2024-09461. Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and Approval to 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, 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. Pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, the FCC seeks specific comment on how it might “further reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.”

DATES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted on or before May 31, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

Comments should be sent to www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function. Your comment must be submitted into www.reginfo.gov per the above instructions for it to be considered. In addition to submitting in www.reginfo.gov also send a copy of your comment on the proposed information collection to Cathy Williams, FCC, via email to [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, and (6) when the list of FCC ICRs currently under review appears, look for the Title of this ICR and then click on the ICR Reference Number. A copy of the FCC submission to OMB will be displayed.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the FCC invited the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection. Comments are requested concerning: (a) 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; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimates; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) 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. Pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), the FCC seeks specific comment on how it might “further reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.”

OMB Control Number: 3060-0854.

Title: Section 64.2401, Truth-in-Billing Format, CC Docket No. 98-170 and CG Docket No. 04-208.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 4,165 respondents; 26,711 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 2 to 230 hours.

Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement; Third party disclosure requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The statutory authority for this information collection is found at section 201(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 201(b), and section 258, 47 U.S.C. 258, Public Law 104-104, 110 Stat. 56. The Commission's implementing rules are codified at 47 CFR 64.2400.

Total Annual Burden: 1,872,245 hours.

Total Annual Cost: $10,000,000.

Needs and Uses: In 1999, the Commission released the Truth-in-Billing and Billing Format, CC Docket No. 98-170, First Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, (1999 TIB Order); published at 64 FR 34488, June 25, 1999, which adopted principles and guidelines designed to reduce telecommunications fraud, such as slamming and cramming, by making bills easier for consumers to read and understand, and thereby, making such fraud easier to detect and report. In 2000, Truth-in-Billing and Billing Format, CC Docket No. 98-170, Order on Reconsideration, (2000 Reconsideration Order); published at 65 FR 43251, July 13, 2000, the Commission, granted in part petitions for reconsideration of the requirements that bills highlight new service providers and prominently display inquiry contact numbers. On March 18, 2005, the Commission released Truth-in-Billing and Billing Format; National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates' Petition for Declaratory Ruling Regarding Truth-in-Billing, Second Report and Order, Declaratory Ruling, and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, CC Docket No. 98-170, CG Docket No. 04-208, (2005 Second Report and Order and Second Further Notice); published at 70 FR 29979 and 70 FR 30044, May 25, 2005, which determined, inter alia, that Commercial Mobile Radio Service providers no longer should be exempted from 47 CFR 64.2401(b), which requires billing descriptions to be brief, clear, non-misleading and in plain language. The 2005 Second Further Notice proposed and sought comment on measures to enhance the ability of consumers to make informed choices among competitive telecommunications service providers. On April 27, 2012, the Commission released the Empowering Consumers to Prevent and Detect Billing for Unauthorized Charges (“Cramming”), Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, CG Docket No. 11-116, CG Docket No. 09-158, CC Docket No. 98-170, FCC 12-42 (Cramming Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking); published at 77 FR 30972, May 24, 2012, which determined that additional rules are needed to help consumers prevent and detect the placement of unauthorized charges on their telephone bills, an unlawful and fraudulent practice commonly referred to as “cramming.”

Federal Communications Commission.

Marlene Dortch,

Secretary, Office of the Secretary.