Connect America Fund, Alaska Connect Fund, ETC Annual Reports and Certifications, Telecommunications Carriers Eligible To Receive Universal Service Support, Universal Service Reform-Mobility Fund, 92846-92847 [2024-27481]

Agencies

• FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 227 (Monday, November 25, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 92846-92847]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27481]



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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 36 and 54

[WC Docket Nos. 10-90, 23-328, 14-58, 09-197; WT Docket No. 10-208; FCC 
23-87; FR ID 262480]


Connect America Fund, Alaska Connect Fund, ETC Annual Reports and 
Certifications, Telecommunications Carriers Eligible To Receive 
Universal Service Support, Universal Service Reform--Mobility Fund

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, an information collection 
associated with the rules for the Connect America Fund contained in the 
Commission's Connect America Fund Order (Order) published April 10, 
2024, WC Docket No. 10-90 et al., FCC 23-87. This document is 
consistent with the Order, which stated that the Commission would 
publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective 
date of the revised information collection requirement.

DATES: The amendments to Sec. Sec.  36.4 (amendatory instruction 2), 
54.903 (amendatory instruction 18), and the removal and reservation of 
54.1306 (amendatory instruction 22), published at 89 FR 25147, on April 
10, 2024, are effective November 25, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jesse Jachman, Wireline Competition 
Bureau at (202) 418-7400 or TTY (202) 418-0484. For additional 
information concerning the Paperwork Reduction Act information 
collection requirements contact Nicole Ongele at (202) 418-2991 or via 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission submitted revised information 
collection requirements for review and approval by OMB, as required by 
the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, on April 10, 2024. OMB 
approved the revised information collection requirements on October 16, 
2024. The information collection requirements are contained in the 
Commission's Connect America Fund Order, FCC 23-87, published at 89 FR 
25147, April 10, 2024. The OMB Control Number is 3060-0233. The 
Commission publishes this document as an announcement of the effective 
date of the rules published on April 10, 2024. If you have any comments 
on the burden estimates listed in the following, or how the Commission 
can improve the collections and reduce any burdens caused thereby, 
please contact Nicole Ongele, Federal Communications Commission, 45 L 
Street NE, Washington, DC 20554. Please include the OMB Control Number, 
3060-0233, in your correspondence. The Commission will also accept your 
comments via email at [email protected]. To request materials in accessible 
formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic 
files, audio format), send an email to [email protected] or call the 
Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice).

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 16, 2024, for the amendments to 47 CFR 36.4,54.903 
and the removal and reservation of 47 CFR 54.1306 published at 89 FR 
25147, April 10, 2024.
    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 Number is 3060-0233.
    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: 3060-0233.
    OMB Approval Date: October 16, 2024.
    OMB Expiration Date: October 31, 2027.
    Title: Rate-of-Return Carrier Universal Service Reporting 
Requirements; Waiver of Local Exchange Carrier Study Area Boundary 
Changes.
    Form Number: FCC Form 507, FCC Form 508 and FCC Form 509.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities, not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 1,098 respondents; 3,627 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1 hours-22 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Annual reporting 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, 214, 218-220, 221(c), 254, and 303(r).
    Total Annual Burden: 34,404 hours.
    Total Annual Cost(s): No Cost.
    Needs and Uses: In order to determine which carriers are entitled 
to universal service support, all rate-of-return regulated (rate-of-
return) incumbent local exchange carriers (LECs) must provide the 
National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) with the loop cost and 
loop count data required by section 54.1305 for each of its study areas 
and, if applicable, for each wire center as that term is defined in 47 
CFR part 54. See 47 CFR 54.1305, 54.5. The loop cost and loop count 
information is to be filed annually with NECA by July 31st of each 
year. See 47 CFR 54.1305. Pursuant to section 54.1307, the information 
filed on July 31st of each year will be used to calculate universal 
service support for each study area and is filed by NECA with the 
Commission on October 1 of each year. See 47 CFR 54.1307. An incumbent 
LEC is defined as a carrier that meets the definition of ``incumbent 
local exchange carrier'' in section 51.5 of the Commission's rules. See 
47 CFR 51.5.
    In March 2016, the Commission adopted the Rate-of-Return Reform 
Order to continue modernizing the universal service support mechanisms 
for rate-of-return carriers. Connect America Fund et al., Report and 
Order et al., 31 FCC Rcd 3087 (2016) (Rate-of-Return Reform Order). The 
Rate-of-Return Reform Order replaced the Interstate Common Line Support 
(ICLS) mechanism with the Connect America Fund--Broadband Loop Support 
(CAF-BLS) mechanism. Id. at 3117-57, paras. 80-187. While ICLS 
supported only lines used to provide traditional voice service 
(including voice service bundled with broadband service), CAF-BLS also 
supports consumer broadband-only loops. Id. at 3157-62, paras. 188-204. 
For the purposes of calculating and monitoring CAF-BLS, rate-of-return 
carriers that receive CAF-BLS must file common line and consumer 
broadband-only loop counts on FCC Form 507, forecasted common line and 
consumer broadband-only loop costs and revenues on FCC Form 508, and 
actual common line and consumer broadband-only loop costs and revenues 
on FCC Form 509. See 47 CFR 54.903(a).
    In December 2018, the Commission adopted the December 2018 Rate-of-
Return Reform Order to require rate-of-return carriers that receive 
Alternative

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Connect American Model (A-CAM) or Alaska Plan support to file line 
count data on FCC Form 507 as a condition of high-cost support. Connect 
America Fund et al., WC Docket No. 10-90 et al., Report and Order, 
Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order on Reconsideration, 33 
FCC Rcd 11893 (2018) (2018 Rate-of-Return Reform Order). Historically, 
all rate-of-return carriers that received CAF-BLS or, prior to that, 
ICLS, were required to file line count data on FCC Form 507 as a 
condition of that support but Rate-of-return carriers that had elected 
to receive A-CAM I, A-CAM II, or Alaska Plan instead were not. Id. at 
11937, para. 148. In order to restore a data set that the Commission 
relied on to evaluate the effectiveness of its high-cost universal 
service programs, the Commission revised its rules in that Order to 
require all rate-of-return carriers to file that data. See id. at 
11937, para. 51. While carriers receiving CAF-BLS must file the line 
count data on March 31 for line counts as of the prior December 31, the 
A-CAM I, A-CAM II, and Alaska Plan carriers will be required to file on 
July 1 of each year to coincide with other existing requirements in OMB 
Control No. 3060-0986. 47 CFR 54.903(a)(1), 54.313(f)(5).
    On October 20, 2023, the Commission made changes to rate-of-return 
reporting rules by eliminating optional unseparated loop cost data 
quarterly updates. Connect America Fund et al., WC Docket No. 10-90 et 
al. WT Docket No. 10-208, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Report and 
Order, FCC 23-87 at 79-80, paras. 181-82 (Oct. 20, 2023). In addition, 
the Commission amended section 36.4 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 
36.4, to require local exchange carriers seeking a change in study area 
boundaries to submit a petition for waiver of these boundary changes 
notwithstanding any prior exemptions from such waiver requests 
including, but not limited to, when a company is combining previously 
unserved territory with one of its study areas or a holding company is 
consolidating existing study areas within the same state. See id. at 
176-180, paras. 77-79.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-27481 Filed 11-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P