Reducing Barriers for Small and Minority-Owned Businesses

The business and technology landscapes can change quickly. Every three years, the Federal Communications Commission fulfills its Congressionally-mandated review that identifies and eliminates unnecessary rules that no longer benefit the businesses we work with. This review also helps the commission promote policies that favor a diversity of media voices, vigorous economic competition, and technological advancement. Section 257 of the Communications Act of 1934 (Communications Act) requires that the FCC review and report to Congress every three years on the Commission’s (1) efforts to identify and eliminate unnecessary regulatory barriers to entrepreneurs and small businesses and (2) and identify and provide proposals to eliminate unnecessary statutory barriers to market entry by those businesses. In this 2009 Section 257 Report to Congress (2009 Report), the Commission examines regulatory actions taken to reduce market entry barriers by each rule-writing Bureau and Office within the Commission since the last triennial report. Further, in the 2009 Report, we also make recommendations for legislative action to reduce statutory barriers to market entry.