2017-18907. Information Collections Being Submitted for Review and Approval to the Office of Management and Budget

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 Commission may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (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 comments should be submitted on or before October 10, 2017. 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 contacts listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES:

Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, OMB, via email [e-mail]; and to Cathy Williams, FCC, via email [e-mail] and to [e-mail]. Include in the comments the OMB control number as shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For additional information or copies of the information collection, contact Cathy Williams at [phone]. To view a copy of this information collection request (ICR) submitted to OMB: (1) Go to the Web page http://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain, (2) look for the section of the Web page called “Currently Under Review,” (3) click on the downward-pointing arrow in the “Select Agency” box below the “Currently Under Review” heading, (4) select “Federal Communications Commission” from the list of agencies presented in the “Select Agency” box, (5) click the “Submit” button to the right of the “Select Agency” box, (6) when the list of FCC ICRs currently under review appears, look for the OMB control number of this ICR and then click on the ICR Reference Number. A copy of the FCC submission to OMB will be displayed.

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 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.

OMB Control No.: 3060-0678.

Title: Part 25 of the Federal Communications Commission's Rules Governing the Licensing of, and Spectrum Usage by, Commercial Earth Stations and Space Stations.

Form Nos.: FCC Form 312; Schedule A; Schedule B; Schedule S; FCC Form 312-EZ; FCC Form 312-R.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved information collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.

Number of Respondents: 4,924 respondents; 4,981 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: .5-80 hours per response.

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

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The statutory authority for this collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 154, 301, 302, 303, 307, 309, 310, 319, 332, 605, and 721.

Total Annual Burden: 34,140 hours.

Annual Cost Burden: $10,625,120.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: In general, there is no need for confidentiality with this collection of information. Certain information collected regarding international coordination of satellite systems is not routinely available for public inspection pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(b) and 47 CFR 0.457(d)(vii).

Needs and Uses: The Federal Communications Commission requests that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve a revision of the information collection titled “Part 25 of the Federal Communications Commission's Rules Governing the Licensing of, and Spectrum Usage By, Commercial Earth Stations and Space Stations” under OMB Control No. 3060-0678, as a result of a recent rulemaking discussed below.

On April 25, 2017, the Commission released a Third Report and Order in IB Docket No. 06-123, FCC 17-49, titled “Establishment of Policies and Service Rules for the Broadcasting-Satellite Service at the 17.3-17.7 GHz Frequency Band and at the 17.7-17.8 GHz Frequency Band Internationally, and at the 24.75-25.25 GHz Frequency Band for Fixed Satellite Services Providing Feeder Links to the Broadcasting-Satellite Service and for the Satellite Services Operating Bi-directionally in the 17.3-17.8 GHz Frequency Band.” In the Report and Order, the Commission adopted rules requiring applicants for new licenses for Digital Broadcasting Satellite Service (DBS) feeder-link earth stations in the 17.3-17.8 GHz band to file with the Commission coordination agreements with affected Broadcasting-Satellite Service (BSS) licensees prior to licensing, and to provide technical information on their proposed feeder-link earth stations to a third-party coordinator to facilitate the coordination process (see 47 CFR 25.203(m)). The changes adopted in the Report and Order will result in a net annualized increase of 41 burden hours to applicants and licensees under Part 25. This submission amends the previous submission to the OMB of July 1, 2014, to reflect these changes.

OMB Control Number: 3060-0703.

Title: Determining Costs of Regulated Cable Equipment and Installation, FCC Form 1205.

Form Number: FCC Form 1205.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 4,000 respondents; 6,000 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 4-12 hours.

Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirement, Annual reporting requirement, Third party disclosure requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in Section 301(j) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and 623(a)(7) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.

Total Annual Burden: 52,000 hours.

Total Annual Cost: $1,800,000.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

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

Needs and Uses: Information derived from FCC Form 1205 filings is used to facilitate the review of equipment and installation rates. This information is then reviewed by each cable system's respective local franchising authority. Section 76.923 records are kept by cable operators in order to demonstrate that charges for the sale and lease of equipment for installation have been developed in accordance with the Commission's rules.

OMB Control Number: 3060-1070.

Title: Allocation and Service Rules for the 71-76 GHz, 81-86 GHz, and 92-95 GHz Bands.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; not-for-profit institutions; and State, local, or Tribal Government.

Number of Respondents: 754 respondents; 3,000 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 1.5 to 9 hours.

Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement, recordkeeping requirement, and third-party disclosure 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(i), 303(f) and (r), 309, 316, and 332 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.

Total Annual Burden: 11,250 hours.

Total Annual Cost: $910,000.

Privacy Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for confidentiality. The Commission has not granted assurances of confidentially to those parties submitting the information. In those cases where a respondent believes information requires confidentiality, the respondent can request confidential treatment and the Commission will afford such confidentiality for 20 days, after which the information will be available to the public.

Needs and Uses: The Commission is seeking an extension of this information collection in order to obtain the full three year approval from OMB. There are no program changes to the reporting, recordkeeping and/or third-party disclosure requirements but we are revising estimates based on experience and the possible addition of a fourth database manager. The recordkeeping, reporting, and third party disclosure requirements will be used by the Commission to verify licensee compliance with the Commission rules and regulations, and to ensure that licensees continue to fulfill their statutory responsibilities in accordance with the Communications Act of 1934. The Commission's rules promote the private sector development and use of 71-76 GHz, 81-86 GHz, and 92-95 GHz bands (70/80/90 GHz bands). Such information has been used in the past and will continue to be used to minimize interference, verify that applicants are legally and technically qualified to hold license, and to determine compliance with Commission rules.

OMB Control Number: 3060-1161.

Title: Construction requirements; Interim reports—Sections 27.14(g)-(l).

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Extension of currently approved information collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.

Number of Respondents: 1,118 respondents; 1,118 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 5-15 hours.

Frequency of Response: One-time reporting requirement and on occasion reporting requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. Statutory authority for, these collections are contained in 47 U.S.C. 154, 301, 302(a), 303, 309, 332, 336, and 337 unless otherwise noted.

Total Annual Burden: 11,260 hours.

Total Annual Cost: $1,893,700.

Privacy Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

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

Needs and Uses: On July 31, 2007, the Commission adopted a Second Report and Order, in WT Docket No. 06-150, CC Docket No. 94-102, WT Docket No. 01-309, WT Docket No. 03-264, WT Docket No. 06-169, PS Docket No. 06-229, WT Docket No. 96-86, WT Docket No. 07-166, FCC No. 07-132 (2007 Report and Order), which established rules governing wireless licenses in the 700 MHz spectrum. The 700 MHz spectrum was made available for wireless services, including public safety and commercial services, as a result of the digital television (“DTV”) transition. Title III of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (“DRA”), Public Law 109-171, 120 Stat. 4 (2006), (titled the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 [“DTV Act”]), accelerated the DTV transition completion date to February 17, 2009.

In light of the change to the DTV transition, as well as developments in commercial wireless communications and evolving needs of the public safety community, the Commission re-examined its 700 MHz rules and combined the following three interrelated proceedings: (1) The 700 MHz Commercial Services proceeding, 71 FR 48506 (2006), (2) the 700 MHz Guard Bands proceeding, 71 FR 57455, and (3) the 700 MHz Public Safety proceeding, 72 FR 1201 (2007); 71 FR 17786 (2006), which yielded in April 2007 both a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the 700 MHz Report and Order, 72 FR 27688 (2007), and 700 MHz Further NPRM, 72 FR 24238 (2007), respectively. (See FCC 07-72.)

Among the many actions taken in the 2007 Report and Order, the Commission: Adopted a mix of geographic license area sizes for the commercial services, including Cellular Market Areas (CMAs), Economic Areas (EAs), and Regional Economic Areas (REAGs); eliminated rules that permit comparative hearings for license renewal, and clarified the requirements and procedures of the license renewal process; shifted the license termination date from January 15, 2015 to February 17, 2019, thus granting licensees an initial license term not-to-exceed ten years after the end of the DTV transition; adopted a power spectral density model to provide greater operational flexibility to licensees operating at wider bandwidths; continued to allow a 50 kW effective radiated power level for base station operations for auctioned licenses and unpaired spectrum in the lower 700 MHz band (TV Channels 52-59); modified power limits for upper 700 MHz band (TV Channels 60-69), and; permitted 700 MHz licensees to meet radiated power limits on an average, rather than peak, basis.

Further, in order to promote access to spectrum and the provision of service, the 2007 Report and Order adopted revised performance requirements for certain 700 MHz licensees, including the use of interim and end-of-term benchmarks. The 2007 Report and Order also imposed interim reporting requirements on licensees to provide the Commission with information concerning the status of licensees' efforts to meet performance requirements and the manner in which their spectrum is being utilized.

On February 20, 2009, the Commission adopted a Second Report and Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in MB Docket No. 09-17, MB Docket No. 07-148, MB Docket No. 07-91, MB Docket No. 08-255, WT Docket No. 06-150, WT Docket No. 06-169, PS Docket No. 06-229, WT Docket No. 96-86, FCC 09-11, to implement the DTV Delay Act, Public Law 111-4, 123 Stat. 112 (2009), which extended the DTV transition deadline from February 17, 2009, to June 12, 2009. Steps taken by the Commission to conform with the DTV Delay Act included the extension of applicable 700 MHz construction benchmarks and reporting requirements by a period of 116 days.

On October 29, 2013, the Commission issued a Report and Order and Order of Proposed Modification in WT Docket No. 12-69 and WT Docket No. 12-332, FCC 13-136 (700 MHz Interoperability Order), in which it revised certain technical rules and extended or waived construction deadlines for certain licenses in order to resolve issues resulting from the lack of interoperability in the Lower 700 MHz Band. The Report and Order did not revise any of the information collection requirements that are contained in this collection. It simply waived or revised the dates on which the information collection requirements are required.

Federal Communications Commission.

Katura Jackson,

Federal Register Liaison Officer, Office of the Secretary.