95-28468. Public Information Collection Requirement Submitted to OMB for Review  

  • [Federal Register Volume 60, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 22, 1995)]
    [Notices]
    [Pages 57868-57869]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 95-28468]
    
    
    
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    FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
    
    Public Information Collection Requirement Submitted to OMB for 
    Review
    
    November 13, 1995.
    
    SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its 
    continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden invites the general public 
    and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the 
    following information collections, as required by the Paperwork 
    Reduction Act of 1980, (44 U.S.C. 3507). Comments concerning the 
    Commission's need for this information, the accuracy of the provided 
    burden estimates, and any suggested methods for minimizing respondent 
    burden, including the use of automated information techniques, are 
    requested. The Commission has requested an emergency OMB review of the 
    Form 1240 with an approval by December 8, 1995.
    
    DATES: Persons wishing to comment on this information collection should 
    submit comments on or before December 8, 1995.
    
    ADDRESS: Direct all comments to Timothy Fain, Office of Management and 
    Budget, Room 10236 NEOB, Washington, DC 20503, (202) 395-3561 or via 
    internet at fain_t@a1.eop.gov, and Dorothy Conway, Federal 
    Communications, Room 234, 1919 M St., NW., Washington, DC 20554 or via 
    internet to dconway@fcc.gov.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies 
    of the information collections contact Dorothy Conway at 202-418-0217 
    or via internet at dconway@fcc.gov. Copies may also be obtained via fax 
    by contacting the Commission's Fax on Demand System. To obtain fax 
    copies call 202-418-0177 from the handset on your fax machine, and 
    enter the document retrieval number indicated below, when prompted.
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 22, 1995, the Commission 
    released a Thirteenth Order on Reconsideration (``Benchmark Cleanup 
    Order''), FCC 95-397, MM Docket No. 92-266, Implementation of Sections 
    of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 
    1992. In the ``Benchmark Cleanup Order'', the Commission adopts a new 
    optional rate adjustment methodology where cable operators will be 
    permitted to make annual rate changes to their BSTs and CPSTs. 
    Operators that elect to use this new methodology will adjust their 
    rates once per year to reflect reasonably certain and reasonably 
    quantifiable changes in external costs, inflation, and the number of 
    regulated channels that are projected for the 12 months following the 
    rate change. Because operators will be permitted to estimate cost 
    changes that will occur in the 12 months following the rate filing, we 
    expect that this methodology will limit delays in recovering costs that 
    operators may experience under the current system. Any incurred cost 
    that is underestimated or overestimated may be accrued with interest 
    and added to rates at a later time. If actual and projected costs are 
    different during the rate year, a ``true up'' mechanism is available to 
    correct estimated costs with actual cost changes. The ``true up'' 
    requires 
    
    [[Page 57869]]
    operators to decrease their rates or alternatively, permits them to 
    increase their rates to make adjustments for over- or under- 
    estimations of these cost changes. Operators would not lose the right 
    to make a rate increase at a later date if they choose not to implement 
    a rate adjustment at the beginning of the next rate year. Finally, in 
    order that operators not feel compelled to make rate filings or 
    increase rates when they otherwise would not, we will eliminate the 
    ``use or lose'' requirement for operators that elect this methodology.
    
    Filing Instructions for the Form 1240
    
        If this is your first time filing Form 1240 (assuming your 
    franchise area is already subject to regulation), and if your most 
    recent Form 1210 does not incorporate changes through June 30, 1995, 
    there are two circumstances under which you must file a Form 1210 which 
    records the changes in your system's costs which have occurred between 
    the last Form 1210 and June 30, 1995. The first is if you moved any 
    channels between regulated tiers in this time period. The second is if 
    you have added channels to your regulated tier(s) during this time 
    period and you wish to claim Caps Method or Markup Method adjustments 
    for these channels. Any Form 1210 you file to meet these two conditions 
    should not be treated as a separate filing, but rather as an attachment 
    to your Form 1240. If your most recent Form 1210 does incorporate 
    changes through June 30, 1995, you do not have to perform this first 
    step.
    
        If this is your first time filing Form 1240 and you have never been 
    subject to CPST regulation, in order to meet your burden of showing 
    that your CPST rate is not unreasonable, you may have to provide 
    details about your previous increases.
    
        If your local franchising authority becomes certified to regulate 
    the basic service tier (``BST'', see the General Instructions section 
    for a full definition), you are required to follow the Commission's 
    existing rules and file a Form 1200, a Form 1205, and a Form 1210. Once 
    those have been filed, you may switch to the annual filing system.
    
        The Commission's rules recognize seven categories of external 
    costs: retransmission consent fees, copyright fees, programming costs, 
    certain cable specific taxes, franchise-related costs, franchise fees 
    and Commission regulatory fees. You may adjust your maximum permitted 
    rate for changes in these categories of costs except for franchise 
    fees, which are not included in your permitted rates but rather are 
    simply added to them.
    
        Form 1240 must be filed with your local franchising authority at 
    least 90 days before you plan to implement a change in your basic rates 
    if your local franchising authority is certified to regulate basic 
    rates. You must notify your local franchising authority of the annual 
    filing date prior to filing Form 1240.
    
        If the Commission found your cable programming service rates to be 
    unreasonable less than one year ago, or if a complaint about a CPST 
    rate is pending before the Commission, and you now wish to increase 
    your CPST rates, you must submit FCC Form 1240 to the Commission at 
    least 30 days before raising your rates.
    
        The Commission's mailing address for Form 1240 filings is: Federal 
    Communications Commission, Form 1240, P.O. Box 18658, Washington, DC 
    20036.
    
    OMB Approval Number: New Collection.
        Title: Annual Updating of Maximum Permitted Rates for Regulated 
    Cable Services.
        Form No.: FCC Form 1240.
        Type of Review: New Collection.
        Respondents: Business or other for-profit; State, Local or Tribal 
    Governments.
        Number of Respondents: 5,850.
        Estimated Time Per Response: 15 hours.
        Total Annual Burden: 116,438 hours.
        Needs and Uses: The Commission has created the FCC Form 1240 Annual 
    Updating of Maximum Permitted Rates for Regulated Cable Services as a 
    filing alternative to the FCC Form 1210, which is filed quarterly. The 
    Form 1240, like the Form 1210, is filed by cable operators seeking to 
    adjust maximum permitted rates for regulated services to reflect 
    changes in external costs. Cable operators will submit the Form 1240 to 
    their respective local franchising authorities upon certification to 
    regulate basic service tier rates and associated equipment; or with the 
    Commission (in situations where the Commission has assumed 
    jurisdiction). The Form 1240 will also be filed with the Commission 
    when responding to a complaint filed with the Commission about cable 
    programming service rates and associated equipment. The data will be 
    used by the Commission and local franchising authorities to adjudicate 
    permitted rates for regulated cable services and equipment, for the 
    addition of new programming tiers and to account for the addition and 
    deletion of channels and the allowance for pass throughs of external 
    costs and costs due to inflation.
    
        Fax Document Retrieval Number: 601240.
    
    Federal Communications Commission.
    William F. Caton,
    Acting Secretary.
    [FR Doc. 95-28468 Filed 11-21-95; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 6712-01-F
    
    

Document Information

Published:
11/22/1995
Department:
Federal Communications Commission
Entry Type:
Notice
Document Number:
95-28468
Dates:
Persons wishing to comment on this information collection should submit comments on or before December 8, 1995.
Pages:
57868-57869 (2 pages)
PDF File:
95-28468.pdf