Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and Approval to the Office of Management and Budget, 20629-20632 [2012-8203]

Agencies

• FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 66 (Thursday, April 5, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20629-20632]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-8203]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and Approval to 
the Office of Management and Budget

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. 
3502-3520), the Federal Communications Commission invites the general 
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on the following information collection(s). 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; (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 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 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 (PRA) that does 
not display a valid OMB control number.

DATES: Written Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments should be 
submitted on or before May 7, 2012. 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: Submit your PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB), via fax at 202-395-5167 or via Internet at 
Nicholas_A._Fraser@omb.eop.gov and to Judith B. Herman, Federal 
Communications Commission, via the Internet at Judith-b.herman@fcc.gov. 
To submit your PRA comments by email send them to: PRA@fcc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Judith B. Herman, Office of Managing 
Director, FCC, at 202-418-0214.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1147.
    Title: Wireless E911 Phase II Location Accuracy Requirements, Third 
Report and Order, FCC 11-107.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Individuals and households; business or other for-
profit entities; Not-for-profit institutions and State, Local, or 
Tribal Government.
    Number of Respondents: 4,898 respondents; 9,514 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 5.5867143 hours (average).
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement and third 
party disclosure requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. Statutory authority for this 
information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. Sections 151, 154 and 
332 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
    Total Annual Burden: 53,152 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: N/A.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: N/A.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: No questions of a 
confidential nature are asked.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission obtained OMB approval for this new 
collection in March 2011. The Commission is now seeking OMB approval 
for another revision to this information collection. The Commission 
will submit this information collection to the OMB after publication of 
this 30 day notice.
    The Commission adopted and released a Third Report and Order, FCC 
11-107, PS Docket No. 07-114, which provides that new Commercial Mobile 
Radio Service (CMRS) providers, meeting the definition of covered CMRS 
providers in Section 20.18 and deploying networks subsequent to the 
effective date of the Third Report and Order that are not an expansion 
or upgrade of an existing CMRS network, must meet the handset-based 
location accuracy standard from the start. Consequently, the rule 
requires new CMRS providers launching new stand-alone networks during 
the eight-year implementation period for handset-based CMRS wireless 
licensees to meet the applicable handset-based location accuracy 
standard in effect of the time of deployment. Therefore, new rule 
section 20.18(h)(2)(iv) specifies that new CMRS providers must comply 
with paragraphs (h)(2)((i-iii) of Section 20.18, which are the location 
accuracy requirements for handset-based carriers. OMB approved the 
information collection for those rule paragraphs, which the Second 
Report and Order adopted, on March 30, 2011, under OMB Control No. 
3060-1147. The Commission announced OMB's approval and the effective 
date in 76 FR 23713 of the Federal Register.
    As a result, under the new rule section adopted by Third Report and 
Order, all new CMRS providers, in delivering emergency calls for 
Enhanced 911 service, must satisfy the handset-based location accuracy 
standard at either a county-based or Public Safety Answering Point 
(PSAP)-based geographic level. Similarly, in accordance with the new 
rule and under the paragraph provision of Section 20.18(h)(2)(ii), new 
CMRS providers may exclude up to 15 percent of the counties or PSAP 
areas they serve due to heavy forestation that limits handset-based 
technology accuracy in those counties or areas.
    Therefore, new CMRS providers will be required to file a list of 
the specific counties where they are utilizing their respective 
exclusions. In its September 2010 Second Report and Order, 75 FR 70604, 
the Commission found that permitting this exclusion properly but 
narrowly accounts for the known technical limitations of handset-based 
location accuracy technologies, while ensuring that the public safety 
community and the public at large are sufficiently informed of these 
limitations.
    When they have begun deploying their new networks, the new CMRS 
providers must submit initial reports, as the Commission will announce 
after OMB approval of this revised information collection, with a list 
of the

[[Page 20630]]

areas that they are permitted to exclude from the handset-based 
location accuracy requirements. Accordingly, the Commission will 
specify the procedures for electronic filing into PS Docket No. 07-114, 
consistent with the current OMB approved information collection for 
handset-based carriers, and new CMRS providers must send copies of the 
exclusion reports to the National Emergency Number Association, the 
Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International, 
and the National Association of State 9-1-1 Administrators.
    Further, the rules adopted by the Commission's September 2010 
Second Report and Order, 75 FR 70604, also require that, two years 
after January 18, 2011, wireless carriers provide confidence and 
uncertainty data on a per call basis to PSAPs. Because the new rule 
adopted by the Third Report and Order considers new CMRS providers as 
providers covered under the definition of CMR providers pursuant to 
section 20.18 of the Commission's rules, new CMRS providers will also 
be subject to the information collection requirement to provide this 
confidence and uncertainty data.
    Additionally, in view of the amended location accuracy requirements 
and the timeframes and benchmarks for handset-based wireless carriers 
to comply with them, in its September 2010 Second Report and Order, 75 
FR 70604, the Commission recognized that the waiver process is suitable 
to address individual or unique problems, where the Commission can 
analyze the particular circumstances and the potential impact to public 
safety. Thus, similarly, the supporting statement for this information 
collection revision recognizes that new CMRS providers might file 
waiver requests and, therefore, be subject to a collection and 
reporting requirement.
    The Third Report and Order found that requiring all new CMRS 
network providers to comply with the Commission's handset-based 
location accuracy standard is consistent with the regulatory principle 
of ensuring technological neutrality. Providers deploying new CMRS 
networks are free to use network-based location techniques, or to 
combine network and handset-based techniques, to provide 911 location 
information, provided that they meet the accuracy criteria applicable 
to handset-based providers. Given the long-term goal of universal 
support for one location accuracy standard, the Commission believed 
that such a mandate allows appropriate planning and ensures that new 
technology will comply with the most stringent location accuracy 
standard that applies to existing technology.
    Section 47 CFR 20.18(h)(2)(iv) requires that providers of new CMRS 
networks that meet the definition of covered CMRS providers under 
paragraph (a) of this section must comply with the requirements of 
paragraphs (h)(2)(i)-(iii) of this section. For this purpose, a ``new 
CMRS network'' is a CMRS network that is newly deployed subsequent to 
the effective date of the Third Report and Order in PS Docket No. 07-
114 and that is not an expansion or upgrade of an existing CMRS 
network.
    The information provided by wireless carriers deploying new CMRS 
networks to report the counties or PSAP service areas where the 
carriers cannot provide E911 location accuracy at either the county or 
the PSAP level will furnish the Commission, affected PSAPs, state and 
local emergency agencies, public safety organizations and other 
interested stakeholders the supplementary data necessary for public 
safety awareness of those areas where it is most difficult to measure 
location accuracy during the benchmark periods for handset-based 
wireless carriers.
    The provision of confidence and uncertainty data to PSAPs by the 
new CMRS providers and the SSPs responsible for transporting that data 
between them and PSAPs will enhance the PSAPs' ability to efficiently 
direct first responders to the correct location of emergencies to 
achieve the emergency response goals of the nation in responding 
expeditiously to emergency crisis situations and in ensuring homeland 
security.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0400.
    Title: Part 61, Tariff Review Plan (TRP).
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 2,840 respondents; 8,554 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: .5 hours to 53 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion, annual, biennial, and one time 
reporting requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 
U.S.C. Sections 201, 202, 203, and 251(b)(5) of the Communications Act 
of 1934, as amended.
    Total Annual Burden: 121,656 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: N/A.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: N/A.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Respondents are not being 
asked to submit confidential information to the Commission. If the 
Commission requests respondents to submit information which respondents 
believe are confidential, respondents may request confidential 
treatment of such information under 47 CFR 0.459 of the Commission's 
rules.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission will submit this revised information 
collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) during this 30 
day comment period to obtain the full three year approval from them. 
The hourly burden has increased by 117,056 hours which is due to an 
Order that was adopted and released requiring or permitting incumbent 
and competitive local exchange carriers, as part of transitioning 
regulation of interstate and intrastate switched access rates and 
reciprocal compensation rates to bill-and-keep under section 251(b)(5), 
to file tariffs with state commissions and the FCC. This transition 
affects different switched access rates at specified timeframes and 
establishes an Access Recovery Charge by which carriers will be able to 
assess end users a monthly charge to recover some or all of the 
revenues they are permitted to recover resulting from reductions in 
intercarrier compensation rates. Price cap LECs must remove the rate 
elements in the traffic-sensitive and trunking baskets from price cap 
regulation on July 1, 2012. There interstate tariff filings will 
require cost support that generally is encompassed in the existing 
support burdens and, in many cases, may be satisfied through the data 
collection encompassed by a new information collection entitled 
``Intercarrier Compensation and Universal Service Compliance and 
Monitoring'' which will also be submitted to the OMB for approval and 
assigned an OMB control number (see description of new information 
collection below). The intrastate tariff filings may, depending on 
state requirements, require supporting materials to be filed that may 
also largely be satisfied by submitting the new information collection 
referenced above.
    As of November 2010, there are 92 total incumbent LECs that file 
interstate tariffs. Of them, there are 39 ILECs that file pursuant to 
price cap regulation under Sections 61.41-61.49 of the Commission's 
rules. Outside of the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA), 
there are 12 ILECs filing their own tariffs pursuant to rate-of-return 
regulation under Section 61.38 of the Commission's rules. The remaining 
40 ILECs file their own tariffs pursuant to

[[Page 20631]]

section 61.39 of the Commission's rules. NECA files one Tariff Review 
Plan for approximately 1,000 Sections 61.38 and 61.39 ILECs. Therefore, 
we estimate 51 + 40 +1 (NECA) = 92 filing entities.
    We also estimate that 330 competitive and incumbent LECs will have 
to make a one-time interstate tariff filing to permit them to assess 
access charges on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls. We 
estimate that 2,840 competitive and incumbent LECs will have to file 
intrastate tariffs annually which may require supporting materials to 
be filed. We also estimate that 2,840 competitive and incumbent LECs 
will have to make a one-time intrastate tariff filing to establish VoIP 
rates at interstate rate levels that may require supporting materials 
to be filed. Finally, we estimate that 1,340 incumbent LECs annually 
will certify, as part of their tariff filings to the Commission and to 
the relevant state commission, that they are not seeking duplicative 
recovery in the state jurisdiction for an Eligible Recovery subject to 
the recovery mechanism.
    For those services still requiring cost support, TRPs assist the 
Commission in determining whether ILEC access charges are just and 
reasonable as required under the Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0298.
    Title: Part 61, Tariffs (Other than the Tariff Review Plan).
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 3,210 respondents; 7,350 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 20 hours to 50 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion, annual, biennial and one time 
reporting requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 
U.S.C. Sections 151-155, 201-205, 208, 251-271, 403, 502 and 503 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
    Total Annual Burden: 215,500 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $1,410,150.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: N/A.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Respondents are not being 
asked to submit confidential information to the Commission. If the 
Commission requests respondents to submit information which respondents 
believe are confidential, respondents may request confidential 
treatment of such information under 47 CFR 0.459 of the Commission's 
rules.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission is seeking OMB approval for this 
revised collection. The Commission will submit this information 
collection to the OMB after publication of this 30 day notice.
    On November 18, 2011, the Commission adopted the USF/ICC 
Transformation Order, FCC 11-161, that requires or permits incumbent 
and competitive local exchange carriers as part of transitioning 
regulation of interstate and intrastate switched access rates and 
reciprocal compensation rates to bill-and-keep under section 251(b)(5) 
of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, to file tariffs with 
state commissions and the FCC. This transition affects different 
switched access rates at specified timeframes and establishes an Access 
Recovery Charge by which carriers will be able to assess end uses a 
monthly charge to recover some or all of the revenues they are 
permitted to recover resulting from reductions in intercarrier 
compensation rates. We estimate that 40 rate-of-return LECs will need 
to make an additional interstate access tariff filing annually and that 
330 competitive and incumbent LECs will have to make a one-time filing 
to allow them to assess charges for Voice over Internet Protocol 
(VoIP). We also estimate that an additional 2,840 competitive and 
incumbent LECs will have to file intrastate tariffs annually. Finally, 
we estimate that 2,840 competitive and incumbent LECs will have to make 
a one-time intrastate tariff filing to establish VoIP rates of 
interstate rate levels.
    The information collected through a carrier's tariff is used by the 
Commission and state commissions to determine whether services offered 
are just and reasonable as the Act requires. The tariffs and any 
supporting documentation are examined in order to determine if the 
services are offered in a just and reasonable manner.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1122.
    Title: Preparation of Annual Reports to Congress for the Collection 
and Expenditures of Fees or Charges for Enhanced 911 (E911) Services 
Under the NET 911 Improvement Act of 2008.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: State, local or tribal governments.
    Number of Respondents: 56 respondents; 56 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 50 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Annual reporting requirement and 
recordkeeping requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Voluntary. Statutory authority for this 
information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. Sections 201(b), 
219(b) and 220 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
    Total Annual Burden: 2,800 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: N/A.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: N/A.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There are no assurances of 
confidentiality provided to respondents. The Commission's rules address 
the issue of confidentiality at 47 CFR 0.457, 0.459 and 0.461. These 
rules address access to records that are not routinely available to the 
public, requests and requirements that materials submitted to the 
Commission be withheld from public inspection, and requests for 
inspection of materials not routinely available for public inspection.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission is seeking OMB approval for this 
revised information collection in order to obtain the full three year 
clearance from them. There is no change in the Commission's previous 
burden estimates. The Commission will submit this information 
collection to the OMB after publication of this 30 day notice.
    The Commission proposes to ask the following information:
    1. A statement as to whether or not your State, or any political 
subdivision, Indian tribe, village or regional corporation therein as 
defined by Section 6(f)(1) of the NET 911 Act, has established a 
funding mechanism designated for or imposed for the purposes of 911 or 
E911 support or implementation (including a citation to the legal 
authority for such mechanism).
    2. The amount of the fees or charges imposed for the implementation 
and support of 911 or E911 services and the total amount collected 
pursuant to the assessed fees or charges, for the annual period ending 
December 31, 20XX.
    3. A statement describing how the funds collected are made 
available to localities, and whether your state has established written 
criteria regarding the allowable uses of the collected funds, including 
the legal citation to such criteria.
    4. A statement identifying any entity in your State that has the 
authority to approve the expenditure of funds collected for 911 or E911 
purposes; a description of any oversight procedures established to 
determine that collected funds have been made available or used for the 
purposes designated by the funding mechanism or otherwise used to 
implement or support 911; and a statement describing enforcement or 
other corrective actions undertaken in connection with such oversight, 
for the annual period ending December 31, 20XX.

[[Page 20632]]

    5. A statement whether all the funds collected for 911 or E911 
purposes have been made available or used for the purposes designated 
by the funding mechanism, or otherwise used for the implementation or 
support of 911 or E911.
    6. A statement identifying what amount of funds collected for 911 
or E911 purposes were made available or used for any purposes other 
than the ones designated by the funding mechanism or used for purposes 
otherwise unrelated to 911 or E911 implementation or support, including 
a statement identifying the unrelated purposes for which the funds 
collected for 911 or E911 purposes were made available or used.
    7. A statement identifying which specificity all activities, 
programs, and organizations for whose benefit your State, or political 
subdivision thereof, has obligated or expended funds collected for 911 
or E911 purposes and how these activities, programs, and organizations 
support 911 or E911 services or enhancements of such services.
    8. A statement regarding whether your State classifies expenditures 
on Next Generation 911 as within the scope of permissible expenditures 
of funds for 911 or E911 purposes, whether your State has expended such 
funds on Next Generation 911 programs, and if so, how much your State 
has expended in the annual period ending December 31, 20XX on Next 
Generation 911 programs.
    9. Any other comments you may wish to provide regarding the 
applicable funding mechanism for 911 or E911.
    The purpose of this information collection is to meet the 
Commission's ongoing statutory obligations under the New and Emerging 
Technologies 911 Improvement Act of 2008, Public Law 110-283, 122 Stat. 
2620 (2008) (NET 911 Act), which requires the Commission to submit an 
annual report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
Representatives, ``detailing the status in each State of the collection 
and distribution of such fees or charges, and including findings on the 
amount of revenues obligated or expended by each State or political 
subdivision thereof for any purposes other than the purpose for which 
any such fees or charges are specified.''

Federal Communications Commission.
Bulah P. Wheeler,
Deputy Manager, Office of the Secretary, Office of Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 2012-8203 Filed 4-4-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P