2018-03546. Information Collection Being Submitted to the 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, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal Communications Commission (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 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.

The Commission 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.

DATES:

Written PRA comments should be submitted on or before March 23, 2018.

ADDRESSES:

Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, OMB, via email [e-mail]; and to Cathy Williams, FCC, via email [e-mail] and to [e-mail]. Include in the comments the Title as shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For additional information about the information collection, contact Cathy Williams at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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 Commission ICRs currently under review appears, look for the Title of this ICR and then click on the ICR Reference Number. A copy of the Commission's submission to OMB will be displayed.

OMB Control No.: 3060-0686.

Title: International Section 214 Process and Tariff Requirements—47 CFR 63.10, 63.11, 63.13, 63.18, 63.19, 63.21, 63.22, 63.24, 63.25 and 1.1311.

Form No.: International Section 214—New Authorization; International Section 214 Authorization—Transfer of Control/Assignment; International Section 214—Special Temporary Authority and International Section 214—Foreign Carrier Affiliation Notification.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved information collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit.

Number of Respondents: 528 respondents; 792 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 1-20 hours.

Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement, Quarterly reporting requirement, Recordkeeping requirement and third party disclosure requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The Commission's statutory authority for this information collection under sections 1, 4(i), 4(j), 10, 11, 201-205, 208, 211, 214, 218, 219, 220, 303(r), 309, 310, 403 and 571 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 154(j), 154(j), 160, 161, 201-205, 208, 211, 214, 218, 219, 220, 303(r), 309, 310, 403 and 571.

Total Annual Burden: 3,152 hours.

Annual Cost Burden: $752,400.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission has not granted assurances of confidentiality to those parties submitting the information, except for the list or routes required under 47 CFR 63.22(h) which the Commission will treat as not routinely available for public inspection. In all the other cases where a respondent believes information requires confidentiality, the respondent can request confidential treatment under Section 0.459 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 0.459.

Needs and Uses: The Federal Communications Commission (“Commission”) is requesting that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve a revision of OMB Control No. 3060-0686 titled, “International Section 214 Authorization Process and Tariff Requirements—47 CFR Sections 63.10, 63.11, 63.13, 63.18, 63.19, 63.21, 63.24, 63.25 and 1.1311.” The purpose of this revision is to obtain OMB approval for the reporting requirements under newly adopted 47 CFR 63.22(h), which requires facilities-based international service providers electronically to submit, and maintain, a list of routes on which they have direct termination arrangements with a foreign carrier. In addition, this list maybe used to initiate targeted data collections regarding those routes. Finally, we remove from this collection the requirements related to 47 U.S.C. 310(b) which are now included in the collection under OMB Control No. 3060-1163.

The current title of OMB Control No. 3060-0686 is “International Section 214 Process and Tariff Requirements—47 CFR Sections 63.10, 63.11, 63.13, 63.18, 63.19, 63.21, 63.24, 63.25 and 1.1311”. The Commission would like to change the title to “International Section 214 Process and Tariff Requirements—47 CFR Sections 63.10, 63.11, 63.13, 63.18, 63.19, 63.21, 63.22, 63.24, 63.25 and 1.1311” to reflect the addition of 47 CFR 63.22(h) to the information collection.

The information will be used by the Commission staff in carrying out its duties under the Communications Act. The information collections pertaining to Part 63 are necessary largely to determine the qualifications of applicants to provide common carrier international telecommunications service under section 214 of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. 214, including applicants that are, or are affiliated with, foreign carriers, and to determine whether and under what conditions the authorizations are in the public interest, convenience, and necessity. The information collections are also necessary to maintain effective oversight of U.S. international carriers generally.

The frequency of filing applications pursuant to Sections 214 will be determined largely by the applicant seeking to provide U.S international common carrier service under section 214 of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. 214. Carriers will also determine largely the frequency of filing under the other rules included in this collection, with the exception of the quarterly reports required of certain carriers under 47 CFR 63.10(c) and the list of routes for which a facilities-based international service provider must make a one-time filing and update as necessary under 47 CFR 63.22(h). If the collections are not conducted or are conducted less frequently, applicants will not obtain the authorizations necessary to provide telecommunications services, and the Commission will be unable to carry out its mandate under the Communications Act of 1934. In addition, without the information collections, the United States would jeopardize its ability to fulfill the U.S. obligations as negotiated under the World Telecommunications Organization (WTO) Basic Telecom Agreement because these collections are imperative to detecting and deterring anticompetitive conduct. They are also necessary to preserve the Executive Branch agencies' and the Commission's ability to review foreign investments for national security, law enforcement, foreign policy, and trade concerns. Regarding 47 CFR 63.11, carriers determine largely when to notify the Commission of planned investments by or in foreign carriers. If the information is not collected by the Commission, we will not be able to prevent carriers that control bottleneck facilities in foreign countries from using those bottlenecks to discriminate against unaffiliated U.S. carriers.

Federal Communications Commission.

Marlene H. Dortch,

Secretary, Office of the Secretary.