DirecTV, Dish Network Meet With FCC on Legal Issues of Regulatory Fees Proposal

DirecTV and Dish Network raised legal points on permitted amendments and other aspects of the FCC's proposal to amend its regulatory fees schedule. The FCC may engage in permitted amendments "only if a change of law or a commission rulemaking proceeding changes the nature of commission services for which costs must be recovered," the direct broadcast satellite companies said in an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 14-92. "No such changes have occurred." The FCC has yet to demonstrate that any direct broadcast satellite category reflects the number of full-time-equivalent employees dedicated to DBS regulation, they said. The filing pertains to a meeting with staff from the Enforcement, Media and International bureaus, and the Office of the Managing Director.