Information Collections Being Submitted for Review and Approval to Office of Management and Budget, 30315-30317 [2021-11827]
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 107 (Monday, June 7, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30315-30317]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11827]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[OMB 3060-1013; OMB 3060-XXXX, FRS 30133]
Information Collections Being Submitted for Review and Approval
to 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 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
can further reduce the information collection burden for small business
concerns with fewer than 25 employees.
DATES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
[[Page 30316]]
information collection should be submitted on or before July 7, 2021.
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 [email protected] and to [email protected]. 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 (202) 418-
2918. 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 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: 3060-1013.
Title: Mitigation of Orbital Debris.
Form Number: N/A.
Type of Review: Revision of an existing collection.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities, not-for-profit
institutions.
Number of Respondents: 46 respondents; 46 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 8 hours.
Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement.
Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The
statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47
U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 301, 303, 307, 308, 309, and 310.
Total Annual Burden: 368 hours.
Annual Cost Burden: $88,550.
Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: In general, there is no need
for confidentiality with this collection of information.
Needs and Uses: On April 24, 2020, the Commission released a Report
and Order, FCC 20-54, IB Docket No. 18-313, titled ``Mitigation of
Orbital Debris in the New Space Age'' (Orbital Debris Report and
Order). In this Orbital Debris Report and Order, the Commission updated
its rules related to orbital debris mitigation, including application
requirements. The new rules are designed to ensure that the
Commission's actions concerning radio communications, including
licensing U.S. spacecraft and granting access to the U.S. market for
non-U.S. spacecraft, mitigate the growth of orbital debris, while at
the same time not creating undue regulatory obstacles to new satellite
ventures. The action will help to ensure that Commission decisions are
consistent with the public interest in space remaining viable for
future satellites and systems and the many services that those systems
provide to the public. The rule revisions also provide additional
detail to applicants on what information is expected under the
Commission's rules, which can help to increase certainty in the
application filing process. While this information collection
represents an overall increase in the burden hours, the information
collection serves the public interest by ensuring that the Commission
and public have necessary information about satellite applicants' plans
for mitigation of orbital debris.
Specifically, FCC 20-54 contains the new or modified information
collection requirements listed below, applicable to applicants seeking
experimental licenses for satellite operations under part 5 of the
Commission's rules, as well as to license grantees under part 97
submitting notifications to the Commission prior to launch of a
satellite amateur station:
(1) Existing disclosure requirements have been revised to include
specific metrics in several areas, including: Probability that the
space stations will become a source of debris by collision with small
debris and meteoroids that would cause loss of control and prevent
disposal; probability of collision between any non-geostationary orbit
(NGSO) space station and other large objects; and casualty risk
associated with any individual spacecraft that will be disposed by
atmospheric re-entry.
(2) Where relevant, the disclosures must include the following: Use
of separate deployment devices, distinct from the space station launch
vehicle, that may become a source of orbital debris; potential release
of liquids that will persist in droplet form; and any planned proximity
operations and debris generation that will or may result from the
proposed operations, including any planned release of debris, the risk
of accidental explosions, the risk of accidental collision, and
measures taken to mitigate those risks.
(3) The existing disclosure requirement to analyze potential
collision risk associated with space station(s) orbits has been
modified to specify that the disclosure identify characteristics of the
space station(s)' orbits that may present a collision risk, including
any planned and/or operational space stations in those orbits, and
indicate what steps, if any, have been taken to coordinate with the
other spacecraft or system, or what other measures the operator plans
to use to avoid collision.
(4) For NGSO space stations that will transit through the orbits
used by any inhabitable spacecraft, including the International Space
Station, the disclosure must include the design and operational
strategies, if any, that will be used to minimize the risk of collision
[[Page 30317]]
and avoid posing any operational constraints to the inhabitable
spacecraft.
(5) The disclosure must include a certification that upon receipt
of a space situational awareness conjunction warning, the operator will
review and take all possible steps to assess the collision risk, and
will mitigate the collision risk if necessary. As appropriate, steps to
assess and mitigate the collision risk should include, but are not
limited to: Contacting the operator of any active spacecraft involved
in such a warning; sharing ephemeris data and other appropriate
operational information with any such operator; and modifying space
station attitude and/or operations.
(6) For NGSO space stations the disclosure must describe the extent
of satellite maneuverability.
(7) The disclosure must address trackability of the space
station(s). For NGSO space stations the disclosure must also include:
(a) How the operator plans to identify the space station(s) following
deployment and whether the space station tracking will be active or
passive; (b) whether, prior to deployment the space station(s) will be
registered with the 18th Space Control Squadron or successor entity;
and (c) the extent to which the space station operator plans to share
information regarding initial deployment, ephemeris, and/or planned
maneuvers with the 18th Space Control Squadron or successor entity,
other entities that engage in space situational awareness or space
traffic management functions, and/or other operators.
(8) For NGSO space stations, additional disclosures must be
provided regarding spacecraft disposal, including, for some space
stations, a demonstration that the probability of success of the chosen
disposal method is 0.9 or greater for any individual space station, and
for multi-satellite systems, a demonstration including additional
information regarding efforts to achieve a higher probability of
success.
These information collection requirements are contained in 47 CFR
5.64 and 47 CFR 97.207.
OMB Control Number: 3060-XXXX.
Title: Legacy High-Cost Support Recipient Initial Report of Current
Service Offerings.
Form Number: N/A.
Type of Review: New information collection.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities, not-for-profit
institutions, and state, local or tribal governments.
Number of Respondents and Responses: Up to 110 respondents and 110
responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 16 hours.
Frequency of Response: One-time reporting requirement.
Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47
U.S.C. 154, 254 and 303(r).
Total Annual Burden: 1,760 hours.
Total Annual Cost: No cost.
Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Most of the information
collected under this collection will be made publicly available.
However, in recognition of the fact that a carrier may consider the
infrastructure information required to be submitted as part of its
initial report to be sensitive, such infrastructure information will be
treated as presumptively confidential by the Commission and the
Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) and withheld from
public inspection, although USAC will provide these data to the
Commission and the relevant state, territory, and Tribal governmental
entities that have jurisdiction over a particular service area, as
applicable. To the extent that a respondent seeks to have other
information collected in response to this information collection
withheld from public inspection, the respondent may request
confidential treatment pursuant to 47 CFR 0.459 of the Commission's
rules.
Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
Needs and Uses: A request for approval of this new information
collection will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) after this 60-day comment period in order to obtain the full
three-year clearance from OMB.
On November 18, 2011, the Commission released the USF/ICC
transformation Order (FCC 11-161) in which it comprehensively reformed
and modernized the universal service and intercarrier compensation
systems to ensure that robust, affordable voice and broadband service,
both fixed and mobile, are available to Americans throughout the
nation. In the USF/ICC Transformation Order, the Commission, among
other things, adopted a requirement that all eligible
telecommunications carriers (ETCs) offer broadband service in their
supported area that meets certain basic performance requirements and
report regularly on associated performance measures as a condition of
receiving federal high-cost universal service support.
On October 27, 2020, the Commission adopted the 5G Fund Report and
Order (FCC 20-150) in which it, among other things, helped to complete
the reform of the high-cost program begun in the USF/ICC Transformation
Order by adopting additional public interest obligations and
performance requirements for legacy high-cost support recipients, whose
broadband-specific public interest obligations for mobile wireless
services were not previously detailed. The public interest obligations
adopted in the 5G Fund Report and Order for each competitive ETC
receiving legacy high-cost support for mobile wireless services require
that such competitive ETC (1) use an increasing percentage of its
legacy support toward the deployment, maintenance, and operation of
voice and broadband networks that support 5G meeting the adopted
performance requirements within its subsidized service area(s), and (2)
meet specific 5G broadband service deployment coverage requirements and
service deployment milestone deadlines that take into consideration the
amount of legacy support the carrier receives.
In order to gain a complete understanding of the current service
offerings of each competitive ETC receiving legacy high-cost support
for mobile wireless services, the Commission adopted rules that require
each such competitive ETC to file an initial report containing
information and certifications about (1) its current mobile service
offerings in each of its subsidized service areas and how it is using
legacy support, (2) whether it is offering mobile services in its
subsidized service areas at rates that are reasonably comparable to
those charged in urban areas, and (3) whether it has availed itself of
the geographic flexibility granted by the Commission concerning its use
of support within any other designated service area(s) for which it or
an affiliated competitive ETC receives legacy support. See 47 CFR
54.313(p), 54.322(g), (h). The information and certifications provided
in these initial reports will be used by the Commission to ensure that
competitive ETCs receiving legacy high-cost support for mobile wireless
services deploy 5G service by in their subsidized service areas
consistent with the rules adopted by the Commission in the 5G Fund
Report and Order.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-11827 Filed 6-4-21; 8:45 am]
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