Notice2026-05120
Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and Approval to Office of Management and Budget
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 17, 2026
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 91 Issue 51 (Tuesday, March 17, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 51 (Tuesday, March 17, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12797-12798]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05120]
[[Page 12797]]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[OMB 3060-1279; FR ID 335240]
Information Collection 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 April 16, 2026.
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 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#da8a889b9abcb9b9f4bdb5ac"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6d3d3f2c2d0b0e0e430a021b">[email protected]</span></a> and to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fcb2959f939099d2b3929b999099bc9a9f9fd29b938a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2866414b47444d0667464f4d444d684e4b4b064f475e">[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: 3060-1279.
Title: Connect America Fund-Alternative Connect America Cost Model
(A-CAM) Voluntary Location Adjustment Process and Rural Digital
Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Unreasonable Locations Process.
Form Number: N/A.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities, Not-for-profit
institutions, Individuals or Households, and State, Local or Tribal
Governments.
Number of Respondents and Responses: 115 respondents; 115
responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 5-40 hours.
Frequency of Response: One-time and on occasion reporting
requirements.
Obligation to Respond: Voluntary. Statutory authority for this
information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 155(c),
214, 254.
Total Annual Burden: 4,075 hours.
Total Annual Cost: No Cost.
Needs and Uses: This information collection addresses the
requirements of Eligible Locations Adjustment Process (ELAP) that the
Commission used to facilitate the post-auction review of certain
Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II Auction support recipients' defined
deployment obligations (and associated support), on a state-by-state
basis, in situations where the number of eligible locations within a
state is less than the number of funded locations. Connect America
Fund, WC Docket No. 10-90, Order, 38 FCC Rcd 1135 (WCB 2023); Connect
America Fund, WC Docket Nos. 10-90 et al., Order on Reconsideration, 33
FCC Rcd 1380, 1390-92, paras. 23-28 (2018) (Phase II Auction
Reconsideration Order); Connect America Fund, WC Docket No. 10-90,
Order, 34 FCC Rcd 10395 (WCB 2019) (adopting rules and requirements
necessary to implement this process, consistent with the parameters set
forth in the Phase II Auction Reconsideration Order and prior
Commission guidance for adjusting defined deployment obligations) (ELAP
Order). CAF Phase II Auction support recipients' participation in this
process was voluntary. On February 9, 2023, the Wireline Competition
Bureau (WCB) released an order determining that each ELAP participant
had met its burden of proof and modifying the obligations and support
of each of these participants, on a state-by-state basis. Connect
America Fund, WC Docket No. 10-90, Order, 38 FCC Rcd 1135 (WCB 2023)
(ELAP Resolution Order). Accordingly, the Commission proposes to
eliminate the information collection requirements related to ELAP now
that ELAP has ended.
This information collection also addresses the requirements of a
location adjustment process that the Commission adopted for Revised A-
CAM I and A-CAM II carriers. The Commission proposes to add information
collection requirements for this process. Specifically, the Commission
decided that A-CAM support recipients that discover there is a widely
divergent number of locations in their funded census blocks as compared
to the model-estimated number of locations should have the opportunity
to seek an adjustment to modify their deployment obligations. The
Commission delegated to the WCB the authority to adjust the number of
funded locations downward and reduce associated funding levels. Connect
America Fund et al., WC Docket No. 10-90 et al., Report and Order,
Order and Order on Reconsideration, and Further Notice of
[[Page 12798]]
Proposed Rulemaking, 31 FCC Rcd 3087 (2016) (2016 Rate-of-Return Reform
Order).
In the High-Cost Fabric Order, WCB adopted procedures to implement
this process, including permitting Revised A-CAM I and A-CAM II
carriers that have fewer locations in eligible 2010 census blocks than
the carrier has supported locations pursuant to its A-CAM authorization
to seek a voluntary downward adjustment in their location totals by
using the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (Fabric) to demonstrate
the actual number of locations in their service areas. The adjustment
will be based on the version of the Fabric used for the Broadband Data
Collection (BDC) collection as of June 30, 2026, which is expected to
be released to licensees around June 2026, and carriers will have a
one-time window to request such an adjustment shortly after this
version of the Fabric is made available to licensees. Revised A-CAM I
and A-CAM II carriers must request a downward adjustment in WC Docket
No. 10-90 and can incorporate Fabric by reference when requesting this
adjustment by certifying that they have reviewed the Fabric and there
are fewer locations identified in the relevant version of the Fabric in
the carriers' service area than the carrier's model-estimated locations
total. A carrier can demonstrate that it has met the preponderance of
the evidence standard by referencing the Fabric data and WCB will use
the A-CAM to determine the adjusted location obligations and support
amounts for such carriers. Connect America Fund et al., WC Docket No.
10-90 et al., DA 25-32 (WCB Jan. 10, 2025) (High-Cost Fabric Order).
Moreover, the Commission proposes to add information collection
requirements for a process to permit certain RDOF carriers to
demonstrate that locations within their supported service area are
unreasonable to serve. To account for disparities between locations on
the ground and those estimated by the Connect America Cost Model and to
acknowledge its confidence that the Commission would have access to
more accurate location data in the next few years, the Commission
directed WCB to seek comment on updated location data and publish
revised location counts no later than the end of service milestone year
six for RDOF carriers. The Commission also adopted a framework for how
service milestones would be revised in various circumstances after WCB
had published more accurate location counts. In areas where there are
more locations than locations estimated by the CAM, a RDOF carrier has
until the end of the eighth calendar year to offer service to the
additional locations. Such a RDOF carrier may seek to have its new
location count adjusted to exclude additional locations, beyond the
number identified by the CAM, that are ineligible, unreasonable to
deploy to, or are part of a development that is newly built after the
sixth year of support for which the cost and/or time to deploy before
the end of the support term would be unreasonable. Connect America Fund
et al., WC Docket No. 19-126 et al., Report and Order, 35 FCC Rcd 686,
709-712, paras. 45-55 (2020).
In the High-Cost Fabric Order, WCB adopted procedures to implement
this process. Specifically, once WCB has announced revised location
totals for RDOF carriers in 2027, carriers will have six months to
submit any requests to remove locations from their revised locations
lists. WCB will set up a data collection system in which carriers
should submit a request identifying the locations they claim are
unreasonable to serve (i.e., Fabric Location ID), the specific reasons
why each location is unreasonable to serve, and evidence to support
their claims. The Bureau may then request additional information from
the carrier and other stakeholders to verify and assess the carrier's
claims. WCB may request additional information to assess a carrier's
claim that a location is unreasonable to serve, and a failure to submit
this additional information would result in the Bureau finding that the
carrier has not demonstrated that it would be unreasonable to serve the
location. We therefore propose to revise this information collection.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-05120 Filed 3-16-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
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