[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 196 (Tuesday, October 12, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55283-55286]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-26519]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


Notice of Public Information Collection(s) Being Reviewed by the 
Federal Communications Commission, Comments Requested

October 4, 1999.
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, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, Pub. L. 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 December 13, 
1999. 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 Les Smith, Federal Communications 
Commissions, 445 12th Street, S.W., Room 1-A804, Washington, DC 20554 
or via the Internet to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies 
of the information collections contact Les Smith at (202) 418-0217 or 
via the Internet at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0076.
    Title: Annual Employment Report for Common Carriers.
    Form Number: FCC Form 395.
    Type of Review: Extension.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 4000 respondents.

[[Page 55284]]

    Estimated Time Per Response: 1 hour per response (avg.).
    Total Annual Burden: 4000 hours.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
    Frequency of Response: Annually, Recordkeeping.
    Needs and Uses: The Annual Employment Report is submitted by 
certain common carrier licensees and permittees. The data is intended 
to assess compliance with equal employment opportunity requirements. 
Data is used by the FCC, Congress, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 
EEOC, NTIA and public interest groups.

    OMB Control Number: 3060-0715.
    Title: Implementation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996: 
Telecommunications Carriers' Use of Customer Proprietary Network 
Information and Other Customer Proprietary Network.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 6832 respondents.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 86.2 hours per response (avg.).
    Total Annual Burden: 189,656 hours for modified collections. 
588,917 hours for all collections under this control number.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $229,520.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion, Recordkeeping, Third Party 
Disclosure.
    Needs and Uses: On February 26, 1998, the Commission released the 
CPNI Order, 63 FR 20326, April 24, 1998, adopting rules implementing 
the new statutory framework governing carrier use and disclosure of 
customer proprietary network information (CPNI) created by section 222 
of the Communications Act. CPNI includes, among other things, to whom, 
where, and when a customer places a call, as well as the types of 
service offerings to which the customer subscribes and the extent the 
service is used. The Commission issued an Order on Reconsideration 
which modified the CPNI Order, in part, to preserve the consumer 
protections mandated by Congress while more narrowly tailoring our 
rules, where necessary, to enable telecommunications carriers to comply 
with the law in a more flexible and less costly manner. The Order on 
Reconsideration reduces by half the burden of compliance with the 
customer approval requirement. If carriers choose to use CPNI to market 
telecommunications service offerings outside the customer's existing 
service, they must obtain customer approval. By expanding the concept 
of the total service approach to include CPE and information services, 
the rules were modified to allow carriers to use CPNI without customer 
approval in most instances to market CPE and information services. 
Where carriers are required to obtain customer approval, they may still 
do so through written, oral, or electronic means. The Order on 
Reconsideration removes the audit mechanism entirely but requires that 
carriers maintain records of sales and marketing campaigns. The Order 
on Reconsideration reduces by half the time required to comply with the 
recordkeeping requirement by limiting application to sales and 
marketing campaigns. Carriers using CPNI for sales and marketing 
campaigns must record the date and purpose of the campaign, and what 
products and services were offered to customers. Carriers are required 
to maintain these records for a period of at least one year. All the 
collections will be used to ensure that telecommunications carriers 
comply with the CPNI requirements and to implement section 222 of the 
statute.

    OMB Control Number: 3060-0721.
    Title: One-Time Report of Local Exchange Companies of Cost 
Accounting Studies.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 400 respondents.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 50 hours per response (avg.).
    Total Annual Burden: 20,000 hours.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Needs and Uses: Local exchange companies must submit, on a one-time 
basis, cost accounting studies to identify the direct cost of central 
office coin services. The requirement would be used to ensure that LECs 
comply with their obligations under the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

    OMB Control Number: 3060-0719.
    Title: Quarterly Report of IntraLATA Carriers Listing Payphone 
Automatic Number Identifications (ANIs).
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 400 respondents.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 3.5 hours per response (avg.).
    Total Annual Burden: 5600 hours.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
    Frequency of Response: Quarterly.
    Needs and Uses: Pursuant to the mandate in Section 276(b)(1)(A) to 
``establish a per call compensation plan to ensure that all payphone 
service providers are fairly compensated for each and every completed 
intrastate and interstate call'', 47 USC Section 276(b)(1)(A), 
intraLATA carriers are required to provide to interexchange carriers a 
quarterly report listing payphone ANIs. The report allows IXCs to 
determine which dial-around calls are made from payphones. The data, 
which must be maintained for at least 18 months after the close of a 
compensation period, will facilitate verification of disputed ANIs. The 
requirement is used to ensure that intraLATA carriers, and the IXCs 
comply with their obligations under the 1996 Act.

    OMB Control Number: 3060-0724.
    Title: Annual Report of Interexchange Carriers Listing the 
Compensation Amount Paid to Payphone Providers and the Number of 
Payees.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 275 respondents.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 2 hours per response (avg.).
    Total Annual Burden: 550 hours.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
    Frequency of Response: Annually, Recordkeeping.
    Needs and Uses: Interexchange carriers responsible for paying per-
call compensation must submit annual reports to the Common Carrier 
Bureau listing the amount of compensation paid to payphone providers 
and the number of payees. IXCs will also be required to initiate an 
annual audit of their per-call tracking functions. This would help 
ensure that all interexchange carriers are paying their respective 
compensation obligations.

    OMB Control Number: 3060-0726.
    Title: Quarterly Report of Interexchange Carriers Listing the 
Number of Dial-Around Calls for Which Compensation is Being Paid to 
Payphone Owners.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 275 respondents.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 30 minutes per response (avg.).
    Total Annual Burden: 550 hours.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.

[[Page 55285]]

    Frequency of Response: Quarterly.
    Needs and Uses: Interexchange carriers responsible for paying per-
call compensation to payphone providers must submit a quarterly list of 
dial-around calls to those payphone providers. The payphone providers 
need the list to calculate the compensation to be paid by the 
interexchange carriers.

    OMB Control Number: 3060-0729.
    Title: Bell Operating Company Provision of Out-of-Region, 
Interstate, Interexchange Services, Report and Order, CC Docket No. 96-
21, (Affiliated Company Recordkeeping Requirement).
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 7 respondents.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 6056 hours per response (avg.).
    Total Annual Burden: 42,394 hours.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
    Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping.
    Needs and Uses: In CC Docket No. 96-21, the Commission removed 
dominant regulation for BOCs that provide out-of-region, interstate, 
interexchange services through an affiliate that complies with certain 
safeguards, in order to facilitate the efficient and rapid provision of 
out-of-region, domestic, interstate, interexchange services by the 
BOCs, as contemplated by the 1996 Act, while still protecting 
ratepayers and competition in the interexchange market. These 
safeguards requires, among other things, that the affiliate maintain 
separate books of account from the LEC. The recordkeeping requirement 
is to ensure that BOCs providing interexchange service through a 
separate affiliate are in compliance with the Communications Act and 
Commission policies and rules regarding BOC provision of out-of-region 
interexchange services.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0748.
    Title: Disclosure Requirements for Information Services Provided 
Through Toll-Free Numbers, 47 CFR Section 64.1504.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 3750 respondents.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 2.8 hours per response (avg.).
    Total Annual Burden: 10,500 hours.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
    Frequency of Response: Third Party Disclosure.
    Needs and Uses: 47 CFR Section 64.1504 imposes disclosure 
requirements on entities that use toll-free numbers to provide 
information services. The requirements are intended to ensure that 
callers to toll-free numbers are: (1) Informed if charges will be 
levied and (2) receive the information necessary to make an informed 
decision whether to purchase an information service.

    OMB Control Number: 3060-0743.
    Title: Implementation of the Pay Telephone Reclassification and 
Compensation Provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996--CC 
Docket No. 96-128.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; States.
    Number of Respondents: 4542 respondents.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 30 hours per response (avg.).
    Total Annual Burden: 136,677 hours.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
    Frequency of Response: Third Party Disclosures.
    Needs and Uses: The rules adopted in CC Docket No. 96-128: (1) 
Establish a plan to ensure fair competition for each and every 
completed intrastate and interstate call using a payphone; (2) 
discontinue intrastate and interstate carrier access charge payphone 
service elements and payments and intrastate and interstate payphone 
subsidies from basic exchange services; (3) prescribe nonstructural 
safeguards for BOC payphones; (4) permit the BOCs to negotiate with the 
payphone location provider about a payphone's presubscribed interLATA 
carrier; (5) permit all payphone providers to negotiate with the 
location provider about a payphone's presubscribed interLATA carrier; 
and (6) adopt guidelines for use by the state in establishing public 
interest payphones to be located where there would otherwise not be a 
payphone. The requirements contained in the Order are: State must 
review their regulations concerning adequacy of local coin rate 
disclosure and review them where necessary. States must review their 
regulations concerning market entry or exit requirements and remove 
them where necessary to ensure consistency with the Commission's 
regulations. States must comply with the Commission's market-rate local 
coin call requirement, except where they show proof of market failure. 
Such a showing could consist of, for example, detailed summary of the 
record of a state proceeding that examines the costs of providing 
payphone service within that state and the reasons why the public 
interest is served by having the state set rates within that market. 
Each state must review whether it has adequately provided for public 
interest payphones in a manner consistent with the Order. All payphones 
are required to transmit specific payphone coding digits as a part of 
their automatic number identification which will assist in identifying 
them to compensation payors. Carriers must provide tracking of all 
compensable calls received from payphones to ensure that each and every 
completed call from a payphone is receiving compensation. Carriers are 
required to initiate an annual verification of their per call tracking 
functions for a period of two years to ensure that they are tracking 
all of the calls for which they are obligated to pay compensation. LECs 
must provide verification of disputed ANIs on request and in a timely 
manner. LECs are required to notify the carrier-payors of each 
payphone's disconnection on a basis that is as timely as possible. LECs 
are required to affirmatively state on their bills to PSPs that the 
bills are for payphone service to facilitate payment of compensation 
and to avoid disputes. Incumbent LECs must file revised tariffs for 
central office coin transmission services and CCL charges to ensure 
that LEC services are priced reasonably and to not include subsidies. 
Incumbent LECs and AT&T must either reclassify their payphone assets as 
nonregulated or transfer them to a separate affiliate engaged in 
nonregulated activities. If a payphone provider does not appear on the 
LEC-provided customer-owned, coin-operated telephone lists, it must 
provide alternative verification information to the IXC paying 
compensation. Payphone providers are required to post the local coin 
call rate within the informational placard on each payphone. LECs must 
supply to carrier-payors, on demand, a list of emergency numbers so 
that carrier-payors will know that they do not have to compensate 
payphone providers for emergency calls. All the requirements are used 
to ensure that interexchange carriers, payphone service providers, 
LECs, and the states, comply with their obligations under the 
Telecommunications Act of 1996.

    OMB Control Number: 3060-0742.
    Title: Telephone Number Portability (47 CFR Part 52, Subpart C 
Sections 52.21-52.31).
    Form Number: N/A.

[[Page 55286]]

    Type of Review: Extension.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; States.
    Number of Respondents: 237 respondents.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 4.75 hours per response (avg.).
    Total Annual Burden: 1,125 hours.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Needs and Uses: In the Memorandum Opinion and Order on 
Reconsideration issued in CC Docket No. 95-116, released March 11, 
1997, the Commission affirmed and clarified rules established in its 
First Report and Order in the proceeding. The proceeding implemented 
section 251(b)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, which 
requires all LECs to offer number portability in accordance with 
requirements prescribed by the Commission. The proceedings established 
the following collections. Carriers participating in a field test of 
number portability in the Chicago, Illinois areas were required to 
jointly file with the Commission a report of their findings with 30 
days after completion of the test. Sections 52.23(b) and 52.31 require 
that long-term number portability be provided by LECs and CMRS 
providers inside the 100 largest MSAs in switches for which another 
carrier has made a specific request for number portability. A carrier 
must make its specific requests for deployment of number portability in 
particular switches at least in months before the deadline for 
completion of number portability in that MSA. After carriers have 
submitted requests for number portability, a wireline carrier or CMRS 
provider must make readily available upon request a list of its 
switches for which portability has been requested, and those for which 
portability has not been requested. Section 52.25 requires state 
regulatory commissions to file with the Commission a notification if 
they opt to develop a state-specific database for the provision of 
number portability in lieu of participating in a regional database 
system. Section 52.25 permits carriers to challenge decisions made by 
states to develop a state-specific number portability database in lieu 
of participating in the regional databases by filing a petition with 
the Commission. Sections 52.23 and 52.31 require carriers that are 
unable to meet the deadlines for implementing a long-term number 
portability solution to file with the Commission a petition to extend 
the time by which implementation in its network will be completed. The 
requirements were imposed to implement section 251 of the 
Telecommunications Act of 1996.

    OMB Control Number: 3060-0165.
    Title: Part 41, Franks, Section 41.31--Records to be Maintained and 
Reports to be Filed.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 68 respondents.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 6 hours per response (avg.).
    Total Annual Burden: 408 hours.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
    Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping.
    Needs and Uses:  Section 210 of the Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended, requires that common carriers subject to the Act maintain 
records to reflect the name, address, etc., of persons holding 
telephone or telegraph franks, so as to enable the Commission and/or 
carriers to compile, if needed, reports in this area. Section 41.31 of 
the Commission's rules implements Section 210. This information helps 
to ensure that franks are being addressed fairly.

    OMB Control Number: 3060-0147.
    Title: Extension of Unsecured Credit for Interstate and Foreign--
Section 64.804.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 13 respondents.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 8 hours per response (avg.).
    Total Annual Burden: 104 hours.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
    Frequency of Response: Annually.
    Needs and Uses: Pursuant to Section 64.804 of the Commission's 
rules, communications common carriers with operating revenues exceeding 
$1 million who extend unsecured credit to a candidate or person on 
behalf of such candidates for Federal office must file with the FCC a 
report including due and outstanding balances. The information is used 
for monitoring purposes.

    OMB Control Number: 3060-0749.
    Title: Disclosure and Dissemination of Pay-Per Call Information, 47 
CFR 64.1509.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 25 respondents.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 410 hours per response (avg.).
    Total Annual Burden: 10,250 hours.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
    Frequency of Response: Third party disclosure.
    Needs and Uses: Section 64.1509 incorporates in the Commission's 
rules the requirements of Sections 228(c)(2) and 228(d)(2)-(3) of the 
Communications Act. Under these sections, common carriers that assign 
telephone numbers to pay-per-call services must disclose to all 
interested parties, upon request a list of all assigned pay-per-call 
numbers. For each assigned number, carriers must also make available: 
(1) A description of the pay-per-call service; (2) the total cost per 
minute or other fees associated with the service; and (3) the service 
provider's name, business address, and telephone number. In addition, 
carriers handling pay-per-call services must establish a toll-free 
number that consumer may call to receive information about pay-per-call 
services. Carriers are required to provide statements of pay-per-call 
rights and responsibilities to new telephone subscribers at the time 
service is established and, although not required by statute, to all 
subscribers annually. The disclosure requirements are intended to 
ensure that consumers are able to obtain information that will enable 
them to make informed choices about their use of pay-per-call services.

Federal Communications Commission.
Magalie Roman Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-26519 Filed 10-8-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P