2018-05204. Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission

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 (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. 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.

DATES:

Written PRA comments should be submitted on or before May 14, 2018. 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 [e-mail] and to [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For additional information about the information collection, contact Nicole Ongele at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collections. 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.

OMB Control Number: 3060-1046.

Title: Part 64, Modernization of Payphone Compensation Rules, et al., WC Docket No. 17-141, et al.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 329 respondents; 2,257 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 0.50 hours—122 hours.

Frequency of Response: On occasion, one-time, and quarterly reporting requirements; third party disclosure requirements; and recordkeeping requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151, 154 and 276.

Total Annual Burden: 34,720 hours.

Total Annual Cost: No cost.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission is not requesting respondents to submit confidential information. Respondents may request confidential treatment of their information that they believe to be confidential pursuant to 47 CFR 0.459 of the Commission's rules.

Needs and Uses: Section 276 of the Communications Act, as amended (the Act), requires that the Federal Communications Commission (Commission or FCC) establish rules ensuring that payphone service providers or PSPs are “fairly compensated” for each and every completed payphone-originated call. The Commission's Payphone Compensation Rules satisfy section 276 by identifying the party liable for compensation and establishing a mechanism for PSPs to be paid. A 2003 Report and Order (FCC 03-235) established detailed rules (Payphone Compensation Rules) ensuring that payphone service providers or PSPs are “fairly compensated” for each and every completed payphone-originated call pursuant to section 276 of the Communications Act, as amended (the Act). The Payphone Compensation Rules satisfy section 276 by identifying the party liable for compensation and establishing a mechanism for PSPs to be paid. The Payphone Compensation Rules: (1) Place liability to compensate PSPs for payphone-originated calls on the facilities-based long distance carriers or switch-based resellers (SBRs) from whose switches such calls are completed; (2) define these responsible carriers as “Completing Carriers” and require them to develop their own system of tracking calls to completion; (3) require Completing Carriers to file with PSPs a quarterly report and also submit an attestation by the chief financial officer (CFO) that the payment amount for that quarter is accurate and is based on 100% of all completed calls; (4) require quarterly reporting obligations for other facilities-based long distance carriers in the call path, if any, and define these carriers as “Intermediate Carriers;” and (5) give parties flexibility to agree to alternative compensation arrangements (ACA) so that small Completing Carriers may avoid the expense of instituting a tracking system. and undergoing an audit. On February 22, 2018, the Commission adopted a Report and Order, FCC 18-21 (2018 Payphone Order), that: (1) Eliminated the payphone call tracking system audit and associated reporting requirements; (2) permitted a company official, including but no longer limited to, the chief financial officer (CFO), to certify that a Completing Carrier's quarterly compensation payments to PSPs are accurate and complete; and (3) eliminated expired interim and intermediate per-payphone compensation rules that no longer apply to any entity. We believe that the revisions adopted in the 2018 Payphone Order significantly decrease the paperwork burden on carriers.

Federal Communications Commission.

Marlene H. Dortch,

Secretary, Office of the Secretary.