The Transaction Team coordinates the FCC's review of applications for the transfer of control and assignment of licenses and authorizations involved in major transactions, such as mergers. The Transaction Team helps ensure that the Commission's internal procedures are transparent and uniform across the various Bureaus. It is also responsible for assessing and recommending how to improve the review process. The Commission's goal is a faster and more consistent review and analysis of applications.
The Transaction Team has developed this web page to provide the public with a transparent and easily accessible source for relevant information about various transactions. Current major transactions each have their own web page. A list of those transactions is provided on the bar on the left side of this page. We also maintain an archive of all past major transactions, and an easily accessible list of the final decisions. The web page for each major transaction includes relevant information about the specific transaction, including applications, petitions, comments, and other pleadings, ex parte filings, and Commission decisions. Please note that the web page is not the official public record of the proceeding.
The applications that are highlighted on the Transaction Team’s web page generally have one or more of the following qualities:
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they present novel or complex issues of law or policy;
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they propose combinations that are likely to have a significant impact on the public;
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they involve business, economic, legal, or regulatory issues that are likely to elicit significant public comment; or
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they are likely to produce a record that is likely to be of significant public interest.
Placing an application on the web page does not alter the Commission’s standard of review. The relevant statutory and regulatory standard applies to an application regardless of its placement on the Transaction Team web site.
The Transaction Team has also developed an informal timeline to ensure that most applications are processed within 180 days after the Commission has sought comment from the public. The timeline is intended to promote transparency and predictability in the Commission’s process. For transactions highlighted on the web page, the timeline provides the public with ready access to information about the status of a pending transaction. For transactions not highlighted on the web page, the timeline still applies and the Commission will endeavor to complete action on pending applications accordingly. Based on the experience it has gained over the last few years, the Team continues to refine that timeline and recommend changes to the Commission's internal procedures.
Points of Contact
The leader of the OGC Transaction Team is Jim Bird, Senior Counsel. The OGC Transaction Team consists of Neil Dellar, Virginia (Ginny) Metallo, and Joel Rabinovitz. Team members can be contacted by telephone at (202) 418-1720 or at TransactionTeam@FCC.gov.
History of the Transaction Team
1/12/00 - FCC Implements Predictable, Transparent, and Streamlined Merger Review Process - Creation of Transaction Team
2/18/00 - Public Notice Announcing March 1 Public Forum 2/25/00 - News Release, Agenda, and Suggested Topics for Comment Released for March 1 Public Forum on FCC Merger Applications Review Process
3/1/00
- Issues Memorandum for March 1, 2000 Transactions Team Public Forum on Streamlining FCC Review of Applications Relating to Mergers
- Proposed Timeline for Consideration of Applications for Transfers or Assignments of Licenses or Requests for Authorizations Relating to Complex Mergers
- Merger Transaction Process Background Information
3/2/00
- Statements of Chris Wright, FCC General Counsel, and Quyen Truong, Associate Bureau Chief, Cable Services Bureau, at March 1, 2000 Public Forum on Merger Application Review Process
- Recorded Audio from 3/1/00 Transaction Team Public Forum on Streamlining FCC Review of Applications Relating to Mergers
3/16/00 - Testimony on the Telecommunications Merger Review Act of 2000 before the House Committee on Commerce, Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer [ Kennard | Furchtgott-Roth | Powell ] 3/21/00 - Transaction Team Seeks Public Comment on Issues Memorandum, Procedures and Processing Timeline By March 28, 2000
Published: April 27 2011
