[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 2, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43766-43767]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-12464]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


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

July 26, 2006.

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 September 1, 2006. 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 Judith 
B. Herman, Federal Communications Commission, Room 1-B441, 445 12th 
Street, SW., DC 20554 or an email to [email protected]. If you would like to 
obtain or view a copy of this 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 Judith B. Herman at 202-418-
0214 or via the Internet at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    OMB Control No.: 3060-0168.
    Title: Section 43.43, Report of Proposed Changes in Depreciation 
Rates.
    Form No.: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
    Number of Respondents: 10.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 6,000 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement.
    Total Annual Burden: 60,000 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: N/A.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: N/A.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission is submitting this information 
collection to OMB as an extension (no change in public reporting 
requirements) in order to obtain the full three-year clearance from 
them.
    Section 43.43 establishes the reporting requirements for 
depreciation prescription purposes. Communication common carriers with 
annual operating revenues of $121 million or more that the Commission 
has found to be dominant must file information specified in Section 
43.43 before making any change in the depreciation rates applicable to 
their operating plant. In the Report and Order released in December 
1999, the Commission adopted the following requirements:

--Carriers are required to file four summary exhibits, along with the 
underlying data used to generate them, and must provide the 
depreciation factors (i.e., life, salvage, curve shape, depreciation 
reserve) required to verify the calculation of the carriers' 
depreciation reserve. This is the minimum amount of data needed to 
maintain oversight of carriers' depreciation expenses and rates.
--Mid-sized carriers are no longer required to file theoretical reserve 
studies.
--Certain price cap incumbent LECs in certain instances may request a 
waiver of the depreciation prescription process. A waiver may be 
approved when an incumbent LEC, voluntarily, in conjunction with its 
request for waiver: (1) Adjusts the net book costs on its regulatory 
books to the level currently reflected in its financial books by a 
below-the-line write-off; (2) uses the same depreciation factors and 
rates for both regulatory and financial accounting purposes; (3) 
forgoes the opportunity to seek recovery of the write-off through a 
low-end adjustment, an exogenous adjustment, or an above-cap filing; 
and (4) agrees to submit information concerning its depreciation 
accounts, including forecast additions and retirements for major 
network accounts and replacement plans for digital central offices. The 
waiver request must comply with section 1.3 of the Commission's rules. 
The Commission will consider alternative proposals by carriers seeking 
a waiver of our depreciation requirements. Such alternative proposals, 
however, must provide the same protections to guard against adverse 
impacts on consumers and competition as the conditions adopted in the 
Order provides. Carriers who obtain a waiver of the depreciation 
process submit certain information about network retirement

[[Page 43767]]

patterns and modernization plans related to their plant accounts so 
that we can maintain realistic ranges of depreciable life and salvage 
factors for each of the major plant accounts. The information that 
carriers will be required to submit include: forecast additions and 
retirements for major network accounts; replacement plans for digital 
central offices; and information concerning relative investments in 
fiber and copper cable.
    The information filed is used by the Commission to establish proper 
depreciation rates to be charged by carriers, pursuant to Section 
220(b) of the Act. Without this information, the validity of the 
carriers' depreciation policies could not be ascertained.

    OMB Control No.: 3060-0233.
    Title: Part 36--Separations.
    Form No.: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
    Number of Respondents: 1,804.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 22 hours per response for annual and 
quarterly loop cost filings. Five hours per response for quarterly line 
count data filings.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion, quarterly, and annual reporting 
requirements and third party disclosure requirement.
    Total Annual Burden: 58,418 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: N/A.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: N/A.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission is submitting this information 
collection to OMB as an extension (no change in public reporting 
requirements) in order to obtain the full three-year clearance from 
them.
    In order to determine which carriers are entitled to universal 
service support, all (both non-rural and rural) incumbent local 
exchange carriers (LECs) must provide the National Exchange Carrier 
Association (NECA) with the loop cost and loop count data required by 
47 CFR 36.611 for each of its study areas and, if applicable, for each 
wire center as that term is defined in 47 CFR Part 54. Loops are the 
telephone lines running from the carriers' switching facilities to the 
customer. The loop cost and loop count information is to be filed 
annually with NECA by July 31st of each year, and may be updated 
quarterly pursuant to 47 CFR 36.612. Pursuant to section 36.613, the 
information filed on July 31st of each year will be used to calculate 
universal service support for each study area and is filed by NECA with 
the Commission on October 1 of each year. An incumbent LEC is defined 
as a carrier that meets the definition of ``incumbent local exchange 
carrier'' in section 51.5 of the Commission's rules. Section 36.612(a) 
also requires non-rural carriers to file loop counts (no loop cost 
data) on a quarterly basis. The Commission requires that non-rural 
carriers submit quarterly loop counts in order to ensure that universal 
service fund (USF) support for non-rural carriers is accurately 
calculated when competitive eligible telecommunication carriers (ETCs) 
are present in the incumbent LECs' operating areas. Quarterly loop cost 
and loop count data filings are voluntary for rural carriers. When a 
competitive ETC, however, is operating in an incumbent rural carrier's 
territory, the incumbent rural carrier is required to submit quarterly 
loop count data. Quarterly filings of loop counts are necessary because 
if an incumbent rural carrier does not update its loop count data more 
often than annually, but its competitor does, the competitor's more 
recent data may include loops captured from the incumbent since the 
incumbent's last filing. Thus, the incumbent would continue to receive 
support based on an overstated number of loops.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-12464 Filed 8-1-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P