2019-08758. 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 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.

The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid 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.

DATES:

Written PRA comments should be submitted on or before July 1, 2019. 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 Cathy Williams, FCC, via email [e-mail] and to [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Control Number: 3060-0289.

Title: Section 76.76.601, Performance Tests; Section 76.1704, Proof of Performance Test Data; 76.1717, Compliance with Technical Standards.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; State, local or Tribal Government.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 1,455 respondents; 1,505 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 1-70 hours.

Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirement, Semi-annual and Triennial reporting requirements; Third party disclosure requirement.

Total Annual Burden: 101,900 hours.

Total Annual Costs: None.

Obligation To Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in Sections 4(i) and 624(e) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.

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

Privacy Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Needs and Uses: The Commission adopted a Report and Order on April 12, 2019, In the Matter of Channel Requirements, Sections 76.1705 and 76.1700(a)(4), Modernization of Media Regulation Initiative, MB Docket No. 18-92, MB Docket No. 17-105, FCC 19-33. In this Report and Order, the information collection requirement contained in 47 CFR 76.105 was eliminated. The Commission felt that it was an unnecessary requirement which pertains to cable operators' channel lineups. Section 76.1705, which requires cable operators to maintain at their local office a current listing of the cable television channels that each cable system delivers to its subscribers. This requirement is unnecessary as channel lineups are readily available to consumers through a variety of other means. In FCC 19-33, the Commission continue our efforts to modernize our regulations and reduce unnecessary requirements that can impede competition and innovation in the media marketplace.

The information collection requirements approved under this collection remain the same and are as follows:

47 CFR 76.601(b) requires the operator of each cable television system shall conduct complete performance tests of that system at least twice each calendar year (at intervals not to exceed seven months), unless otherwise noted below. The performance tests shall be directed at determining the extent to which the system complies with all the technical standards set forth in § 76.605(a) and shall be as follows:

(1) For cable television systems with 1,000 or more subscribers but with 12,500 or fewer subscribers, proof-of-performance tests conducted pursuant to this section shall include measurements taken at six (6) widely separated points. However, within each cable system, one additional test point shall be added for every additional 12,500 subscribers or fraction thereof (e.g., 7 test points if 12,501 to 25,000 subscribers; 8 test points if 25,001 to 37,500 subscribers, etc.). In addition, for technically integrated portions of cable systems that are not mechanically continuous (i.e., employing microwave connections), at least one test point will be required for each portion of the cable system served by a technically integrated microwave hub. The proof-of-performance test points chosen shall be balanced to represent all geographic areas served by the cable system. At least one-third of the test points shall be representative of subscriber terminals most distant from the system input and from each microwave receiver (if microwave transmissions are employed), in terms of cable length. The measurements may be taken at convenient monitoring points in the cable network: Provided, that data shall be included to relate the measured performance of the system as would be viewed from a nearby subscriber terminal. An identification of the instruments, including the makes, model numbers, and the most recent date of calibration, a description of the procedures utilized, and a statement of the qualifications of the person performing the tests shall also be included.

(2) Proof-of-performance tests to determine the extent to which a cable television system complies with the standards set forth in § 76.605(a)(3), (4), and (5) shall be made on each of the NTSC or similar video channels of that system. Unless otherwise as noted, proof-of-performance tests for all other standards in § 76.605(a) shall be made on a minimum of four (4) channels plus one additional channel for every 100 MHz, or fraction thereof, of cable distribution system upper frequency limit (e.g., 5 channels for cable television systems with a cable distribution system upper frequency limit of 101 to 216 MHz; 6 channels for cable television systems with a cable distribution system upper frequency limit of 217-300 MHz; 7 channels for cable television systems with a cable distribution upper frequency limit to 300 to 400 MHz, etc.). The channels selected for testing must be representative of all the channels within the cable television system.

(3) The operator of each cable television system shall conduct semi-annual proof-of-performance tests of that system, to determine the extent to which the system complies with the technical standards set forth in § 76.605(a)(4) as follows. The visual signal level on each channel shall be measured and recorded, along with the date and time of the measurement, once every six hours (at intervals of not less than five hours or no more than seven hours after the previous measurement), to include the warmest and the coldest times, during a 24-hour period in January or February and in July or August.

(4) The operator of each cable television system shall conduct triennial proof-of-performance tests of its system to determine the extent to which the system complies with the technical standards set forth in § 76.605(a)(11).

Note 1 to 47 CFR 76.601 states prior to additional testing pursuant to Section 76.601(c), the local franchising authority shall notify the cable operator, who will then be allowed thirty days to come into compliance with any perceived signal quality problems which need to be corrected.

47 CFR 76.1704 requires that proof of performance test required by 47 CFR 76.601 shall be maintained on file at the operator's local business office for at least five years. The test data shall be made available for inspection by the Commission or the local franchiser, upon request. If a signal leakage log is being used to meet proof of performance test recordkeeping requirement in accordance with Section 76.601, such a log must be retained for the period specified in 47 CFR 76.601(d).

47 CFR 76.1717 states that an operator shall be prepared to show, on request by an authorized representative of the Commission or the local franchising authority, that the system does, in fact, comply with the technical standards rules in part 76, subpart K.

Federal Communications Commission.

Marlene Dortch,

Secretary, Office of the Secretary.