[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 226 (Monday, November 24, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62608-62611]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-30798]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Public Information Collections Approved by Office of Management
and Budget
November 18, 1997.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has received Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the following public
information collections pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, Pub. L. 104-13. An agency may not conduct or sponsor and a person
is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid control number. For further information
contact Shoko B. Hair, Federal Communications Commission, (202) 418-
1379.
Federal Communications Commission
OMB Control No.: 3060-0802.
Expiration Date: 05/31/1998.
Title: Administration of the North American Numbering Plan, Order
on Reconsideration, CC Docket No. 92-237 (Message Intercept
Requirement).
Form No.: N/A.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
Estimated Annual Burden: 1400 respondents; 9 hours per response
(avg.); 12,600 total annual burden hours.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Description: In response to concern expressed in the
reconsideration record that LECs should develop intercept messages to
inform dial-around customers that they need to dial additional digits,
the Order on Reconsideration in CC Docket No. 92-237, titled,
``Administration of the North American Numbering Plan,'' requires that
LECs offer a standard intercept message beginning on or before June 30,
1998, explaining that a dialing pattern change has occurred and
instructing the caller to contact its IXC for further information. In
developing an intercept message, LECs must consult with IXCs and reach
agreement on the content of the message and on the period of time
during which the message will be provided. The Commission leaves to
resolution by the parties decisions about who should have the ultimate
responsibility for determining the content of the intercept message and
the period of time during which the message must be offered. The
Commission states that it will resolve any disputes arising from
parties' inability to reach agreement on such matters. Finally, the
Commission
[[Page 62609]]
concludes that the determination of how best to cover the costs of
providing the intercept message should be left to individual LECs,
including whether their access customers should be charged a reasonable
fee to cover those costs. The Commission has imposed these third party
disclosure requirements to educate end users about their inability to
reach carriers using five-digit access codes, and the need to dial
seven-digit access codes instead. Compliance obligation is required.
OMB Control No.: 3060-0760.
Expiration Date: 05/31/1998.
Title: Access Charge Reform--CC Docket No. 96-262, First Report and
Order; Second Order on Reconsideration and Memorandum Opinion and
Order.
Form No.: N/A.
Respondents: Business or other for profit.
Estimated Annual Burden: 14 respondents; 128,906 hours per response
(avg.); 1,804,690 total annual burden hours.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $31,200.
Frequency of Response: On occasion and one-time.
Description: In the First Report and Order (Order), CC Docket No.
96-262, Access Charge Reform and the Second Order on Reconsideration
and Memorandum Opinion and Order, the FCC adopts, that, consistent with
principles of cost-causation and economic efficiency, non-traffic
sensitive (NTS) costs associated with local switching should be
recovered on an NTS basis, through flat-rated, per month charges. The
information collections are as follows: a. Showings Under the Market-
Based Approach: As competition develops in the market, the FCC will
gradually relax and ultimately remove existing Part 69 federal access
rate structure requirements and Part 61 price caps restrictions on rate
level changes. Regulatory reform will take place in two phases. The
first phase of regulatory reform will take place when an incumbent
Local Exchange Carrier's (LEC) network has been opened to competition
for interstate access services. The second phase of rate structure
reforms will take place when an actual competitive presence has
developed in the marketplace. Detariffing will take place when
substantial competition has developed for the access charge elements.
In our initial statement, we proposed that in order for LECs to meet
this standard, they have to demonstrate that: (1) Unbundled network
element prices are based on geographically deaveraged, forward-looking
economic costs in a manner that reflects the way costs are incurred;
(2) transport and termination charges are based on the additional cost
of transporting and terminating another carrier's traffic; (3)
wholesale prices for retail services are based on reasonably avoidable
costs; (4) network elements and services are capable of being
provisioned rapidly and consistent with a significant level of demand;
(5) dialing parity is provided by the incumbent LEC to competitors; (6)
number portability is provided by the incumbent LEC to competitors; (7)
access to incumbent LEC rights-of-way is provided to competitors; and
(8) open and non-discriminatory network standards and protocols are put
into effect. We propose that the second phase of rate structure reforms
would take place when an actual competitive presence has developed in
the marketplace. LECs would have to show the following to indicate that
actual competition has developed in the marketplace by: (1)
Demonstrated presence of competition; (2) full implementation of
competitively neutral universal service support mechanisms; and (3)
credible and timely enforcement of pro-competitive rules. In the NPRM,
we sought comment on four options for a prescriptive approach:
reinitializing price cap indices (PCIs) to economic cost-based levels;
reinitializing PCIs to levels targeted to yield no more than an 11.25
percent rate of return, or some other rate of return; adding a policy-
based mechanism similar to the CPD to the X-Factor; or prescribing
economic cost-based rates. We have decided above to rely primarily on a
market-based approach, and impose prescriptive requirements only when
market forces are inadequate to ensure just and reasonable rates for
particular services or areas. We will determine the details of our
market-based approach in a future Order. In that Order, we will also
discuss in more detail what prescriptive requirements we will use as a
backstop to our market-based access charge reform. Because we are not
adopting the prescriptive approach at this time, we are removing the
collections associated with the prescriptive approach from our
statement. If the collections are adopted at a later date, we will
request that OMB reinstates them at that time. (No. of respondents: 13;
hour burden per respondent: 137,986 hours; total annual burden:
1,793,818). b. Cost Study of Local Switching Costs: The FCC does not
establish a fixed percentage of local switching costs that incumbent
LECs must reassign to the Common Line basket or newly created Trunk
Cards and Ports service category as NTS costs. In light of the widely
varying estimates in the record, we conclude that the portion of costs
that is NTS costs likely varies among LEC switches. Accordingly, we
require each price cap LEC to conduct a cost study to determine the
geographically-averaged portion of local switching costs that is
attributable to the line-side ports, as defined above, and to dedicated
trunk side cards and ports. These amounts, including cost support,
should be reflected in the access charge elements filed in the LEC's
access tariff effective January 1, 1998. (No. of respondents: 13; hours
per respondent: 400; total annual burden: 5200 hours). c. Cost Study of
Interstate Access Service That Remain Subject to Price Cap Regulation:
The 1996 Act has created an unprecedented opportunity for competition
to develop in local telephone markets. We recognize, however, that
competition is unlikely to develop at the same rate in different
locations, and that some services will be subject to increasing
competition more rapidly than others. We also recognize, however, that
there will be areas and services for which competition may not develop.
We will adopt a prescriptive ``backstop'' to our market-based approach
that will serve to ensure that all interstate access customers receive
the benefits of more efficient prices, even in those places and for
those services where competition does not develop quickly. To implement
our backstop to market-based access charge reform, we require each
incumbent price cap LEC to file a cost study no later than February 8,
2001, demonstrating the cost of providing those interstate access
services that remain subject to price cap regulation because they do
not face substantial competition. (No. of respondents: 13; hours per
respondent: 8; total annual burden: 104 hours). d. Tariff Filings: In
the First Report and Order, the Commission requires the filing of
various tariffs, with modifications. For example, the FCC directs
incumbent LECs to establish separate rate elements for the multiplexing
equipment on each side of the tandem switch. LECs must establish a
flat-rated charge for the multiplexers on the SWC side of the tandem,
imposed pro-rata on the purchasers of the dedicated trunks on the SWC
side of the tandem. Multiplexing equipment on the EO side of the tandem
shall be charged to users of common EO-to-tandem transport on a per-
minute-of-use basis. These multiplexer rate elements must be included
in the LEC access tariff filings to be effective January 1, 1998. In
the
[[Page 62610]]
Second Order on Reconsideration, the FCC clarifies that the TIC
exemption for access customers using competitive transport providers
only applies to that portion of the residual per-minute TIC that is
related to transport facilities, and directs incumbent local exchange
carriers to include, in their access tariff filing, the amount of per-
minute transport interconnection charge (TIC) they anticipate will be
allocated to facilities-based rate elements in the future. (No. of
respondents: 13; hours per respondent: 256 hours; total annual burden:
3328 hours). e. Third-Party Disclosure: In the Second Order on
Reconsideration, the Commission requires LECs to provide IXCs with
customer-specific information about how many and what type of
presubscribed interexchange carrier charges (PICCs) they are assessing
for each of the IXC's presubscribed customers. One of the primary goals
of our First Report and Order was to develop a cost-recovery mechanism
that permits carriers to recover their costs in a manner that reflects
the way in which those costs are incurred. Without access to
information that indicates whether the LEC is assessing a primary or
non-primary residential PICC, or about how many local business lines
are presubscribed to a particular IXC, the IXC will be unable to
develop rates that accurately reflect the underlying costs. (No. of
respondents: 14; hours per respondent: 160 hours; total annual burden:
2240 hours). Our authority to collect this information is provided
under 47 U.S.C. 201-205 and 303(r). The information collected under
these Orders would be submitted to the FCC by incumbent LECs for use in
determining whether the incumbent LECs should receive the regulatory
relief proposed in the Orders. The information collected under the
Second Order on Reconsideration and Memorandum Opinion and Order would
be submitted by the LECs to the interexchange carriers (IXCs) for use
in developing the most cost-efficient rates and rate structures.
Obligation to respond: mandatory.
OMB Control No.: 3060-0787.
Expiration Date: 10/31/2000.
Title: Implementation of the Subscriber Carrier Selection Changes
Provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Form No.: N/A.
Respondents: Business or other for profit.
Estimated Annual Burden: 4275 respondents; 2.34 hours per response
(avg.); 10,044 total annual burden hours for all collections.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Description: Section 258 of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, makes it unlawful for
any telecommunications carrier to ``submit or execute a change in a
subscriber's selection of a provider of telephone exchange service or
telephone toll service except in accordance with such verification
procedures as the Commission shall prescribe.'' The section further
provides that any telecommunications carrier that violates the
Commission's verification procedures and that collects charges for
telecommunications service from a subscriber must pay to the carrier
previously selected by the subscriber an amount equal to all charges
paid by the subscriber after the violation occurred. The Commission's
current rules pertaining to changes in subscriber carrier selections
are contained in Sections 64.1100 and 64.1150 of the Commission's
rules, 47 CFR Secs. 64.1100, 64.1150. These rules apply only to
interexchange carriers (IXCs). Section 64.1100 requires that IXCs
verify orders for long distance service generated by telemarketing, and
Section 64.1150 prescribes the proper content and form for letters of
agency (or, written authorization of subscriber carrier changes). The
proposed modifications and additions to the rules are necessary to
accommodate the Commission's expanded scope of authority to require all
telecommunication carriers to verify change orders for telephone
exchange and telephone toll service, and to provide that unauthorized
carriers forfeit to the subscriber's authorized carrier, all charges
collected as a result of their unlawful action. (Burden estimate for
proposed Section 64.1100 is as follows: No. of respondents: 675; hours
per respondent: 1.25; total annual burden: 844. Burden estimate for
proposed 64.1150 is as follows: No. of respondents: 1800; hours per
respondent: 2 hours; total annual burden: 3600 hours). Proposed Section
47 CFR Sec. 64.1160 mirrors Section 258 of the 1996 Act by providing
that no telecommunications carrier shall submit or execute a carrier
change except in accordance with the Commission's verification
procedures, and that a carrier that violates the verification
procedures shall be liable to the subscriber's properly authorized
carrier in an amount equal to all charges paid by the subscriber after
the violation occurs. Under proposed Section 47 CFR Section 64.1170, a
subscriber's properly authorized carrier must, within 10 days of
receiving notification that the subscriber's carrier selection was
changed without authorization, request from the unauthorized carrier
the amount of charges paid by the subscriber to the unauthorized
carrier, and the value of any premiums to which the subscriber would
have been entitled had the subscriber's carrier selection not been
changed. Upon notification that the subscriber's carrier selection was
changed without authorization, the unauthorized carrier must remit
these amounts to the subscriber's properly authorized carrier. The
subscriber's properly authorized carrier must, upon receiving the value
of lost premiums from the unauthorized carrier, restore any lost
premiums (or an equivalent premium or dollar amount where the premium
cannot be restored) to the subscriber. This section also provides that
carriers disputing liability under this section must pursue private
settlement negotiations prior to petitioning the Commission to resolve
any dispute regarding the transfer of charges and the value of lost
premiums from the unauthorized carrier to the properly authorized
carrier. (No. of respondents: 1800; hours per respondent: 3 hours;
total annual burden: 5400 hours). The information will be used to
promulgate regulations to implement Section 258 of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996, and to determine what additional
measures should be taken to deter unauthorized switching of
subscriber's carrier selections in light of the Act's new provisions.
Specifically, we are proposing to expand the scope of our current
verification rules to be applicable to all telecommunications carriers.
Also, new proposed Sections 64.1160 and 64.1170 are intended to ensure
that carriers that violate our verification rules do not retain any
revenue gained from their unlawful activity, and that subscribers
receive prompt and full reparation for harm suffered as a consequence
of unauthorized carrier changes. We also seek comment on whether the
verification rules should apply when carriers solicit preferred carrier
freezes; whether the ``welcome package'' described in Section
64.1100(d) continues to be a necessary and viable verification
alternative; whether we should exempt in-bound (or customer-initiated)
calls from the verification rules; what the liability among carriers
and subscribers should be; and whether to establish a ``bright-line''
evidentiary standard for determining whether a subscriber has relied on
a resale carrier's identity of its underlying facilities-based
[[Page 62611]]
network provider, hence requiring that the resale carrier notify the
subscriber if the underlying network provider is changed.
OMB Control No.: 3060-0106.
Expiration Date: 10/31/2000.
Title: Reports of Overseas Telecommunications Traffic--Section
43.61.
Form No.: FCC 43-61.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
Estimated Annual Burden: 248 respondents; 30.45 hours per response
(avg); 7,554 total annual burden hours.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $96,000.
Frequency of Response: Annually, semi-annually.
Description: The telecommunications traffic data report is an
annual reporting requirement imposed on common carriers engaged in the
provision of overseas telecommunications services. The reported data is
useful for international planning, facility authorization, monitoring
emerging developments in communications services, analyzing market
structures, tracking the balance of payments in international
communications services, and market analysis purposes. The reported
data enables the Commission to fulfill its regulatory responsibilities.
In addition to the annual filing requirement, private line resellers
must report their U.S. outbound and inbound traffic originating or
terminating over resold U.S. private lines on a semi-annual basis. This
requirement applies for three years following a Commission finding that
a particular country offers U.S. carriers ``equivalent'' opportunities
for resale. The information is collected so that the Commission can
closely monitor the equivalency decision's impact on the amount of IMTS
traffic diverted from the settlements process. Sections 211, 214, 218,
219, 220 and 403 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, accord
the Commission broad authority to obtain information from common
carriers. Part 43 of the Commission's rules establishes the procedures
for filing periodic reports and certain other information, including
annual traffic and revenue reports. Obligation to respond: mandatory.
Public reporting burden for the collections of information is as
noted above. Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other
aspect of the collections of information, including suggestions for
reducing the burden to Performance Evaluation and Records Management,
Washington, D.C. 20554.
Federal Communications Commission.
William F. Caton,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-30798 Filed 11-21-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P