E9-4905. Satellite Licensing Procedures

AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:

Final rule; announcement of effective date.

SUMMARY:

In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection requirements associated with Sections 25.115, 25.134, 25.218 and 25.220 of the Commission's rules, and that these rules will take effect as of the date of this notice. On November 24, 2008, the Commission published the summary document of the Report and Order, The Part 25 Earth Station Streamlining Eight Report and Order, IB Docket No. 00-248, FCC 08-246, at 73 FR 70897. The Report and Order stated that the Commission will publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing when OMB approval for the rule sections which contain information collection requirements has been received and when the revised rules will take effect. This notice is consistent with the statement in the Report and Order.

DATES:

Effective March 9, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For additional information, please contact Steven Spaeth, International Bureau, telephone number [phone] or via the Internet at [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This document announces that, on February 27, 2009, OMB approved, for a period of three years, the information collection requirements contained in Sections 25.115, 25.134, 25.218 and 25.220 of the Commission's rules. The Commission publishes this notice to announce the effective date of these rules. If you have any comments on the burden estimates listed below, or how the Commission can improve the collections and reduce any burdens caused thereby, please contact Cathy Williams, Federal Communications Commission, Room 1-C823, 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554. Please include OMB Control Number, 3060-0678, in your correspondence. The Commission will also accept your comments via the Internet if you send them to [e-mail].

To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to [e-mail] or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at [phone] (voice), [phone] (TTY).

Synopsis

As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), the Commission is notifying the public that it received OMB approval on February 27, 2009, for the information collection requirements contained in the Commission's rules at 47 CFR Sections 25.115, 25.134, 25.218 and 25.220.

Under 5 CFR 1320, an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a current, 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 that does not display a valid OMB Control Number.

The OMB Control Number is 3060-0678 and the total annual reporting burdens and costs for respondents are as follows:

OMB Control Numbers: 3060-0678.

OMB Approval Date: February 27, 2009.

Expiration Date: February 29, 2012.

Title: Part 25 of the Commission's Rules Governing the Licensing of, and Spectrum Usage by, Satellite Network Stations and Space Stations.

Form Number: FCC Forms 312 and Schedule S.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for profit entities.

Number of Respondents/Responses: 4,112 respondents; 4,112 responses.

Estimated Hours per Response: 0.25-24 hours per response.

Frequency of Response: On occasion and annual reporting requirements; Third party disclosure requirement.

Total Annual Burden: 42,579 hours.

Total Annual Cost: $784,766,976.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The statutory authority for this information collection is contained in Sections 4(i), 7(a), 303(c), 303(f), 303(g), and 303(r) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. Sections 154(i), 157(a), 303(c), 303(f), 303(g), and 303(r).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for confidentiality with this collection of information.

Privacy Act Assessment: No impact(s).

Needs and Uses: On October 17, 2008, the Federal Communications Commission (“Commission”) released an Eighth Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration titled, “In the Matter of 2000 Biennial Regulatory Review—Streamlining and Other Revisions of Part 25 of the Commission's Rules Governing the Licensing of, and Spectrum Usage by, Satellite Network Earth Stations and Space Stations; Streamlining the Commission's Rules and Regulations for Satellite Applications and Licensing Procedures” (FCC 08-246), IB Docket No. 00-248. In the Eighth Report and Order, the Commission further streamlined the Commission's non-routine earth station processing rules by adopting a new earth station procedure that will enable the Commission to treat more applications routinely than is possible under the current earth station procedures. This rulemaking facilitates the provision of broadband Internet access services.

The PRA information collection requirements contained in the Eighth Report and Order are as follows:

1. The Commission plans to modify the “Application for Satellite Space and Earth Station Authorizations” (FCC Form 312), including Schedule B, in the International Bureau Filing System (“MyIBFS”) to reflect the off-axis equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) envelope compliance requirement. In the interim, earth station applicants must submit a table as an attachment to the FCC Form 312 to show their compliance with the off-axis EIRP requirement.

2. Earth station licensees who plan to use a contention protocol must certify that their contention protocol usage will be reasonable. In the future, the Commission will revise the FCC Form 312 in MyIBFS to provide a streamlined method for earth station applicants planning to use a contention protocol to make this certification.

The information collection requirements accounted for in this collection are necessary to determine the technical and legal qualifications of applicants or licensees to operate a station, transfer or assign a license, and to determine whether the authorization is in the public interest, convenience and necessity. Without such information, the Commission could not determine whether to permit respondents to provide telecommunication services in the U.S. Therefore, the Commission would be unable to fulfill its statutory responsibilities in accordance with the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and the obligations imposed on parties to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Basic Telecom Agreement.

Federal Communications Commission.

Marlene H. Dortch,

Secretary.