[Federal Register: February 2, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 21)]
[Notices]
[Page 5444-5445]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02fe05-63]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Notice of Public Information Collection(s) Being Submitted to OMB
for Review and Approval
January 25, 2005.
Summary: The Federal Communications Commissions, as part of its
continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden invites the general public
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the
following information collection, as required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. An agency may not conduct or
sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently
valid 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 (PRA) that does not display a valid control
number. 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 estimate; (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.
Dates: Written comments should be submitted on or before March 4,
2005. 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 contact listed below as soon as possible.
Addresses: Direct all comments to Cathy Williams, Federal
Communications Commission, Room 1-C823, 445 12th Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20554 or via the Internet to Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov or
Kristy L. LaLonde, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Room 10236
NEOB, Washington, DC 20503, (202) 395-3087 or via the Internet at
Kristy_L._LaLonde@omb.eop.gov.
For Further Information Contact: For additional information or copy
of the information collection(s) contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-
2918 or via the Internet at Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov.
Supplementary Information:
OMB Control Number: 3060-0287.
Title: Section 78.69, Station Records.
Form Number: Not applicable.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
Number of Respondents: 1,400.
Estimated Time Per Response: 0.5 hours per week (26 hours per
year).
Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirement.
Total Annual Burden: 36,400 hours.
Total Annual Cost: None.
Privacy Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
Needs and Uses: 47 CFR Section 78.69 requires that licensees of
Cable Television Relay Stations maintain various records, including but
not limited to records pertaining to transmissions, unscheduled
interruptions to transmissions, maintenance, observations, inspections
and repairs. All stations are required to keep station records in an
orderly and legible manner by the person or persons competent to do so.
Section 78.69
[[Page 5445]]
requires that no station record or portion of the record can be erased,
obliterated, or willfully destroyed within the period of retention
required. Station records are required to be maintained for a period of
not less than two years. The records kept pursuant to Section 78.69
provide for a history of station operations and are reviewed by
Commission staff during field investigations to ensure that proper
operation of the stations is being conducted.
OMB Control Number: 3060-0652.
Title: Section 76.309, Customer Service Obligations; Section
76.1602, Customer Service--General Information; Section 76.1603,
Customer Service--Rate and Service Changes, and Section 76, 1619,
Information on Subscriber Bills.
Form Number: Not applicable.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; State, Local or
Tribal Government.
Number of Respondents: 8,260.
Estimated Time Per Response: 10 minutes to 1.0 hour.
Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement; Third
party disclosure requirement.
Total Annual Burden: 29,235 hours.
Total Annual Cost: None.
Privacy Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
Needs and Uses: 47 CFR Section 76.1602 states that franchise
authorities must provide affected operators 90 days written notice of
its intent to enforce customer service standards. 47 CFR Sections
76.1603 and 76.309 set forth various customer service obligations and
notification requirements for changes in rates, programming services
and channel positions. In addition, Sections 76.1603 states that cable
operators shall provide written information on each of the following
areas at the time of installation of service, at least annually to all
subscribers, and at any time upon request: (1) Products and services
offered; (2) prices and options for programming services and conditions
of subscription to programming and other services; (3) installation and
service maintenance policies; (4) instructions on how to use the cable
service; (5) channel positions programming carried on the system; and
(6) billing complaint procedures, including the address and telephone
number of the local franchise authority's cable office. Section 76.1603
states that customers will be notified of any changes in rates,
programming services or channel positions as soon as possible in
writing. Notice must be given to subscribers a minimum of thirty (30)
days in advance of such changes if the change is within the control of
the cable operator. In addition, the cable operator shall notify
subscribers 30 days in advance of any significant changes in the other
information required by section 76.1603. Section 76.1603 states that in
addition to the requirements regarding advanced notification to
customers of any changes in rates, programming services or channel
positions, cable systems shall give 30 days written notice to both
subscribers and local franchising authorities before implementing any
rate or service change. Such notice shall state the precise amount of
any rate change and briefly explain in readily understandable fashion
the cause of the rate change (e.g. inflation, changes in external costs
or the addition/deletion of channels). When the change involves the
addition or deletion of channels, each channel added or deleted must be
separately identified. Notices to subscribers shall inform them of
their right to file complaints about changes in cable programming
service tier rates and services, shall state that the subscriber may
file the complaint within 90 days of the effective date of the rate
change, and shall provide the address and phone number of the local
franchising authority. 47 CFR Section 76.1619 states that in case of a
billing dispute, the cable operator must respond to a written complaint
from a subscriber within 30 days. The Commission requires the various
disclosure and notifications contained in this collection as a means of
consumer protection to ensure that subscribers and franchising
authorities are knowledgeable of cable operators' business practices,
current rates, rate changes for programming service and equipment, and
channel line-up changes.
OMB Control Number: 3060-0667.
Title: Section 76.630, Compatibility With Consumer Electronics
Equipment; Section 76.1621, Equipment Compatibility Offer; Section
76.1622, Consumer Education of Equipment Compatibility.
Form Number: Not applicable.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
Number of Respondents: 8,250.
Estimated Time Per Response: 1-3 hours.
Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirement; On occasion
reporting requirement.
Total Annual Burden: 16,505 hours.
Total Annual Cost: $5,800.
Privacy Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
Needs and Uses: On March 14, 2002, the Commission released an
Order, In the Matter of Establishment of the Media Bureau and Other
Organizational Changes, DA 02-577, which amended 47 CFR Section 76.630,
76.1621 and 76.1622 to reflect the reorganization of the existing Cable
Services and Mass Media Bureaus into a new Media Bureau. 47 CFR Section
76.630(a) states that cable system operators shall not scramble
otherwise encrypt signals carried on the basic service tier, though
operators may file request for waivers of this prohibition with the
Commission. When filing requests for waivers of this prohibition,
operators must notify subscribers by mail of waiver requests. 47 CFR
Section 76.1621 of the Commission's rules requires cable system
operators that use scrambling or encryption equipment to provide
subscribers special equipment that will enable the reception of
multiple signals. The equipment offered shall include a single terminal
device with dual descramblers/decoders and/or timers and bypass
switches. 47 CFR Section 76.1622 requires cable system operators to
provide in writing a consumer education program concerning equipment
compatibility. The Commission has set forth these disclosure
requirements for consumer protection purposes to inform subscribers of
compatibility matters, and notify subscribers of cable operator''
requests to waive the prohibition on signal encryption.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 05-1937 Filed 2-1-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P