FCC Should Recalculate Regulatory Fees, SIA Says

High regulatory fees for satellite network operators are disconnected from the actual costs for the FCC to regulate them, the Satellite Industry Association said in meetings Thursday and Monday with aides to all commission members, according to an ex parte filing. The agency “must conduct a function-based analysis of full-time equivalents (FTEs) throughout the Commission in order to ensure that current direct and indirect costs are fairly allocated,” SIA said. The FCC “can do more to determine which licensees are directly benefited by many of the FTEs currently categorized as ‘indirect,’" SIA said. “Such a recalculation will ensure that fees are assessed more accurately and fairly.”