Information Collection Requirements Being Submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for Emergency Review and Approval, 41555-41556 [2014-16621]

Agencies

• FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 136 (Wednesday, July 16, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41555-41556]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-16621]



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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


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

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, 
and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501-3520), the Federal Communication Commission (FCC or Commission) 
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this 
opportunity to comment on the following information collections. 
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 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.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted on or before July 31, 2014. 
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 contacts below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, OMB, via 
email Nicholas_A._Fraser@omb.eop.gov; and to Cathy Williams, FCC, via 
email PRA@fcc.gov and to Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov. Include in the 
comments the OMB control number as shown in the Supplementary 
Information section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies 
of the information collection, contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-
2918.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission is requesting emergency OMB 
processing of the information collection requirements contained in this 
notice and has requested OMB approval by 20 days after the collection 
is received at OMB.
    To view a copy of this information collection request (ICR) 
submitted to OMB: (1) Go to the Web page https://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, (6) when the list of FCC 
ICRs currently under review appears, look for the OMB control number of 
this ICR and then click on the ICR Reference Number. A copy of the FCC 
submission to OMB will be displayed.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1053.
    Title: Two-Line Captioned Telephone Order, IP Captioned Telephone 
Service Declaratory Ruling; and Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone 
Service Reform Order, CG Docket Nos. 13-24 and 03-123.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 186,005 respondents; 745,280 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: .25 hours (15 minutes) to 20 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Annual, every five years, on-going, and one-
time reporting requirements; Recordkeeping requirement; Third party 
disclosure requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for the information collection requirements is 
found at Sec. 225 [47 U.S.C. 225] Telecommunications Services for 
Hearing-Impaired Individuals; The Americans with Disabilities Act of 
1990, (ADA), Pub. L. 101-336, 104 Stat. 327, 366-69, was enacted on 
July 26, 1990.
    Total Annual Burden: 542,252 hours. Total Annual Cost: $1,008,000.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: An assurance of 
confidentiality is not offered because this information collection does 
not require the collection of personally identifiable information by 
the FCC from individuals.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Needs and Uses: On August 1, 2003, the Commission released the 
Declaratory Ruling, In the Matter of Telecommunication Relay Services 
and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech 
Disabilities, CC Docket No. 98-67, published at 68 FR 55898, September 
28, 2003. In the Declaratory Ruling, the Commission clarified that one-
line captioned telephone voice carry over (VCO) service is a type of 
telecommunications relay service (TRS) and that eligible providers of 
such services are eligible to recover their costs in accordance with 
section 225 of the Communications Act. The Commission also clarified 
that certain TRS mandatory minimum standards do not apply to one-line 
captioned telephone VCO service and waived 47 CFR 64.604(a)(1) and 
(a)(3) for all current and future captioned telephone VCO service 
providers, for the same period of time beginning August 1, 2003. The 
waivers were contingent on the filing of annual reports, for a period 
of three years, with the Commission. Sections 64.604 (a)(1) and (a)(3) 
of the Commission's rules, which contained information collection 
requirements under the PRA, became effective on March 26, 2004.
    On July 19, 2005, the Commission released an Order, In the Matter 
of Telecommunication Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for 
Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CC Docket No. 98-67 
and CG Docket No. 03-123, published at 70 FR 54294, September 14, 2005, 
clarifying that two-line captioned telephone VCO service, like one-line 
captioned telephone VCO service, is a type of TRS eligible for 
compensation from the Interstate TRS Fund. Also, the Commission 
clarified that certain TRS mandatory minimum standards do not apply to 
two-line captioned VCO service and waived 47 CFR 64.604(a)(1) and 
(a)(3) for providers who offer two-line captioned VCO service.
    On January 11, 2007, the Commission released a Declaratory Ruling, 
In the Matter of Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech 
Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CG 
Docket No. 03-123, published at 72 FR 6960, February 14, 2007, granting 
a request for clarification that Internet Protocol (IP) captioned 
telephone relay service (IP CTS) is a type of TRS eligible for 
compensation from the Interstate TRS Fund (Fund) when offered in

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compliance with the applicable TRS mandatory minimum standards.
    On August 26, 2013, the Commission issued a Report and Order, In 
the Matter of Misuse of Internet Protocol (IP) Captioned Telephone 
Service; Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech 
Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CG 
Docket Nos. 13-24 and 03-123, published at 78 FR 53684, August 30, 
2013, to regulate practices relating to the marketing of IP CTS, impose 
certain requirements for the provision of this service, and mandate 
registration and certification of IP CTS users. The Commission 
published a notice in the Federal Register pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d) 
on September 25, 2013 (78 FR 59025), seeking comments from the public 
on the information collection requirements contained in the initial 
supporting statement. Sorenson Communications, Inc., and its subsidiary 
CaptionCall, LLC (together, CaptionCall), filed comments on November 
25, 2013, regarding the user registration and certification 
requirements adopted in the Report and Order as well as the 
certification, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements for hardship 
exemptions to the captions-off default setting requirement, also 
adopted in the Report and Order. CaptionCall did not comment on the 
other collections adopted in the Report and Order.
    Subsequently, on December 6, 2013, the United States Court of 
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit stayed ``the rule adopted 
by the Commission [in the Report and Order] prohibiting compensation to 
providers for minutes of use generated by equipment consumers received 
from providers for free or for less than $75.'' Sorenson 
Communications, Inc. and CaptionCall, LLC v. FCC, Order, D.C. Cir., No. 
13-1246, December 6, 2013, at 1-2. (For convenience, this notice refers 
to the requirement subject to the stay as ``the $75 equipment charge 
rule.'') In the revised supporting statement, the Commission sought OMB 
approval of the following requirements adopted in the Report and Order: 
(1) The requirements regarding the labeling of equipment, software and 
mobile applications; (2) the certification, recordkeeping, and 
reporting requirements for the hardship exemption to the captions 
default-off requirement; and (3) an additional information reporting 
requirement for IP CTS applicants that seek Commission certification to 
provide IP CTS and for IP CTS providers, requiring applicants to 
provide assurance that they will not request or collect payment from 
the TRS Fund for service to consumers who do not satisfy the 
Commission's IP CTS registration and certification requirements. 
Because the registration and certification requirements adopted in the 
Report and Order are related to the $75 equipment charge rule that was 
stayed by the court of appeals, the Commission did not seek OMB 
approval of those requirements at that time. See 79 FR 23354, April 28, 
2014.
    On June 18, 2014, OMB approved, for a period of three years, the 
information collection requirements specified above that are contained 
in the Commission's Report and Order, FCC 11-118, published at 78 FR 
53684, August 30, 2013. The OMB Control Number is 3060-1053.
    On June 20, 2014, the D.C. Circuit vacated the $75 equipment charge 
rule and the rule requiring providers to maintain captions-off as the 
default setting for IP CTS equipment. Sorenson Communications, Inc. and 
CaptionCall, LLC v. FCC (D.C. Cir., Nos. 13-1122 and 13-1246, June 20, 
2014).
    On July 11, 2014, the Commission published a notice in the Federal 
Register a notification that information collection requirements (1) 
regarding the labeling of equipment, software and mobile applications; 
(2) the certification, recordkeeping, and reporting for the hardship 
exemption to the captions default-off requirement; and (3) for IP CTS 
applicants that seek Commission certification to provide IP CTS and for 
IP CTS providers to provide assurance that they will not request or 
collect payment from the TRS Fund for service to consumers who do not 
satisfy the Commission's IP CTS registration and certification 
requirements would become effective immediately. Because the court had 
not yet issued its mandate, the captions-off default requirement, 47 
CFR 64.604(c)(10)(i), (ii), (iii), and (v), remained in effect, and the 
certification, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements for the 
hardship exemption to the captions default-off requirement, 47 CFR 
64.604(c)(10)(iv), became effective at that time.
    This notice and request for comments pertains to the user 
registration and certification requirements adopted in the IP CTS 
Reform Order. Specifically, IP CTS providers are required to obtain 
from new and existing IP CTS consumers self-certification of hearing 
loss necessitating the use of IP CTS and their understanding of the IP 
CTS program. In addition, existing IP CTS consumers with free or de 
minimis cost equipment must further submit professional certification. 
47 CFR 64.604(c)(9).

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Office of the Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 2014-16621 Filed 7-15-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P