Notice2026-09568
Information Collections Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission
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
May 13, 2026
Issuing agencies
Federal Communications Commission
Abstract
As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and 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. Comments are requested concerning: 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; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; 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; and ways to further reduce the information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 92 (Wednesday, May 13, 2026)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 92 (Wednesday, May 13, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27045-27047]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-09568]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[OMB 3060-0149, OMB 3060-0741; FR ID 345583]
Information Collections Being Reviewed by the Federal
Communications Commission
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens,
and 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. Comments are requested
concerning: 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; the
accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; 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; and ways to further reduce the
information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer
than 25 employees.
DATES: Written PRA comments should be submitted on or before July 13,
2026. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find
it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this notice,
you should advise the contact listed below as soon as possible.
ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicole Ongele, FCC, via email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1f4f4d5e5f797c7c31787069"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6e3e3c2f2e080d0d40090118">[email protected]</span></a> and to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fa94939995969fd495949d9f969fba9c9999d49d958c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="66080f05090a0348090801030a032600050548010910">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the
information collection, contact Nicole Ongele, (202) 418-2991.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid 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 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.
OMB Control Number: 3060-0149.
Title: Part 63, Reducing Barriers to Network Improvements and
Service Changes, Accelerating Network Modernization, WC Docket Nos. 25-
208, 25-209, FCC 26-19.
Form Number(s): N/A.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other for profit.
Number of Respondents and Responses: 78 respondents; 90 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 6-10 hours per response.
Frequency of Response: One-time reporting requirement and third-
party disclosure requirements.
Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in
47 U.S.C. 214 and 402 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
Total Annual Burden: 648 hours.
Total Annual Cost: No Cost.
Needs and Uses: The Commission is seeking the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) approval for a revision of a currently approved
collection to OMB. The Commission will submit this information
collection to OMB after this 60-day comment period. Section 214 of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, requires that a carrier must
first obtain FCC authorization either to (1) construct, operate, or
engage in transmission over a line of communications; or (2)
discontinue, reduce or impair service over a line of communications.
Part 63 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) implements
Section 214. Part 63 also implements provisions of the Cable
Communications Policy Act of 1984 pertaining to video which was
approved under this OMB Control Number 3060-0149. In 2009, the
Commission modified Part 63 to extend to providers of interconnected
Voice of Internet Protocol (VoIP) service the discontinuance
obligations that apply to domestic non-dominant telecommunications
carriers under Section 214 of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended. In 2014, the Commission adopted improved administrative filing
procedures for domestic transfers of control, domestic discontinuances
and notices of network changes, and among other adjustments, modified
Part 63 to require electronic filing for applications for authorization
to discontinue, reduce, or impair service under Section 214(a) of the
Act.
[[Page 27046]]
In July 2016, the Commission concluded that applicants seeking to
discontinue a legacy time division multiplexing (TDM)-based voice
service as part of a transition to a new technology, whether Internet
Protocol (IP), wireless, or another type (technology transition
discontinuance application) must demonstrate that an adequate
replacement for the legacy service exists in order to be eligible for
streamlined treatment and revised part 63 accordingly. The Commission
concluded that an applicant for a technology transition discontinuance
may demonstrate that a service is an adequate replacement for a legacy
voice service by certifying or showing that one or more replacement
service(s) offers all of the following: (i) Substantially similar
levels of network infrastructure and service quality as the applicant
service; (ii) compliance with existing federal and/or industry
standards required to ensure that critical applications such as 911,
network security, and applications for individuals with disabilities
remain available; and (iii) interoperability and compatibility with an
enumerated list of applications and functionalities determined to be
key to consumers and competitors (the ``adequate replacement test'').
In November 2017, the Commission further modified the rules
applicable to Section 214(a) discontinuance applications by (1)
expediting applications that ``grandfather'' low speed legacy services
for existing customers; (2) expediting applications to discontinue
previously grandfathered legacy data services; and (3) expediting
applications to discontinue legacy voice or data services below 1.544
Mbps for which the carrier has had no customers and no request for
service for at least a 30-day period immediately preceding submission
of the application.
In June 2018, the Commission again modified the rules applicable to
Section 214(a) discontinuance applications. First, all carriers,
whether dominant or non-dominant, that seek approval to grandfather
data services below speeds of 25 Mbps download speed and 3 Mbps upload
speed are subject to a uniform reduced public comment period of 10 days
and an automatic grant period of 25 days. Second, all carriers, whether
dominant or nondominant, seeking authorization to discontinue data
services below speeds of 25 Mbps download speed and 3 Mbps upload speed
that have previously been grandfathered for a period of at least 180
days are subject to a uniform reduced public comment period of 10 days
and an automatic grant period of 31 days, provided they submit a
statement as part of their discontinuance application that they have
received Commission authority to grandfather the services at issue at
least 180 days prior to the filing of the discontinuance application.
The statement must reference the file number of the prior Commission
authorization to grandfather the services the carrier then seeks to
permanently discontinue. Third, carriers are no longer required to file
an application to discontinue, reduce, or impair any service for which
it has had no customers and no request for service for at least a 30-
day period immediately preceding the discontinuance. Fourth, all
carriers, whether dominant or nondominant, that seek approval to
discontinue legacy voice service can obtain further streamlined
processing with a public comment period of 15 days and an automatic
grant period of 31 days, provided (1) they offer a standalone
interconnected VoIP service throughout the service area, and (2) at
least one alternative stand-alone, facilities-based voice service is
available from an unaffiliated provider throughout the affected service
area (the ``alternative options test''). Finally, all carriers, whether
dominant or nondominant, that seek approval to grandfather legacy voice
service are subject to a uniform reduced public comment period of 10
days and an automatic grant period of 25 days. Certain rules are now
modified as described below.
In March 2026, the Commission further modified the rules applicable
to Section 214(a) discontinuance applications by: (1) adopting one
consolidated rule applicable to all technology transitions
discontinuance applications, whereby an application to discontinue a
currently offered retail voice service as part of a technology
transition is eligible for streamlined processing if the applicant
certifies that one or more of five specified categories of replacement
services is available in every location throughout the affected service
area; (2) granting blanket section 214(a) authority for carriers to
grandfather legacy voices services, lower-speed data telecommunications
services (defined as those operating at speeds below 25/3 Mbps), and
interconnected Voice over internet Protocol (VoIP) service provisioned
over copper wire, thus eliminating the need for carriers to file a
section 214(a) application when grandfathering these services; (3)
adopting requirements providing that carriers seeking authority to
discontinue a service supporting interconnection trunks or the exchange
of traffic must specifically identify the service to be discontinued,
not just the branded name of the service being discontinued, and that
they must include in such discontinuance applications a statement that
at least 90 days prior to the planned discontinuance filing, the
carrier provided a designated point of contact with authority to
facilitate the orderly transition from legacy facilities that support
911 to the 911 Authorities, 911 service providers, and directly
interconnecting local exchange service providers that support essential
functions within 911 networks, including delivering 911 traffic to
selective routers for transmission to public safety answering points
(PSAPs) in the affected service area for coordination of the transition
to ensure continued 911 connectivity, and a list of providers that
received notice in the affected service area with which the carrier has
coordinated and the date(s) of that coordination; (4) granting
conditional forbearance relief from section 214(a) discontinuance
requirements for resellers discontinuing resold services where the
reseller's wholesale provider is engaging in a technology transitions
discontinuance, with the condition that the discontinuing resellers
provide reasonable notice to their customers; (5) applying the 31-day
automatic grant period to all discontinuance applications; (6) setting
forth content requirements for discontinuance applications; and (6)
providing that a carrier may permanently discontinue a service after a
showing that it has previously obtained emergency discontinuance
authority for the service in question, that the service is one for
which the requesting carrier has had no customers or reasonable
requests for service during the 60-day period immediately preceding the
permanent discontinuance, and that an adequate replacement service is
available throughout the affected service area. The Commission also
eliminated 47 CFR 63.66, 63.90, 63.100, 63.504, 63.601, and 63.602, and
revised 47 CFR 63.60, 63.62, and 63.63 to account for any references or
cross-references in those sections caused by the elimination of the
previously enumerated rule provisions.
OMB Control Number: 3060-0741.
Title: Reducing Barriers to Network Improvements and Service
Changes, Accelerating Network Modernization, WC Docket Nos. 25-209, 25-
208.
Form Number(s): N/A.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
[[Page 27047]]
Number of Respondents and Responses: 4,452 respondents; 450,838
responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 0.5-4.5 hours.
Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirements;
recordkeeping and third-party disclosure requirements.
Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47
U.S.C. 222 and 251.
Total Annual Burden: 452,623 hours.
Total Annual Cost: No cost.
Needs and Uses: Section 251 of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended, 47 U.S.C. 251, is designed to accelerate private sector
development and deployment of telecommunications technologies and
services by spurring competition. Section 222(e) is also designed to
spur competition by prescribing requirements for the sharing of
subscriber list information. These information collection requirements
are designed to help implement certain provisions of sections 222(e)
and 251, and to eliminate operational barriers to competition in the
telecommunications services market. Specifically, these information
collection requirements will be used to implement (1) local exchange
carriers' (LECs) obligations to provide their competitors with dialing
parity and non-discriminatory access to certain services and
functionalities; (2) incumbent local exchange carriers' (ILECs) duty to
make network information disclosures; and (3) numbering administration.
In November 2017, the Commission adopted new rules concerning certain
information collection requirements implemented under section 251(c)(5)
of the Act, pertaining to network change disclosures. Most of the
changes to those rules applied specifically to a certain subset of
network change disclosures, namely notices of planned copper
retirements. In addition, the changes removed a rule that prohibits
incumbent LECs from engaging in useful advanced coordination with
entities affected by network changes. In June 2018, the Commission
revised its network change disclosure rules to (1) revise the types of
network changes that trigger an incumbent LEC's public notice
obligation, and (2) extend the force majeure provisions applicable to
copper retirements to all types of network changes. On March 26, 2026,
the Commission adopted a Report and Order that modified certain
recordkeeping or reporting requirements that relate to the obligations
of ILECs planning to retire copper communications facilities or make
other changes to their networks that might impact interoperability.
Specifically, the Commission: (1) eliminated all filing requirements in
the Commission's network change disclosure rules and the Commission's
process of issuing public notices for short-term network changes and
copper retirements and the associated objection process for
interconnected service providers, (2) required that the method of
notice the incumbent LEC uses be publicly accessible, and (3) expanded
the direct notice requirement for copper retirements and short-term
network changes to include 911 service providers and directly
interconnecting LECs that support essential functions within 911
networks, including providers delivering 911 traffic to selective
routers for transmission to public safety answering points. The changes
were aimed at removing unnecessary regulatory barriers to the
deployment of high-speed broadband networks while providing reasonable
public notice of planned network changes to impacted stakeholders and
ensuring continued 911 connectivity.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary. Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-09568 Filed 5-12-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 13, 2026.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.