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KA9LCF > NEWS 18.01.12 18:05l 138 Lines 5887 Bytes #999 (0) @ ALLIN
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RADIO LAW: FCC HEARS CHALLENGE TO FCC INDECENT LANGUAGE
RULES
The United States Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday,
January 10th about whether the FCC should still have a role
in policing the nation's airwaves or whether its indecency
regulations violate guarantees of free speech and due
process. Whatever the justices decide could also impact on
other, non-broadcast services as well. Amateur Radio
Newsline's Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, has more:
--
The broadcast networks have argued successfully in lower
courts that in a world where they exist side by side with
cable channels, the Internet and satellite provided
programming that it is beyond the FCC's jurisdiction and
that singling them out is not only nonsensical but totally
unconstitutional. And in a court brief, Washington attorney
Carter G. Phillips, who represents several networks, told
the court that broadcasting is neither uniquely pervasive
nor uniquely accessible to children, yet broadcasters are
still denied the same basic First Amendment freedoms as
other media.
Phillips continued by stating that to the average American
viewer, broadcasting is just one source among hundreds in a
media-saturated environment. He noted that with a mere
press of a button on the remote control one could switch
from other to fully protected sources.
On the other side of this issue is the Obama administration
which is defending the FCC's regulatory powers. It told the
court that in what it calls a new media world that the FCC
is still required to have continued federal oversight of the
public airwaves. This, to provide a haven for parents and
children from the unregulated world of cable television and
the Internet.
In his brief, U.S. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr.
wrote that generations of parents have relied on indecency
regulation to safeguard broadcast television as a relatively
safe medium for their children. He notes that the current
regulations come from a 1978 Supreme Court's decision in the
case of the FCC versus the Pacifica Foundation. There the
court upheld the commission's decision that an afternoon
radio broadcast of comedian George Carlin's 1973 monologue
broadcast over New York City station WBAI about the so-
called seven words that could not be said on television
violated indecency standards. It was in that case where the
Supreme Court found that the FCC was well within
constitutional boundaries to police the radio and television
airwaves during the times children would probably be
listening, which was interpreted between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.
As to the reason that this is an important case for ham
radio and other personal radio services? Simply because
traditionally enforcement of indecency violations in amateur
radio, CB and the like has long been predicated on and tied
to the standards used to guide commercial broadcasters. If
the Supreme Court rules that the FCC cannot control indecent
language in broadcasting it could be in effect saying that
the government has no power on this issue in other services,
including what's said on the ham radio bands.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline. I'm Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, in
Zion, Illinois.
--
In recent years, the Supreme Court has regularly ruled in
favor of free-speech claims. But during oral arguments none
of the justices voiced any support for making a major change
in the law barring broadcast indecency during safe haven
hours. As we go to air it's not known when the Justices
will render its decision in this case. (Various published
reports)
BT
RADIO LAW: FCC REJECTS ARRL PARTIAL APPEAL ON CLUB
CALLSIGNS
The FCC has rejected a motion for partial reconsideration of
revised rules enacted by the FCC. These to limit the number
of vanity calls that any individual or club can hold.
In its petition the League stated that it supports the
Commission's efforts to prevent club stations from obtaining
an unfair share of desirable call signs. But it also
expressed concern that the precise rule language adopted by
the FCC did not preclude the abuses that the Report and
Order intended to prohibit. Specifically, the ARRL believes
that if a club has multiple station trustees, each of these
trustees could obtain a vanity call sign for the club. That
in turn could allow the club to obtain multiple vanity call
signs.
But in denying the ARRL appeal the FCC said that the Leagues
petition does not provide any grounds for reconsidering the
Commission's decision in the Report and Order. It said that
the concerns expressed by ARRL about licensees attempting to
evade the rules adopted in the Report and Order are already
addressed by the Commission's licensing rules and processes.
It notes that Section 97.5(b)(2) of its rules states, in
part, that a club station license grant may be held only by
the person who is the license or trustee designated by an
officer of the club. In simpler terms, only one vanity call
sign per club. (FCC)
BT
RADIO LAW: FCC GREEN LIGHTS STA FOR TEXAS HAM TO RUN HF
SPREAD SPECTRUM
The FCC has granted Philip J. Williams, KA1GMN, of Euless,
Texas, a Special Temporary Authority or STA to conduct
Spread Spectrum experiments on 160 through 2 meters.
The 6 month authorization takes effect February 1st and
expires on July 31st. It limits Williams to a maximum 2.5
kHz of signal bandwidths at 100 watts effective radiated
power. Williams was directed by the FCC to use the
Experimental Station call letters WF9XJD during his
investigational Spread Spectrum transmissions.
Previous experiments with Spread Spectrum technology have
been conducted on the ham radio bands at 222 MHz and above
where this mode of transmission is already legal. The
Special Temporary Authority granted to Williams is the first
permitting Spread Spectrum experimentation on the High
Frequency and lower VHF bands. (FCC)
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