The FCC was created by Congress in the Communications Act for the purpose of “regulating interstate and foreign commerce in communication by wire and radio so as to make available, so far as possible, to all the people of the United States, without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex, a rapid, efficient, Nation-wide, and world-wide wire and radio communications service . . . .” (In this context, the word "radio" covers both broadcast radio and television.) The Communications Act authorizes the Commission to "make such regulations not inconsistent with law as it may deem necessary to prevent interference between stations and to carry out the provisions of the Act." It directs us to base our broadcast licensing decisions on whether those actions will serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity.

How the FCC Adopts Rules.
As is the case with most other federal agencies, the FCC generally cannot adopt or change rules without first describing or publishing the proposed rules and asking the public for comment. We release a document called a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) in which we explain the new rules – or rule changes being proposed – and establish a filing deadline for the public to comment. All FCC Notices are included in the Commission’s Daily Digest and posted on our website at https://www.fcc.gov/proceedings-actions/daily-digest. After we hear from the public and consider all comments received, we generally have several options. We can:

1.Adopt some or all of the proposed rules;
2.Adopt a modified version of some or all of the proposed rules;
3.Ask for public comment on additional issues relating to the proposals;
4.End the rulemaking proceeding without adopting any rules at all.

You can find information about how to file comments in our rulemaking proceedings by selecting https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/how-comment. In addition to adopting rules, we establish broadcast regulatory policies through the individual cases that we decide, such as those involving license renewals, station sales, and complaints about violations of Commission rules.

FCC Regulation of Broadcast Radio and Television.

The FCC allocates a portion of the broadcast spectrum to new broadcast stations based upon both the relative needs of various communities for additional broadcast outlets, and specified engineering standards designed to prevent interference among stations and other communications users. Whenever we review an application – whether to build a new station, modify or renew the license of an existing station or sell a station – we must determine if granting the application would serve the public interest.

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THE FCC AND ITS REGULATORY AUTHORITY

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