2018-09970. Accelerating Wireline Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure Investment

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 associated with the Commission's pole attachment complaint rules. This document is consistent with the Accelerating Wireline Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure Investment Report and Order, Declaratory Ruling, and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 17-154, which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of those rules.

DATES:

The amendment to 47 CFR 1.1424, published at 82 FR 61453, December 28, 2017, is effective on May 10, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael Ray, Attorney Advisor, Wireline Competition Bureau, at [phone], or by email at [e-mail]. For additional information concerning the Paperwork Reduction Act information collection requirements, contact Nicole Ongele at [phone] or [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This document announces that, on May 1, 2018, OMB approved, for a period of three years, the information collection requirements relating to the pole attachment complaint rules contained in the Commission's Accelerating Wireline Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure Investment Report and Order, Declaratory Ruling, and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 17-154, published at 82 FR 61453, December 28, 2017.

The OMB Control Number is 3060-0392. The Commission publishes this document as an announcement of the effective date of the 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 Nicole Ongele, Federal Communications Commission, Room 1-A620, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554. Please include the OMB Control Number, 3060-0392, in your correspondence. The Commission will also accept your comments via email at [e-mail].

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

Synopsis

As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), the FCC is notifying the public that it received final OMB approval on May 1, 2018, for the information collection requirements contained in the modifications to the Commission's pole attachment rules in 47 CFR 1.1424.

Under 5 CFR part 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 current, valid OMB Control Number. The OMB Control Number is 3060-0392.

The foregoing notice is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.

The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents are as follows:

OMB Control Number: 3060-0392.

OMB Approval Date: May 1, 2018.

OMB Expiration Date: May 31, 2021.

Title: 47 CFR Part 1, Subpart J—Pole Attachment Complaint Procedures.

Form Number: N/A.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 1,775 respondents; 1,775 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 0.5-1.66 hours.

Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting and third-party disclosure requirements.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain benefits. Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 224.

Total Annual Burden: 2,941 hours.

Total Annual Cost: $450,000.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: No questions of a confidential nature are asked. However, respondents may request that materials or information submitted to the Commission in a complaint proceeding be withheld from public inspection under 47 CFR 0.459.

Needs and Uses: The Commission is requesting OMB approval for a revision to an existing information collection. 47 CFR 1.1424 states that the procedures for handling pole attachment complaints filed by incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) are the same as the procedures for handling other pole attachment complaints. Currently, OMB Collection No. 3060-0392, among other things, tracks the burdens associated with utilities defending against complaints brought by ILECs related to unreasonable rates, terms, and conditions for pole attachments. In Accelerating Wireline Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure Investment, WC Docket No. 17-84, Report and Order, Declaratory Ruling, and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 17-154 (rel. Nov. 29, 2017) (Wireline Infrastructure Order), the Commission, among other things, expanded the type of pole attachment complaints that can be filed by ILECs, now allowing them to file complaints related to a denial of pole access by utilities. The Commission will use the information collected under this revision to 47 CFR 1.1424 to hear and resolve pole access complaints brought by ILECs and to determine the merits of the complaints.

Federal Communications Commission.

Marlene Dortch,

Secretary.