[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 59 (Friday, March 27, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14938-14940]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-7987]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[CC Docket No. 87-313; DA 98-484]


Accounting and Audits Division

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This Public Notice invites interested parties to comment on a 
proposal of numerous modifications to the ARMIS Report 43-07 
Infrastructure Report. These modifications would reflect recent changes 
in the telecommunications industry and capture a more accurate picture 
of the infrastructure deployed in the public network, particularly in 
rural areas. The proposed modifications are organized according to each 
table in the ARMIS Infrastructure Report. Our goal is to improve the 
Commission's existing infrastructure monitoring system so that the 
Commission, the states, and other interested parties will have the data 
necessary to make informed decisions and to track the deployment of new 
technologies.

DATES: Comments are to be filed on or before April 24, 1998. Reply 
comments are due on or before May 15, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications Commission, 1919 M Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20052.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony Dale, Common Carrier Bureau, 
Accounting and Audits Division, (202) 418-2260, or via E-mail to 
``[email protected]''.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. The Common Carrier Bureau (``the Bureau'') is considering 
modifications to the Commission's primary tool for assessing 
infrastructure development in the Automated Reporting Management 
Information System (``ARMIS''), the ARMIS 43-07 Infrastructure Report. 
These modifications would reflect recent changes in the 
telecommunications industry and capture a more accurate picture of the 
infrastructure deployed in the public network, particularly in rural 
areas. The ARMIS 43-07 Infrastructure Report illustrates the deployment 
of infrastructure in the networks of mandatory price cap local exchange 
carriers (``LECs'') by collecting four categories of data: (1) 
switching equipment; (2) transmission facilities; (3) call set-up time; 
and (4) plant additions and book costs. The ARMIS 43-07 Infrastructure 
Report is organized into four tables, one for each category of data.
    2. The proposed modifications are organized according to each table 
in the ARMIS Infrastructure Report. Our goal is to improve the 
Commission's existing infrastructure monitoring system so that the 
Commission, the states, and other interested parties will have the data 
necessary to make informed decisions and to track the deployment of new 
technologies.
Table I--Switching Equipment Reporting
    3. Asynchronous Transfer Mode Switching. Table I of ARMIS Report 
43-07 provides data on the quantity, features, and number of lines 
served for three types of switches: (1) electromechanical switches, (2) 
analog stored program control switches, and (3) digital stored program 
control switches. Information on switches capable of transmitting the 
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (``ATM'') protocol is not included in this 
report. Because ATM is a new technology that carriers are deploying in 
their networks, we propose including information for ATM switches in 
Table I, and we seek comment on the characteristics of ATM that 
carriers should provide in the ARMIS 43-07 Infrastructure Report.
    4. Switched Multi-megabit Data Service and Frame Relay Service. 
Switched multi-megabit data service (``SMDS'') and frame relay service 
are high-speed data telecommunications services built upon packet-
switching technology. These services are widely offered to business 
customers for high-volume usage. We propose that carriers report data 
on SMDS and frame relay services in Table I of the ARMIS 43-07 
Infrastructure Report and seek comment on which characteristics of 
switches used to provide SMDS and frame relay services carriers should 
report.
Table II--Transmission Facilities Reporting
    5. Table II of the ARMIS Report 43-07 includes information about 
existing transmission facilities, which are components of the 
telecommunications network that physically link nodes in the network. 
Transmission facilities are used to carry voice, video, and data 
traffic. Carriers use either analog or digital technology on copper 
wire, coaxial cable, fiber, radio, and other media.

[[Page 14939]]

    6. Rural Transmission Facilities. Although mandatory price cap 
carriers disaggregate reported data to reflect MSA and non-MSA 
categories in Table I of ARMIS Report 43-07, Table II does not require 
carriers to disaggregate data by MSA and non-MSA categories. Because 
the reporting carriers do not distinguish between rural and urban 
transmission facilities, the Commission cannot assess the deployment of 
advanced telecommunications infrastructure or compare rural and urban 
infrastructure development. Therefore, we propose modifying Table II of 
ARMIS Report 43-07 to require carriers to report data disaggregated by 
MSA and non-MSA. We seek comment on whether this level of 
disaggregation will assist the Commission and other interested parties 
in measuring the deployment of advanced telecommunications 
infrastructure in rural areas, or whether we should consider a greater 
level of detail.
    7. Coaxial Cable. In the first section of Table II, ``Sheath 
Kilometers,'' carriers report data for three categories of cable: (1) 
twisted pair copper; (2) fiber; and (3) other. Coaxial cable is 
currently included in the ``Other'' category. Coaxial cable is being 
deployed to provide telecommunications services to the public. Our 
existing reporting requirements do not provide the extent of coaxial 
cable deployed in the network. Including coaxial cable as a separate 
category would allow the Commission to monitor the use of that 
technology in competition with traditional transmission facilities. We 
propose modifying Table II so that carriers report coaxial cable 
separately as a discrete category instead of the aggregated ``Other'' 
category. We seek comment on this proposal.
    8. Interoffice Working Facilities. In the ``Interoffice Working 
Facilities'' section of Table II, fiber is reported under the heading 
``Digital Carrier Links.'' Fiber is frequently used in metropolitan 
areas to transmit analog video signals. Currently, Table II does not 
contain a separate row that reports how much interoffice fiber is used 
for analog transmission. We propose including a row that would contain 
this information. We solicit comment on this proposal.
    9. Loop Plant-Central Office Terminations. In the ``Loop Plant-
Central Office Terminations'' section of Table II carriers report fiber 
used in digital mode, but not fiber used in an analog mode. Adding a 
category for reporting fiber used in an analog mode would provide a 
better picture of infrastructure development and permit benchmarking. 
We propose that, in addition to reporting fiber interoffice working 
facilities used for analog transmission as mentioned above, carriers 
should report on fiber loops used for analog transmission. We solicit 
comment on this proposal.
    10. Digital Loop Carrier. For a number of years, carriers have been 
using digital loop carrier (``DLC'') systems to reduce the cost of 
serving subscribers. The expanding deployment of digital end office 
switches has fostered the development and deployment of a new version 
of DLC, called Integrated Digital Loop Carrier (``IDLC''), which allows 
carriers to serve even more subscribers with fewer transmission paths. 
IDLC, which is generally deployed over fiber-optic cable, provides 
high-capacity transmission facilities closer to subscribers, so that 
these subscribers can use advanced telecommunications services. We 
propose requiring carriers to report data about DLC and IDLC deployment 
in the ``Loop Plant-Central Office Terminations'' section of Table II. 
Information about DLC and IDLC deployment would assist the Commission 
and the states in monitoring the development of new technologies used 
in the local loop. We seek comment on this proposal and on categories 
of data that would provide an accurate picture of DLC and IDLC 
deployment without placing an undue administrative burden on the 
reporting LECs.
    11. Other Transmission Facility Data. In the Universal Service 
Order, the Commission adopted rules that provide schools and libraries 
discounts on all commercially available telecommunications services, 
Internet access, and internal connections. (See Federal-State Joint 
Board on Universal Service, Report and Order, 12 FCC Rcd 8776, paras. 
424-607 (1997)(62 FR 32862, June 17, 1997). The Commission also adopted 
rules that provide support to rural health care providers for toll-free 
Internet access and telecommunications services up to a bandwidth of 
1.544 megabits per second. The Commission has noted an increasing 
interest in the use of the public network for transmitting data and 
accessing the Internet. Because there is no national standard for the 
performance of subscriber loops in transmitting data, our existing 
reporting requirements do not provide us information to assess the 
ability of subscribers to access the Internet and use high-speed data 
communications services. In order to have a more complete picture of 
the capabilities of the existing infrastructure and to measure the 
extent of access to information services, we propose that carriers 
should be required to report in the ``Other Transmission Facility 
Data'' section of Table II a count of the number of working subscriber 
loops capable of carrying analog data at 9.6 kilobits per second; a 
count of working subscriber loops capable of carrying analog data at 
28.8 kilobits per second; and a count of working subscriber loops 
capable of carrying digital data at 64 kilobits per second. We seek 
comment on whether these categories will provide the necessary level of 
detail, or whether we should consider additional categories to 
illustrate data communications capabilities in the local loop. In 
addition, because we recognize that incumbent LECs may not currently 
maintain records at this level of detail, we invite interested parties 
to comment on the engineering methods and monitoring equipment carriers 
could use to accurately measure the performance capability of local 
loops, and the cost of obtaining this information.
Table III--LEC Set-up Time Reporting
    12. Table III of the ARMIS 43-07 Infrastructure Report provides 
information about LEC call set-up time for calls delivered by the LEC 
to interexchange carriers. LEC call set-up time reporting measures the 
time from when the customer completes dialing until the call reaches an 
interexchange carrier. This table may be irrelevant given the wide 
deployment of new technologies, such as SS7 network capabilities and 
ISDN, that greatly reduce call set-up time. We propose removing this 
table from the ARMIS 43-07 Infrastructure report.
Table IV--Additions and Book Costs
    13. In Table IV of the ARMIS 43-07 Infrastructure Report, carriers 
report data concerning access lines in service, access line gain, and 
total gross capital expenditures. Because this information is reported 
in other ARMIS reports, or can be extrapolated from existing reports, 
we propose modifying the ARMIS 43-07 Infrastructure Report to eliminate 
Table IV. Commission staff would still be able to ascertain this 
information, so eliminating this table would not inhibit the 
Commission's ability to monitor the development of infrastructure in 
the network.
    14. Paperwork Reduction Act. As part of a continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork burdens, we invite the general public to take this 
opportunity to comment on information collections contained in this 
Public Notice, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
Public Law No. 104-13. Public and agency comments are due at

[[Page 14940]]

the same time as other comments on this Public Notice. Comments should 
address: (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 estimates; (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.
    15. Filing Procedures. Interested parties may file comments no 
later than April 24, 1998. Reply comments may be filed no later than 
May 15, 1998. All pleadings should reference AAD File No. 98-23. The 
original and six copies should be submitted to the Secretary of the 
Commission; one copy should be submitted to Anthony Dale, Accounting 
and Audits Division, Common Carrier Bureau, 2000 L Street, Suite 201, 
Washington, DC 20554. Comments and replies must also comply with 
Section 1.49 and all other applicable sections of the Commission's 
Rules. We also direct all interested parties to include the name of the 
filing party and the date of the filing on each page of their comments 
and replies. In addition, one copy of each pleading must be filed with 
International Transcription Services (ITS), the Commission's 
duplicating contractor, at its office at 1231 20th Street, N.W., 
Washington, D.C. 20037, (202) 857-3800. All pleadings are available for 
public inspection and copying in the Accounting and Audits public 
reference room.
    Action by the Chief, Common Carrier Bureau, FCC.

Federal Communications Commission.
Kenneth P. Moran,
Chief, Accounting and Audits Division, Common Carrier Bureau.
[FR Doc. 98-7987 Filed 3-26-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P