[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 186 (Tuesday, September 27, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56467-56468]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-19251]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


Notice of Public Information Collection(s) Being Submitted for 
Review to the Office of Management and Budget

September 21, 2005.
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, Public Law 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 Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments should be 
submitted on or before October 27, 2005. 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 
contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments to Leslie 
F. Smith, Federal Communications Commission, Room 1-A804, 445 12th 
Street, SW., DC 20554 or via the Internet to [email protected]. If 
you would like to obtain or view a copy of this new or revised 
information collection, you may do so by visiting the FCC PRA Web page 
at: http://www.fcc.gov/omd/pra.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0874.
    Title: Consumer Complaint Form/Obscene, Profane, and Indecent 
Complaint Form, FCC Forms 475 and 475B.
    Form Number: FCC Form 475 and Form 475B.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit entities; and Not-for-profit institutions.
    Number of Respondents: 1,354,619: FCC Form 475--83,287; FCC Form 
475B--1,271,332.
    Estimated Time per Response: FCC Form 475--30 minutes; FCC Form 
475B--15 minutes.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement.
    Total Annual Burden: 359,477: FCC Form 475--41,644 hours; FCC Form 
475B--317,833 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: None.
    Needs and Uses: Revised FCC Form 475, Consumer Complaint Form, 
allows the Commission to collect detailed data from consumers of the 
practices of common carriers. This information contained in the 
collection will allow consumers to provide the Commission with the 
relevant information required to help consumers develop a concise 
statement outlining the issues in dispute and revisions were made to 
also minimize the need to call back consumers in order to acquire 
further data. The Commission uses the information to assist in 
resolving informal complaints and the collected data required to assess 
the practices of common carriers and as a part of investigative work 
performed by federal and state law enforcement agencies to monitor 
carrier practices and promote compliance with federal and state 
requirements. The data may ultimately become the foundation for 
enforcement actions and/or rulemaking proceedings, as appropriate.
    We have revised FCC Form 475 to clarify information requirements 
and comply with OMB requests to make the form less confusing and more 
user friendly, by making it clear for which complaints revised Form 475 
may be used. Form 475 has also been made more consumer-friendly by 
putting directions for use in colored text at the top of the form to 
emphasize which types of complaints may be filed using the revised Form 
475. Revised Form 475 will be used for all telephone-related 
complaints, except slamming. Certain fields have an asterisk next to 
them if the information is required in order to submit a complaint. It 
is also clearly stated now for which complaints Form 475 may be used 
and clearly states that ``slamming'' complaints may not be filed using 
the revised Form 475. Letters and numbers have been added to the 
individual data requests to make it easier for consumers to fill out 
the revised FCC Form 475.
    In Form 475, the Commission asks for the complainant's contact 
information in the first ten fields, including, name/company name, 
address, telephone number and e-mail address. Form 475 also asks the 
consumer briefly to describe their complaints including the 
company(ies) involved, the account numbers, telephone numbers 
associated with the complaint, types of service involved, important 
dates, and the resolution the consumer is seeking. Revised Form 475 
will also provide clearer guidance for persons wishing to file 
Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) related complaints (e.g., 
unwanted telemarketing calls, unsolicited faxes, etc.). Revised Form 
475 now has a section for consumers to submit TCPA complaints with the 
Commission. This section includes five fields or questions where 
consumers will provide the requested information or respond to the 
question to file a TCPA violation with the Commission.
    Proposed FCC Form 475B, Obscene, Profane, and Indecent Complaint 
Form, will enable the Commission to collect detailed data from 
consumers on the practices of those entities that may air/broadcast 
obscene, profane and indecent programming by giving consumers an 
opportunity, for the first time, to use a specific form to delineate 
the consumer's complaint. Form 475B will be used only for complaints 
associated with obscene, profane, and/or indecent programming. 
Information contained in the collection will allow consumers to provide 
the Commission with the relevant information to help consumers develop 
a concise statement outlining the issues in dispute thereby minimizing 
the amount of time it takes to file a complaint, minimizing confusion 
on what information the Commission requires, and improving the 
complaint process and the overall quality of the complaints received.
    Prior to the creation of Form 475B, consumers have attempted to use 
Form 475 to submit complaints about programming and in most such 
instances the Commission has been unable to process the complaints 
because not enough information was

[[Page 56468]]

included, e.g., information pertaining to the date, time, and content 
of the program, the name of the station or program that is the subject 
of the complaint. FCC Form 475B will include fields that will ask for 
the complainant's contact information, including name, address, e-mail 
address, and telephone number. Form 475B will also include a section 
that asks for information to help identify the station that aired the 
alleged indecent, profane, and/or indecent material, including the 
network's name, name of the station, name of the particular program 
including host or personality/DJ, time of the program, the time zone, 
the date of the program and the community where the material was aired. 
The last section on Form 475B asks the complainant to describe the 
incident and to include as much detail as possible about specific 
words, languages, and images, to help the Commission determine whether 
the program was, in fact, obscene, profane, or indecent. The data may 
ultimately become the foundation for enforcement actions and/or 
rulemaking proceedings, as appropriate. The information will strengthen 
the effectiveness of the Commission's rules in deterring obscene, 
profane, and indecent content and programming.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 05-19251 Filed 9-26-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P