[Federal Register: December 4, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 234)]
[Notices]
[Page 73931-73932]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04de08-33]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Notice of Public Information Collection(s) Being Submitted for
Review to the Office of Management and Budget
November 25, 2008.
SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission, 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(s), as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520. 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 Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments should be
submitted on or before January 5, 2009. If you anticipate that you will
be submitting PRA comments, but find it difficult to do so within the
period of time allowed by this notice, you should advise the FCC
contact listed below as soon as possible.
ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of
Management and Budget, (202) 395-5887, or via fax at 202-395-5167 or
via the Internet at Nicholas_A._Fraser@omb.eop.gov and to Judith-B.
Herman@fcc.gov, Federal Communications Commission, or an e-mail to
PRA@fcc.gov. To view a copy of this information collection request
(ICR) submitted to OMB: (1) Go to the Web page http://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, and (6)
when the list of FCC ICRs currently under review appears, look for the
title of this ICR (or its OMB Control Number, if there is one) and then
click on the ICR Reference Number to view detailed information about
this ICR.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies
of the information collection(s), contact Judith B. Herman at 202-418-
0214 or via the Internet at Judith-B.Herman@fcc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Control Number: 3060-0816.
Title: Local Telephone Competition and Broadband Reporting (Report
and Order, WC Docket No. 07-38, FCC 08-89; Order on Reconsideration, WC
Docket No. 07-38, FC 08-148).
Form No.: FCC Form 477.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit, not-for-profit
institutions, and state, local or tribal government.
Number of Respondents: 1,610 respondents; 3,220 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 337 hours (average).
Frequency of Response: Semi-annual reporting requirement.
Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. Statutory authority for this
information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. Sections 4(i), 201,
218-220, 251-252, 271, 303(r), 332 and 403 of the Communications Act of
1934, as amended; as well as Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act
of 1996, 47 U.S.C. Section 157nt.
Total Annual Burden: 1,085,140 hours.
Total Annual Cost: N/A.
Privacy Act Impact Assessment: N/A.
Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission will continue
to allow respondents to certify, on the first page of each submission,
that some data contained in that submission are privileged or
confidential, commercial or financial information and that disclosure
of such information would likely cause substantial harm to the
competitive position of the entity making the submission. If the
Commission receives a request for, or proposes to disclose the
information, the respondent would be required to make a full showing
pursuant to the Commission's rules for withholding from public
inspection information submitted to the Commission. The Commission will
retain its current policies and procedures regarding the
[[Page 73932]]
confidential treatment of submitted FCC Form 477 data, including use
only of aggregated, non-company specific data in its published reports.
The Commission will, however, continue its current practice of
publishing most of the local telephone information reported by the Bell
Operating Companies (BOCs) after consultation with the individual
companies.
Needs and Uses: The Commission will submit this information
collection (IC) to the OMB as a revision during this comment period to
obtain the full three-year clearance from them. The Commission is
reporting an increase of 956,340 hours to the total annual burden. This
program change increase is due to an increase in the estimated number
of respondents and responses since this IC was last submitted to the
OMB in June 2008.
The Commission is submitting two rulemakings to the OMB for
approval. The first is a Report and Order and Further Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking in WC Docket No. 07-38, FCC 08-89 and the second is
an Order on Reconsideration in WC Docket No. 07-38, FCC 08-148.
With these two Orders, the Commission revises the FCC Form 477 data
collection to improve the Commission's understanding of the extent of
broadband deployment, facilitating the development of appropriate
broadband policies. In particular, these amendments will improve the
Commission's ability to carry out its obligation under section 706 of
the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to ``determine whether advanced
telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a
reasonable and timely fashion.''
The Report and Order revises the FCC Form 477 to require all
broadband providers to report the number of broadband connections in
service in individual Census Tracts. The Report and Order adopts three
additional changes to FCC Form 477. First, it requires providers to
report broadband service speed data in conjunction with subscriber
counts according to new categories for download and upload speeds.
These new speed tiers will better identify services that support
advanced applications. Second, it amends reporting requirements for
mobile wireless broadband providers to require them to report the
number of subscribers whose data plans allow them to browse the
Internet and access the lawful Internet content of their choice. Third,
it requires providers of interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol
(interconnected VoIP) service to report subscribership information on
FCC Form 477.
The Order on Reconsideration amends FCC Form 477 to require filers
to report the percentage of broadband connections that are residential
at the Census Tract level.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 directs the Commission to take
actions to open all telecommunications markets to competition and to
seek to promote innovation and investment by all participants,
including new entrants. A central task in creating this framework is
the opening of previously monopolized local telecommunications markets.
By collecting timely and reliable information about the pace and extent
of competition for local telephony service in different geographic
areas--including rural areas--the Commission significantly improves the
ability to evaluate the effectiveness of actions the Commission and the
states are taking to facilitate economic competition in those markets.
The Report and Order provides for additional methods to supplement the
data reported by FCC Form 477 filers, including a voluntary self-
reporting system, and a recommendation to the Census Bureau that the
American Community Survey questionnaire be modified to gather
information about broadband availability and subscription in
households.
The information is used by the Commission to prepare reports that
help inform consumers and policy makers at the federal and state level
of the development of competition in the local telephone service market
and the deployment of broadband services. The Commission will continue
to use the information to better inform its understanding of broadband
deployment in conjunction with its congressionally mandated section 706
reports. The Commission also uses the data to support its analyses in a
variety of rulemaking proceedings under the Communications Act of 1934,
as amended. Absent this information collection, the Commission would
lack essential data for assisting it in determining the effectiveness
of its policies and fulfilling its statutory responsibilities in
accordance with the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8-28755 Filed 12-3-08; 8:45 am]
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