NEWSReport No. DC 96-12    ACTION IN DOCKET CASE           February 8, 1996

    SUGGESTIONS  SOLICITED FOR IMPROVING FCC SERVICES AND PROCEDURES 
                             (PP DOCKET 96-17)

     The Commission today adopted a Notice of Inquiry seeking suggestions from all
interested parties on how best to streamline its processes and improve its delivery of
services.  Over the past two years, the Commission has made many changes that have
improved the speed and quality of its service to the public and reduced the burden of
unnecessary regulation.   The Commission's goals are to eliminate redundancy, reduce
waste, privatize where warranted, consolidate and automate for efficiency and expand the use
of alternative rulemaking mechanisms. 

     Some of the changes envisioned by the Commission are included in the
Telecommunications Act of 1996, signed into law today by President Clinton.

     The Commission invited its customers -- the public and the industries it regulates -- to
take full advantage of this opportunity to make suggestions, from a minor change to a major
overhaul, that have the potential to improve its operations and delivery of services.

     One year ago, the Commission's  Special Counsel for Reinventing Government issued
a detailed report to the Commission entitled "Creating a Federal Communications
Commission for the Information Age."  Among other things, the Report outlined the specific
reforms the various Bureaus and Offices had undertaken to eliminate backlogs, streamline
processes, and reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens.  It also offered a long list of
legislative and administrative proposals, many of which have been included in the
telecommunications legislation enacted into law today.  

     Since the publication of the Report, the Commission has made substantial progress
toward improving its process and delivery of services.  More,  however, remains to be done.

     In today's action, the Commission sought comment on the following questions:

    Which Commission procedures or processing functions could be eliminated entirely
     consistent with our responsibilities under the Communications Act?

    How could the Commission reduce the quantity of paperwork required of regulated
     entities?

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    Are there procedures or functions that could be privatized or "outsourced"? (For
     example, it has been proposed that the procedures for requesting new and changed
     call letters in the Mass Media Bureau be privatized by contracting out the
     responsibility for maintaining the list of available call signs and processing call sign
     requests.)

    Are there areas where private party self certification or self regulating organizations
     (SROs), overseen by the Commission, might replace advance Commission review and
     approval?

    Would consolidation of Bureau and Office "front end" licensing or renewal processing
     be feasible and efficient?  (For example, should all forms and applications be routed
     through a single location for initial processing and/or database input?) 

    In what ways can computer technology, electronic filing, and the Internet be used to
     improve processing?  (For example, should the Commission allow parties to file
     comments via the Internet, on diskette, or require parties to include electronic mail or
     Internet addresses with their filings?)

    How should the Commission expand its use of negotiated rulemakings, alternative
     dispute resolution, public meetings, fora, and roundtables?
     
    What area(s) of FCC operations have serious problems with processing delays that
     result in significant unnecessary costs or other adverse impacts on regulated entities? 
     What are some specific suggestions for alleviating such processing problems? 

    Do the Bureaus and Offices provide sufficient, meaningful, and useful information, in
     a timely fashion, concerning the status of applications, forms and other filings?  How
     can we improve delivery of status information to the public?

    How can we better meet customer service standards and goals?

     How could some changes be funded?

     Action by the Commission February 8, 1996, by Notice of Inquiry (FCC 96-50). 
Chairman Hundt, Commissioners Quello, Barrett, Ness and Chong.

                                  - FCC -

     News Media contact: Rosemary Kimball at (202) 418-0500.
     Office of Plans and Policy contact: Donnajean Ward (202) 418-2051.