitive and anticonsumer. As we have stated 
earlier, we shall not adjust the schedule of fees that Congress has 
enacted for the assessment of fees for FY 1994. Comsat may submit its 
comments in the future proceeding that we will initiate in order to 
establish appropriate fees for FY 1995.
    91. We also received comments from Orbital and a reply comment from 
Starsys concerning when a satellite space station becomes subject to 
the fee requirement. Section 9(g) requires that the payment of a 
regulatory fee by the operator of any ``operational'' space station in 
geosynchronous orbit. We agree with the commenters that a satellite 
does not become ``operational'' immediately upon its launch. Therefore, 
as proposed by the commenters, we will consider a space station in 
geosynchronous orbit to be subject to the fee when it has been 
certified by its operator to be operational in accordance with section 
25.120(d) of the rules. This certification indicates that the satellite 
has been placed in its authorized orbit and is operating in the 
authorized frequency bands at the authorized power levels. Similarly, a 
space station or system will be considered to have terminated its 
operation when its licensee certifies to us that the satellite has 
ceased to operate.
    92. Also, we will consider a space system in low earth orbit (LEO) 
subject to the fee payment when its first satellite becomes operational 
even though all its space stations are not yet operational. Similar to 
our treatment of geosynchronous satellites, the system will become 
subject to a fee payment upon the certification by the licensee that 
the operations of the first satellite in its system conform to the 
terms and conditions of its authorization pursuant to 47 CFR 25.120(d).
4. Earth Stations
    93. AMSC Subsidiary Corporation contends that no payment of 
regulatory fees for earth stations and mobile terminals should be 
required until their related satellite system is operational.\35\ 
However, we observe that the licensing of satellite earth stations is 
entirely separate from the licensing of space stations and that fixed-
satellite earth stations are generally licensed to operate with any and 
all domestic satellite systems located in that portion of the 
geostationary orbit for which the earth station has been frequency 
coordinated. It is common practice for a satellite system to provide 
preliminary service via unrelated space stations before its own 
stations are launched and operational.
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    \35\AMSC states that its satellite will be launched in December 
1995, but that its earth and mobile stations will likely be licensed 
before September 1994.
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    94. We will require the licensee of an earth station to pay a fee 
once it has certified that the earth station's construction is 
completed. However, in those rare instances in which a license limits 
an earth station's operational authority to a particular satellite 
system and that system is not operational on the date for calculating 
the fee, the fee will not be due until the first satellite of the 
related system becomes ``operational'' within the meaning of our fee 
rules.
5. Interexchange and Local Exchange Services
    95. Generally, the comments of local exchange carriers (LECs) and 
interexchange carriers (IXCs) raise issues concerning the basis upon 
which they are to calculate their fee payments, the need for a 
definition of the term ``subscriber,'' and a date for calculating their 
fee payments.\36\
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    \36\Allnet and MCI point out that resellers and pay telephone 
operators are not among those regulatees listed in the fee schedule. 
We will review whether these entities should be directly subject to 
a fee payment in the course of our proceeding to determine 
regulatory fees for FY 1995.
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    96. We will adopt our proposal to permit the holding company of 
local exchange carriers to aggregate fee payments due by its operating 
companies and submit a single payment to cover the fee requirements of 
its subsidiaries.\37\ We have considered the proposals of several 
commenters, including Ameritech, Nynex and SWB, that LECs submit fees 
based upon ARMIS data. However, ARMIS data is required from 
comparatively few LECs and we would still need a mechanism to calculate 
the fees due from the vast majority of LECs. Therefore, we have decided 
that all LECs are to calculate the amount of their regulatory fees 
based upon the number of working loops as described in section 36.611 
of our rules, governing the submission of Information to the National 
Exchange Carrier Association (NECA).\38\ We believe that this 
definition will be simple to administer since the LECs currently 
compile subscriber loop data, and it will provide a consistent 
formulation for the assessment of fees from all LECs.\39\ As noted, for 
FY 1994, we will require LECs to calculate their fee payments for FY 
1994 as of December 31, 1993.\40\
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    \37\We agree with Allnet that entities operating as both LECs 
and IXCs are subject to a regulatory fee for both categories of 
service. However, as GTE suggests, we will require a carrier to 
submit only a single payment when a single commonly-owned line 
serves as both a presubscribed line and an access line.
    \38\NECA has proposed to process regulatory fees on behalf of 
its pooling exchange carriers and to submit their consolidated fees 
to our lockbox bank in a single instrument of payment. We have no 
objection to NECA's submission of the fee on behalf of its pooling 
exchange carriers or others. However, we remind entities subject to 
the payment of a regulatory fee that the regulatee, not an agent, 
such as NECA, is responsible for ensuring that the payment is made 
that it is subject to penalty for failure to submit the entire fee 
due in a timely manner. LECs will be expected to pay their fees 
based upon the number of access lines as determined by NECA. In case 
of a dispute between a carrier and NECA concerning the carrier's 
line count as of December 31, 1993, NECA will certify its 
calculation of the carrier's line count and the basis for its 
calculation.
    \39\We expect competitive access providers (CAPs) to submit fee 
payments based upon their line count as required under section 9(g). 
Ameritech, GTE and other interested parties may submit their views 
on the proper method of assessing regulatory fees for CAPs in our 
proceeding to establish fees for FY 1995.
    \40\Several LECs, including Ameritech, GTE, NYNEX and Bell 
South, opposed by Allnet, contend that their regulatory fee payments 
qualify for exogenous treatment under the price cap rules and ask 
that we allow their regulatory fee expense to be charged directly to 
their subscribers. Their request is beyond the scope of this 
proceeding. LECs seeking to charge their regulatory fees directly to 
subscribers should petition for a waiver of the Commission's rules.
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    97. In the NPRM, we invited comments concerning section 9(g)'s 
assessment of regulatory fees from IXCs on a subscriber basis. In 
response, AT&T, opposed by Wiltel, Inc., argues that fee payments by 
IXCs should be based on gross revenues, not by the number of a 
carrier's subscribers. We decline to reach the merits of AT&T's 
argument at this time because, as indicated above, we shall not adjust 
the fee schedule for FY 1994. Any reformulation of the basis upon which 
IXCs are to base their fee payments would constitute a substantial 
adjustment to the fee schedule that Congress enacted. IXCs shall file 
fees based on the total number of common lines presubscribed to that 
IXC as determined pursuant to section 69.116 of the rules. 47 C.F.R. 
Sec. 69.116. AT&T may submit its views concerning the appropriate 
method of assessing fees from IXCs in our proceeding to establish 
regulatory fees for FY 1995.
6. International Bearer Circuits
    98. Panamsat requests clarification concerning the assessment of 
regulatory fees for international circuits. Section 9(g)'s Schedule 
provides that the fee is to be computed ``per 100 active 64 KB circuits 
or equivalent.'' The fee is to be paid by the facilities-based common 
carrier activating the circuit in any transmission facility for the 
provision of service to an end user or resale carrier. Private 
submarine cable operators also are to pay fees for circuits sold on an 
indefeasable right of use (IRU) basis or leased in their private 
submarine cables to any customer of the private cable operator. In the 
NPRM, we stated that the fee would be based upon active 64 KB circuits, 
or equivalent circuits. Under this formulation, 64 KB circuits or their 
equivalent will be assessed a fee. Equivalent circuits include the 64 
KB circuit equivalent of larger bit stream circuits. For example, the 
64 KB circuit equivalent of a 2.048 MB circuit is 30 64 KB circuits. 
Analog circuits such as 3 and 4 KHz circuits used for international 
services are also included as equivalent 64 KB circuits. However, 
circuits derived from 64 KB circuits such as circuits derived by the 
use of digital circuit multiplication systems are not equivalent 64 KB 
circuits. Such circuits are not subject to fees. Only the 64 KB circuit 
from which they have been derived will be subject to payment of a fee.
    For analog television channels we will assess fees as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Analog television channel size in   Number of equivalent 64 KB circuits
                MHz                                                     
------------------------------------------------------------------------
36.................................                      630            
24.................................                      288            
18.................................                      240            
------------------------------------------------------------------------

D. Cable Services

    99. Several commenters contend that the fee prescribed for cable 
television services should be paid on an exact per subscriber count 
rather than per 1,000 subscribers, as we proposed.\41\ These commenters 
argue that the latter formulation would cause small cable systems to 
pay a disproportionately high regulatory fee. For example, a cable 
system with 100 subscribers would be subject to the same fee as a 
system with 1,000 subscribers.
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    \41\These commenters include the United States Small Business 
Administration, Cable Services, Inc., the Cable Telecommunications 
Association, the National Cable Television Associations, Nationwide 
Communications, Inc. and the Small Cable Business Association.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    100. The text of section 9(g)'s fee schedule provides for the 
assessment of a fee for cable television systems at the rate of $370.00 
per 1,000 subscribers. Upon further consideration, we agree with the 
commenters that Congress did not intend that this provision required 
that a system pay its fee as if it served 1,000 subscribers when in 
fact it provides services to fewer than 1,000 subscribers.\42\ 
Following this formulation to its logical extreme would impose on small 
cable systems a disproportionate burden of the aggregate cable service 
regulatory fee since it would result in the assessment of larger fees 
upon small systems, particularly those with fewer than 1,000 
subscribers. Thus, we believe Congress' purpose was to require cable 
systems to formulate their fee based on the schedule's assessment of 
$370.00 per 1000 subscribers, but to pay the fee on an exact per 
subscriber count. Payment of the cable fee on the basis of the exact 
count of a system's subscribers will eliminate the inequity perceived 
by the commenters.
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    \42\We reject the Joint Commenters' argument that the regulatory 
fee for cable systems be reduced when any of a system's channels are 
made available to competitors pursuant to 47 U.S.C. Sec. 532. 
Congress has based the regulatory fee for cable systems upon the 
number of subscribers served, not the number of a system's channels 
available for the system's direct use.
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    101. NCTA and Nationwide support our proposal to permit cable 
systems to submit their regulatory fees on the basis of the aggregate 
fee payable by commonly owned systems.\43\ Therefore, we will permit 
commonly-owned cable systems to combine their fee payments for 
submission to our lockbox bank. Finally, for purposes of calculating 
the fee due from cable operators, we will adopt the definition of a 
cable subscriber, including bulk rate subscriber, used for FCC Form 
325. See FCC Form 325 Instructions (Page 3).
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    \43\NCTA, the Joint Commenters and Continental request authority 
for cable systems to pass through their regulatory fees to cable 
television subscribers as extenal costs. Only those items currently 
itemized in the rule as external costs may be passed through to 
cable subscribers. Regulatory fees are not among the enumerated 
items and the pass through process is not the subject of this 
proceeding. Therefore, this matter should be addressed separately.
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V. Amendments to Application Fee Rules

    102. In addition to the new rules for regulatory fees, we are 
revising several sections of our rules governing fees associated with 
applications and other filings. Filing fees are required pursuant to 
section 8 of the Communications Act and are administered separately 
from the regulatory fees authorized under section 9.\44\
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    \44\We will publish in the FCC Record actions, including actions 
taken on delegated authority, related to the application and 
regulatory fee rules that have precedential value.
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A. Fees for Resubmitted Applications

    103. We have amended Sec. 1.1107(d) of the rules, as proposed. 
Section 1.1107(d) governs fee payments relating to applications and 
other filings when resubmitted in the appropriate timeframe following a 
staff request for additional or corrected information. We have amended 
Sec. 1.1107(d) to require persons submitting applications or other 
filings that have been returned for additional information or 
corrections and that do not require any additional fees to submit these 
applications and other filings directly to the Bureau/Office making the 
request. Applications requiring additional fees must be filed at our 
lockbox bank with the remittance for the entire additional amount due. 
In the event that the staff discovers, within 30 days after the 
resubmission, that the additional fee payment was not submitted, the 
application or other filing will be dismissed as deficient and the 
previously submitted section 8 fee payment will be retained under this 
proposal. A new fee payment (covering the entire amount of the revised 
fee) will be required with any future filing of the application or 
other filing. However, if the staff discovers the fee payment 
deficiency more than thirty days subsequent to the resubmission, the 
application or other filing will be retained, but a 25 percent late fee 
will be assessed on the deficient amount even if we have completed our 
action on the application or other filing involved.

B. Stale Checks

    104. Our lockbox bank will not process a personal or business check 
dated more than six months prior to its submission. Therefore, we have 
revised Sec. 1.1108(a) of the rules to make clear that these ``stale'' 
checks will not be accepted as fee payments. Under this revision, we 
will not accept any instrument of payment dated more than six months 
prior to the date of its filing with the lockbox bank, and we will 
return to the filer any application or other filing submitted with a 
stale payment instrument. Further, we will not accept any third party 
checks (i.e., checks with the name of any third party as the maker or 
endorser).

C. Receipts

    105. Our practice with regard to stamped receipts for application 
fee payments is to furnish receipts only upon specific request of the 
submitter rather than to provide receipts automatically for all fee 
payments received. We are clarifying these procedures by amending 
Sec. 1.1108 of the rules. In order to obtain a receipt for a fee 
payment, section 1.1108 will require that the application and fee 
package include a copy of the first page of the application or other 
filing, clearly marked ``copy,'' submitted expressly for the purpose of 
serving as a receipt of the filing. The copy should be the top document 
in the fee payment package. The staff will date-stamp the copy 
immediately and provide it to the bearer of the submission, if hand 
delivered. For submissions by mail, the receipt copy will be provided 
through return mail if the filer has attached to the receipt copy a 
stamped self-addressed envelope of sufficient size to contain the date-
stamped copy of the application. We will provide a receipt for 
regulatory fee payments, upon request, if we are furnished with a copy 
of Form 159 or the first page of an application in the private radio 
services accompanying the fee payment and the request otherwise 
conforms with the procedures we have adopted for receipts of 
application fees.

D. Electronic Application Fee Payments

    106. We are adopting rules regarding the submission of regulatory 
fee payments by electronic means. Revised Secs. 1.1107 and 1.1108 of 
the rules allow the payment of application and other filing fees by 
electronic means, although our system for electronic payment is not yet 
fully in place. In our NPRM, we stated our concern about matching 
electronically paid fees with submitted hard-copy applications.\45\ If 
a party chooses to pay its application filing fee electronically, we 
will require that the entity follow existing procedures for filing its 
application at the lockbox bank. However, in lieu of the current 
payment methods, the party will indicate on its remittance advice (FCC 
Form 159 or the underlying application form with fee information 
incorporated therein) that payment is being sent to the bank 
electronically. The electronic payment must be made on or before the 
day the application is filed. Upon receipt of an application, the bank 
will confirm that a fee payment has been received electronically. If 
the electronic payment is not received on the filing date, the 
application or request will be returned without processing. We believe 
these procedures are necessary to ensure the most efficient processing 
of electronic fee payments (when authorized) and applications or other 
filings. Finally, during the pilot phase of our electronic payment 
program, regulatees will be required to obtain our prior authorization 
before making electronic fee payments. (See paragraphs 56 and 57, 
above.)
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    \45\We note that some parts of the Commission are currently 
experimenting with electronic filing of applications.
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E. One Check/One Application Rule

    107. We are modifying our rules to allow the use of a single 
payment instrument or method to cover multiple applications for the 
same or different applicants, so long as all the applications are filed 
at the same time at the same lockbox. Any applicant desiring to pay for 
multiple regulatory/application filings in the same lockbox with a 
single payment instrument, or when paying by credit card, must also 
complete FCC Form 159, FCC Remittance Advice. Each item must be listed 
separately on the form with its own Payment Type Code. If another space 
is needed for multiple filings, the applicant must use FCC Form 159-C, 
FCC Remittance Advice Continuation Sheet.\46\
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    \46\All non-private radio section 9 regulatory fee payors must 
use FCC Form 159/159C when submitting single or multiple regulatory 
fees.
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F. Payment by Cashier's Check

    108. To ensure that payment instruments will result in a final 
payment being made to the Commission, we believe that our cashier's 
check safeguard should be strengthened. Accordingly, as proposed, when 
a person or organization has, on one or more occasions, submitted a 
payment instrument on which final payment is not received (and is not 
excused by bank error), we will immediately notify the party that 
future fee payments must be made by cashier's check until further 
notice. If, subsequent to such notice, payment is not made by a 
cashier's check (or cash), that party's other payment instrument will 
not be accepted and its application or other filing will be returned. 
47 CFR 1.1108(d)(1)(i); see also 47 CFR 1.1110(a).

G. Filing Locations for Petitions and Applications for Review

    109. We have revised Secs. 1.1109(a)(3) and 1.1115 to clarify that 
any petition for reconsideration, application for review, and any 
petition for waiver or deferral of a fee payment, accompanied by an 
application or regulatory fee payment, must be submitted to our lockbox 
bank. If no fee payment is required and the matter is within the scope 
of either the application or regulatory fee rules, the request should 
be filed with the Secretary and clearly marked to the attention of the 
Managing Director.

VI. Confidentiality

    110. The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, GTE and 
Southwestern Bell Corporation urge that we amend Sec. 0.457 of our 
rules to safeguard the confidentiality of data submitted with 
regulatory fees, including fee amounts that are calculated on a per 
line or subscriber basis. 47 CFR 0.457. At this time, we will not amend 
our rules to include a provision affording automatic confidentiality 
for information submitted with regulatory fees. Generally, regulatees 
are required to submit very little data with their fee payments and it 
is premature for us to determine whether the disclosure of any 
information submitted, including the fee amounts calculated on a per 
subscriber basis, will warrant the protection afforded by Sec. 0.457. 
Payments of regulatory fees may be accompanied by requests for 
confidentiality pursuant to Sec. 0.459 of the Commission's rules. 47 
CFR 0.459.

VII. Final Regulatory Analysis

    111. Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, the 
Commission's final analysis is as follows:

A. Need and Purpose of This Action

    112. This Report and Order adopts the Schedule of Regulatory Fees 
enacted by Congress for the assessment and collection of the 
Commission's regulatory fees for FY 1994 and adopts rules to govern the 
assessment and collection of regulatory fees for FY 1994 and future 
years. The rules, as required by Congress, include provisions for the 
advance payment of small fees, the payment of large fees by 
installment, and procedures for waiver, reduction and deferral of fees 
by regulatees that demonstrate that payment of the fee would be a 
financial hardship, as well as penalties for late or nonpayment of 
fees.

B. Summary of Comments Raised by the Public Comments in Response to the 
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    113. The Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the United States Small 
Business Administration (SBA) filed comments urging that cable 
television system operators be permitted to pay their fees on a per 
subscriber basis ($.37) rather than in increments of 1,000 subscribers 
($370.00) or any portion thereof. The Report and Order adopts the SBA's 
proposal.

C. Significant Alternatives Considered

    114. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in this proceeding offered 
many proposals, including reliance on the Schedule of Regulatory Fees 
as established by Congress in section 9(g) of the Communications Act, 
47 U.S.C. 159(g), exemptions from regulatory fees, installment payments 
for large fees, advance payments for small fees, payment procedures, 
including payment by electronic transfer and credit card, procedures 
for waiver, reduction and deferment of fees, and penalties for late or 
nonpayment of fees. Our proposals to adopt the service categories and 
fee amounts in Congress' fee schedule and for waiver, reduction and 
deferment of fees were discussed by many commenters. Fireweed and the 
Joint Commenters urged that we amend the fee schedule to reduce the 
fees and add services subject to a fee payment. NAB and the State 
Broadcasters urged that we modify our proposed procedures for 
requesting a waiver, reduction or deferment of a fee payment. Upon 
review, we affirmed that Congress intended that we utilize section 
9(g)'s fee schedule for FY 1994. However, we adopted more flexible 
procedures for obtaining a waiver, reduction or deferment of the fees 
in order to afford more regulatees the opportunity to obtain a waiver, 
reduction or deferment of the fees and we clarified the showing 
required for adjustment of a fee based on financial hardship.

VIII. Ordering Clauses

    115. Accordingly, it is ordered that the rule changes as specified 
below are adopted.
    116. It is further ordered that the rule changes made herein will 
become effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. 
This action is taken pursuant to sections 4(i), 4(j), 8, 9, and 303(r) 
or the Communications Act, as amended, 47 U.S.C. Secs. 154(i) 154(j), 
158, 159, 303(r).

List of Subjects

47 CFR Part 0

    Authority delegations (Government agencies), Freedom of 
information, Government publications, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

47 CFR Part 1

    Administrative practice and procedure, Communications common 
carriers, Investigations, Penalties, Radio, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Telecommunications, Television.

Federal Communications Commission.
William F. Caton,
Acting Secretary.

Rule Changes

    47 CFR Parts 0 and 1 are amended as follows:

PART 0--COMMISSION ORGANIZATION

    1. The authority citation for Part 0 continues to read:

    Authority: Sec. 5, 48 Stat. 1068, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 155, 
225, unless otherwise noted.

    2. Section 0.231 is amended by revising paragraph (a) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 0.231  Authority delegated.

    (a) The Managing Director, or his designee, upon securing 
concurrence of the General Counsel, is delegated authority to act upon 
requests for waiver, reduction or deferment of fees, establish payment 
dates, and issue notices proposing amendments or adjustments to the fee 
schedules established under part 1, subpart G, of this chapter.
* * * * *
    3. Section 0.406 is amended by revising paragraph (b)(2) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 0.406  The rules and regulations.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (2) Part 1 of this chapter, practice and procedure. Part 1, subpart 
A, of this chapter contains the general rules of practice and 
procedure. Except as expressly provided to the contrary, these rules 
are applicable in all Commission proceedings and should be of interest 
to all persons having business with the Commission. Part 1, subpart A 
of this chapter also contains certain other miscellaneous provisions. 
Part 1, subpart B, of this chapter contains the procedures applicable 
in formal hearing proceedings (see Sec. 1.201 of this chapter). Part 1, 
subpart C, of this chapter contains the procedures followed in making 
or revising the rule or regulations. Part 1, subpart D, of this chapter 
contains rules applicable to applications for licenses in the Broadcast 
Radio Services, including the forms to be used, the filing 
requirements, the procedures for processing and acting upon such 
applications, and certain other matters. Part 1, subpart E, of this 
chapter contains general rules and procedures applicable to common 
carriers. Additional procedures applicable to certain common carriers 
by radio are set forth in Part 21 of this chapter. Part 1, subpart F, 
of this chapter contains rules applicable to applications for licenses 
in the Private Radio Services, including the forms to be used, the 
filing requirements, the procedures for processing and acting on such 
applications, and certain other matters. Part 1, subpart G, of this 
chapter contains rules pertaining to the application processing fees 
established by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 
1985 (Pub. L. 99-272, 100 Stat. 82 (1986)) and also contains rules 
pertaining to the regulatory fees established by the Omnibus Budget 
Reconciliation Act of 1993 (Pub. L. 103-66, 107 Stat. 397 (1993)). Part 
1, subpart H, of this chapter, concerning ex parte presentations, sets 
forth standards governing communications with commission personnel in 
hearing proceedings and contested application proceedings. Part 1, 
subparts G and H, of this chapter will be of interest to all 
regulatees, and Part 1, subpart H, of this chapter will, in addition, 
be of interest to all persons involved in hearing proceedings.
* * * * *

PART 1--PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE

    4. The authority citation for Part 1 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 154, 303, and 309(j), unless otherwise 
noted.

    5. Section 1.742 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 1.742  Place of filing, fees and number of copies.

    All applications which do not require a fee shall be filed at the 
Commission's main office in Washington, DC., Attention: Office of the 
Secretary. Hand-delivered applications will be dated by the Secretary 
upon receipt (mailed applications will be dated by the Mail Branch) and 
then forwarded to the Common Carrier Bureau. All applications 
accompanied by a fee payment should be filed with the Commission's 
lockbox bank in accordance with Sec. 1.1105, Schedule of Fees. The 
number of copies required for each application and the nonrefundable 
processing fees and any applicable regulatory fees (see subpart G of 
this part) which must accompany each application in order to qualify it 
for acceptance for filing and consideration are set forth in the rules 
in this Chapter relating to various types of applications. However, if 
any application is not of the type covered by this Chapter, an original 
and two copies of each such application shall be submitted.
    5a. Sections 1.1106 through 1.1117 are redesignated as Secs. 1.1107 
through 1.1118, respectively.
    5b. In the list below, for each newly designated section indicated 
in the left column, remove the reference indicated in the middle column 
everywhere it appears, and add the reference indicated in the right 
column:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Section                   Remove                    Add         
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.1107.................  Sec. 1.1105............  Sec. 1.1106.          
1.1107.................  Sec. 1.1111............  Sec. 1.1112.          
1.1113 introductory      Sec. 1.1105............  Sec. 1.1106.          
 text.                                                                  
1.1113(d) and (e)        Sec. 1.1112(c).........  Paragraph (c) of this 
 introductory text.                                section.             
1.1113(e)(3)...........  Sec. 1.1112(e)(2)......  Paragraph (e)(2) of   
                                                   this section.        
1.1114(a)..............  Sec. 1.1105............  Sec. 1.1106.          
1.1115(a)..............  Sec. 1.1107(b).........  Sec. 1.1108(b).       
1.1116(e)..............  Sec. 1.1107............  Sec. 1.1108.          
1.1118(b)..............  Sec. 1.1110............  Sec. 1.1111.          
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    6. Newly designated Sec. 1.1108 is amended by revising paragraphs 
(a) through (d) to read as follows:


Sec. 1.1108  Payment of charges.

    (a) Electronic fee payments do not require the use of a FCC Form 
159, Remittance Advice. An electronic fee payment must be made on or 
before the day the application and appropriate processing form are 
filed.
    (b) The schedule of fees for applications and other filings lists 
those applications and other filings that must be accompanied by a FCC 
Form 159, Remittance Advice. A separate FCC Form 159 will not be 
required once the information requirements of that form (payor 
information) is incorporated into the underlying application form.
    (c) Applications and other filings that are not submitted in 
accordance with these instructions will be returned as unprocessable.

    Note: This requirement for the simultaneous submission of fee 
forms with applications or other filings does not apply to the 
payment of fees for which the Commission has established a billing 
process. See Sec. 1.1118 of this subpart.

    (d) Applications returned to applicants for additional information 
or corrections will not require an additional fee when resubmitted, 
unless the additional information results in an increase of the 
original fee amount. Those applications not requiring an additional fee 
should be resubmitted directly to the Bureau/Office requesting the 
additional information. The original fee will be forfeited if the 
additional information or corrections are not resubmitted to the 
appropriate Bureau/Office by the prescribed deadline. If an additional 
fee is required, the original fee will be returned and the application 
must be resubmitted with a new remittance in the amount of the required 
fee to the Commission's lockbox bank. Applicants should attach a copy 
of the Commission request for additional or corrected information to 
their resubmission.
    (1) If the Bureau/Office staff discovers within 30 days after the 
resubmission that the required fee was not submitted, the application 
will be dismissed.
    (2) If after 30 days the Bureau/Office staff discovers the required 
fee has not been paid, the application will be retained and a 25 
percent late fee will be assessed on the deficient amount even if the 
Commission has completed its action on the application. Any Commission 
actions taken prior to timely payment of these charges are contingent 
and subject to recession.
* * * * *
    7. Newly designated Sec. 1.1109 is amended by revising paragraphs 
(a), (d) and (f) to read as follows:


Sec. 1.1109  Form of payment.

    (a) Fee payments should be in the form of a check, bank draft, on 
money order denominated in U.S. dollars and drawn on a United States 
financial institution and made payable to the Federal Communications 
Commission or by a Visa or MasterCard credit card. No other credit card 
is acceptable. Fees for applications and other filings paid by credit 
card will not be accepted unless the credit card section of FCC Form 
159 is completed in full. The Commission discourages applicants from 
submitting cash and will not be responsible for cash sent through the 
mail. Personal or corporate checks dated more than six months prior to 
their submission to the Commission's lockbox bank and postdated checks 
will not be accepted and will be returned as deficient. Third party 
checks (i.e., checks with a third party as maker or endorser) will not 
be accepted.
    (1) Specific procedures for electronic payment will be announced by 
Public Notice. Applicants must submit a written request to the 
Commission for authorization to make electronic payments of a fee for 
applications and other filings, as follows.
    (2) No electronic payment of an application fee will be accepted 
unless the payor has obtained the written authorization of the 
Commission to submit application fees electronically. It is the 
responsibility of the payor to insure that any electronic payment is 
made in the manner required by the Commission. Failure to comply with 
the Commission's procedures will result in the return of the 
application or other filing and the fee payment.
    (3) Payments by wire transfer will be accepted. Prior to making a 
payment by wire, the payor shall obtain the approval of the Managing 
Director or his designee. A completed FCC Form 159 shall be submitted 
to the Managing Director or his designee prior to initiating the wire 
transfer.
* * * * *
    (d) The Commission may require payment of fees with a cashier's 
check upon notification to an applicant or filer or prospective group 
of applicants under the conditions set forth below in paragraphs (d) 
(1) and (2) of this section.
    (1) Payment by cashier's check may be required when a person or 
organization has made payment, on one or more occasions with a payment 
instrument on which the Commission does not receive final payment and 
such failure is not excused by bank error.
    (2) The Commission will notify the party in writing that future 
payments must be made by cashier's check until further notice. If, 
subsequent to such notice, payment is not made by cashier's check, the 
party's payment will not be accepted and its application or other 
filing will be returned.
* * * * *
    (f) The Commission will furnish a stamped receipt of an application 
only upon request. In order to obtain a stamped receipt for an 
application (or other filing), the application package must include a 
copy of the first page of the application, clearly marked ``copy'', 
submitted expressly for the purpose of serving as a receipt of the 
filing. The copy should be the top document in the package. The copy 
will be date-stamped immediately and provided to the bearer of the 
submission, if hand delivered. For submissions by mail, the receipt 
copy will be provided through return mail if the filer has attached to 
the receipt copy a stamped self-addressed envelope of sufficient size 
to contain the date stamped copy of the application. No remittance 
receipt copies will be furnished.

    8. Newly designated Sec. 1.1110 is amended by revising paragraph 
(a) to read as follows:


Sec. 1.1110  Filing locations.

    (a) Except as noted in this section applications and other filings, 
with attached fees and FCC Form 159, must be submitted to the locations 
and addresses set forth in Secs. 1.1102 through 1.1106.
    (1) Tariff filings shall be filed with the Secretary, Federal 
Communications Commission, Washington, DC 20554. On the same day, the 
filer should submit a copy of the cover letter, the FCC Form 159, and 
the appropriate fee to the Commission's lockbox bank at the address 
established in Sec. 1.1105.
    (2) Bills for collection will be paid at the Commission's lockbox 
bank at the address for the appropriate service as established in 
Secs. 1.1102 through 1.1106, as set forth on the bill sent by the 
Commission. Payments must be accompanied by the bill and a FCC Form 159 
to ensure proper credit.
    (3) Petitions for reconsideration or applications for review of fee 
decisions pursuant to Sec. 1.1117(b) of this subpart must be 
accompanied by the required fee for the application or other filing 
being considered or reviewed.
    (4) Applicants claiming an exemption from a fee requirement for an 
application or other filing under 47 U.S.C. 158(d)(1) or Sec. 1.1113 of 
this subpart shall file their applications in the appropriate location 
as set forth in the rules for the service for which they are applying, 
except that request for waiver accompanied by a tentative fee payment 
should be filed at the Commission's lockbox bank at the address for the 
appropriate service set forth in Secs. 1.1102 through 1.1105.
* * * * *
    9. Newly designated Sec. 1.1116 is amended by revising the section 
heading and paragraph (c) to read as follows:


Sec. 1.1116  Petitions and applications for review.

* * * * *
    (c) Petitions for waivers, deferrals, fee determinations, 
reconsideration and applications for review will be acted upon by the 
Managing Director. Petitions and applications for review submitted with 
a fee must be submitted to the Commission's lockbox bank at the address 
for the appropriate service set forth in Secs. 1.1102 through 1.1105. 
If no fee payment is required, and the matter is within the scope of 
the fee rules in this subpart, the petition or application for review 
should be filed with the Commission's Secretary and clearly marked to 
the attention of the Managing Director. Requests for deferral of a fee 
payment for financial hardship must be accompanied by supporting 
documentation.
* * * * *
    10. Section 1.1151 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 1.1151  Authority to prescribe and collect regulatory fees.

    Authority to impose and collect regulatory fees is contained in 
title VI, section 6002(a) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 
1993 (Pub. L. 103-66, 107 Stat. 397), enacting section 9 of the 
Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. 159, which directs the Commission to 
prescribe and collect annual regulatory fees from designated regulatees 
in order to recover the costs of certain of its regulatory activities 
in the private radio, mass media, common carrier, and cable television 
services.
    11. Section 1.1152 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 1.1152  Schedule of annual regulatory fees and filing locations 
for private radio service.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Fee                                  
           Services              amount               Address           
------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Exclusive use services (per                                           
           license)                                                     
1. Land Mobile (Above 470 MHZ,    $16.00  FCC, Land Mobile, P.O. Box    
 Base Station and SMRS) (47                ____\1\ Pittsburgh, PA 15251-
 CFR Part 90).                             5---                         
2. Microwave (47 CFR Part 94).     16.00  FCC, Microwave, P.O. Box      
                                           ____\1\ Pittsburgh, PA 15251-
                                           5---                         
3. Interactive Video Data          16.00  FCC, IVDS, P.O. Box ____\1\   
 Service.                                  Pittsburgh, PA 15251-5---    
Shared Use Services...........      7.00  FCC, Shared Use Services, P.O.
                                           Box ____\1\ Pittsburgh, PA   
                                           15251-5---                   
Amateur Vanity Call Signs.....      7.00  FCC, Amateur Vanity Call      
                                           Signs, P.O. Box ____\1\      
                                           Pittsburgh, PA 15251-5---    
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Note 1: Refer to Private Radio Service Fee Filing Guide for 
appropriate Post Office Box. Fee Filing Guides may be obtained by 
writing to the Federal Communications Commission, Public Service 
Division, room 254, Washington, DC 20554.

    12. Section 1.1153 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 1.1153  Schedule of annual regulatory fees and filing locations 
for mass media services.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Fee                                  
           Services              amount               Address           
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AM Radio (47 CFR Part 73):                                              
  1. Class D Daytime..........   $250.00  FCC, AM Branch, P.O. Box      
                                           358835, Pittsburgh, PA 15251-
                                           5835.                        
  2. Class A Fulltime.........    900.00  ..............................
  3. Class B Fulltime.........    500.00  ..............................
  4. Class C Fulltime.........    200.00  ..............................
  5. Construction Permits.....    100.00  ..............................
FM Radio (47 CFR Part 73):                                              
  1. Classes C, C1, C2, B.....    900.00  FCC, FM Branch, P.O. Box      
                                           358835, Pittsburgh, PA 15252-
                                           5835.                        
  2. Classes A, B1, C3........    600.00  ..............................
  3. Construction Permits.....    500.00  ..............................
TV (47 CFR Part 73) VHF                                                 
 Commercial:                                                            
  1. Markets 1 thru 10........    18,000  FCC, TV Branch, P.O. Box      
                                           358835, Pittsburgh, PA 15251-
                                           5835.                        
  2. Markets 11 thru 25.......    16,000  ..............................
  3. Markets 26 thru 50.......    12,000  ..............................
  4. Markets 51 thru 100......     8,000  ..............................
  5. Remaining Markets........     5,000  ..............................
  6. Construction Permits.....     4,000  ..............................
UHF Commercial:                                                         
  1. Markets 1 thru 10........    14,400  FCC, UHF Commercial, P.O. Box 
                                           358835, Pittsburgh, PA 15251-
                                           5835.                        
  2. Markets 11 thru 25.......    12,800  ..............................
  3. Markets 26 thru 50.......     9,600  ..............................
  4. Markets 51 thru 100......     6,400  ..............................
  5. Remaining Markets........     4,000  ..............................
  6. Construction Permits.....     3,200  ..............................
Low Power TV, TV Translator,         135  FCC, Low Power, P.O. Box      
 and TV Booster (47 CFR Part               358835, Pittsburgh, PA 15251-
 74).                                      5835.                        
Broadcast Auxiliary...........        25  FCC, Auxiliary, P.O. Box      
                                           358835, Pittsburgh, PA 15251-
                                           5835.                        
International (HF) Broadcast..       200  FCC, International, P.O. Box  
                                           358835, Pittsburgh, PA 15251-
                                           5835.                        
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    13. Sec. 1.1154 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 1.1154  Schedule of annual regulatory charges and filing locations 
for common carrier services.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Fee                                  
           Services              amount               Address           
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Radio Facilities:                                                       
  1. Cellular Radio (per 1,000       $60  FCC, Cellular, P.O. Box       
   subscribers).                           358835, Pittsburgh, PA 15251-
                                           5835.                        
  2. Personal Communications..        60  ..............................
  3. Space Station (geo orbit)    65,000  ..............................
  4. Space Station (low earth)    90,000                                
  5. Public Mobile (per 1,000         60  ..............................
   subscribers).                                                        
  6. Domestic Public Fixed....        55  ..............................
  7. International Public            110                                
   Fixed.                                                               
Earth Stations:                                                         
  1. VSAT and Equivalent C-            6  FCC, Earth Station, P.O. Box  
   Band antennas (per 100                  358835, Pittsburgh, PA 15251-
   antennas).                              5835.                        
  2. Mobile Satellite Earth            6                                
   Stations (per 100 antennas).                                         
  3. Less than 9 meters (per           6                                
   100 antennas).                                                       
  4. 9 Meters or More Transmit/       85  ..............................
   Receive and Transmit Only                                            
   (per meter).                                                         
  Receive Only (per meter)....        55  ..............................
Carriers:                                                               
  1. Inter-Exchange Carrier           60  FCC, Carriers, P.O. Box       
   (per 1,000 presubscribed                358835, Pittsburgh, PA 15251-
   lines).                                 5835.                        
  2. Local Exchange Carrier           60  ..............................
   (per 1,000 access lines).                                            
  3. Competitive Access               60  ..............................
   Provider (per 1,000                                                  
   subscribers).                                                        
  4. International Circuits          220  ..............................
   (per 100 active 64 KB                                                
   circuit or equivalent).                                              
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    14. Sec. 1.1155 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 1.1155  Schedule of regulatory fees and filing locations for cable 
television services

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Fee                                  
           Services              amount               Address           
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cable Antenna Relay Service      $220  FCC, Cable, P.O. Box 358835,  
                                           Pittsburgh, PA 15251-5835.   
2. Cable TV System (per 1,000        370                                
 subscribers).                                                          
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    15. Section 1.1156 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 1.1156  Payment of charges for regulatory fees.

    Payment of a regulatory fee, required under Secs. 1.1152 through 
1.1155, shall be filed in the following manner:
    (a) Payments of regulatory fees shall be submitted with the filing 
of any application for a new, renewal or reinstatement of a license or 
other authorization in the private radio services.
    (1) Any regulatory fee submitted with an application in the private 
radio services shall include an advance payment of the total annual 
regulatory fee payment due for the entire term of the license or other 
authorization. The amount of the regulatory fee payment due with any 
application in the private radio service shall be the multiple of the 
number of years in the entire term of the requested license or other 
authorization multiplied by the annual fee payment required in the 
Schedule of Regulatory Fees, effective at the time the application is 
filed. Except as set forth in Sec. 1.1159, advance payments shall be 
final and shall not be readjusted during the term of the license or 
authorization, notwithstanding any subsequent increase or decrease in 
the annual amount of a fee required under the Schedule of Regulatory 
Fees.
    (2) Failure to file the appropriate regulatory fee with an 
application in the private radio service will result in the return of 
the accompanying application, including an application for which the 
Commission has assigned a specific filing deadline.
    (b)(1) Payments of standard regulatory fees, applicable to mass 
media, common carrier and cable services, shall be filed in full on an 
annual basis at a time announced by the Commission or the Managing 
Director, pursuant to delegated authority, and published in the Federal 
Register.
    (2) Large regulatory fees, as annually defined by the Commission, 
may be submitted in installment payments.
    (i) For Fiscal Year 1994, large regulatory fees may be submitted in 
two (2) equal installment payments at times announced by the Commission 
or the Managing Director, pursuant to delegated authority, and 
published in the Federal Register.
    (ii) For Fiscal Year 1994, installment payments may be submitted 
for:
    (A) VHF and UHF Commercial Television Stations with a fee 
requirement above $12,000;
    (B) Cable Television Systems whose community units' fee payments 
total more than $18,500;
    (C) Inter-Exchange Carriers with a fee requirement above $500,000;
    (D) Local Exchange Carriers or Holding Companies with a fee 
requirement above $700,000; and
    (E) Space Stations with a fee of $65,000 or above.
    (iii) Beginning in Fiscal Year 1995, payors of a large standard 
regulatory fee, as annually defined by the Commission, may submit their 
fee payments in four (4) equal installments at times to be announced by 
the Commission or by the Managing Director, pursuant to delegated 
authority, and published in the Federal Register.
    (c) Standard regulatory fee payments, as well as any installment 
payment, must be filed with a FCC Form 159, FCC Remittance Advice, and 
a FCC Form 159C, Remittance Advice Continuation Sheet, if additional 
space is needed. Failure to submit a copy of FCC Form 159 with a 
standard regulatory fee payment, or an installment payment, will result 
the return of the submission and a 25 percent penalty if the payment is 
resubmitted after the date the Commission establishes for the payment 
of standard regulatory fees and for any installment payment.
    (1) Any late filed regulatory fee payment will be subject to the 
penalties set forth in Sec. 1.1163.
    (2) If one or more installment payments are untimely submitted or 
not submitted at all, the eligibility of the subject regulatee to 
submit installment payments may be cancelled and the regulatee required 
to pay its fee in a single annual payment.

    16. Section 1.1157 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 1.1157  Form of payment for regulatory fees.

    Any regulatory fee payment must be submitted in the form of a 
check, bank draft or money order denominated in U.S. dollars and drawn 
on a United States financial institution and made payable to the 
Federal Communications Commission or by Visa or Mastercard credit cards 
only. The Commission discourages applicants from submitting cash 
payments and will not be responsible for cash sent through the mail. 
Personal or corporate checks dated more than six months prior to their 
submission to the Commission's lockbox bank and postdated checks will 
not be accepted and will be returned as deficient.
    (a) Upon authorization from the Commission following a written 
request, electronic payment of a regulatory fee may be made as follows:
    (1)(i) The payor may instruct its bank to make payment of the 
regulatory fee directly to the Commission's lockbox bank; or
    (ii) The payor may authorize the Commission to direct its lockbox 
bank to withdraw funds directly from the payor's bank account.
    (2) No electronic payment of a regulatory fee will be accepted 
unless the payor has obtained the written authorization of the 
Commission to submit regulatory fees electronically. Procedures for 
electronic payment of regulatory fees will be announced by Public 
Notice. It is the responsibility of the payor to insure that any 
electronic payment is made in the manner required by the Commission. 
Failure to comply with the Commission's procedures for electronic fee 
payment will result in the return of the fee payment, and a penalty fee 
of 25 percent if the subsequent refiling of the fee payment is late. 
Failure to comply will also subject the payor to the penalties set 
forth in section 1.1163.
    (b) Multiple payment instruments for a single regulatory fee are 
not permitted, except that the Commission will accept multiple money 
orders in payment of any fee where the fee exceeds the maximum amount 
for a money order established by the issuing entity and the use of 
multiple money orders is the only practicable means available for 
payment.
    (c) Payment of multiple standard regulatory fees (including an 
installment payment) due on the same date, may be made with a single 
payment instrument and cover mass media, common carrier and cable 
service fee payments. Each regulatee is solely responsible for 
accurately accounting for and listing each license or authorization and 
the number of subscribers, access lines, or other relevant units on the 
accompanying FCC Form 159 and, if needed, FCC Form 159C and for making 
full payment for every regulatory fee listed on the accompanying form. 
Any omission or payment deficiency of a regulatory fee will result in a 
25 percent penalty of the amount due and unpaid.
    (d) Any regulatory fee payment (including a regulatory fee payment 
submitted with an application in the private radio service) made by 
credit card or money order must be submitted with a completed FCC Form 
159. Failure to accurately enter the credit card number and date of 
expiration and the payor's signature in blocks number 22 and 23 of FCC 
Form 159 will result in rejection of the credit card payment.

    17. Section 1.1158 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 1.1158  Filing locations and receipts for regulatory fees.

    (a) Regulatory fee payments must be directed to the location and 
address set forth in sections 1.1152 through 1.1155 for the specific 
category of fee involved. Any regulatory fee required to be submitted 
with an application must be filed as a part of the application package 
accompanying the application. The Commission will not take 
responsibility for matching fees, forms and applications submitted at 
different times or locations.
    (b) Petitions for reconsideration or applications for review of fee 
decisions submitted with a standard regulatory fee payment pursuant to 
Secs. 1.1153 through 1.1155 are to be filed with the Commission's 
lockbox bank in the manner set forth in Secs. 1.1153 through 1.1155 for 
payment of the fee subject to the petition for reconsideration or the 
application for review. Petitions for reconsideration and applications 
for review that are submitted with no accompanying payment should be 
filed with the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, Attention: 
Managing Director, Washington, DC 20554.
    (c) Any request for exemption from a regulatory fee shall be filed 
with the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, Attention: 
Managing Director, Washington, DC 20554, except that requests for 
exemption accompanied by a tentative fee payment shall be filed at the 
lockbox set forth for the appropriate service in Secs. 1.1152 through 
1.1155.
    (d) The Commission will furnish a receipt for a regulatory fee 
payment only upon request. In order to obtain a receipt for a 
regulatory fee payment, the package must include an extra copy of the 
Form FCC 159 or, if a Form 159 is not required with the payment, a copy 
of the first page of the application or other filing submitted with the 
regulatory fee payment, submitted expressly for the purpose of serving 
as a receipt for the regulatory fee payment and application fee 
payment, if required. The document should be clearly marked ``copy'' 
and should be the top document in the package. The copy will be date 
stamped immediately and provided to the bearer of the submission, if 
hand delivered. For submissions by mail, the receipt copy will be 
provided through return mail if the filer has attached to the receipt 
copy a stamped self-addressed envelope of sufficient size to contain 
the receipt document.

    18. Section 1.1159 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 1.1159  Refunds of regulatory fees.

    (a) Regulatory fees will be refunded, upon request, only in the 
following instances:
    (1) When no regulatory fee is required or an excessive fee has been 
paid. In the case of an overpayment, the refund amount will be based on 
the applicants', permittees', or licensees' entire submission. All 
refunds will be issued to the payor named in Block Number 3 of the FCC 
Form 159.
    (2) In the case of advance payment of regulatory fees, subject to 
Sec. 1.1152, a refund will be issued based on unexpired full years:
    (i) When the Commission adopts new rules that nullify a license or 
other authorization, or a new law or treaty renders a license or other 
authorization useless;
    (ii) When a licensee in the private radio service surrenders the 
license or other authorization subject to a fee payment to the 
Commission; or
    (iii) When the Commission declines to grant an application 
submitted with a regulatory fee payment.
    (3) When a waiver is granted in accordance with Sec. 1.1165 of this 
subpart.
    (b) No pro-rata refund of an annual fee will be issued.
    (c) No refunds will be issued based on unexpired partial years.
    (d) No refunds will be processed without a written request from the 
applicant, permittee, licensee or agent.

    19. Section 1.1160 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 1.1160  Conditional license grants and delegated authorizations.

    (a) Grant of any application or an instrument of authorization or 
other filing, for which a regulatory fee is required to accompany the 
application or filing, will be conditioned upon final payment of the 
regulatory fee. Final payment shall mean receipt by the U.S. Treasury 
of funds cleared by the financial institution on which the check, bank 
draft, money order, credit card, wire or electronic payment is drawn.
    (1) If, prior to a grant of an instrument of authorization, the 
Commission is notified that final payment of the regulatory fee has not 
been made, the application or filing:
    (i) Will be dismissed and returned;
    (ii) Shall lose its place in the processing line; and
    (iii) Will not be treated as timely filed if resubmitted after the 
relevant filing deadline.
    (2) If, subsequent to a grant of an instrument of authorization or 
other filing, the Commission is notified that final payment has not 
been made, the Commission will:
    (i) Automatically rescind that instrument of authorization;
    (ii) Notify the grantee of this action; and
    (iii) Treat as late filed any application resubmitted after the 
original deadline for filing the application.
    (3) Upon receipt of a notification of rescission of the 
authorization, the grantee will immediately cease operations initiated 
pursuant to the authorization.
    (b) In those instances where the Commission has granted a request 
for deferred payment of a regulatory fee, further processing of the 
application or filing or the grant of authority shall be conditioned 
upon final payment of the regulatory fee and any required penalties for 
late payment prescribed by the deferral decision. Failure to comply 
with the terms of the deferral decision shall result in the automatic 
dismissal of the submission or rescission of the Commission 
authorization. Further, the Commission shall:
    (1) Notify the grantee that the authorization has been rescinded. 
Upon such notification, the grantee will immediately cease operations 
initiated pursuant to the authorization; and
    (2) Treat as late filed any application resubmitted after the 
original deadline for filing the application.
    (c) Where the procedures described in paragraphs (a) and (b) of 
this section would not provide a meaningful incentive to pay a 
regulatory fee that is due or would not be a meaningful sanction for 
failure to pay such a fee, the Commission may, in its discretion, 
whether the regulatory fee is required to be paid with an application 
for an instrument of authorization or otherwise, withhold processing 
and/or grant of any application or filing made by a person or 
organization who has failed to make full payment of any regulatory fee 
due.
    (1) Before taking such action, the staff will make a written 
request for the fee, together with any penalties that may be rendered 
under this subpart. Such request shall inform the regulatee that 
failure to pay may result in the Commission withholding action on any 
application or request filed by the applicant. The staff shall also 
inform the regulatee of the procedures for seeking Commission review of 
the staff's fee determination.
    (2) If, after final determination that the fee is due, payment is 
not made in a timely manner, the staff may terminate processing and/or 
withhold any grant or petition requested by the person or organization 
subject to the fee payment requirement, until the matter is resolved.
    20. Section 1.1161 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 1.1161  General exemptions from regulatory fees.

    No regulatory fee established in Secs. 1.1152 through 1.1155 of 
this subpart, unless otherwise qualified in this section shall be 
required for:
    (a) Applicants, permittees or licensees in the Amateur Radio 
Service, except that any person requesting a vanity call-sign, 
following July 18, 1994 shall be subject to the payment of a regulatory 
fee, as prescribed in Sec. 1.1152 of this Subpart.
    (b) Applicants, permittees, or licensees who qualify as government 
entities. For purposes of this exemption, a government entity is 
defined as any state, possession, city, county, town, village, 
municipal corporation, or similar political organization or subpart 
thereof controlled by publicly elected or duly appointed public 
officials exercising sovereign direction and control over their 
respective communities or programs.
    (c) Applicants, permittees or licensees who qualify as nonprofit 
entities. For purposes of this exemption, a nonprofit entity is defined 
as an organization possessing nonprofit, tax exempt status under 
section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. 501.
    (d) Applicants, permittees or licensees in the Special Emergency 
Radio and Public Safety Radio services.
    (e) Applicants, permittees or licensees of noncommercial 
educational broadcast stations in the FM or TV services, as well as AM 
applicants permittees or licensees operating in accordance with 
Sec. 73.503 of this chapter.
    (f) Applicants, permittees or licensees qualifying under 
Sec. 1.1161(e) requesting Commission authorization in any other mass 
media radio service (except the international broadcast (HF) service), 
private radio service, or common carrier communications service 
requiring payment of a regulatory fee, if the service is used in 
conjunction with their noncommercial educational broadcast station on a 
noncommercial educational basis.
    (g) Other applicants, permittees or licensees providing, or 
proposing to provide, a noncommercial educational or instructional 
service, but not qualifying under Sec. 1.1161(e), may be exempt from 
regulatory fees, or be entitled to a refund, in the following 
circumstances:
    (1) The applicant, permittee or licensee is an organization that, 
like the Public Broadcasting Service or National Public Radio, receives 
funding directly or indirectly through the Public Broadcasting Fund, 47 
U.S.C. 396(k), distributed by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 
where the authorization requested will be used in conjunction with the 
organization on a noncommercial educational basis;
    (2) An applicant, permittee or licensee of a translator or low 
power television station operating proposing a noncommercial 
educational service who, after grant, provides proof that it has 
received funding for the construction of the station through the 
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) or 
other showings as required by the Commission; or
    (3) An applicant, permittee, or licensee provided a fee refund 
under Sec. 1.1159 and operating as a noncommercial education station, 
is exempt from fees for broadcast auxiliary stations (Part 74, Subparts 
D, E, and F, of this chapter) or stations in the private radio or 
common carrier services where such authorization is to be used in 
conjunction with the noncommercial educational translator or low power 
station.
    (h) An applicant, permittee or licensee that is the licensee of an 
instructional television fixed station is exempt from regulatory fees 
where the authorization requested will be used by the applicant in 
conjunction with the provision of the instructional service.
    (i) Applications filed in the private radio service for the sole 
purpose of modifying an existing authorization (or a pending 
application for authorization). However, if the applicant also requests 
a renewal or reinstatement of its license or other authorization for 
which the submission of a regulatory fee is required, the appropriate 
regulatory fee for such additional request must accompany the 
application.
    21. Section 1.1162 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 1.1162  Adjustments to regulatory fees.

    (a) For Fiscal Year 1994, the amounts assessed for regulatory fees 
are set forth in Secs. 1.1152 through 1.1155.
    (b) For Fiscal Year 1995 and thereafter, the Schedule of Regulatory 
Fees, contained in Secs. 1.1152 through 1.1155, may be adjusted 
annually by the Commission pursuant to section 9 of the Communications 
Act. 47 U.S.C. 159. Adjustments to the fees established for any 
category of regulatory fee payment shall include of projected cost 
increases or decreases of the in volume of licensees or units upon 
which the regulatory fee is calculated.
    (c) The fees assessed shall:
    (1) Be derived by determining the full-time equivalent number of 
employees performing enforcement activities, policy and rulemaking 
activities, user information services, and international activities 
within the Private Radio Bureau, Mass Media Bureau, Common Carrier 
bureau, Cable Services Bureau and other offices of the Commission, 
adjusted to take into account factors that are reasonably related to 
the benefits provided to the payor of the fee by the Commission's 
activities, including such factors as service coverage area, shared use 
versus exclusive use, and other factors that the Commission determines 
are necessary in the public interest;
    (2) Be established at amounts that will result in collection, 
during each fiscal year, of an amount that can reasonably be expected 
to equal the amount appropriated for such fiscal year for the 
performance of the activities described in paragraph (c)(1) of this 
section.
    (d) The Commission shall by rule amend the Schedule of Regulatory 
Fees by proportionate increases or decreases that reflect, in 
accordance with paragraph (c)(2) of this section changes in the amount 
appropriated for the performance of the activities described in 
paragraph (c)(1) of this section for such fiscal year. Such 
proportionate increases or decreases shall be adjusted to reflect 
unexpected increases or decreases in the number of licensees or units 
subject to payment of such fees and result in collection of an 
aggregate amount of fees that will approximately equal the amount 
appropriated for the subject regulatory activities.
    (e) The Commission shall, by rule, amend the Schedule of Regulatory 
Fees if the Commission determines that the Schedule requires amendment 
to comply with the requirements of paragraph (c)(1) of this section. In 
making such amendments, the Commission shall add, delete or reclassify 
services in the Schedule to reflect additional deletions or changes in 
the nature of its services as a consequence of Commission rulemaking 
proceedings or changes in law.
    (f) In making adjustments to regulatory fees, the Commission will 
round such fees to the nearest $5.00 in the case of fees under 
$1,000.00, or to the nearest $25.00 in the case of fees of $1,000.00 or 
more.
    22. Section 1.1163 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 1.1163  Penalties for late or insufficient regulatory fee 
payments.

    Any late payment or insufficient payment of a regulatory fee, not 
excused by bank error, shall subject the regulatee to a 25 percent 
penalty of the amount of the fee or installment payment which was not 
paid in a timely manner. A timely fee payment or installment payment is 
one received at the Commission's lockbox bank by the due date specified 
by the Commission or by the Managing Director. A payment will also be 
considered late filed if the payment instrument (check, money order, 
bank draft or credit card) is uncollectible.
    (a) The Commission may, in its discretion, following one or more 
late filed installment payments, require a regulatee to pay the entire 
balance of its regulatory fee by a date certain, in addition to 
assessing a 25 percent penalty.
    (b) In cases where a fee payment fails due to error by the payor's 
bank, as evidenced by an affidavit of an officer of the bank, the date 
of the original submission will be considered the date of filing.
    (c) If a regulatory fee is not paid in a timely manner, the 
regulatee will be notified of its deficiency. This notice will 
automatically assess a 25 percent penalty, subject the delinquent 
payor's pending applications to dismissal, and may require a delinquent 
payor to show cause why its existing instruments of authorization 
should not be subject to rescission.
    (d)(1) Where a regulatee's new, renewal or reinstatement 
application is required to be filed with a regulatory fee (as is the 
case with private radio services), the application will be dismissed if 
the regulatory fee is not included with the application package. In the 
case of a renewal or reinstatement application, the application may not 
be refiled unless the appropriate regulatory fee plus the 25 percent 
penalty charge accompanies the refiled application.
    (2) If the application that must be accompanied by a regulatory fee 
is a mutually exclusive application with a filing deadline, or any 
other application that must be filed by a date certain, the application 
will be dismissed if not accompanied by the proper regulatory fee and 
will be treated as late filed if resubmitted after the original date 
for filing the application.
    (e) Any pending or subsequently filed application submitted by a 
party will be dismissed if that party is determined to be delinquent in 
paying a standard regulatory fee or an installment payment. The 
application may be resubmitted only if accompanied by the required 
regulatory fee and by any assessed penalty payment.
    (f) In instances where the Commission may revoke an existing 
instrument of authorization for failure to file a regulatory fee, the 
Commission will provide prior notice to the regulatee of such action 
and shall allow the licensee no less than 60 days to either pay the fee 
or show cause why the payment assessed is inapplicable or should 
otherwise be waived or deferred.
    (1) An adjudicatory hearing will not be designated unless the 
response by the regulatee to the Order to Show Cause presents a 
substantial and material question of fact.
    (2) Disposition of the proceeding shall be based upon written 
evidence only and the burden of proceeding with the introduction of 
evidence and the burden of proof shall be on the respondent regulatee.
    (3) Unless the regulatee substantially prevails in the hearing, the 
Commission may assess costs for the conduct of the proceeding against 
the respondent regulatee. See 47 U.S.C. 402(b)(5).
    (4) Any regulatee failing to submit a regulatory fee, following 
notice to the regulatee of failure to submit the required fee, is 
subject to collection of the fee, including interest thereon, any 
associated penalties, and the full cost of collection to the Federal 
government pursuant to section 3720A of the Internal Revenue Code, 31 
U.S.C. 3720A and to the provisions of the Debt Collection Act, 31 
U.S.C. 3711. See 47 CFR 1.1901-1.1952. The debt collection processes 
described may proceed concurrently with any other sanction in this 
section.
    23. Section 1.1164 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 1.1164  Payment by cashier's check for regulatory fees.

    Payment by cashier's check may be required when a person or 
organization makes payment, on one or more occasions, with a payment 
instrument on which the Commission does not receive final payment and 
such error is not excused by bank error.
    24. Section 1.1165 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 1.1165  Waivers, reductions and deferrals of regulatory fees.

    The fees established by Secs. 1.1152 through 1.1155 of this subpart 
may be waived, reduced or deferred in specific instances, on a case-by-
case basis, where good cause is shown and where waiver, reduction or 
deferral of the fee would promote the public interest. Requests for 
waivers, reductions or deferrals of regulatory fees for entire 
categories of payors will not be considered.
    (a) Requests for waivers, reductions or deferrals will be acted 
upon by the Managing Director with the concurrence of the General 
Counsel. If the request for waiver, reduction or deferral is 
accompanied by a fee payment, the request must be submitted to the 
Commission's lockbox bank at the address for the appropriate service 
set forth in Sec. 1.1152 through 1.1155 of this subpart. If no fee 
payment is submitted and the matter is within the scope of the fee 
rules in this subpart the request should be filed with the Commission's 
Secretary and clearly marked to the attention of the Managing Director.
    (b) Deferrals of fees will be granted for a period of six months 
following the date that the fee is initially due.
    (c) Petitions for waiver of a regulatory fee must be accompanied by 
the required fee and FCC Form 159. Submitted fees will be returned if a 
waiver is granted. Waiver requests that do not include the required 
fees or forms will be dismissed unless accompanied by a petition to 
defer payment due to financial hardship, supported by documentation of 
the financial hardship.
    (d) Petitions for reduction of a fee must be accompanied by the 
full fee payment less the amount of the requested reduction and FCC 
Form 159. Petitions for reduction accompanied by a fee payment must be 
addressed to the Federal Communications Commission, Post Office Box 
358835, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15251-5835.
    25. Section 1.1166 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 1.1166  Error claims related to regulatory fees.

    (a) Challenges to determinations of an insufficient regulatory fee 
payment should be made in writing. Challenges submitted with a fee 
payment must be submitted to the same location as the original fee 
payment, marked ``Attention: Fee Supervisor''. Challenges not 
accompanied by a fee payment should be filed with the Commission's 
Secretary and clearly marked to the attention of the Managing Director.
    (b) The filing of a petition for reconsideration or an application 
for review of a fee determination will not toll the requirement that 
full and proper payment of the underlying fee payment be submitted, as 
required by the Commission's action, or delegated action, on a request 
for waiver, reduction or deferment. Petitions for reconsideration and 
applications for review submitted with a fee payment must be submitted 
to the same location as the original fee payment. Petitions for 
reconsideration and applications for review not accompanied by a fee 
payment should be filed with the Commission's Secretary and clearly 
marked to the attention of the Managing Director.
    (1) Failure to submit the fee by the date required will result in 
the assessment of a 25 percent penalty.
    (2) If the fee payment should fail while the Commission is 
considering the matter, the petition for reconsideration or application 
for review will be dismissed.

    Note: These appendices will not appear in the Code of Federal 
Regulations

Appendix A

Guidelines for Regulatory Fee Categories

    1. The guidelines below provide an explanation of regulatory fee 
categories established by the Schedule of Regulatory Fees in section 
9(g) of the Communications Act. 47 U.S.C. 159(g). Where regulatory 
fee categories need interpretation or clarification, we have relied 
on the legislative history of Section 9, our own experience in 
establishing and regulating the various services subject to a fee 
requirement and the comments of the parties in our proceeding to 
adopt fees for Fiscal Year 1994 and establish rules to implement the 
regulatory fee program. The categories and amounts set out in the 
schedule might, by the next fiscal year and in subsequent fiscal 
years, be amended, adjusted, or modified to reflect changes in the 
Commission's appropriations, our costs of providing the regulatory 
services to be recovered by the fee program, and additions, 
reductions and changes in the services subject to the fee 
requirement. See 47 U.S.C. 159(b) (2), (3).

1. Private Radio Bureau

    2. The two levels of statutory fees for Private Radio services, 
exclusive use service and shared use services, were established on 
the basis that those licensees who generally receive a higher 
quality communications channel, due to exclusive or lightly shared 
frequency assignments, will pay a higher fee than those who share 
marginal quality channels. House Report at 17. In addition, because 
of the relatively small annual fee amounts in the Private Radio 
Services, applicants for new licenses and reinstatements and for 
renewal of their current licenses will be required to pay a 
regulatory fee covering an entire license term, with only a 
percentage of all licensees paying a regulatory fee in any one year.
    3. Applications for modification or assignment of an existing 
authorization do not require payment of a regulatory fee. The 
expiration date of these authorizations will not reflect a new 
license term when either modifications or assignments are processed. 
In an effort to reduce public confusion, the Commission has provided 
separate post office box addresses for these actions.

a. Exclusive Use Services

    4. Land Mobile. Regulatees covered under this category include 
those authorized under Part 90 of the Commission's Rules to provide 
limited access private radio service that allows high quality voice 
or digital communications between vehicles or to fixed stations to 
further the business activities of the licensee. These services, 
using the 220-222 MHz band and frequencies at 470 MHz and above, may 
be offered on a private carrier basis in the Specialized Mobile 
Radio Services (SMRS). These land mobile licensees are subject to a 
regulatory fee of $16 per license per year. They will pay either a 
$80 or $160 regulatory fee (depending whether their license term is 
5 or 10 years).\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\Some of these services may be reclassified when the 
Commission implements the recent amendments to section 332 governing 
the provision of mobile radio services. See n. 11.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    5. Microwave. Private microwave systems, authorized under part 
94 of the Commission's Rules, provide telecommunications services 
between fixed points and are often used to relay data and to control 
railroad, pipeline and utility equipment. Microwave licensees are 
required to pay the total regulatory fee for the entire term of 
their license when filing their initial or renewal application. The 
annual fee is $16 for a total of $80 to be filed with the 
application.
    6. Interactive Video Data Service (IVDS). IVDS is a two-way 
point-to-multi-point radio service which provides information about 
products and services, and allows subscribers to respond through 
their television sets. IVDS is offered on a private carrier basis 
and is authorized under Part 95, Subpart F of the Commission's 
Rules. IVDS licensees will be assessed a regulatory fee of $80 per 
license to cover each five year license term ($16 per year).

b. Shared Use Services and Other Authorizations

    7. The specific categories of shared-use services listed below 
are not on the statutory schedule but were listed in the House 
Report. As discussed above, we propose that emergency and public 
safety services would be exempted from regulatory fees.
    8. Aviation (Aircraft and Ground Stations). The aircraft radio 
service provides communications between aircraft or from aircraft to 
ground stations and includes frequencies used to communicate with 
air traffic control facilities. See generally 47 CFR Part 87. 
Aviation aircraft transceiver stations are subject to a regulatory 
fee of $7 per year per station (the total fee of $70 per station for 
ten year license term is to be paid at the time a renewal or new 
application is filed). Aviation ground stations provide 
communications to aircraft for weather or landing information, or 
for logistical support to aircraft operations. These stations are 
subject to a regulatory fee of $7 per year per license (the total 
fee of $35 per license for five year license term is to be paid at 
the time a renewal or new application is filed).
    9. Marine (Coast and Ship Stations). Marine coast stations are 
land-based stations in the maritime services, authorized under Part 
80 of our rules, which provide communications services to ships and 
other watercraft in coastal and inland waterways. Coast stations are 
subject to a $35 regulatory fee for each license, covering the five 
year license term ($7 per year). Marine ship stations, also 
authorized under Part 80, provide telecommunications between 
watercraft or between watercraft and shore-based stations. Shipboard 
radio installations are required by domestic and international law 
for large passenger or cargo vessels. Radio equipment may be 
voluntarily installed on smaller vessels, such as recreational 
boats. Ship stations are assessed a $70 regulatory fee per station, 
covering the ten year license term ($7 per year) and is to be paid 
at the same time a license renewal application or new application is 
filed.
    10. General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS). GMRS, authorized under 
Part 95 of the Rules, is a land mobile radio service that provides 
personal and limited business communications between vehicles or to 
fixed stations for short-range, two-way communications. Each GMRS 
license is subject to a $35 regulatory fee, which covers the five 
year license term ($7 per year) and is to be paid at the same time a 
license renewal application or new application is filed.
    11. Other Land Mobile. Licensees in the land mobile services not 
covered in the exclusive use category provide one or two way 
communications between vehicles, persons or to fixed stations on a 
shared basis. These services, authorized under Part 90 of the Rules, 
include radiolocation services, private carrier paging, industrial 
radio services and land transportation radio services. Regulatory 
fees will be assessed on a per license basis with the $35 fee 
covering the five year license term ($7 per year) and is to be paid 
at the same time a license renewal application or new application is 
filed.

c. Amateur Vanity Call-Signs

    12. If Part 97 of the Rules is amended by the Commission to 
authorize the use of vanity call-signs, amateur radio operators 
would be able to request a specific call-sign. See Notice of 
Proposed Rule Making in PR Docket No. 93-305, 9 FCC Rcd 105 (1993). 
Each amateur licensee with a vanity call-sign will be assessed a 
regulatory fee of $7 per year. The total fee of $70 will cover the 
ten year license term during which the call sign will be in use. The 
first 10-year fee must be paid at the time a request for a vanity 
call-sign(s) is made. If a requested vanity call-sign is not 
available or otherwise cannot be issued to the requestor, the 
regulatory fee will be refunded since amateurs are expressly exempt 
under the statute from regulatory fees, unless they have received 
their vanity call-sign.

2. Mass Media Bureau

    13. The regulatory fees for Mass Media services generally apply 
to broadcast licensees and permittees and to other regulatees.\2\ We 
have exempted noncommercial educational broadcasters from regulatory 
fees.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\We note that some Mass Media services, such as the direct 
broadcast satellite service (``DBS''), the Instructional Television 
Fixed Service (``ITFS''), and FM translators and boosters were not 
specifically listed in the statutory schedule. We believe that ITFS 
was excluded because of its general educational noncommercial 
status. We also believe that the omission of DBS and FM translators 
and boosters was inadvertent and that Congress did not intend to 
exempt all DBS permittees and licensees and licensees of FM 
translators and boosters from regulatory fees as these services 
result in the Commission incurring costs for necessary regulatory 
functions. Since these services are not on the statutory schedule, 
we have not assessed fees for these services during the 1994 fiscal 
year. However, pursuant to our authority in section 9(b)(3) to 
modify the schedule, we intend to add regulatory fee categories for 
DBS licenses and for FM translators and boosters to be assessed and 
collected during the 1995 fiscal year.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

a. AM Radio Stations

    14. Class A. Class A AM radio stations are unlimited time 
stations operating on a clear channel and designed to render primary 
and secondary service over an extended service area and at 
relatively long distances from their transmitters. Class A stations' 
primary service areas are protected from objectionable interference 
from other stations on the same and adjacent channels, with 
secondary service areas protected from interference from other 
stations on the same channel. The operating power shall not be less 
than 10 kW nor more than 50 kW. For FY 1994, each licensee of a 
Class A AM station will be assessed a $900 annual regulatory fee.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\Regulatees are to pay the fee to which their facility is 
subject on the date the fee is due.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    15. Class B. Class B AM radio stations are unlimited time 
stations rendering service only over a primary service area. These 
stations are authorized to operate with a minimum power of 0.25 kW 
(or, if less than 0.25 kW, an equivalent RMS antenna field of at 
least 141 mV/m at 1 km) and a maximum power of 50 kW (or 10kW for 
stations that are authorized to operate in the 1605-1705 kHz band). 
For FY 1994, each licensee of a Class B AM station will be assessed 
a $500 annual regulatory fee.
    16. Class C. Class C AM radio stations operate on local channels 
and are designed to render service only over a primary service area 
that may be reduced as a consequence of interference. These stations 
are authorized to operate at not less than 0.25 kW, nor more than 1 
kW. Class C stations that were previously licensed to operate with 
0.1 kW may continue to do so under our rules. For FY 1994, each 
licensee of a Class C AM station will be assessed a $200 annual 
regulatory fee.
    17. Class D. Class D AM radio stations operate either daytime, 
limited time or unlimited time with nighttime power less than 0.25 
kW and an equivalent RMS antenna field of less than 141 mV/m at one 
km. Class D stations operate with daytime powers not less than 0.25 
kW nor more than 50 kW. Nighttime operations of Class D stations are 
not afforded protection and must protect all Class A and Class B 
operations during nighttime hours. For FY 1994, each licensee of a 
Class D AM station will be assessed a $250 annual regulatory fee.
    18. AM Construction Permits. For FY 1994, persons holding a 
construction permit for a any class of a new am station are subject 
to a $100 annual regulatory fee for each outstanding permit. Upon 
issuance of an operating license to cover the construction permit, 
this fee is no longer applicable. Instead, licensees will pay a 
regulatory fee amount based upon the designated class of the 
licensed station, as described above, as of the date the regulatory 
fee payment is due.

b. FM Radio Stations

    19. Licensed Stations. FM radio stations must meet the location, 
power and antenna height requirements for stations designated as 
Classes C, C1, C2, or B, as set forth in sections 73.205, 73.210 and 
73.211 of the Commission's Rules. For FY 1994, each commercial 
licensee of a Class C, C1, C2, or B FM station will be assessed a 
$900 annual regulatory fee per license. FM radio stations meeting 
the location, power and antenna height requirements for stations 
designated as Classes A, B1, or C3, as set forth in the Commission's 
rules, have a smaller coverage area. Thus, for FY 1994, each 
commercial licensee for a Class A, B1, or C3 FM Station will be 
assessed a $600 annual regulatory fee per license.
    20. FM Construction Permits. Persons holding a construction 
permit for any class of a new FM station, except Class D, are 
subject to a $500 annual regulatory fee per outstanding permit in FY 
1994. Upon issuance of an operating license to cover the 
construction permit, this fee is no longer applicable. Instead 
licensees will pay a regulatory fee based upon the designated class 
of the licensed station, as described above, as of the regulatory 
fee payment is determined.

c. Television Stations

    21. VHF and UHF Commercial Licenses. Commercial VHF and UHF 
television licensees, including licensees of satellite stations, 
will be assessed a regulatory fee amount based on the ranking of the 
station's market. Specifically, for FY 1994 these annual regulatory 
fees are as follows:

VHF Commercial:                                                         
  Markets 1 through 10..................................      $18,000.00
  Markets 11 through 25.................................       16,000.00
  Markets 26 through 50.................................       12,000.00
  Markets 51 through 100................................        8,000.00
  Remaining Markets.....................................        5,000.00
UHF Commercial:                                                         
  Markets 1 through 10..................................       14,400.00
  Markets 11 through 25.................................       12,800.00
  Markets 26 through 50.................................        9,600.00
  Markets 51 through 100................................        6,400.00
  Remaining Markets.....................................       4,000.00 
                                                                        

    Stations authorized as ``satellite'' television stations 
pursuant to note 5 of Section 73.3555 of the Commission's Rules (47 
CFR 73.3555 note 5) will be assessed a fee on the same basis as 
other full power stations in the same market.
    23. Television licensees subject to a regulatory fee above 
$12,000 will be automatically eligible to make two equal installment 
payments.
    24. We have decided to rely upon the latest Arbitron market data 
to determine a television station's market ranking for purposes of 
assessing regulatory fees. These rankings may be found in the 
Television and Cable Factbook published by Warren Publishing. 
Changes in market rankings may affect regulatory fee amounts for the 
following fiscal year.
    25. Television Construction Permits. For FY 1994, persons 
holding a construction permit for a new VHF television station, in 
any size market, are subject to a $4,000 annual regulatory fee per 
outstanding permit. UHF construction permits for stations in any 
size market will be assessed a $3,200 annual regulatory fee. Upon 
issuance of an operating license to cover the construction permit, 
this construction permit fee is no longer applicable. Instead, 
licensees will pay a regulatory fee amount based upon the licensed 
station's market ranking, as described above.

d. Low Power TV, TV Translator, and TV Booster Stations

    26. Under Part 74 of the Commission's Rules, low power UHF and 
VHF TV stations operate with a transmitter power output limited to 
0.01kw for a UHF facility and, generally, 1kw for a VHF facility, 
and may retransmit the programs and signals of a full-power TV 
broadcast station, originate programming, and/or operate as a 
subscription service. TV translator stations are authorized to 
retransmit the programs and signals of TV broadcast stations without 
significantly altering the characteristic of the original signal 
other than its frequency and amplitude, for the purpose of providing 
TV reception to the general public.
    27. TV booster stations are operated by the licensee of a full 
service TV broadcast station to retransmit the programs and signals 
of the licensee's station by amplifying and reradiating such 
signals, without significantly altering the characteristics of the 
original signal other than its amplitude. For FY 1994, licensees of 
these secondary television broadcast stations will be assessed a 
$135 annual regulatory fee per license.

e. Broadcast Auxiliary Stations

    28. Licensees of remote pickup stations, aural broadcast 
auxiliary stations, television broadcast auxiliary stations, and low 
power auxiliary stations, authorized under Part 74 of the 
Commission's Rules, will be assessed a $25 per license annual 
regulatory fee for FY 1994. These auxiliary stations are associated 
with a particular television or radio broadcast station. Hence, 
those licensees will be required to pay the required regulatory fees 
for each auxiliary license they hold. Individual users under 47 CFR 
subpart D, F and H will similarly have to pay the required 
regulatory fee for each auxiliary license they hold.

f. International (HF) Broadcast Stations

    International broadcast stations are licensed to operate on 
frequencies in the 5,950 khz to 26,100 khz band to provide service 
to the general public in foreign countries. For FY 1994, each 
international broadcast licensee will be assessed an annual 
regulatory fee of $200 per license.

3. Cable Services Bureau

a. Cable Antenna Relay Service

    30. Cable television antenna relay service (``CARS'') stations 
are used to transmit television and related audio signals, signals 
of AM and FM broadcast stations and cablecasting from the point of 
reception to a terminal point from where the signals are distributed 
to the public by cable television systems. See 47 C.F.R. Part 78. 
For FY 1994, each CARS licensee will be assessed an annual 
regulatory fee of $220 per license.

b. Cable Television Systems

    31. For FY 1994, each cable television system, as that term is 
defined in section 76.5 of our rules, will be assessed an annual 
regulatory fee of $.37 per subscriber.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\The term ``subscriber'' is defined in Sec. 76.5 of the 
Commission's Rules. 47 CFR 76.5.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    32. We will allow installment payments for these regulatory fees 
if the annual fee of a cable television system or a group of 
commonly owned systems aggregating their regulatory fees exceeds 
$18,500.

4. Common Carrier Bureau

    32. Most common carrier regulatory fees are based on the size of 
a regulatee's communication operation as determined by number of 
stations, subscribers, access lines, or antennas.

a. Mobile Services

    33. Cellular and Public Mobile Licensees. Under Part 22 of our 
rules, common carriers are authorized to offer land-based or air-to-
ground mobile telephone or paging services to the public. In 
addition to cellular telephone service, these services include those 
using radio to provide telephone services at fixed locations, such 
as Basic Exchange Telecommunications Radio Services, Rural Radio and 
Offshore Radio. For FY 1994, each common carrier license authorized 
under Part 22 will be assessed an annual regulatory fee of $.06 per 
subscriber.
    34. Personal Communications Services. Licensed personal 
communications services (``PCS'') will consist of a wide variety of 
commercial or private mobile communications services, including 
advanced paging, microcellular telephone communications, portable 
facsimile and other video and data transmission services. See 
generally, First Report and Order, Gen. Docket No. 90-314 and ET 
Docket No. 92-100, 8 FCC Rcd 7162 (1993) (narrowband PCS); Second 
Report and Order, Gen. Docket No. 90-314, 8 FCC Rcd 7700 (1993) 
(broadband PCS). The statutory Schedule of Regulatory Fees enacted 
in the 1993 Budget Act established an annual fee of $60 per 1,000 
subscribers for PCS licensees. At the same time, the 1993 Budget Act 
recognized that PCS licenses have not yet been issued. In 
particular, Congress directed the Commission to conclude its PCS 
rulemaking proceedings (Gen. Docket No. 90-314 and ET Docket No. 92-
100) by February 6, 1994, and to commence the PCS licensing process 
by May 7, 1994.\5\ In addition, our new PCS service rules provide 
licensees five years to meet minimum construction requirements.\6\ 
Accordingly, since it is unlikely that any PCS licensee will have a 
significant number of subscribers in the immediate future, no 
regulatory fees will be collected from PCS licensees during the 1994 
fiscal year. We intend to begin assessing and collecting regulatory 
fees for PCS in the 1995 fiscal year.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\Section 6002(d)(2), 1993 Budget Act. See Second Report and 
Order in Docket 93-252, FCC-94-31, adopted February 3, 1994.
    \6\See First Report and Order, at  37; Second Report and Order, 
at  134 (petitions for reconsideration pending).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

b. Space Stations

    35. Space Stations in Geosynchronous Orbit. Domestic and 
international satellites, positioned in orbit to remain 
approximately fixed relative to the earth, are authorized to provide 
communications between satellites and earth stations on a common 
carrier and/or private carrier basis. For FY 1994, entities 
authorized to operate these space stations in accordance with 
Sec. 25.120(d), will be assessed an annual regulatory fee of $65,000 
for each operational station in geosynchronous orbit on the date for 
calculating fees. 47 CFR 25.120(d). Payment may be made in two 
installments.
    36. Space Stations in Low-Earth Orbit. Domestic and 
international non-geostationary satellites, positioned in a low-
earth orbit (``LEO''), may be authorized to transmit to satellites 
and fixed or mobile earth stations. These services include the new 
non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service, see Report 
and Order, CC Docket No. 92-76, 8 FCC Rcd 8450 (1993). Entities 
authorized to operate LEO systems will be assessed an annual ' 
gulatory fee of $90,000 for each such system. For purposes of 
assessing regulatory fees, a LEO operator is required to submit its 
annual regulatory fees in the fiscal year in which it commences 
operating its first satellite, pursuant to Sec. 25.120(d), even 
though all the space stations specified in its application or 
instrument of authorization have not become operational. 47 CFR 
25.120(d). While it appears unlikely that a LEO system will be 
operational by the date for calculating fees for the 1994 fiscal 
year,\7\ should a LEO system be operational on the date for 
calculating fees during that period, we will require payment of a 
regulatory fee for such operational systems. The entire annual fee 
amount will be required. Payment may be made in two installments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\See Report and Order, at  18 (a permittee must begin 
construction of its first two satellites of its system within one 
year of grant of its construction permit).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

c. Public Fixed Radio Services

    37. Domestic Public Fixed Services. Licensees in the Domestic 
Public Fixed Services are authorized to use microwave frequencies 
for video and data distribution communications within the United 
States. These services, authorized under Part 21 of the Rules, 
include the Point-to-Point Microwave Radio Service, Local Television 
Transmission Radio Service, Multipoint Distribution Service (single-
channel and multichannel) and Digital Electronic Message Service. 
For FY 1994, these licensees will be assessed an annual regulatory 
fee of $55 per call-sign.
    38. International Public Fixed Service. Licensees in the 
International Public Fixed Service are authorized as common carriers 
to provide radio communications between the United States and a 
foreign point via microwave, HF, troposcatter systems (other than 
satellites and satellite earth stations). This does not include 
service between the United States and Mexico and the United States 
and Canada using frequencies above 72 MHz. See 47 CFR part 23. For 
FY 1994, these licensees will be assessed an annual regulatory fee 
of $110 per call-sign.

d. Earth Stations

    39. VSAT and Equivalent C-Band Antennas. Earth station systems 
comprising very small aperture terminals make up authorized networks 
operating in the 12 and 14 GHz bands and provide a variety of 
communications services to other stations in the network. Each 
system, authorized pursuant to blanket licensing procedures in Part 
25 of the Rules, consists of a network of technically-identical 
small fixed-satellite earth stations which often includes a larger 
hub station. For FY 1994, entities holding VSAT authorizations will 
be assessed an annual regulatory fee of $.06 per antenna. Entities 
with less than 100 antennas will be subject to a minimum $6 fee.
    40. Mobile Satellite Earth Stations. Under Part 25 of the Rules, 
mobile satellite service providers operate under blanket licenses 
for mobile antennas (transceivers), which are smaller than one meter 
and provide voice or data communications, including position 
location information, for mobile platforms such as cars, buses or 
trucks. For FY 1994, licensees will be assessed an annual regulatory 
fee of $.06 per antenna. Entities with fewer than 100 antennas will 
be subject to a minimum $6 fee.
    41. Earth Station Antennas Less Than 9 Meters. Persons 
authorized or registered under Part 25 to operate fixed-satellite 
earth station antennas that are less than 9 meters in diameter are 
private and public carriers that provide telephone, television, 
data, and other forms of communications. This category includes 
antennas used to transmit and receive, transmit only, or receive 
only. Also included in this category are telemetry, tracking and 
control (TT&C) earth stations. For FY 1994, we will assess an annual 
regulatory fee of $.06 per antenna. Entities with less than 100 
antennas will be subject to a minimum $6 fee.
    42. Earth Station Antennas 9 Meters or Greater. This category 
covers fixed-satellite earth station antennas authorized under Part 
25 that are equal to or greater than 9 meters in diameter. These 
earth stations are operated by private carriers and common carriers 
to provide telephone, television, data, and other forms of 
communications. Included in this category are telemetry, tracking, 
and control (TT&C) earth stations equal to or greater than 9 meters 
in diameter. For FY 1994, persons authorized to operate transmit/
receive and transmit-only antennas will be assessed an annual 
regulatory fee of $85 per meter; receive-only antennas will be 
assessed a regulatory fee of $55 per meter. All measurements will be 
to the tenth of a meter.

e. Interexchange and Local Exchange Carriers

    43. For FY 1994, interexchange carriers (long distance telephone 
companies) (``IXCs'') will be assessed an annual regulatory fee of 
$.06 per presubscribed line. Similarly, local exchange carriers 
(local telephone operating companies) (``LECs'') will be assessed an 
annual regulatory fee of $.06 per access line. A holding company may 
combine the fee payments of its operating companies and pay their 
fees for a particular service in a single combined payment or by 
installments, if the aggregate of their fees in a single service 
qualifies the holding company to make installment payments. For IXCs 
we have identified regulatory fee payment amounts greater than 
$500,000 as large. For LECs, we have identified $700,000 as a large 
amount. Thus, we will permit IXCs whose annual regulatory fee 
exceeds $500,000 and LECs whose fee payments exceed $700,000 to make 
installment payments.

f. Competitive Access Providers

    44. Competitive access providers (``CAPs'') are companies, other 
than the traditional local telephone companies, that provide 
interstate access services to long distance carriers and other 
companies. For FY 1994, each CAP will be assessed an annual 
regulatory fee of $.06 per subscriber.

g. International Bearer Circuits

    45. The Schedule of Regulatory Fees provides that the fee for 
international bearer circuits is to be computed ``per 100 active 64 
KB circuits or equivalent.'' The fee is to be paid by the 
facilities-based common carrier activating the circuit in any 
transmission facility for the provision of service to an end user or 
resale carrier. Private submarine cable operators also are to pay 
fees for circuits sold on an indefeasible right of use (IRU) basis 
or leased in their private submarine cables to any customer of the 
private cable operator. The fee is based upon active 64 KB circuits, 
or equivalent circuits. Under this formulation, 64 KB circuits or 
their equivalent will be assessed a fee. Equivalent circuits include 
the 64 KB circuit of larger bit stream circuits. For example, the 64 
KB circuit equivalent of a 2.048 MB circuit is 30 64 KB circuits. 
Analog circuits such as 3 and 4 KHz circuits used for international 
service are also included as equivalent 64 KB circuits. However, 
circuits derived from 64 KB circuits by the use of digital circuit 
multiplication systems are not equivalent 64 KB circuits. Such 
circuits are not subject to fees. Only the 64 KB circuit from which 
they have been derived will be subject to payment of a fee. For 
analog television channels we will assess fees as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                No. of  
                                                              equivalent
            Analog television channel size in MHz                64 KB  
                                                               circuits 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
36..........................................................         630
24..........................................................         288
18..........................................................         240
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Appendix B

    Formal Comments\1\ were filed by:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\Numerous informal comments were also filed. Although the 
informal commenters have not been listed, full consideration has 
been given to their filings.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Government Agencies

United States Coast Guard
Small Business Administration

Private Radio Parties

Association of American Railroads
Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-
International, Inc.
American Radio Relay League, Incorporated
Dennis C. Brown and Robert H. Schwaninger
Forest Industries Telecommunications
Industrial Telecommunications Association, Inc.
National Association of Business and Educational Radio, Inc.
State of Nevada, Division of Wildlife
National Marine Electronics Association
National Marine Manufacturers
Personal Communications Industry Association
Personal Radio Steering Group, Inc.
Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services
Ram Mobile Data USA
Utilities Telecommunications Council

Mass Media Parties

Association of America's Public Television Stations
Carnegie-Mellon Student Government Corporation
De La Hunt Broadcasting Corporation
Fireweed Communications Corp.
KBS License, L.P.
National Association of Broadcasters
New Jersey Broadcasters Association
Society of Broadcast Engineers
Joint Filing by Named State Broadcasters Associations

Cable Service Parties

Joint Filing by Blade Communications, Inc., Cablevision
Industries Corp, Crown Media, Inc., Multivision Cable TV
Corp., Parcable, Inc., Providence Journal Company, Sammons
Communications, Inc., and Star Cable Associates
Cable Services, Inc.
Cable Telecommunications Association
Continental Cablevision, Inc.
Leonard Communications
Nationwide Communications, Inc.
National Cable Television Association
Pepper & Corrazzini
Small Cable Business Association

Common Carrier Parties

Allnet Communications Services, Inc.
American Telephone and Telegraph Company
Ameritech
AMSC Subsidiary Corporation
Bell Atlantic
BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc.
Claircom Communications Group
Cellular Communications of Puerto Rico
Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association
Comsat General Corporation
GE American Communications, Inc.
GTE Service Corporation
In-Flight Phone Corporation
MCI Telecommunications Corporation
National Exchange Carriers Association, Inc.
National Telephone Cooperative Association
NYNEX Corporation
Orbital Communications Corporation
PanAmSat, L.P.
Puerto Rico Telephone Company
Southern Bell Corporation
Sprint Corporation

    Formal Reply Comments were filed by:

Ameritech
GTE Service Corporation
McCaw Cellular Communications, Inc.
MCI Telecommunications Corporation
National Telephone Cooperative Association
Puerto Rico Telephone Company
RAM Mobile Data USA
Southwestern Bell Corporation
Sprint Corporation
STARSYS Global Positioning, Inc.
Wireless Cable Association International, Inc.
Wiltel, Inc.
Young & Jatlow

[FR Doc. 94-14210 Filed 6-13-94; 10:48 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-M