GPO Releases Latest FCC rules

The FCC has announced that the FCC rules are now available from the Government Printing Office (GPO). The edition includes all amendments to the Commission's rules from Oct. 1, 2007 through Sept. 30, 2008.

Broadcasters will need up to three different volumes of the rules (Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations), to cover various aspects of their licenses. The new paperback publication containing Parts 0 to 19 includes rules on environmental impact (such as RF exposure), tower lighting and the Emergency Alert System. Broadcasters will also need Parts 70-79, which covers all broadcast and broadcast auxiliary services, as well as cable TV. Stations with microwave systems licensed under Part 101 of the FCC rules will need the book covering Parts 80 to "end."

These publications are priced at $64.00 each for domestic shipment and may be ordered by phone at 202-512-1803 or via the GPO's on-line bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Don't forget that continuously updated FCC rules are available at no cost through the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR). For FCC rules, select Title 47 from the list and browse to the appropriate section. Save the HTML file with the entire section to your hard drive for off-line access. The warning that the e-CFR Web site was in "beta" has been removed, but the first screen does caution that "The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) is a currently updated version of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). It is not an official legal edition of the CFR. The e-CFR is an editorial compilation of CFR material and Federal Register amendments produced by the National Archives and Records Administration's Office of the Federal Register (OFR) and the Government Printing Office."

Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.