Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
May 8, 2018 
                                                                  
                                                                
                                                                                                                              DA 18-471
SMALL ENTITY COMPLIANCE GUIDE
Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2017
FCC 17-111
MD Docket No. 17-134
Released:  September 5, 2017
This Guide is prepared in accordance with the requirements of Section 212 of the Small Business 
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.  It is intended to help small entities—small businesses, 
small organizations (non-profits), and small governmental jurisdictions—comply with the revised 
rules adopted in the above-referenced Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) 
rulemaking dockets.  This Guide is not intended to replace or supersede these rules, but to facilitate 
compliance with the rules.  Although we have attempted to cover all parts of the rules that might be 
especially important to small entities, the coverage may not be exhaustive.  This Guide cannot 
anticipate all situations in which the rules apply.   Furthermore, the Commission retains the 
discretion to adopt case-by-case approaches, where appropriate, that may differ from this Guide.  
Any decision regarding a particular small entity will be based on the statute and any relevant rules. 
In any civil or administrative action against a small entity for a violation of rules, the content of the 
Small Entity Compliance Guide may be considered as evidence of the reasonableness or 
appropriateness of proposed fines, penalties or damages.  Interested parties are free to file comments 
regarding this Guide and the appropriateness of its application to a particular situation. The FCC 
will then consider whether the recommendations or interpretations in the Guide are appropriate in 
that situation.  The FCC may decide to revise this Guide without public notice to reflect changes in 
the FCC’s approach to implementing a rule, or it may clarify or update the text of the Guide.  Direct 
your comments and recommendations, or calls for further assistance, to the FCC’s Consumer 
Center:
1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322)
TTY: 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322)
Videophone: 1-844-4-FCC-ASL (1-844-432-2275)
Fax: 1-866-418-0232
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROCEEDING ...................................................................................1
II. COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS ...........................................................................................2
III. RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS .................................................3
IV.        IMPLEMENTATION DATE ......................................................................................................3
V.         INTERNET LINKS ......................................................................................................................3
                               
 1
I. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROCEEDING
This Report and Order (MD Docket No. 17-134), adopted on September 1, 2017, and released on 
September 5, 2017, established a schedule of regulatory fees to collect $356,710,992 for fiscal year (FY) 
2017, pursuant to section 9 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (Communications Act or 
Act) and the Commission’s FY 2017 Appropriation.
1
  The schedule of regulatory fees for FY 2017 are 
listed in Appendix C of the Report and Order.  These FY 2017 regulatory fees were due on September 
26, 2017, and were based on the proposals in the FY 2017 NPRM,
2
 considered in light of the comments 
received and Commission analysis.  
In addition to assessing and collecting FY 2017 regulatory fees, the Report and Order also: 1) re-
allocated 38 Wireline FTEs that worked on Universal Service Fund issues as indirect FTEs for the 
calculation of regulatory fees because they impacted several Bureaus and not just the Wireline Bureau; 2) 
re-allocated 4 FTEs from the Wireline Bureau to the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (for the 
calculation of regulatory fees) because these 4 Wireline FTEs worked on numbering issues primarily 
impacting the wireless industry; 3) increased the Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) fee rate to 38 cents per 
subscriber to bring that rate closer to the cable television/IPTV regulatory fee rate; 4) provided some 
regulatory fee relief to AM and FM broadcast stations in the lowest two fee tiers because radio stations in 
these tiers are experiencing severe financial competition; 5) adopted a methodology change in the 
International Bearer Circuit fee category to include non-common carrier circuits as well as common 
carrier circuits in the assessment of regulatory fees; and 6) increased the Commission’s de minimis 
threshold from $500 to $1,000.
3
 
In this Report and Order (MD Docket No. 17-134), the Commission adopted rules that directly impacted 
small businesses.  First, the Commission increased its de minimis threshold from $500 to $1,000.  Fee 
categories with a higher number of small business regulatees which should benefit from this change 
include low power television, FM translators, small cable, paging, cell phone, and small land-line 
telephone services.  Second, as the fee rate for DBS increased, the cable fee rate decreased for cable 
operators, particularly small to medium-sized cable companies.  Third, as a response to comments and 
reply comments that the Commission received, the Commission reduced the regulatory fee for AM and 
FM radio stations in the lowest two tiers.  This amounted to a savings of approximately $75 to $150 for 
each radio station.  
The decisions made in this Report and Order have permitted the Commission to collect its regulatory fees 
to offset 100% of its budget, as required by statute.  Through this Report and Order, the Commission 
sought to assess regulatory fees in a fair and efficient manner within a three-week window in September 
2017, taking into consideration that not all regulatees are in the same financial position.
1
 47 U.S.C. § 159. Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017, Division E – Financial Services and General 
Government Appropriations Act, 2017, Title V – Independent Agencies, Public Law 115-31 (May 5, 2017), 
available at https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/244/text.    
2
 Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2017, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 32 FCC Rcd 
4526 (2017) (FY 2017 NPRM).
3
 If the total regulatory fee obligation is $1,000 or less, the regulatee is exempt from having to pay regulatory fees.
 2
II. COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS
Annual Regulatory Fees for Wireless Radio Services (47 CFR § 1.1152)
Section 1.1152 of the Commission’s rules is revised to reflect FY 2017 annual regulatory fee rate changes 
effective September 22, 2017 for the following wireless fee categories:
Land Mobile (Exclusive, Above 470 MHz and 220 MHz Local) 47 CFR, Part 90 $25.00
Land Mobile (220 MHz Nationwide) 47 CFR, Part 90 $25.00
Microwave 47 CFR, Part 101 $25.00
Land Mobile (Shared Use, Below 470 MHz – Except 220 MHz) 47 CFR, Part 90 $10.00
Rural Radio 47 CFR, Part 22 $10.00
Marine Coast 47 CFR, Part 80 $40.00
Aviation Ground 47 CFR, Part 87 $20.00
Marine Ship 47 CFR, Part 80 $15.00
Aviation Aircraft 47 CFR, Part 87 $10.00
CMRS Cellular/Mobile Services (parts, 20, 22, 24, 27, 80, & 90) 47 CFR $0.21/unit
CMRS Messaging Services (parts 20, 22, 24, & 90) 47 CFR $0.08/unit
Broadband Radio Services (part 27) 47 CFR, Part 27 $800.00
Local Multipoint Distribution Service (part 101) 47 CFR, Part 101 $800.00
Annual Regulatory Fees for Mass Media Services (47 CFR § 1.1153)
Section 1.1153 of the Commission’s rules is revised to reflect FY 2017 annual regulatory fee rate changes 
effective September 22, 2017 for the following mass media categories.  These fee rates are listed in Appendix 
C of the FY 2017 Regulatory Fees Report and Order.
AM and FM Radio Station Fee Categories for all Levels of Population (47 CFR, part 73)
UHF and VHF Television Stations for all DMA Markets (47 CFR, part 73)
Satellite (UHF and VHF) Television (all Markets) (47 CFR, part 73)
Low Power TV, Class A TV, TV/FM Translators & Boosters (47 CFR, part 74)
Annual Regulatory Fees for Common Carrier Services (47 CFR § 1.1154)
Section 1.1154 of the Commission’s rules is revised to reflect FY 2017 annual regulatory fee rate changes 
effective September 22, 2017 for the following common carrier services:
Radio Facilities Microwave (Domestic Public Fixed) $25.00 (per year for 10 years)
Carriers Interstate Telecommunications Service Providers $.00302 per revenue dollar
Toll Free Number Fee (47 CFR Sect. 52.101 (f) $.12 per Toll Free Number
Annual Regulatory Fees for Cable Television Services (47 CFR § 1.1155)
Section 1.1155 of the Commission’s rules is revised to reflect FY 2017 annual regulatory fee rate changes 
effective September 22, 2017 for the following cable television services:
Cable Television Relay Services (CARS) (47 CFR, part 78) $935
Cable Television System, including IPTV (47 CFR, part 76) $.95 per subscriber
Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) (Section 602 (13) of the Act) $.38 per subscriber
 3
Annual Regulatory Fees for International Services (47 CFR § 1.1156)
Section 1.1156 of the Commission’s rules is revised to reflect FY 2017 annual regulatory fee rate changes 
effective September 22, 2017 for the following international services:
Space Stations (Geostationary Orbit) (47 CFR, part 25) $140,925
  (also includes DBS Service (47 CFR, part 100)
Space Stations (Non-Geostationary Orbit)  (47 CFR, part 25) $135,350
Earth Stations (47 CFR, part 25) $360
International Terrestrial and Satellite Bearer Circuits $.03 per KB circuit 
Submarine Cable Systems See Appendix C of Rulemaking
III. RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
The Commission’s actions in the Report and Order did not create any new recordkeeping or reporting 
requirements. 
IV. IMPLEMENTATION DATE
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this Report and Order SHALL BE EFFECTIVE upon publication 
in the Federal Register.
The FY 2017 Regulatory Fees Report and Order was published in the Federal Register on September 22, 
2017.  
V. INTERNET LINKS
A copy of the FY 2017 Regulatory Fees Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is 
available at:
https://www.fcc.gov/document/fy-2017-regulatory-fees-report-order-and-further-notice
Regulatory Fee Fact Sheets and their respective websites are available at http://www.fcc.gov/regfees to 
help licensees with their regulatory fee obligations.
A copy of the Federal Register Summary of the FY 2017 Regulatory Fees Report and Order is available 
at: 
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-09-22/pdf/2017-19386.pdf