2020-10167. Expanding Flexible Use of the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz Band

AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:

Final rule; announcement of compliance date.

SUMMARY:

In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the information collection requirements associated with the eligible space station operator accelerated relocation election, eligible space station operator transition plan, and incumbent earth station lump sum payment election rules adopted in the Federal Communications Commission's (Commission) 3.7 GHz Report and Order, FCC 20-22, and that compliance with the new rules is now required. This document is consistent with the 3.7 GHz Report and Order, FCC 20-22, which states that the Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing a compliance date for the new rule sections and revise the Commission's rules accordingly.

DATES:

Compliance date: Compliance with 47 CFR 27.1412(c) introductory text, (c)(2), 27.1412(d) introductory text and (d)(1), and 27.1419, published at 85 FR 22804 on April 23, 2020, is required on May 27, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Anna Gentry, Mobility Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, at [phone] or [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This document announces that OMB approved the information collection requirements in §§ 47 CFR 27.1412(c) introductory text, (c)(2), 27.1412(d) introductory text and (d)(1), and 27.1419, on May 5, 2020. These rules were adopted in the 3.7 GHz Report and Order, FCC 20-22, published at published at 85 FR 22804 on April 23, 2020. The Commission publishes this document as an announcement of the compliance date of these new rules. OMB approval for all other new or amended rules for which OMB approval is required will be requested, and compliance is not yet required for those rules. Compliance with all new or amended rules adopted in the 3.7 GHz Report and Order that do not require OMB approval will be required as of June 22, 2020, see 85 FR 22804 (Apr. 23, 2020).

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 Cathy Williams, Federal Communications Commission, Room 1-C823, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554, regarding OMB Control Number 3060-1272. Please include the OMB Control Number 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 Commission is notifying the public that it received final OMB approval on May 5, 2020, for the information collection requirements contained in §§ 47 CFR 27.1412(c) introductory text, (c)(2), 27.1412(d) introductory text and (d)(1), and 27.1419. 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 for the information collection requirements in §§ 27.1412(c) introductory text, (c)(2), 27.1412(d) introductory text and (d)(1), and 27.1419, is 3060-1272. 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: 3060-1272.

OMB Approval Date: May 5, 2020.

OMB Expiration Date: November 30, 2020.

Title: 3.7 GHz Band Space Station Operator Accelerated Relocation Elections and Transition Plans; 3.7 GHz Band Incumbent Earth Station Lump Sum Payment Elections.

Form Number: N/A.

Respondents: Business or other for profit entities.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 3,010 respondents; 3,010 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 16 hours per eligible space station accelerated relocation election; 80-600 hours per eligible space station transition plan; 32 hours per incumbent earth station lump sum payment election.

Frequency of Response: One-time reporting requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in sections 1, 2, 4(i), 4(j), 5(c), 201, 302, 303, 304, 307(e), and 309 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154(i), 154(j), 155(c), 201, 302, 303, 304, 307(e), 309.

Total Annual Burden: 109,680 hours.

Total Annual Cost: $900,000.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The information collected under this collection will be made publicly available, however, to the extent information submitted pursuant to this information collection is determined to be confidential, it will be protected by the Commission. If a respondent seeks to have information collected pursuant to this information collection withheld from public inspection, the respondent may request confidential treatment pursuant to section 0.459 of the Commission's rules for such information. See 47 CFR 0.459.

Needs and Uses: On February 28, 2020, in furtherance of the goal of releasing more mid-band spectrum into the market to support and enable next-generation wireless networks, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) adopted the 3.7 GHz Report and Order, FCC 20-22, in which it reformed the use of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band, also known as the C-Band. The 3.7 GHz-4.2 GHz band currently is allocated in the United States exclusively for non-Federal use on a primary basis for Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) and Fixed Service. Domestically, space station operators use the 3.7-4.2 GHz band to provide downlink signals of various bandwidths to licensed transmit-receive, registered receive-only, and unregistered receive-only earth stations throughout the United States. The 3.7 GHz Report and Order calls for the relocation of existing FSS operations in the band into the upper 200 megahertz of the band (4.0-4.2 GHz) and making the lower 280 megahertz (3.7-3.98 GHz) available for flexible-use throughout the contiguous United States through a Commission-administered public auction of overlay licenses that is scheduled to occur later this year, with the 20 megahertz from 3.98-4.0 GHz reserved as a guard band.

The Commission adopted a robust transition schedule to achieve an expeditious relocation of FSS operations and ensure that a significant amount of spectrum is made available quickly for next-generation wireless deployments, while also ensuring effective accommodation of relocated incumbent users. The 3.7 GHz Report and Order establishes a deadline of December 5, 2025, for full relocation to ensure that all FSS operations are cleared in a timely manner, but provides an opportunity for accelerated clearing of the band by allowing incumbent space station operators, as defined in the 3.7 GHz Report and Order, to commit to voluntarily relocate on a two-phased accelerated schedule (with additional obligations and incentives for such operators), with a Phase I deadline of December 5, 2021, and a Phase II deadline of December 5, 2023.

The Commission concluded in the 3.7 GHz Report and Order that, before the public auction of overlay licenses commences, it is appropriate for potential bidders to know when they will get access to the spectrum in the 3.7-3.98 GHz band that is currently occupied by incumbent FSS space station operators and earth stations, as defined in the 3.7 GHz Report and Order, and to have an estimate of how much they may be required to pay for incumbent relocation costs and accelerated relocation payments should they become overlay licensees, as overlay licensees are required to pay for the reasonable relocation costs of incumbent space station and incumbent earth station operators that are required to clear the lower portion of the band.

Under this new information collection, the Commission will collect information that will be used by the Commission to determine when, how, and at what cost existing operations in the lower portion of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band will be relocated to the upper portion of the band. Specifically, the Commission collect the following information from incumbents as adopted in the 3.7 GHz Report and Order:

Accelerated Relocation Elections

The Commission concluded in the 3.7 GHz Report and Order that overlay licensees would only value accelerated relocation if a significant majority of incumbents are cleared in a timely manner, and therefore determined that at least 80% of accelerated relocation payments must be accepted in order for the Commission to accept accelerated elections and require overlay licensees to pay accelerated relocation payments. The 3.7 GHz Report and Order calls for an eligible space station operator, as defined in the 3.7 GHz Report and Order, that chooses to commit to clear on the accelerated schedule in exchange for accelerated relocation payments to submit a written, public, irrevocable accelerated relocation election with the Commission by May 29, 2020, to permit the Commission to determine whether there are sufficient accelerated relocation elections to trigger early relocation and in turn provide bidders with adequate certainty regarding the clearing date and payment obligations associated with each license well in advance of the auction.

Transition Plans

The 3.7 GHz Report and Order requires each eligible space station operator to submit to the Commission by June 12, 2020, and make available for public review, a detailed transition plan describing the necessary steps and estimated costs for the eligible space station operator to complete the transition of existing operations in the lower portion of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band to the upper 200 megahertz of the band and its individual timeline for doing so consistent with the regular relocation deadline or by the accelerated relocation deadlines. An eligible space station operator that elects to receive accelerated relocation payments is responsible for relocating all of its associated incumbent earth stations and must outline the details of such relocation in the transition plan (unless an incumbent earth station owner elects to receive a lump sum payment and assumes responsibility for transitioning its own earth stations). Similarly, an incumbent space station operator that does not elect to receive accelerated relocation payments but nevertheless plans to assume responsibility for relocating its own associated incumbent earth stations must make that clear in its transition plan.

Incumbent Earth Station Lump Sum Payment Elections

The 3.7 GHz Report and Order provides an incumbent earth station operator with the option of accepting reimbursement payments for its reasonable relocation costs for the transition, or opting out of the formal relocation process and accepting a lump sum reimbursement payment for all of its incumbent earth stations based on the average, estimated costs of relocating all of their incumbent earth stations in lieu of actual relocation costs. The 3.7 GHz Report and Order directs the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau to announce the lump sum that will be available per incumbent earth station as well as the process for electing lump sum payments and requires that no later than 30 days after this announcement, an incumbent earth station operator that wishes to receive a lump sum payment make an irrevocable lump sum payment election that will apply to all of its earth stations in the contiguous United States.

This information collection will serve as the starting point for planning and managing the process of efficiently and expeditiously clearing of the lower portion of the band, so that this spectrum can be auctioned for flexible-use service licenses.

Federal Communications Commission.

Cecilia Sigmund,

Federal Register Liaison Officer.