Notice2023-06940
Information Collections Being Submitted for Review and Approval to Office of Management and Budget
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Published
April 4, 2023
Issuing agencies
Federal Communications Commission
Abstract
As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) invites the general public and other Federal Agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection. Pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, the FCC seeks specific comment on how it might "further reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees." The Commission may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the PRA that does not display a valid OMB control number.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 64 (Tuesday, April 4, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 4, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19953-19955]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06940]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[OMB 3060-0233, 3060-0804, 3060-0819, 3060-1126; FR ID 134448]
Information Collections Being Submitted for Review and Approval
to Office of Management and Budget
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens,
as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) invites the general
public and other Federal Agencies to take this opportunity to comment
on the following information collection. Pursuant to the Small Business
Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, the FCC seeks specific comment on how it
might ``further reduce the information collection burden for small
business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.'' The Commission may
not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a
currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.
No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a
collection of information subject to the PRA that does not display a
valid OMB control number.
DATES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be submitted on or before May 4, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Find this particular information collection by selecting
``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using
the search function. Your comment must be submitted into
<a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a> per the
[[Page 19954]]
above instructions for it to be considered. In addition to submitting
in <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a> also send a copy of your comment on the proposed
information collection to Nicole Ongele, FCC, via email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#85d5d7c4c5e3e6e6abe2eaf3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="feaeacbfbe989d9dd0999188">[email protected]</span></a>
and to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6f21060c00030a412001080a030a2f090c0c41080019"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7a34131915161f5435141d1f161f3a1c1919541d150c">[email protected]</span></a>. Include in the comments the OMB control
number as shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies
of the information collection, contact Nicole Ongele at (202) 418-2991.
To view a copy of this information collection request (ICR) submitted
to OMB: (1) go to the web page <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>, (2) look for the section of the web page called ``Currently
Under Review,'' (3) click on the downward-pointing arrow in the
``Select Agency'' box below the ``Currently Under Review'' heading, (4)
select ``Federal Communications Commission'' from the list of agencies
presented in the ``Select Agency'' box, (5) click the ``Submit'' button
to the right of the ``Select Agency'' box, (6) when the list of FCC
ICRs currently under review appears, look for the Title of this ICR and
then click on the ICR Reference Number. A copy of the FCC submission to
OMB will be displayed.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As part of its continuing effort to reduce
paperwork burdens, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the FCC invited the general public and
other Federal Agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the
following information collection. Comments are requested concerning:
(a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the
proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including
whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy
of the Commission's burden estimates; (c) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of information on the
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology. Pursuant to the Small Business
Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(4), the FCC seeks specific comment on how it might ``further
reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns
with fewer than 25 employees.''
OMB Control Number: 3060-0233.
Title: Part 54--Rate-of-Return Carrier Universal Service Reporting
Requirements.
Form Number: FCC Form 507, FCC Form 508 and FCC Form 509.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
Number of Respondents and Responses: 1,095 respondents; 4,044
responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 1-22 hours.
Frequency of Response: On occasion and annual reporting
requirements.
Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47
U.S.C. 151-154, 214, 218-220, 221(c), 254, and 303(r).
Total Annual Burden: 43,638 hours.
Total Annual Cost: No Cost.
Needs and Uses: In order to determine which carriers are entitled
to universal service support, all rate-of-return regulated (rate-of-
return) incumbent local exchange carriers (LECs) must provide the
National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) with the loop cost and
loop count data required by section 54.1305 for each of its study areas
and, if applicable, for each wire center as that term is defined in 47
CFR part 54. See 47 CFR 54.1305 and 54.5. The loop cost and loop count
information is to be filed annually with NECA by July 31st of each
year, and may be updated occasionally pursuant to section 54.1306. See
47 CFR 54.1306. Pursuant to section 54.1307, the information filed on
July 31st of each year will be used to calculate universal service
support for each study area and is filed by NECA with the Commission on
October 1 of each year. See 47 CFR 54.1307. An incumbent LEC is defined
as a carrier that meets the definition of ``incumbent local exchange
carrier'' in section 51.5 of the Commission's rules. See 47 CFR 51.5.
In March 2016, the Commission adopted the Rate-of-Return Reform
Order to continue modernizing the universal service support mechanisms
for rate-of-return carriers. The Rate-of-Return Reform Order replaced
the Interstate Common Line Support (ICLS) mechanism with the Connect
America Fund--Broadband Loop Support (CAF-BLS) mechanism. While ICLS
supported only lines used to provide traditional voice service
(including voice service bundled with broadband service), CAF-BLS also
supports consumer broadband-only loops. In March 2016, the Commission
adopted the Rate-of-Return Reform Order to continue modernizing the
universal service support mechanisms for rate-of-return carriers. The
Rate-of-Return Reform Order replaced the Interstate Common Line Support
(ICLS) mechanism with the Connect America Fund--Broadband Loop Support
(CAF-BLS) mechanism. While ICLS supported only lines used to provide
traditional voice service (including voice service bundled with
broadband service), CAF-BLS also supports consumer broadband-only
loops. For the purposes of calculating and monitoring CAF-BLS, rate-of-
return carriers that receive CAF-BLS must file common line and consumer
broadband-only loop counts on FCC Form 507, forecasted common line and
consumer broadband-only loop costs and revenues on FCC Form 508, and
actual common line and consumer broadband-only loop costs and revenues
on FCC Form 509. See 47 CFR 54.903(a).
In December 2018, the Commission adopted the December 2018 Rate-of-
Return Reform Order to require rate-of-return carriers that receive
Alternative Connect American Model (A-CAM) or Alaska Plan support to
file line count data on FCC Form 507 as a condition of high-cost
support. Historically, all rate-of-return carriers received CAF BLS or,
prior to that, ICLS, and were required to file line count data on FCC
Form 507 as a condition of that support. In recent years, some rate-of-
return carriers have elected to receive A-CAM I, A-CAM II, or Alaska
Plan instead, and those carriers were not required to file line count
data because the requirement to file applied only to rate-of-return
carriers receiving CAF BLS. In order to restore a data set that the
Commission relied on to evaluate the effectiveness of its high-cost
universal service programs, the Commission revised its rules in that
Order to require all rate-of-return carriers to file that data. While
carriers receiving CAF-BLS must file the line count data on March 31
for line counts as of the prior December 31, the A-CAM I, A-CAM II, and
Alaska Plan carriers will be required to file on July 1 of each year to
coincide with other existing requirements in OMB Control No. 3060-0986.
Connect America Fund et al., WC Docket No. 10-90 et al., Report and
Order, Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order on
Reconsideration, 33 FCC Rcd 11893 (2018) (2018 Rate-of-Return Reform
Order). See also 47 CFR 54.313(f)(5).
OMB Control Number: 3060-0804.
Title: Universal Service--Rural Health Care Program.
Form Numbers: FCC Forms 460, 461, 462, 463, 465, 466, and 467.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit
institutions; Federal Government; and State, Local, or Tribal
governments.
[[Page 19955]]
Number of Respondents and Responses: 12,854 unique respondents;
102,681 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 0.30-17 hours.
Frequency of Response: On occasion, One-time, Annual, and Monthly
reporting requirements.
Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in
sections 1-4, 201-205, 214, 254, 303(r), and 403 of the Communications
Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151-154, 201-205, 214, 254, 303(r),
and 403, unless otherwise noted.
Total Annual Burden: 413,460 hours.
Total Annual Cost: No Cost.
Needs and Uses: The Commission seeks OMB approval of an extension
of this information collection, which is scheduled to expire on May 31,
2023. This collection is utilized for the RHC support mechanism of the
Commission's universal service fund (USF). The collection of this
information is necessary so that the Commission and the Universal
Service Administrative Company (USAC) will have sufficient information
to determine if entities are eligible for funding pursuant to the RHC
universal service support mechanism, to determine if entities are
complying with the Commission's rules, and to prevent waste, fraud, and
abuse. This information is also necessary in order to allow the
Commission to evaluate the extent to which the RHC Program is meeting
the statutory objectives specified in section 254(h) of the 1996 Act,
and the Commission's performance goals for the RHC Program.
The Healthcare Connect Fund Program currently includes FCC Forms
460, 461, 462, and 463 and the Telecom Program currently includes FCC
Forms 465, 466, and 467. The information on the FCC Form templates is a
representative description of the information to be collected via an
online portal and is not intended to be a visual representation of what
each applicant or service provider will see, the order in which they
will see information, or the exact wording or directions used to
collect the information. Where possible, information already provided
by applicants from previous filing years or that was pre-filed in the
system portal will be carried forward and auto-generated into the form
to simplify the information collection for applicants.
OMB Control Number: 3060-0819.
Title: Bridging the Digital Divide for Low-Income Consumers,
Lifeline and Link Up Reform and Modernization, Telecommunications
Carriers Eligible for Universal Service Support.
Form No.: FCC Form 481, 497, 555, 5629, 5630, and 5631.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Individuals or households and business or other for-
profit enterprises.
Number of Respondents and Responses: 25,110,064 respondents;
26,877,404 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 0.0167-125 hours.
Frequency of Response: Annual, biennial, monthly, daily and on
occasion reporting requirements, recordkeeping requirement and third-
party disclosure requirement.
Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Statutory authority is contained in Sections 1, 4(i), 5, 201, 205, 214,
219, 220, 254, 303[supreg], and 403 of the Communications Act of 1934,
as amended, and section 706 of the Communications Act of 1996, as
amended; 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 155, 201, 205, 214, 219, 220, 254,
303(r), 403, and 1302.
Total Annual Burden: 6,534,374 hours.
Total Annual Cost: $937,500.
Needs and Uses: This revision implements several process and
procedural changes made to reflect the full implementation of the
National Verifier in all states and territories and updates several of
the forms associated with this collection. These changes require minor
modifications to the previously approved requirements. These changes
have a moderate impact on the overall burden, increasing the burden
hours for some requirements and decreasing the burden hours for other
requirements.
OMB Control Number: 3060-1126.
Title: Testing and Logging Requirements for Wireless Emergency
Alerts (WEA).
Form Number: Not applicable.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
Number of Respondents and Responses: 76 Participating CMS
Providers; 429,020 Responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 0.000694 hours (2.5 seconds) to
generate each alert log; 2 hours to respond to each request for alert
log data or information about geo-targeting
Frequency of Response: Monthly and on occasion reporting
requirements and recordkeeping requirement.
Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47
U.S.C. 151, 152, 154(i) and (o), 301, 301(r), 303(v), 307, 309, 335,
403, 544(g), 606 and 615 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended,
as well as by sections 602(a), (b), (c), (f), 603, 604 and 606 of the
WARN Act.
Total Annual Burden: 119,021 hours.
Total Annual Cost: No cost.
Needs and Uses: The Commission adopted requirements for
Participating CMS Providers to log the basic attributes of alerts they
receive at their Alert Gateway, to maintain those logs for at least 12
months, to make those logs available upon request to the Commission and
FEMA, and to emergency management agencies that offer confidentiality
protection at least equal to that provided by federal FOIA. The
Commission also requires Participating CMS Providers to disclose
information regarding their capabilities for geo-targeting Alert
Messages upon request to such emergency management agencies insofar as
it would pertain to Alert Messages initiated by that emergency
management agency. These recordkeeping and reporting requirements have
potential to increase emergency managers' confidence that WEA will work
as intended when needed. This increased confidence in system
availability encourages emergency management agencies that do not
currently use WEA to become authorized. These reporting and
recordkeeping requirements also help to ensure a fundamental component
of system integrity. Alert logs are necessary to establish a baseline
for system integrity against which future iterations of WEA can be
evaluated. Without records that can be used to describe the quality of
system integrity, and the most common causes of message transmission
failure, it would be difficult to evaluate how any changes to WEA may
affect system integrity.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-06940 Filed 4-3-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
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