REGULATORY FEES  
FACT SHEETFederal Communications Commission
445 12th St., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554 August 2010
WHAT YOU OWE – CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEMS FOR FY 2010
The Commission’s automated filing and payment system (“Fee Filer”) is now available for filing 
and payment of FY 2010 regulatory fees. Regulatory fee payments must be RECEIVED by the 
Commission no later than 11:59 PM, ET, on August 31, 2010. 
Cable television systems operating on October 1, 2009 must pay a regulatory fee per subscriber1 for all 
of the community units (CUIDs) in which they operate.  The number of basic cable subscribers that 
you served on December 31, 2009 should be used as the basis from which to calculate your fee 
payment.  You may pay your regulatory fee for all of your basic service subscribers with a single line 
aggregate total in Fee Filer without having to list your individual CUIDs.    
Cable television system operators and licensees of CARS facilities must pay a regulatory fee if they 
were operating or held a CARS license on October 1, 2009, even if a facility’s license expired after 
October 1, 2009.  In instances where a license or authorization is transferred or assigned after 
October 1, 2009, the fee must be paid by the party that is the licensee or holder of the authorization 
on the date that the fee payment is due.  When submitting payment, CARS licensees should 
individually list each of their CARS call signs.
Notice of Billing:  CARS licensees will not receive a pre-completed regulatory fee bill (FCC Form 
159-B) in the mail for their CARS licenses.  A regulatory fee bill will be created, but this bill will 
be available for viewing only by accessing Fee Filer.  CARS licensees are also required to make 
regulatory fee payments for all other non-billed holdings, such as cable systems and other fee 
services. 
TYPE OF FEE REGULATORY FEE 
PAYMENT
PAYMENT TYPE 
CODE
Cable System Subscriber Fee $0.89 per subscriber 1071
CARS License $315 per license 1070
  
1 Number of Subscribers In a Community Unit = Number of single family dwellings + Number of individual 
households in multiple dwelling units (e.g., apartments, condominiums, mobile home parks, etc.) paying at the basic 
subscriber rate + Number of bulk-rate customers + Number of courtesy and free service.  (NOTE:  Bulk-Rate 
Customers = total annual bulk rate charge ¸ basic annual subscription rate for individual households).
2
MANDATORY USE OF FEE FILER
For FY 2010, the use of the online system (Fee Filer) for payment of regulatory fees has not 
changed from the process used in FY 2009:  licensees and regulatees must first enter the 
Commission’s Fee Filer system with a valid FRN and password, and follow the online prompts to 
generate a Form 159-E voucher to be submitted with the appropriate regulatory fee payment to the 
designated entity, U.S. Bank.  Only Form 159-E vouchers generated from Fee Filer will be 
permitted to be submitted with regulatory fee payments to U.S. Bank.  Instructions on the use and 
submission of Form 159-E payments are available on the Commission’s website at the industry-
appropriate section under the heading, Who Owes Fees & What is My Fee FY2010 
(http://www.fcc.gov/fees/regfees.html). Please note that the use of the online Fee Filer system is 
mandatory, and filers are reminded that hardcopy/paper bills will no longer be mailed by the FCC.  
However, these bills are available for viewing in the Regulatory Fee link of Fee Filer.  For 
additional information, please contact the Financial Operations Help Desk at 877-480-3201, Option 
4.  
There are many benefits to licensees and regulatees in using the Commission’s Fee Filer system:  1) 
expeditious submission of payment; 2) no postage or courier costs (when paid electronically 
through Fee Filer); 3) fewer errors caused by illegible handwriting or payments submitted without 
an FRN number or the appropriate data attributes (e.g., payers will avoid receiving delinquency 
notices because of payment submission errors); 4) improved recordkeeping and payment 
reconciliation; 5) reduced administrative burden on both licensees and regulatees on Commission 
staff in processing regulatory fee payments; 6) less expensive than a wire transfer; and 7) a reduced 
burden of preparing, mailing, and storing paper documents.
- FCC -