The FCC’s proposal for forbearance as a solution to direct...
The FCC’s proposal for forbearance as a solution to direct alien ownership limits seems cumbersome and unnecessary, a broadcast lawyer said. It seems that a number of commenters in docket 11-133 were concerned about the interplay of two Communications Act…
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provisions regarding broadcast ownership, Donald Evans of Fletcher Heald said in a blog post (http://xrl.us/bm3oxo). Provisions in Section 310(b)(3-4) “have long been thought to define two separate classes of ownership, direct and indirect, with distinct restrictions applicable to each,” he wrote. The commission is seeking comment on the guidance in the provisions, which seemed to “treat indirect interests in licensees as being subject to the strict 20 percent prohibition of Section 310(b)(3) rather than the more liberal 25 percent provision applicable to indirect interests under Section 310(b)(4),” Evans said. The FCC proposed a forbearance process to get around the Section 310(b)(3) prohibition “if it applies to indirect interests.” The process “can apply only to telecom licensees because the forbearance process is limited to that class of regulated entities,” Evans said.