2013-24950. Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission Under Delegated Authority

AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:

Notice; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the Federal Communications Commission invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection(s). 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 burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.

The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) that does not display a valid OMB control number.

DATES:

Written Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments should be submitted on or before December 23, 2013. If you anticipate that you will be submitting PRA comments, but find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this notice, you should advise the FCC contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of Management and Budget, via fax at 202-395-5167 or via Internet at [e-mail] and to Judith B. Herman, Federal Communications Commission, via the Internet at [e-mail]. To submit your PRA comments by email send them to: [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Judith B. Herman, Office of Managing Director, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Control Number: 3060-1142.

Title: Electronic Tariff filing System (ETFS), WC Docket No. 10-141.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.

Number of Respondents: 1,500 respondents; 1,500 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour.

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, 152, 154(i), 201-205, and 226(h)(l)(A) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.

Total Annual Burden: 1,500 hours.

Total Annual Cost: $1,267,500.

Privacy Impact Assessment: N/A.

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission does not anticipate providing confidentiality of the information submitted by local exchange carriers. Particularly, the tariffs and related documents sent to the Commission will be made public through ETFS. If the respondents submit information they believe to be confidential, they may request confidential treatment of such information under 47 CFR 0.459 of the Commission's rules.

Needs and Uses: The Commission will submit this expiring information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval of an extension request (no change in the reporting requirements). There is no change in the annual hour burden or the annual cost burden.

Incumbent local exchange carriers (LECs) file their tariffs and associated documents electronically, using ETFS. ETFS has improved the usefulness of tariff filings for both filers and the public and made the entire tariff filing process more transparent. The Commission received OMB approval for the NPRM in 2010.

The Commission released a Report and Order, WC Docket No. 10-141, FCC 11-92, adopting the final rules that were unchanged from those proposed in the NPRM. Therefore, there are no changes to the reporting requirements. In particular, to create a more open, transparent and efficient flow of information to the public, we determined that the benefits of using ETFS for incumbent LEC tariff filings would also be obtained if all tariff filers filed electronically. Such action will benefit the public and carriers by creating a central system providing on-line access to all carrier tariffs and related documents filed with the Commission. As such, competitive LECs (and other nondominant carriers) must now file tariffs and associated documents electronically.

Federal Communications Commission.

Marlene H. Dortch,

Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Office of Managing Director.