2021-02681. Information Collections Being Submitted for Review and Approval to Office of Management and Budget

AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

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 can further reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.

DATES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted on or before March 12, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

Comments should be sent to www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. 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 www.reginfo.gov per the above instructions for it to be considered. In addition to submitting in www.reginfo.gov also send a copy of your comment on the proposed information collection to Cathy Williams, FCC, via email to [e-mail] and to [e-mail]. 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 Cathy Williams at [phone]. To view a copy of this information collection request (ICR) submitted to OMB: (1) Go to the web page http://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain,, (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:

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.

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 No.: 3060-XXXX.

Title: Telemetry, Tracking and Command Earth Station Operators.

Form No: N/A.

Type of Review: New collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.

Number of Respondents: 4 respondents; 4 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 12 hours.

Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement and Third-party disclosure requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The Commission has statutory authority for the information collection requirements under 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154(i), 154(j), 155(c), 201, 302, 303, 304, 307(e), 309, and 316.

Total Annual Burden: 48 hours.

Total Annual Cost: $2,200.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for confidentiality pertaining to the information collection requirements in this collection.

Needs and Uses: On March 3, 2020, the Commission released a Report and Order and Order of Proposed Modification titled, “In the Matter of Expanding Flexible Use of the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz,” GN Docket Number 18-122 (FCC 20-22). This rulemaking, which is under the purview of the Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, is hereinafter referred to as the 3.7 GHz Report and Order.

The Commission believes that C-band spectrum for terrestrial wireless uses will play a significant role in bringing next-generation services like 5G to the American public and assuring American leadership in the 5G ecosystem. The agency took action to make this valuable spectrum resource available for new terrestrial wireless uses as quickly as possible, while also preserving the continued operation of existing Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) available during and after the transition.

In the 3.7 GHz Report and Order, the Commission concluded that a public auction of the lower 280 megahertz of the C-band will best carry out our goals, and the agency will add a mobile allocation to the 3.7-4.0 GHz band so that next-generation services such as 5G can use the band. Relying on the Emerging Technologies framework, the Commission adopted a process to relocate FSS operations into the upper 200 megahertz of the band, while fully reimbursing existing operators for the costs of this relocation and offering accelerated relocation payments to encourage a speedy transition. The Commission also adopted service and technical rules for overlay licensees in the 280 megahertz of spectrum designated for transition to flexible use.

Among other information collection requirements in the 3.7 GHz Report and Order, the Commission has adopted several requirements, described in the text, related to the protection of TT&C earth stations and coordination with 3.7 GHz Service licensees. In a section of the 3.7 GHz Report and Order titled “Adjacent Channel Protection Criteria” the Commission sets out the following requirements:

Pursuant to paragraph 388 of the 3.7 GHz Report and Order, the Commission requires that the TT&C operators make available certain pertinent technical information about their systems upon request by licensees in the 3.7 GHz Service to ensure the protection of TT&C operations. In addition, paragraph 389 of the 3.7 GHz Report and Order includes the requirement that, in the event of a claim by a TT&C earth station operating in 4.0-4.2 GHz of harmful interference by a 3.7 GHZ operator, the earth station operator must demonstrate that that have installed a filter that complies with the mask requirement prescribed by the Commission. This requirement will facilitate an efficient and safe transition by requiring earth station operators to demonstrate their compliance with the mask requirements, thereby minimizing the risk of interference.

OMB Control Number: 3060-1166.

Title: Section 1.21001, Participation in Competitive Bidding for Support; Section 1.21002, Prohibition of Certain Communications During the Competitive Bidding 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, and state, local or tribal governments.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 750 respondents and 750 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 1.5 hours.

Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. Statutory authority for this information collection 47 U.S.C. 154, 254 and 303(r).

Total Annual Burden: 1,125 hours.

Total Annual Cost: No cost.

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Information collected in each application to participate in an auction for universal service support will be made available for public inspection, and the Commission is not requesting that respondents submit confidential information to the Commission as part of the pre-auction application process. However, to the extent that a respondent seeks to have certain information collected in an application to participate in an auction for universal service support or in a report of a prohibited communication withheld from public inspection, the respondent may request confidential treatment of such information pursuant to section 0.459 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR Section 0.459.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Needs and Uses: The information required by section 1.21001 of the Commission's rules that is collected under this information collection is used by the Commission to determine whether applicants are eligible to participate in auctions for Universal Service Fund support. The reports of prohibited communications made or received by an auction applicant required by section 1.21002 of the Commission's rules that are collected under this information collection enable the Commission to ensure that no bidder gains an unfair advantage over other bidders in its auctions for universal service support and thus enhance the competitiveness and fairness of Commission's auctions for universal service support.

On November 18, 2011, the Commission released an order comprehensively reforming and modernizing the universal service and intercarrier compensation systems to ensure that robust, affordable voice and broadband service, both fixed and mobile, are available to Americans throughout the nation. Connect America Fund et al., Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 11-161 (USF/ICC Transformation Order). In the USF/ICC Transformation Order, the Commission, among other things, created (1) the Connect America Fund (CAF), to help make broadband available to homes, businesses, and community anchor institutions in areas that do not, or would not otherwise, have broadband, (2) the Mobility Fund, to ensure the availability of mobile broadband networks in areas where a private-sector business case, (3) the Remote Areas Fund (RAF), to ensure that Americans living in the most remote areas in the nation, where the cost of deploying traditional terrestrial broadband networks is extremely high, can obtain affordable access through alternative technology platforms, including satellite and unlicensed wireless services. The USF/ICC Transformation Order directed that support under CAF Phase II, the Mobility Fund, and the RAF be awarded by competitive bidding. The Commission adopted rules to implement the reforms it adopted in the USF/ICC Transformation Order, including rules in Part 1, Subpart AA of the Commission's rules governing competitive bidding for universal service support generally. See 47 CFR 1.21001-1.21004.

On October 27, 2020, the Commission adopted a Report and Order in which it, among other things, amended its existing Part 1, Subpart AA general universal service competitive bidding rules to codify policies and procedures applicable to the universal service auction application process that have been adopted in its recent universal service auctions, better align provisions in the universal service competitive bidding rules with like provisions in the Commission's spectrum auction rules, and make other updates for consistency, clarification, and other purposes that would apply in all universal service auctions. Establishing a 5G Fund for Rural America, Report and Order, FCC 20-150 (5G Fund Report and Order). The amended Part 1, Subpart AA rules adopted in the 5G Fund Report and Order apply to applicants seeking to participate in future Commission auctions for universal service support.

Federal Communications Commission.

Marlene Dortch,

Secretary, Office of the Secretary.