July 13, 2017 
 
FCC FACT SHEET* 
Transmitter Identification Requirements for Satellite Digital Video Uplink Transmissions 
Memorandum Opinion and Order, IB Docket No. 12-267 
 
Background:  In 2013, the Commission updated its carrier identification requirement for satellite news gathering 
vehicles and other temporary-fixed earth stations.  To better accommodate digital transmissions, the Commission 
required licensees to comply with a new industry standard, the Digital Video Broadcasting–Carrier Identification 
(DVB-CID) standard, beginning on September 3, 2016. 
 
The record in 2013 did not indicate that the costs of compliance would be overly burdensome.  However, 
prior to the effective date of the new rule, earth station operators contacted the Commission to report 
unexpectedly high costs of retrofitting their equipment to comply with the new requirement.  This cost falls on 
many small earth station operators.   
 
The International Bureau issued a blanket waiver of the DVB-CID requirement for one year and released 
a public notice inviting comment on the appropriate implementation of the DVB-CID standard.  No satellite 
operators, who are the direct beneficiaries of the DVB-CID requirement, filed comments.   The blanket waiver 
expires September 3, 2017. 
 
What the Order Would Do: 
 
? Based on the record, the draft Order would permanently waive the DVB-CID requirement for earth 
stations using modulators that cannot meet the DVB-CID standard through a software upgrade.   
 
? All other temporary-fixed earth stations would be required to meet the DVB-CID standard by the current 
implementation date of September 3, 2017. 
                                                            
* This document is being released as part of a “permit-but-disclose” proceeding.  Any presentations or views on the subject 
expressed to the Commission or its staff, including by email, must be filed in IB Docket No. 12-267, which may be accessed 
via the Electronic Comment Filing System (https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs).  Before filing, participants should familiarize 
themselves with the Commission’s ex parte rules, including the general prohibition on presentations (written and oral) on 
matters listed on the Sunshine Agenda, which is typically released a week prior to the Commission’s meeting.  See 47 CFR 
§ 1.1200 et seq.