2018-16198. Technology Transitions; Policies and Rules Governing Retirement of Copper Loops by Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers

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 discontinuance rules. This document is consistent with the Technology Transitions et al. Declaratory Ruling, Second Report and Order, and Order on Reconsideration, FCC 16-90, which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of those rules.

DATES:

The amendments to 47 CFR 63.19(a), 63.60(h), 63.71(a)(6)-(7), (f), (h), and 63.602, published at 81 FR 62632, September 12, 2016, are effective on July 30, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michele Levy Berlove, 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 July 2, 2018, OMB approved, for a period of three years, the information collection requirements relating to certain discontinuance rules contained in the Commission's Technology Transitions et al. Declaratory Ruling, Second Report and Order, and Order on Reconsideration, FCC 16-90, published at 81 FR 62632, September 12, 2016, as specified above.

The OMB Control Number is 3060-0149. 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, 3060-0149, 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 July 2, 2018, for the information collection requirements contained in the modifications to the Commission's rules in 47 CFR part 63. 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 3060-0149.

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: 3060-0149.

OMB Approval Date: July 2, 2018.

OMB Expiration Date: July 31, 2021.

Title: Part 63, Application and Supplemental Information Requirement, Technology Transitions, GN Docket No. 13-5, et al.

Form Number: N/A.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 63 respondents; 83 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 5.3 hours.

Frequency of Response: One-time reporting requirement and third-party disclosure requirements.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. Statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in 47 U.S.C. 214 and 402 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.

Total Annual Burden: 1,923 hours.

Total Annual Cost: $27,900.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

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

Needs and Uses: The Commission is seeking Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for a revision of a currently approved collection. The Commission will submit this information collection after this 60-day comment period. Section 214 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, requires that a carrier must first obtain FCC authorization either to (1) construct, operate, or engage in transmission over a line of communications; or (2) discontinue, reduce or impair service over a line of communications. Part 63 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) implements Section 214. Part 63 also implements provisions of the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 pertaining to video which was approved under this OMB Control Number 3060-0149. In 2009, the Commission modified Part 63 to extend to providers of interconnected Voice of internet Protocol (VoIP) service the discontinuance obligations that apply to domestic non-dominant telecommunications carriers under Section 214 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. In 2014, the Commission adopted improved administrative filing procedures for domestic transfers of control, domestic discontinuances and notices of network changes, and among other adjustments, modified Part 63 to require electronic filing for applications for authorization to discontinue, reduce, or impair service under section 214(a) of the Act. In July 2016, the Commission concluded that applicants seeking to discontinue a legacy time division multiplexing (TDM)-based voice service as part of a transition to a new technology, whether internet Protocol (IP), wireless, or another type (technology transition discontinuance application) must demonstrate that an adequate replacement for the legacy service exists in order to be eligible for streamlined treatment and revised part 63 accordingly. For any other domestic service for which a discontinuance application is filed, the existing framework governs automatic grant procedures. Unlike traditional applicants, technology transition discontinuance applicants seeking streamlined treatment will be required to submit with their application either a certification or a showing as to whether an “adequate replacement” exists in the service area. Voice technology transition discontinuance applicants that decline to pursue this path are not eligible for streamlined treatment and will have their applications evaluated on a non-streamlined basis under the traditional five factor test. The Commission concluded that an applicant for a technology transition discontinuance may demonstrate that a service is an adequate replacement for a legacy voice service by certifying or showing that one or more replacement service(s) offers all of the following: (i) Substantially similar levels of network infrastructure and service quality as the applicant service; (ii) compliance with existing federal and/or industry standards required to ensure that critical applications such as 911, network security, and applications for individuals with disabilities remain available; and (iii) interoperability and compatibility with an enumerated list of applications and functionalities determined to be key to consumers and competitors. One replacement service must satisfy all the criteria to retain eligibility for automatic grant. The Commission also determined that information about the price of the legacy service and the proposed replacement service should be provided as part of the application. To reduce burdens on carriers, the Commission (1) adopted a more streamlined approach for legacy voice discontinuances involving services that are substantially similar to those for which a Section 214 discontinuance meeting the adequate replacement criteria has previously been approved, and (2) now allows Section 214 discontinuance applications to be eligible for automatic grant if the applicant seeks to discontinue a legacy voice service operating at speeds lower than 1.544 Mbps that either has zero customers in the relevant service area and no requests for service in the last 30 days, or if the applicant plans to grandfather existing customers of the service while ceasing to accept new customers. The Commission estimates that there will be five respondents submitting 25 applications/responses related to these revisions. The Commission also estimates that these revisions will result in a total of 1,575 annual burden hours and a total annual cost of $27,900. The Commission estimates that the total annual burden and annual cost of the entire collection, as revised, is 1,923 and $27,900, respectively.

Federal Communications Commission.

Marlene Dortch,

Secretary, Office of the Secretary.