Making your voice heard at the Federal Communications Commission is
no more difficult than writing down your opinions and dropping them in a
snail-mailbox. This is currently the most effective way, because you can
use letterhead, interesting formats and, very importantly, your "live"
signature. However, many participants in this FCC process would prefer to
use E-mail or FAX, to reflect the immediacy of key steps of the process.
The Commission is not yet able to accept direct Emailed or FAXed comments
"Formal comments," normally filed by law firms and large corporations,
must comply with rather specific requirements regarding length, format,
number of copies, and date filed. However, members of the general public
may participate in the FCC rulemaking process through less cumbersome means.
These "informal comments," normally filed in the form of a letter
addressed to the Secretary of the FCC, are included in the docket and made
a part of the proceeding, in accordance with their requirement to establish
as complete a record as possible of the merits of, as well as the degree
of public interests in, issues before the FCC.
Mail one signed original along with one copy of your comments to:
To help the FCC staff route your letter properly, please state the appropriate
RM or docket number of the proceeding on which you are filing prominently
on the first page of your letter, and in the header of every page because
pages frequently become separated.
That's all there is to it. Remember: the FCC will evaluate both merit and
public support of items before them. Thank you for taking the time to make
your views heard at the FCC!