[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 22 (Friday, February 1, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4961-4962]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-2465]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


Public Information Collections Approved by Office of Management 
and Budget

January 25, 2002.
    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.: 3060-0787.
    Expiration Date: 07/31/2002.
    Title: Implementation of the Subscriber Carrier Selection Changes 
Provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996; Policies and Rules 
Concerning Unauthorized Changes of Consumers Long Distance.
    Form No.: FCC Form 478.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 1850 respondents; 14 hour per response 
(avg.) (7 hours per filing); 25,900 total annual burden hours. 
(Estimates for FCC Form 478 requirements only).
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
    Frequency of Response: Semi-Annual; Recordkeeping.
    Description: Section 258 of the Communications Act of 1934 (Act), 
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 telecommunications 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 such verification procedures and that collects charges for 
telephone exchange service or telephone toll service from a subscriber 
shall be liable to the carrier previously selected by the subscriber in 
an amount equal to all charges paid by the subscriber after such 
violation. The rules and requirements implementing section 258 can be 
found primarily at 47 CFR part 64. FCC Form 478, Telecommunications 
Slamming Complaint Reporting Form, is mandated

[[Page 4962]]

by 47 CFR 64.1180. Pursuant to Section 64.1180(a), each provider of 
telephone exchange and/or telephone toll service shall submit to the 
Commission via e-mail ([email protected]), U.S. Mail, or facsimile a 
slamming complaint reporting form identifying the number of slamming 
complaints received during the reporting period and other information 
as specified in subsection (b) of section 64.1180. See 47 CFR 64.1180. 
Carriers are required to complete and file a copy of the FCC Form 478. 
Carriers are encouraged to maintain all records regarding slamming 
complaints for at least 24 month from the date on which they receive 
written, electronic, or oral contact by a consumer alleging that an 
unauthorized change in his/her preferred carrier was made by the 
carrier or by another carrier. The Commission recently revised FCC Form 
478 to clarify for carriers the requirements of the form. Among other 
things, the instructions in Block 3 and Block 4 have been clarified so 
that carriers count complaints on a per-customer basis rather than a 
per-line basis. To the extent a carrier cannot report its complaints on 
a per-customer basis, the carrier is asked to explain the methodology 
it has chosen to count the complaints, and why it has chosen that 
methodology. In addition, FCC Form 478 instructions at Lines 112, 113 
and 114 were amended to clarify when a complaint should be considered 
resolved under the Commission's rules. The information will be used to 
implement section 258 of the Act. The information will strengthen the 
ability of our rules to deter slamming, while protecting consumers from 
carriers that may take advantage of consumer confusion over different 
types of telecommunications services. The information gathered in 
response to the reporting requirement will enable the Commission to 
identify, as soon as possible, the carriers that repeatedly initiate 
unauthorized changes. A copy of the revised FCC Form 478 may be 
downloaded from the Commission's forms Web page, www.fcc.gov/formpage.html. Obligation to respond: Mandatory.
    Public reporting burden for the collections of information are as 
noted above. Send comments regarding the burden estimates or any other 
aspect of the collections of information, including suggestions for 
reducing the burden to Performance Evaluation and Records Management, 
Washington, DC 20554.

Federal Communications Commission.
William F. Caton,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-2465 Filed 1-31-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P