SBE Says It Was Never Consulted on Proposed FCC Field Office Closings
The Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) told the FCC it was never consulted as Oceaneast Associates, an outside consulting firm, prepared a report that prompted an FCC proposal to shut down many of its 28 Enforcement Bureau field offices in…
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a major reorganization. “It is fundamentally unfair to those of us who stand to be profoundly adversely affected by a Commission restructuring proposal to have no input into the process whatsoever,” SBE said in a letter filed at the FCC. “In this case, the contractor that the Commission retained to examine the Enforcement Bureau’s operations and to make recommendations claimed to have contacted a wide variety of stakeholders in the process of developing its proposal. This created the false impression that there had been some input sought. No contact has been made by the contractor, however, with any representative of SBE or of the broadcast engineering community to the present time.” The bureau has defended the change as necessary to modernize its operations (see 1505060064). “The field offices are already operating at well below efficient levels due to the longer term effects of hiring freezes and attrition in the offices due to retirement of experienced staff,” SBE said. “It is SBE’s view that the draconian cuts proposed now will have a substantially adverse effect on compliance in virtually all radio services.” SBE’s volunteer frequency coordinators facilitate sharing of broadcast and cable auxiliary spectrum between broadcasters and government agencies and their job will be “exceptionally difficult if not impossible going forward” if the offices are closed, the group said. SBE asked the FCC to rethink the plan and seek comment from stakeholders, including SBE.