The FCC’s Space Bureau frequently meets with license holders and applicants, as well as interested public parties, to talk about specific applications and rulemakings, as well as new satellite and space initiatives. To ensure a productive meeting, we advise parties to follow these procedures before and after meeting with us.
Requesting a Meeting
When requesting a meeting, please:
- Provide any relevant application file numbers or rulemaking names/dockets when requesting a meeting.
- Mention if other Commission staff outside of the Space Bureau are working on or would be involved in a matter you plan to discuss. For example: for discussions related to experimental satellite licenses, Space Bureau usually finds it most efficient to invite our Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) colleagues to join meetings when we speak to applicants.
- Please allow ample time for your meeting to be scheduled, and request meetings with at least one week’s advance notice, unless there is an urgent situation beyond your control.
- Depending on the audience for your meeting, please contact Fatimah Brown, Satellite Programs and Policy Division, or Taylor Grant, Office of the Space Bureau Chief, to initiate scheduling an appointment with the purpose of your meeting and the above information in your request.
Ex Parte presentations
It is important to be aware of the FCC’s rules governing ex parte communications. If an application has been filed with the Commission, or you are meeting with us to discuss an open rulemaking proceeding, ex parte rules generally apply.
Rules governing ex parte presentations in Commission proceedings are found in sections 1.1200 to 1.1216 of volume 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations (47 CFR Secs. 1.1200 to 1.1216). Please be familiar with these rules, as proceedings may be restricted for ex parte purposes. In general, rulemaking proceedings are classified as permit-but-disclose, whereas individual application proceedings are ordinarily classified as restricted. Information regarding the default classification of other types of proceedings may be found in the ex parte rules.
If you are requesting a discussion on a restricted proceeding and are not inviting all other parties (if any) to participate, you must request that the proceeding be designated “permit-but-disclose" well in advance of speaking with Commission staff. Staff will consider whether to modify the ex parte rules applicable to the proceeding in the public interest.
More information on Ex Parte rules; as well as resources to assist with ex partefilings, including a discussion of sanctions for non-compliance.
Please pay specific attention to the following rules applicable to permit-but-disclose proceedings:
47 CFR §1.1206 (b)(1)
(1) Oral presentations. A person who makes an oral ex parte presentation subject to this section shall submit to the Commission’s Secretary a memorandum that lists all persons attending or otherwise participating in the meeting at which the ex parte presentation was made, and summarizes all data presented and arguments made during the oral ex parte presentation. Memoranda must contain a summary of the substance of the ex parte presentation and not merely a listing of the subjects discussed. More than a one or two sentence description of the views and arguments presented is generally required. If the oral ex parte presentation consisted in whole or in part of the presentation of data or arguments already reflected in the presenter’s written comments, memoranda or other filings in the proceeding, the presenter may provide citations to such data or arguments in his or her prior comments, memoranda, or other filings (specifying the relevant page and/or paragraph numbers where such data or arguments can be found) in lieu of summarizing them in the memorandum. 47 CFR §1.1206 (b)(1)
47 CFR §1.1206(b)(2)
(2) Written and oral presentations. A written ex parte presentation and a memorandum summarizing an oral ex parte presentation (and cover letter, if any) shall clearly identify the proceeding to which it relates, including the docket number, if any, and must be labeled as an ex parte presentation. Documents shown or given to Commission staff during ex parte meetings are deemed to be written ex parte presentations and, accordingly, must be filed consistent with the provisions of this section. Consistent with the requirements of § 1.49 paragraphs (a) and (f), additional copies of all written ex parte presentations and notices of oral ex parte presentations, and any replies thereto, shall be mailed, e-mailed or transmitted by facsimile to the Commissioners or Commission employees who attended or otherwise participated in the presentation. 47 CFR §1.1206(b)(2) .
Please note the following from paragraph 35 of the Commission’s 2011 Amendment of the Commission’s Ex Parte Rules.
As our rules currently provide, when an ex parte presentation involves a discussion of new information or arguments, the notice must summarize the new arguments and data. Summaries must be sufficiently detailed that they would inform a person who did not attend the presentation of the facts that were discussed, the arguments made, and the support offered for those arguments. Memoranda must contain a summary of the substance of the ex parte presentation and not merely a listing of the subjects discussed. More than a one or two sentence description of the views and arguments presented is generally required.
Timing for filing Ex Parte presentations
Ex parte filings are generally required no later than two business days after the presentation, although there are specific rules that apply to the Sunshine period (typically, the period beginning one week before an item is scheduled to be voted at a Commission meeting). See 47 CFR §1.1206(b)(2)
Requests for confidential treatment
Requests under section 0.459 of the Commission’s rules that materials be withheld from public inspection (be kept confidential) must comply with the requirements of that section. Specifically, such requests must address the substantive criteria in section 0.459(b) of the Commission’s rules and must describe the specific portion(s) of the submitted material for which confidentiality is sought. 47 CFR § 0.459. For more information, please see the Commission’s rules and additional guidance from the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau.