Proposed Rule2021-28494
Wireline Competition Bureau Seeks Comment on Revisions to Annual Reporting and Certification Requirements for Inmate Calling Services (ICS) Providers
Primary source
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Published
January 4, 2022
Issuing agencies
Federal Communications Commission
Abstract
In this document, the Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB or the Bureau) of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) seeks comment on proposed revisions to the instructions and templates for the Annual Reports and Annual Certifications submitted by providers of inmate calling services.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 2 (Tuesday, January 4, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 2 (Tuesday, January 4, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 212-214]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-28494]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 64
[WC Docket No. 12-375, DA 21-1583; FR ID 64286]
Wireline Competition Bureau Seeks Comment on Revisions to Annual
Reporting and Certification Requirements for Inmate Calling Services
(ICS) Providers
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Solicitation of comments.
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SUMMARY: In this document, the Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB or the
Bureau) of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or the
Commission) seeks comment on proposed revisions to the instructions and
templates for the Annual Reports and Annual Certifications submitted by
providers of inmate calling services.
DATES: Comments are due on or before January 12, 2022; and reply
comments are due on or before January 27. 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by WC Docket No. 12-375,
by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically
using the internet by accessing the ECFS: <a href="https://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/">https://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/</a>.
<bullet> Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must
file an original and one copy of each filing.
<bullet> Filings can be sent by commercial overnight courier, or by
first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All filings must be
addressed to the Commission's Secretary, Office of the Secretary,
Federal Communications Commission.
<bullet> Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service
Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9050 Junction Drive,
Annapolis Junction, MD 20701.
<bullet> U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority
mail must be addressed to 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554.
<bullet> Effective March 19, 2020, and until further notice, the
Commission no longer accepts any hand or messenger delivered filings.
This is a temporary measure taken to help protect the health and safety
of individuals, and to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19. See FCC
Announces Closure of FCC Headquarters Open Window and Change in Hand-
Delivery Policy, Public Notice, DA 20-304 (March 19, 2020). <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-closes-headquarters-open-window-and-changes-hand-delivery-policy">https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-closes-headquarters-open-window-and-changes-hand-delivery-policy</a>.
People with Disabilities: To request materials in accessible
formats for people with disabilities (braille, large print, electronic
files, audio format), send an email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9cfaffffa9aca8dcfaffffb2fbf3ea"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bfd9dcdc8a8f8bffd9dcdc91d8d0c9">[email protected]</span></a> or call the
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-
418-0432 (TTY).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Minsoo Kim, Pricing Policy Division,
Wireline Competition Bureau, at (202) 418-1739 or via email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c38eaaadb0acaced88aaae83a5a0a0eda4acb5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bff2d6d1ccd0d091f4d6d2ffd9dcdc91d8d0c9">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's
document, Public Notice, DA 21-1583, released December 15, 2022. The
full text of this document is available at <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/document/wcb-seeks-comment-ics-annual-reporting-and-certification-revisions">https://www.fcc.gov/document/wcb-seeks-comment-ics-annual-reporting-and-certification-revisions</a>.
Synopsis
By this document, the Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB or the
Bureau) seeks comment on proposed revisions to the instructions and
templates for the Annual Reports and Annual Certifications submitted by
providers of inmate calling services (ICS). The Commission requires ICS
providers to make these filings to enable the Commission to monitor and
track trends in the ICS marketplace, increase provider transparency,
and ensure compliance with the Commission's ICS rules.
Pursuant to delegated authority, the Bureau created standardized
reporting templates (FCC Form 2301(a)) for the Annual Report and a
related certification of accuracy (FCC Form 2301(b)), as well as
instructions to guide providers through the reporting process. The
Bureau amended the instructions and template for the Annual Report in
2020 in order to improve the type and quality of the information
collected.
In the 2021 ICS Order, the Commission revised its ICS rules by
adopting, inter alia, lower interim rate caps for interstate ICS calls,
new interim rate caps for international ICS calls, and a rate cap
structure that requires ICS providers to differentiate between legally
mandated and contractually required site commissions. The new 2021
rules necessitate further changes to the annual reporting and
certification templates for which WCB seeks comment herein. Pursuant to
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), WCB will publish a notice in
the Federal Register seeking comment on the information collection
requirements for the annual reporting and certification requirements in
the Public Notice.
I. Overall Structure of the Annual Reporting and Certification
Requirements
Pursuant to delegated authority, WCB proposes to revise the
instructions and templates for the Annual Reports and Certifications to
be consistent with the Commission's rules. These revised instructions
and the associated templates, if adopted, will consolidate and supplant
the instructions and templates for earlier iterations of the ICS annual
reporting and certification requirements. WCB also proposes
improvements based on experience reviewing prior Annual Reports, which
has persuaded us that revised instructions would help providers better
understand the requirements, making the submitted reports more useful
to the Commission and consumers. To that end, WCB proposes to adopt
both an Excel-format template and a Word-format template for the Annual
Reports to better separate individual data items from narrative
responses. For simplicity, WCB refers to these respective portions of
the template as the Word template and the Excel template. WCB seeks
comment on these proposed revisions, generally, and on the specific
structure, content, and format of the proposed templates and
instructions attached hereto. WCB likewise proposes minor revisions to
the certification form. Are
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there other changes or additions WCB should make to gather better or
more accurate data or to make the instructions more clear? Is there
additional information or data that WCB should require providers to
submit to enable the Commission to better monitor compliance and
industry trends, or increase transparency to the public? Conversely,
are there any proposed instructions, inquiries, or data fields that
should be removed because they are unnecessary to ensure that providers
report uniform and accurate data and other information or they would
reduce the burdens on providers in submitting this data?
A. Proposed Instructions for Annual Reports
WCB seeks comment on whether the proposed instructions provide
sufficient guidance to ensure that providers use uniform methodologies
and report the required information in a consistent manner. Are there
any additional changes that would clarify the instructions, including
the definitions, to help increase uniformity across providers'
responses? WCB seeks comment on all aspects of the proposed
instructions, including any proposed revisions not explicitly addressed
in the Public Notice.
Reporting Period. As has been the case with prior annual reports,
the reporting period is the year immediately preceding the year during
which the annual report is due. Thus, the reporting period for the next
annual reports due April 1, 2022 will be January 1, 2021 through
December 31, 2021. The Commission's new interim interstate and
international ICS rate caps adopted in the 2021 ICS Order became
effective on October 26, 2021. In various places, the proposed
instructions explain how providers may report less detailed information
for the period between January 1, 2021 and October 25, 2021 than for
the period between October 26, 2021 and December 31, 2021 and going
forward.
General Categories of Information Requested. The proposed
instructions, like for prior reports, require providers to submit
certain types of information related to their operations, ICS rates,
ancillary service charges, site commissions, and disability access. Do
the proposed instructions describe these categories of data in
sufficient detail? Is there additional information or data that WCB
should require providers to submit in any of these categories to enable
the Commission to better monitor compliance and industry trends, or
increase transparency to the public? Are there any changes WCB should
make to the proposed instructions and templates to make them easier for
providers to understand?
B. Specific Data and Information Inquiries
Inmate Calling Service Rates. The proposed instructions require
providers to submit intrastate, interstate, and international ICS rates
across three general categories: (i) Highest rates charged, (ii)
average rates charged, and (iii) year-end rates charged at a particular
facility. Specifically, WCB proposes to require the reporting of the
highest 15-minute rate, highest year-end 15-minute rate, and average
per-minute rate. WCB's current instructions require providers to report
every single rate charged over the reporting period. WCB believes the
proposed categories will significantly reduce the burdens on providers,
particularly those that frequently change their rates. Further, because
certain providers may charge one rate for the initial minute of a call
and another for each successive minute, obtaining information for 15-
minute calls (a duration that the Commission has previously treated as
the length of a typical call) will help the Commission compare rates
among providers without imposing unwarranted burdens on them. With
regard to the highest 15-minute rate, WCB proposes to require providers
to break down those rates into the first-minute rate and the rate for
additional minutes, and to further report the site commission amounts
included in those rates. For interstate and international rates, WCB
adds a fourth category, that would require providers to identify all
rates charged in excess of the applicable rate caps. For international
rates, WCB further proposes to require providers to report terminating
charges they paid to their underlying international service provider to
each destination. Are the proposed instructions for reporting average
international termination charges clear? WCB also proposes to seek
certain narrative information about the reported rates, including
explanations for rates that exceed the Commission's rate caps.
WCB seeks comment on this rate reporting approach. Will seeking
rate information in these categories provide the Commission adequate
rate information to ensure compliance with the Commission's rules? Are
there other changes WCB can make to the proposed rate reporting
structure to make it easier for providers to respond, without
sacrificing any necessary information or transparency? That structure
is a departure from the previous requirement that a provider must
submit every rate charged over the reporting period, a step that should
significantly reduce burdens on providers that frequently adjust their
rates. WCB believes that requiring providers to identify and submit
information on all interstate and international rates that exceed the
applicable caps will not impose an unwarranted burden, as WCB expects
such violations to be infrequent. WCB believes the proposed rate
reporting structure properly balances the need for accurate information
on ICS rates with the need to avoid imposing unwarranted burdens on
providers. WCB invites comment on this assessment.
Ancillary Service Charges. The proposed instructions continue to
require providers to report a variety of information about any
ancillary services charges they have assessed. WCB proposes to require
a narrative explanation concerning any allocation methodology among
facilities in a single contract, where applicable. Is there any
additional information WCB should seek that would improve the quantity
or quality of ancillary charge information providers are required to
submit?
Site Commissions. The proposed instructions seek information
concerning site commissions on a more disaggregated basis than WCB has
previously required. WCB proposes to require providers to report their
average total monthly site commission payments on a facility-by-
facility basis and to separate those payments between legally mandated
and contractually prescribed site commission payments, consistent with
the Commission's rules. WCB also proposes to require providers to
subdivide both types of payments between monetary and in-kind payments
and, within those subdivisions, to report the portions of the payments
that were either fixed or variable. How should providers report the
value of in-kind site commission payments? Should WCB, for example,
require providers to identify the type and quantity of in-kind payment
(such as free or reduced-price equipment) and then assign a dollar
value to that payment? Should WCB instruct providers on how to
determine the dollar value of an in-kind payment and, if so, what
instructions should WCB adopt?
Disability Access and Related Considerations. The proposed
instructions continue to require providers to report a variety of
information about the provision of ICS to incarcerated people with
hearing and speech disabilities, including any Ancillary Service
Charges that providers have assessed for or in connection with
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TTY-based calls. WCB proposes to also require a narrative explanation
concerning any allocation methodology used in connection with this
information, where applicable, and WCB seeks comment on this approach.
Miscellaneous. The proposed instructions contain a variety of
questions seeking basic provider information, as well as questions
seeking narrative information about provider operations and facilities.
Is there additional information the Commission should seek that would
help increase transparency and compliance without imposing unwarranted
burdens on providers?
II. Procedural Matters
Filing of Comments and Replies. Pursuant to Sec. Sec. 1.415 and
1.419 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.415, 1.419, interested
parties may file comments and reply comments on or before the dates
indicated on the first page of this document. Comments may be filed
using the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System. See FCC,
Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 FR 24121
(May 1, 1998).
Comments and reply comments must include a short and concise
summary of the substantive arguments raised in the pleading. Comments
and reply comments must also comply with section 1.49 and all other
applicable sections of the Commission's rules. WCB directs all
interested parties to include the name of the filing party and the date
of the filing on each page of their comments and reply comments. All
parties are encouraged to use a table of contents, regardless of the
length of their submission. WCB also strongly encourages parties to
track the organization set forth in the Public Notice and the
instructions in order to facilitate the internal review process.
Ex Parte Presentations. This proceeding shall be treated as a
``permit-but-disclose'' proceeding in accordance with the Commission's
ex parte rules. Persons making ex parte presentations must file a copy
of any written presentation or a memorandum summarizing any oral
presentation within two business days after the presentation (unless a
different deadline applicable to the Sunshine period applies). Persons
making oral ex parte presentations are reminded that memoranda
summarizing the presentation must (1) list all persons attending or
otherwise participating in the meeting at which the ex parte
presentation was made, and (2) summarize all data presented and
arguments made during the presentation. If the presentation consisted
in whole or in part of the presentation of data or arguments already
reflected in the presenter's written comments, memoranda, or other
filings in the proceeding, the presenter may provide citations to such
data or arguments in the prior comments, memoranda, or other filings
(specifying the relevant page and/or paragraph numbers where such data
or arguments can be found) in lieu of summarizing them in the
memorandum. Documents shown or given to Commission staff during ex
parte meetings are deemed to be written ex parte presentations and must
be filed consistent with Sec. 1.1206(b) of the Commission's rules.
Participants in this proceeding should familiarize themselves with the
Commission's ex parte rules.
Federal Communications Commission.
Pamela Arluk,
Chief, Competition Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2021-28494 Filed 1-3-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
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