[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 23, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8069-8070]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-3541]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


Notice of Public Information Collection Being Submitted for 
Review and Approval to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 
Comments Requested

February 18, 2010.
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 of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520. 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; (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; and (e) 
ways to further reduce the information collection burden for small 
business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.
    The FCC 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 currently valid OMB control number.

DATES: Persons wishing to comments on this information collection 
should submit comments on or before March 25, 2010. 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 PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB), via fax at (202) 395-5167, or via the 
Internet at [email protected] and to Judith B. Herman, 
Federal Communications Commission (FCC). To submit your PRA comments by 
e-mail send them to: [email protected]. To view a copy of this information 
collection request (ICR) submitted to OMB: (1) Go to web page: http://www.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 FCC list appears, look for the title of this ICR (or its 
OMB Control Number, if there is one) and then click on the ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Judith B. Herman, OMD, 202-418-0214. 
For additional information about the information collection(s) send an 
e-mail to [email protected] or contact Judith B. Herman, 202-418-0214.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    OMB Control No: 3060-0816.
     Title: Local Telephone Competition and Broadband Reporting (Report 
and Order, WC Docket No. 07-38, FCC 08-89; Order on Reconsideration, WC 
Docket No. 07-38, FCC 08-148).
     Form No.: FCC Form 477.
     Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
     Respondents: Business or other for-profit, not-for-profit 
institutions, and state, local or tribal government.
     Number of Respondents: 1,790 respondents; 3,580 responses.
     Estimated Time Per Response: 289 hours.
     Frequency of Response: Semi-annual reporting requirement.
     Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. Statutory authority for this 
information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 4(i), 201, 218-220, 
251-252, 271, 303(r), 332 and 403 of the Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended; and in section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as 
amended, codified in section 1302 of the Broadband Data Improvement 
Act, 47 U.S.C. section 1302.

[[Page 8070]]

     Total Annual Burden: 1,034,620 hours.
     Privacy Act Impact Assessment: N/A.
     Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission will continue 
to allow respondents to certify, on the first page of each submission, 
that some data contained in that submission are privileged or 
confidential commercial or financial information and that disclosure of 
such information would likely cause substantial harm to the competitive 
position of the entity making the submission. If the Commission 
receives a request for, or proposes to disclose the information, the 
respondent would be required to show, pursuant to the Commission's 
rules for withholding from public inspection information submitted to 
the Commission, that the information in question is entitled to 
confidential treatment. We will retain our current policies and 
procedures regarding the confidential treatment of submitted FCC Form 
477 data, including use of aggregated, non-company specific data in our 
published reports.
     Need and Uses: The Commission will submit this information 
collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) during this 
comment period in order to obtain the full three year clearance from 
them. The Commission is submitting this information collection to OMB 
as an extension (no change in the reporting requirement). There is a 
50,520 hourly burden reduction that is being reported to OMB. This 
adjustment is due to a reduction in the estimated time per response 
from the last submission to the OMB. It is also due to respondents' 
increased familiarity with the new, online filing procedures and with 
the changes in their own systems that were necessary to comply with 
this information collection, which respondents have gained in 
experience during the two filings required during OMB's one year 
approval of the data collection on a pilot basis.
    This collection improves the Commission's understanding of the 
extent of broadband deployment, facilitating the development of 
appropriate broadband policies and the Commission's ability to carry 
out its obligation under section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 
1996 to ``determine whether advanced telecommunications capability is 
being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.'' 
In addition, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 directs the Commission 
to take actions to open all participants, including new entrants. A 
central task in creating his framework is the opening of previously 
monopolized local telecommunications markets. By collecting timely and 
reliable information about the pace and extent of competition for local 
telephony service in different geographic areas, including rural areas, 
the Commission significantly improves the ability to evaluate the 
effectiveness of actions the Commission and the states are taking to 
facilitate economic competition in those areas.
    The information is used by Commission staff to prepare reports that 
help inform consumers and policy makers at the federal and state level 
of deployment of competition in the local telephone service market and 
the deployment of broadband services. The Commission will continue to 
use the information to better inform its understanding of broadband 
deployment in conjunction with its congressionally mandated section 706 
reports. The Commission also uses the data to support this analyses in 
a variety of rulemaking proceedings under the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended. Absent this information collection, the Commission 
would lack essential data for assisting it in determining the 
effectiveness of its policies and fulfilling its statutory 
responsibilities in accordance with the Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Office of Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 2010-3541 Filed 2-22-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-S