FCC: Proposed Changes to CORES

The FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on December 6, 2010, intended to make its Commission Registration System (CORES), which issues FCC Registration Numbers (FRN), more feature-friendly to improve the Commission's ability to comply with Federal guidelines concerning debt collection and personal information. The proposed changes will improve the interface, making it more effective and efficient. Comments to the proposals raised in the NPRM must be submitted by March 3, 2011. Reply comments have a deadline of March 18, 2011. A forum with staff and the public will be held at 10:00 AM on March 10, 2011 to explore legal and technical challenges raised by the proposed modifications. The FCC's web site will allow non-attendees to follow over the Internet. For more information on the forum, see the FCC's Blog post.

Some of the proposed changes include:

• A strict single FRN rule
• Multiple registrants with multiple points of contact allowed
• Elimination of certain TIN exception reasons
• Registrant E-mail addresses
• Using CORES to alert FRN holders about financial or other administrative issues
• Tax-exempt indicator
• Bankruptcy indicator
• Company dashboard

For the text of the NPRM see the FCC's web site.