[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 193 (Friday, October 3, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57623-57624]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-23371]


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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 29, 2008.
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, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520. 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 November 3, 2008. 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 FCC 
contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of 
Management and Budget, (202) 395-5887, or via fax at 202-395-5167 or 
via internet at [email protected] and to [email protected], Federal Communications Commission, or an e-mail to 
[email protected]. To view a copy of this information collection request 
(ICR) submitted to OMB: (1) Go to the Web page http://reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, (2) look for the section of the Web page called 
``Currently Under Review'', (3) click on the downward-pointing arrow in 
the ``Select Agency'' box below the ``Currently Under Review'' heading, 
(4) select ``Federal Communications Commission'' from the list of 
agencies presented in the ``Select Agency'' box, (5) click the 
``Submit'' button to the right of the ``Select Agency'' box, and (6) 
when the list of FCC ICRs currently under review appears, look for the 
title of this ICR (or its OMB Control Number, if there is one) and then 
click on the ICR Reference Number to view detailed information about 
this ICR.

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 Number: 3060-1116.
    Title: Submarine Cable Reporting.
    Form No.: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
    Number of Respondents: 28 respondents; 53 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 190 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion, annual and one-time reporting 
requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Voluntary.
    Total Annual Burden: 10,070 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: N/A.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: N/A.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Information provided pursuant 
to this request will be viewed as presumptively confidential upon 
submission because the information would reflect reports on weaknesses 
in or damage to national communications infrastructure, and the release 
of this sensitive information to the public could potentially 
facilitate terrorist targeting of critical infrastructure and key 
resources. The submissions also may contain internal confidential 
information that constitutes trade secrets and commercial/financial 
information that the respondent does not rountinely make public and 
public release of the submitted information could cause competitive 
harm by revealing information about the types and deployment of cable 
equipment and the traffic that flows across the system. See item 10 of 
the supporting statement submitted to OMB with this submission.
    Needs and Uses: The Federal Communications Commission sought and 
received emergency OMB approval for this information collection on 
April 16, 2008. The Commission is now submitting this information 
collection (IC) to the OMB as a revision during this comment period to 
obtain the full three-year clearance from them. The Commission is 
reporting a -17,430 burden hour reduction (adjustment). This adjustment 
is due to a recalculation of a re-estimate of the average burden per 
respondent which was reduced from 550 hours per response to 190 hours 
per response.
    The Commission initially contacted AT&T and Verizon, two of the 
largest submarine cable operators, regarding this information request. 
Subsequently, the Commission provided the submarine cable operators an 
opportunity to comment on this information collection request by having 
informal discussions with them and by inviting them to a meeting held 
at the Commission's headquarters on May 13, 2008. Based on our 
discussions, we believe the submarine cable operators already have much 
of this information, and we amended the information request to clarify 
that the operators would not be required to generate new information in 
order to comply with this request but should supply the information to 
the extent it is generated in the normal course of business. We, 
therefore, are not asking for the operator to provide information not 
already generated in the operation of the submarine cable systems or in 
possession of the operator.
    Specifically, the Commission requests that the cable landing 
licensees provide the following information regarding the submarine 
cable systems: (1) System status and restoration; (2) terrestrial route 
map; (3) undersea location spreadsheet; and (4) restoration capability.
    With this revision to the OMB, there are some differences between 
this information collection request and the one for which emergency 
approval was granted. First, it recognizes that operator-generated 
information covering system status and restoration data in item (1) 
varies widely in format, content, threshold, and volume. Some may not 
generate all fields of data. Further, it clarifies that operators are 
not required to generate new information in order to comply with this 
request but should supply the information to the extent that it is 
generated in the normal course of business. Second, it allows operators 
to provide a terrestrial route map as either a map or an Excel 
spreadsheet (approved as only a map requirement in the emergency 
request). Third, it clarifies that operators should

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annually update information related to items (2), (3), and (4)--the 
terrestrial route map, the undersea location spreadsheet, and 
restoration capability.
    While the Commission will be the collection point for this 
information, we will share it with the Departments and agencies that 
have direct responsibility for national and homeland security. This 
information is needed in order to support Federal government national 
security and emergency preparedness communications programs, for the 
purposes of providing situational awareness of submarine cable system 
performance as well as a greater understanding of potential physical 
threats to the submarine cable systems.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8-23371 Filed 10-2-08; 8:45 am]
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