2019-20633. 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 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 FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid 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 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.

DATES:

Written PRA comments should be submitted on or before November 25, 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 Nicole Ongele, FCC, via email [e-mail] and to [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For additional information about the information collection, contact Nicole Ongele at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Control Number: 3060-1222.

Title: Inmate Calling Services Annual Reporting, Certification, and Consumer Disclosure Requirements.

Form Number(s): FCC Form 2301(a) and FCC Form 2301(b).

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

Respondents: Business or other for profit.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 20 respondents; 20 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 5 hours-80 hours.

Frequency of Response: Annual reporting and certification requirements; third party disclosure requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 1, 4(i), 4(j), 201, 225, 276, and 303(r) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i)-(j), 201, 225, 276, and 303(r).

Total Annual Burden: 2,000 hours.

Total Annual Cost: No cost.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission anticipates treating as presumptively confidential any particular information identified as proprietary by providers of inmate calling services (ICS).

Needs and Uses: Section 201 of the Communications Act of 1934 Act, as amended (Act), 47 U.S.C. 201, requires that ICS providers' interstate and international rates and practices be just and reasonable. Section 276 of the Act, 47 U.S.C. 276, requires that payphone service providers (including ICS providers) be fairly compensated for completed calls.

In the Second Report and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Second Report and Order), WC Docket No. 12-375, FCC 15-136, the Commission undertook comprehensive reform of the ICS rules. The Commission, among other things, established new rate caps for interstate and intrastate ICS calls and limited and capped ancillary service charges. To enable the Commission to ensure compliance with the rules adopted in the Second Report and Order and monitor the effectiveness of the ICS reforms, the Commission required all ICS providers to file annual reports providing data and other information on their ICS operations.

In particular, the Commission required each ICS provider to file a report annually specifying, for the prior calendar year: Interstate, international, and intrastate minutes of use by facility; and the name, size, and type of facility being served; fees for any ancillary services, the amount of these fees, and the number of times each fee was imposed; monthly site commission payments; rates and minutes of use for video calling services by facility, as well as ancillary fee charges for such services; the number of disability-related calls, problems associated with such calls, and ancillary fees charged in connection with such calls; and the number of complaints received related to, for example, dropped calls and poor call quality and the number of instances of each by TTY and TRS users. The annual reports ensure that the Commission has access to the information it needs to fulfill its regulatory duties, while minimizing the burden on ICS providers.

The Commission required that an ICS provider certify annually the accuracy of the data and other information submitted in the provider's annual report and the provider's compliance with the Commission's ICS rates. Pursuant to the authority delegated to it by the Commission in the Second Report and Order, the Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) created standardized templates for the annual reports (FCC Form 2301(a)) and certifications (FCC Form 2301(b)). The Bureau provided instructions that explain the reporting and certification requirements and reduce the burden of the data collection. The Commission also required ICS providers to disclose to consumers their interstate, intrastate, and international rates and ancillary service charges.

On June 13, 2017, the D.C. Circuit vacated the video visitation requirements in the annual report. Pursuant to the D.C. Circuit's mandate, the Commission has removed the video visitation reporting requirements in the annual report and amended the instructions to reflect the removal of this requirement. As part of the Commission's continued administration of the ICS data collection, the Commission has modified the instructions for FCC Form 2301(a) and FCC Form 2301(b) in several additional respects. These changes make the instructions clearer and will make the annual reports easier to understand and analyze. The amended instructions require ICS providers to: Submit all reports using the electronic Excel template provided by the Commission, and to provide the data in a machine-readable, manipulatable format; provide city and state information for each facility served; group the facilities served by underlying contracts in the section for ICS Rates; separately report and explain their rates for debit/prepaid calls and collect calls; report fixed site commission payments by facility as well as by contract; and explain certain entries, including any entry that omits requested information. These changes will impose only a minimal additional burden on providers because they address only information that providers usually and customarily compile in the normal course of their business activities. The information will help the Commission continue to analyze changes in the ICS industry, to monitor compliance with the ICS rules, and to enforce these rules.

Federal Communications Commission.

Marlene Dortch,

Secretary, Office of the Secretary.