FCC Eliminates A Public File Requirement for Cable Operators

There's a new sheriff in town at the FCC, and new Chairman Ajit Pai is making good on some of his promises to reduce regulations.

In a move of interest to broadband providers with cable TV services, the FCC has dropped the requirement that cable operators maintain a public inspection file on the location of the operator's primary headend.

According to the news release explaining the change:

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"​Because the designation and location of cable systems’ principal headend must be accessible to certain entities, the order requires that this information be made available to the FCC, television stations, and franchisors upon request. Alternatively, cable operators may elect voluntarily to provide this information for inclusion in the Commission’s online public inspection file database (OPIF), and may elect to make the information publicly available there. Systems that make this choice can avoid the necessity of responding to individual requests for principal headend location information. " 

The full text of the FCC's order is available HERE.