Public Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and Approval to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 26293-26294 [2011-10222]

Agencies

• FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 88 (Friday, May 6, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26293-26294]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-10222]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


Public Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and 
Approval to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden 
and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501-3520), the Federal Communications Commission invites the general 
public and other Federal agencies 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 estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information collected; (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; and (e) ways to further reduce the information 
collection burden for 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 Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 
that does not display a valid control number.

DATES: Written Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments should be 
submitted on or before July 5, 2011. If you anticipate that you will be 
submitting PRA comments, but find it difficult to do so within the 
period of time allowed by this notice, you should advise the FCC 
contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of 
Management and Budget, via fax at 202-395-5167 or the Internet at 
Nicholas_A._Fraser@omb.eop.gov; and to the Federal Communications 
Commission's PRA mailbox (e-mail address: PRA@fcc.gov.). Include in the 
e-mail the OMB control number of the collection as shown in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below, or if there is no OMB control 
number, the Title as shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. If 
you are unable to submit your comments by e-mail, contact the person 
listed below to make alternate arrangements.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies 
of the information collection(s), contact Judith B. Herman at 202-418-
0214 or via the Internet at Judith-B.Herman@fcc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0411.
    Title: Procedures for Formal Complaints Filed Against Common 
Carriers.
    Form No.: FCC Form 485.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Individuals or household, business or other for-
profit, not-for-profit institutions and state, local or tribal 
government.
    Number of Respondents: 20 respondents.
    Number of Responses: 301 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 4.5 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping, on occasion reporting, and 
third party disclosure requirements.
    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), 154(j), 206, 207, 208, 209, 301, 303, 304, 309, 
316, 332, and 1302.
    Total Annual Burden: 1,349 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $1,847,600.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: As noted on Form OMB 83-I, the 
information collection requirements may affect individuals or 
households. As required by the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, 5 
U.S.C. 552a, and OMB regulations, M-03-22 (September 22, 2003), the FCC 
has completed both a system of records, FCC/EB-3, ``Investigations and 
Hearings,'' and a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA), to cover the 
collection, maintenance, use, and disposal of all personally 
identifiable information PII that may be submitted as part of a formal 
complaint filed against a common carrier:
    (a) The system of records notice (SORN) was last published in the 
Federal Register on April 6, 2006 (65 FR 17234, 17238), and is posted 
on the FCC's Privacy Act webpage at: https://www.fcc.gov/omd/privacyact/records-systems.html.
    (b) The Privacy Impact Assessment was completed on May 22, 2009, 
and is posted on the FCC's Privacy Act webpage at: https://www.fcc.gov/omd/privacyact/System_of_records/pia-investigations-hearings.pdf.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: 47 CFR 1.731 provides for 
confidential treatment of materials disclosed or exchanged during the 
course of formal complaint proceedings when those materials have been 
identified by the disclosing party as proprietary or confidential. In 
the rare case in which a producing party believes that section 1.731 
will not provide adequate protection for its asserted confidential 
material, it may request either that the opposing party consent to 
greater protection, or that the staff supervising the proceeding order 
greater protection.
    Needs and Uses: Sections 206-209 of the Communications Act of 1934, 
as amended (the ``Act''), provide the statutory framework for the 
Commission's rules for resolving formal complaints against common 
carriers. Section 208(a) authorizes complaints by any person 
``complaining of anything done or omitted to be done by any common 
carrier'' subject to the provisions of the Act. Section 208(a) states 
that if a carrier does not satisfy a

[[Page 26294]]

complaint or there appears to be any reasonable ground for 
investigating the complaint, the Commission shall ``investigate the 
matters complained of in such manner and by such means as it shall deem 
proper.'' Certain categories of complaints are subject to a statutory 
deadline for resolution. See, e.g., 47 U.S.C. 208(b)(1) (imposing a 
five-month deadline for complaints challenging the ``lawfulness of a 
charge, classification, regulation, or practice'').
    Formal complaint proceedings before the Commission are similar to 
civil litigation in federal district court. In fact, under section 207 
of the Act, a party claiming to be damaged by a common carrier, may 
file its complaint with the Commission or in any district court of the 
United States, ``but such person shall not have the right to pursue 
both such remedies'' (47 U.S.C. 207). The Commission has promulgated 
rules (the ``Formal Complaint Rules'') to govern its formal complaint 
proceedings that are similar in many respects to the Federal Rules of 
Civil Procedure. See 47 CFR 1.720-1.736. These rules require the 
submission of information from the parties necessary to create a record 
on which the Commission can decide complex legal and factual issues. As 
described in section 1.720 of the Commission's rules, formal complaint 
proceedings are resolved on a written record consisting of a complaint, 
answer or response, and joint statement of stipulated facts, disputed 
facts and key legal issues, along with all associated affidavits, 
exhibits and other attachments.
    This collection of information includes the process for submitting 
a formal complaint. The Commission uses this information to determine 
the sufficiency of complaints and to resolve the merits of disputes 
between the parties. Orders issued by the Commission in formal 
complaint proceedings are based upon evidence and argument produced by 
the parties in accordance with the Formal Complaint Rules. If the 
information were not collected, the Commission would not be able to 
resolve common carrier-related complaint proceedings, as required by 
section 208 of the Act.
    The Commission is requesting a revision of this collection to 
ensure consistent Commission processes for resolving all voice and data 
roaming disputes where a complaint is the appropriate procedural 
vehicle. To do so, the Commission is adopting, for data roaming 
complaints, most of the procedural complaint processes currently 
available for resolving voice roaming disputes. Specifically, the 
Commission is extending, as applicable, the procedural rules in the 
Commission's Part I, Subpart E rules, 47 CFR 1.716-1.718, 1.720, 1.721, 
and 1.723-1.735, to disputes arising out of the data roaming rules.
    The Commission finds that it is in the public interest to ensure a 
consistent Commission process for resolving both voice and data roaming 
complaints. Moreover, some roaming disputes will involve both data and 
voice and are likely to have factual issues common to both types of 
roaming. This approach allows a party to bring a single proceeding to 
address such a dispute, rather than having to bifurcate the matter and 
initiate two separate proceedings under two different sets of 
procedures. This, in turn, will be more efficient for the parties 
involved, as well as for the Commission, and should result in faster 
resolution of such disputes.

Federal Communications Commission.
Bulah P. Wheeler,
Deputy Manager.
[FR Doc. 2011-10222 Filed 5-5-11; 8:45 am]
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