NAB Urges FCC to Scale Back Earth Station Fee Hike

RADIO ONLINE | Monday, June 22, 2026 | 3:18pm CT

National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is urging the FCC to reduce a proposed 46% increase in regulatory fees for earth station licenses, arguing the hike would place an unfair burden on broadcasters that rely on satellite facilities to distribute programming.

In an ex parte filing detailing a June 12 teleconference with officials from the FCC's Space Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics, NAB said the proposed fee increase would have a significant financial impact on broadcasters that use earth stations to distribute and contribute programming. The trade group emphasized that broadcaster-operated earth stations are fixed facilities that require minimal FCC oversight because they do not move or change operating parameters.

NAB also noted that broadcasters already pay regulatory fees for their broadcast licenses and, in some cases, could end up paying more in regulatory fees for operating an earth station than for maintaining a broadcast license itself. The association argued that broadcasters use these facilities to provide free over-the-air service to the public and should not be disproportionately burdened by the proposed increase.

During the discussion, NAB pointed to what it described as a disparity between the proposed earth station fee increase and fee changes for other entities regulated by the Space Bureau. The group noted that fees for non-geostationary orbit (non-GSO) small constellation space stations are proposed to rise by roughly 9%, compared with the 46% increase proposed for earth stations. While acknowledging that the number of licensed earth stations has declined from 2025 to 2026, contributing to a higher per-license fee, NAB argued that the increase does not appear consistent with the level of FCC resources devoted to earth station regulation, particularly as total Space Bureau staffing is projected to decline from 51 to 48 full-time employees.

As an alternative, NAB asked the Commission to cap earth station fees at no more than $2,500 per license. The association said that would still represent a 21.36% year-over-year increase while bringing earth station fees more in line with increases proposed for other Space Bureau-regulated services.

NAB further proposed that any additional regulatory fee burden be shifted to non-GSO space station operators, arguing that those systems are better positioned to absorb the costs and are the primary focus of the Space Bureau's current regulatory activities. The filing cited the substantial regulatory demands associated with non-GSO systems and the Commission's recent actions involving those operators.

The association concluded by expressing appreciation for the FCC's efforts, including Chairman Brendan Carr's initiatives to modernize the regulatory fee process through revisions to full-time-equivalent staff allocations, and said it remains committed to working with the Commission on future improvements to earth station fee assessments.