Cellular Service, Including Changes in Licensing of Unserved Area, 55766-55767 [2017-25413]

Agencies

• FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 225 (Friday, November 24, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 55766-55767]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-25413]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 22

[WT Docket Nos. 12-40 and 10-112; RM-11510, RM-11660; FCC 17-27]


Cellular Service, Including Changes in Licensing of Unserved Area

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission 
(Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection 
requirements associated with the Commission's Second Report and Order 
and Report and Order, WT Docket Nos. 12-40 and 10-112, RM 11510 and 
11660, FCC 17-27, including implementation of modified collection 
requirements on FCC Form 601, FCC Application for Radio Service 
Authorization. This document is consistent with the Second Report and 
Order and Report and Order, which stated that the Commission would 
publish a document in the Federal Register announcing OMB approval and 
the effective date of the requirements.

DATES: 47 CFR 22.317, 22.911(a) through (c), 22.913(a), (c), and (f), 
22.947, and 22.953(c), published at 82 FR 17570, April 12, 2017, and 
revised FCC Form 601, FCC Application for Radio Service Authorization, 
are effective on December 1, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information, contact 
Cathy Williams, Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov, (202) 418-2918.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that, on October 2, 
2017, OMB approved revised FCC Form 601, FCC Application for Radio 
Service Authorization, and the revised information collection 
requirements contained in the Commission's Second Report and Order and 
Report and Order, FCC 17-27, published at 82 FR 17570, April 12, 2017. 
The OMB Control Numbers are 3060-0508 and 3060-0798. The Commission 
publishes this document as an announcement of the effective date of the 
requirements. 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. Please include the OMB Control Numbers, 3060-0508 
and 3060-0798, in your correspondence. The Commission will also accept 
your comments via email at PRA@fcc.gov.
    To request materials in accessible formats for people with 
disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), 
send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental 
Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (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 OMB 
approval on October 2, 2017, for the revised FCC Form 601, FCC 
Application for Radio Service Authorization, and the revised 
information collection requirements contained in the Commission's rules 
at 47 CFR 22.317, 22.911(a) through (c), 22.913(a), (c), and (f), 
22.947, and 22.953(c). 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 Numbers are 3060-0508 and 3060-0798.
    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: 3060-0508.
    OMB Approval Date: October 2, 2017.
    OMB Expiration Date: October 31, 2020.
    Title: Parts 1 and 22 Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements.
    Form Number: Not applicable.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities, Individuals or 
households, and State, Local or Tribal Governments.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 15,465 respondents; 16,183 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.017-10 hours
    Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirement; On occasion, 
quarterly, and semi-annual reporting requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for this collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 154, 
222, 303, 309 and 332.
    Total Annual Burden: 4,406 hours.
    Annual Cost Burden: $19,138,350.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: Yes.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for 
confidentiality with this collection of information. The information to 
be collected will be made available for public inspection. Applicants 
may request materials or information submitted to the Commission be 
given confidential treatment under 47 CFR 0.459 of the Commission's 
rules.
    Needs and Uses: The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) 
received approval for a revision of OMB Control No. 3060-0508 from the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The purpose of this revision was 
to obtain OMB approval of rules applicable to part 22 800 MHz Cellular 
Radiotelephone (``Cellular'') Service licensees and applicants, as 
adopted by the Commission in a Second Report and Order and Report and 
Order (Second Report and Order) on March 23, 2017 (WT Docket Nos. 12-40 
and 10-112; RM Nos. 11510 and 11660; FCC 17-27). By the Second Report 
and Order, the Commission revised or eliminated certain licensing rules 
and modernized outdated technical rules applicable to the Cellular 
Service. Specifically, in addition to rule revisions that do not affect 
this information collection, the Commission revised the Cellular 
radiated power

[[Page 55767]]

rules, giving licensees the option to comply with effective radiated 
power limits based on power spectral density (PSD), and giving 
licensees the additional option to operate at PSD limits above a 
specified threshold (Higher PSD Limits) so long as certain conditions 
are met. One of these conditions, set forth in a new provision of the 
Cellular rules, is a requirement for written advance notification to 
public safety entities within a specified radius of the cell sites to 
be deployed at the Higher PSD Limits. This third-party disclosure 
requirement is an important component of the Commission's approach to 
protecting public safety entities from increased potential for 
unacceptable interference to their communications. Also of relevance to 
this information collection, the Commission eliminated the requirement 
for filings for certain changes to cell sites in a Cellular system.
    The information collected is used to determine, on a case-by-case 
basis, whether or not to grant licenses authorizing construction and 
operation of wireless telecommunications facilities to common carriers. 
Further, this information is used to develop statistics about the 
demand for various wireless licenses and/or the licensing process 
itself, and occasionally for rule enforcement purposes.
    OMB Control No.: 3060-0798.
    OMB Approval Date: October 2, 2017.
    OMB Expiration Date: October 31, 2020.
    Title: FCC Application for Radio Service Authorization: Wireless 
Telecommunications Bureau; Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau.
    Form No.: FCC Form 601.
    Respondents: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit entities; Not-for-profit institutions; State, local, or Tribal 
Governments.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 253,320 respondents and 
253,320 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.5-1.25 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirement, third party 
disclosure requirement, on occasion reporting requirement and periodic 
reporting requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in 
47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154, 154(i), 155(c), 157, 201, 202, 208, 214, 301, 
302a, 303, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 314, 316, 319, 324, 331, 332, 333, 
336, 534, 535, and 554.
    Total Annual Burden: 222,055 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $71,306,250.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: In general there is no need 
for confidentiality with this collection of information.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: Yes.
    Needs and Uses: FCC Form 601 is a consolidated, multi-part 
application form that is used for market-based and site-based licensing 
for wireless telecommunications services, including public safety 
licenses, which are filed through the Commission's Universal Licensing 
System (ULS). FCC Form 601 is composed of a main form that contains 
administrative information and a series of schedules used for filing 
technical and other information. This form is used to apply for a new 
license, to amend or withdraw a pending application, to modify or renew 
an existing license, cancel a license, request a duplicate license, 
submit required notifications, request an extension of time to satisfy 
construction requirements, or request an administrative update to an 
existing license (such as mailing address change), request a Special 
Temporary Authority or Developmental License. Respondents are 
encouraged to submit FCC Form 601 electronically and are required to do 
so when submitting FCC Form 601 to apply for an authorization for which 
the applicant was the winning bidder in a spectrum auction.
    The data collected on FCC Form 601 includes the FCC Registration 
Number (FRN), which serves as a ``common link'' for all filings an 
entity has with the FCC. The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 
requires entities filing with the Commission use an FRN.
    On November 7, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission 
(Commission'') released a Report and Order and Further Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 14-181) in WT Docket No. 12-40 to reform its 
rules governing the 800 MHz Cellular Radiotelephone (Cellular) Service 
(see 79 FR 76268). Subsequently, on March 24, 2017, the Commission 
released a Second Report and Order (FCC 17-27) in that same proceeding, 
revising certain technical and licensing rules applicable to the 
Cellular Service (see 82 FR 17570). In addition to rule revisions that 
do not affect this information collection, in the Second Report and 
Order, the Commission adopted revised radiated power rules, giving 
Cellular licensees the option to comply with effective radiated power 
limits based on power spectral density (PSD), and it made conforming 
changes to related technical provisions to accommodate PSD. The 
Commission retained, as an option, the existing radiated power limits 
(non-PSD) and related technical requirements for Cellular licensees 
that either cannot or choose not to use a PSD model. The Commission 
also revised the definition and filing requirements for permanent 
discontinuance of operations, consistent with transitioning the 
Cellular Service from a site-based regime to one that is geographic-
based.
    The Commission received approval from OMB for revisions to its 
currently approved collection of information under OMB Control Number 
3060-0798 to permit the collection of PSD-related technical information 
(in lieu of certain non-PSD technical information) for Cellular Service 
licensees that opt to use a PSD model for their systems, pursuant to 
the Second Report and Order. The OMB approval under this same Control 
Number 3060-0798 included a revised FCC Form 601, most notably a 
revised Schedule F of the Form, implementing the technical rule changes 
adopted in the Second Report and Order and thereby allowing licensees 
to use the Form to make filings regarding their licenses based on PSD 
operations. The revisions did not have any impact on the burden to 
complete FCC Form 601, including Schedule F of the Form.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-25413 Filed 11-22-17; 8:45 am]
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