[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 1, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 5652-5677]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1941]



[[Page 5651]]

Vol. 76

Tuesday,

No. 21

February 1, 2011

Part II





Federal Communications Commission





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47 CFR Part 1



Practice and Procedure; Amendment of CORES Registration System; 
Proposed Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 76 , No. 21 / Tuesday, February 1, 2011 / 
Proposed Rules  

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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 1

[MD Docket No. 10-234; FCC 10-192]


Practice and Procedure; Amendment of CORES Registration System

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 
proposes revisions to the Commission's Registration System (CORES), 
which is used by individuals and entities doing business with the FCC 
to obtain a unique identifying number called an FCC Registration 
Number, or ``FRN.'' The proposed modifications to CORES include: 
Requiring entities and individuals to rely primarily upon a single FRN 
that may, at their discretion, be linked to subsidiary or associated 
accounts; allowing entities to identify multiple points of contact; 
eliminating some of our exceptions to the requirement that entities and 
individuals provide their Taxpayer Identification Number (``TIN'') at 
the time of registration; requiring FRN holders to provide their e-mail 
addresses; modifying CORES log-in procedures; adding attention flags 
and automated notices that would inform FRN holders of their financial 
standing before the Commission; and adding data fields to enable FRN 
holders to indicate their tax-exempt status and notify the Commission 
of pending bankruptcy proceedings. These modifications, if implemented, 
will make CORES more feature-friendly and improve the Commission's 
ability to comply with various statutes that govern debt collection and 
the collection of personal information by the Federal government.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by interested parties on or before 
March 3, 2011. Reply comments must be submitted no later than March 18, 
2011. Written PRA comments on the proposed information collection 
requirements contained herein must be submitted by the public, Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB), and other interested parties on or 
before April 4, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by MD Docket No. 10-234, 
FCC 10-192, by any of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Federal Communications Commission's Web site: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    Mail: Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by 
commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. 
Postal Service mail (although the Commission continues to experience 
delays in receiving U.S. Postal Service mail). All filings must be 
addressed to the Commission's Secretary, Office of the Secretary, 
Federal Communications Commission.
    People With Disabilities: Contact the FCC to request reasonable 
accommodations (accessible format documents, sign language 
interpreters, CART, etc.) by e-mail: [email protected] or phone: 202-418-
0530 or TTY: 202-418-0432.
    In addition to filing comments with the Secretary, a copy of any 
PRA comments on the proposed collection requirements contained herein 
should be submitted to the Federal Communications Commission via e-mail 
to [email protected] and to Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of Management and 
Budget, via e-mail to [email protected] or via fax at 202-395-5167. 
For detailed instructions for submitting comments and additional 
information on the rulemaking process, see the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Warren Firschein, Office of the 
Managing Director, (202) 418-0844. For additional information 
concerning the information collection requirements contained in this 
document, send an e-mail to [email protected] or contact Leslie F. Smith, 
(202) 418-0217. To view or obtain a copy of this information collection 
request (ICR) submitted to OMB: (1) Go to this OMB/GSA 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 list of FCC ICRs currently under review appears, look for 
the OMB control number(s) of the ICR(s) as shown in the Supplementary 
Information section below (3060-0917 and/or 3060-0918) and then click 
on either of the ICR Reference Number(s). A copy of the FCC 
submission(s) to OMB will be displayed.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Notice 
of Proposed Rulemaking, MD Docket No. 10-234, FCC No. 10-192, adopted 
November 19, 2010 and released December 7, 2010. The full text of the 
NPRM is available for public inspection and copying during business 
hours in the FCC Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th 
Street, SW., Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. It also may be 
purchased from the Commission's duplicating contractor at Portals II, 
445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554; the 
contractor's Web site, http://www.bcpiweb.com; or by calling (800) 378-
3160, facsimile (202) 488-5563, or e-mail [email protected]. Copies of 
the Notice also may be obtained via the Commission's Electronic Comment 
Filing System (ECFS) by entering the docket number MD Docket No. 10-
234. Additionally, the complete item is available on the Federal 
Communications Commission's Web site at http://www.fcc.gov.
    This document contains proposed information collection 
requirements. As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork 
burden and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3501-3520), the Federal Communications Commission invites the 
general public and other Federal agencies to comment on the following 
information collection(s). Public and agency comments are due April 4, 
2011.
    Comments should address: (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 estimates; (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. In 
addition, pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, 
Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), we seek specific comment 
on how we might ``further reduce the information collection burden for 
small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.''
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0917.
    Title: CORES Registration Form.
    Form Number: FCC Form 160.
    Type of Review: Revision of currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Individuals or households; Businesses or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions; and State, Local or Tribal 
Government.

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    Number of Respondents and Responses: 150,000 respondents; 150,000 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes (0.167 hours).
    Frequency of Response: One time reporting requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
    Total Annual Burden: 25,050 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: None.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: Not required.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission maintains a 
system of records, FCC/OMD-9, ``Commission Registration System 
(CORES),'' to cover the collection, purpose(s), storage, safeguards, 
and disposal of the personally identifiable information (PII) that 
individual respondents may submit on FCC Form 160. The FCC will also 
redact PII submitted on this form before it makes FCC Form 160 
available for public inspection. FCC Form 160 includes a privacy 
statement to inform applicants (respondents) of the Commission's need 
to obtain the information and the protections that the FCC has in place 
to protect the PII.
    Needs and Uses: Respondents use FCC Form 160 to register in the 
FCC's Commission Registration System (CORES). When registering, the 
respondent receives a unique FCC Registration Number (FRN), which is 
required for anyone doing business with the Commission. FCC Form 160 is 
used to collect information that pertains to the entity's name, 
address, contact representative, telephone number, e-mail address, and 
fax number. Respondents may also register in CORES on-line at http://www.fcc.gov/frnreg. The Commission uses this information to collect or 
report on any delinquent debt arising from the respondent's business 
dealings with the FCC, including both ``feeable'' and ``nonfeeable'' 
services; and to ensure that registrants (respondents) receive any 
refunds due. Use of the CORES system is also a means of ensuring that 
the Commission operates in compliance with the Debt Collection 
Improvement Act of 1996.
    The NPRM proposes to eliminate some of our exceptions to the 
requirement that entities and individuals provide their Taxpayer 
Identification Number (``TIN'') at the time of registration; require 
FRN holders to provide their e-mail addresses; give FRN holders the 
option to identify multiple points of contact; and require FRN holders 
to indicate their tax-exempt status and notify the Commission of 
pending bankruptcy proceedings. All remaining existing information 
collection requirements would stay as they are.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0918.
    Title: CORES Update/Change Form.
    Form Number: FCC Form 161.
    Type of Review: Revision of currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Individuals or households; Businesses or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions; and State, Local or Tribal 
Government.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 57,600 respondents; 57,600 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes (0.167 hours).
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
    Total Annual Burden: 9,792 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: None.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: Not required.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission maintains a 
system of records, FCC/OMD-9, ``Commission Registration System 
(CORES),'' to cover the collection, purpose(s), storage, safeguards, 
and disposal of the personally identifiable information (PII) that 
individual respondents may submit on FCC Form 161. The FCC will also 
redact PII submitted on this form before it makes FCC Form 161 
available for public inspection. FCC Form 161 includes a privacy 
statement to inform applicants (respondents) of the Commission's need 
to obtain the information and the protections that the FCC has in place 
to protect the PII.
    Needs and Uses: After respondents have registered in the FCC's 
Commission Registration System (CORES) and have been issued an FCC 
Registration Number (FRN), they may use FCC Form 161 to update and/or 
change their contact information, including name, address, telephone 
number, e-mail address, fax number, contact representative, contact 
representative's address, telephone number, e-mail address, and/or fax 
number. Respondents may also update their registration information in 
CORES on-line at http://www.fcc.gov/frnreg. The Commission uses this 
information to collect or report on any delinquent debt arising from 
the respondent's business dealings with the FCC, including both 
``feeable'' and ``nonfeeable'' services; and to ensure that registrants 
(respondents) receive any refunds due. Use of the CORES system is also 
a means of ensuring that the Commission operates in compliance with the 
Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996.
    The NPRM proposes to eliminate some of our exceptions to the 
requirement that entities and individuals provide their Taxpayer 
Identification Number (``TIN'') at the time of registration; require 
FRN holders to provide their e-mail addresses; give FRN holders the 
option to identify multiple points of contact; and require FRN holders 
to indicate their tax-exempt status and notify the Commission of 
pending bankruptcy proceedings. All remaining existing information 
collection requirements would stay as they are.

Synopsis of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

Amendment of Part 1 of the Commission's Rules, Concerning Practice and 
Procedure, Amendment of CORES Registration System

    1. This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (``NPRM'') proposes amending 
the Commission's rules to make revisions to the Commission's 
Registration System, also known as ``CORES.'' Anyone doing business 
with the Commission is required to first obtain a unique identifying 
number through CORES called an FCC Registration Number, or ``FRN.'' 
Among other things, an FRN allows registrants to submit or file 
applications and remit payments to the Commission. Our proposed changes 
to CORES would result in customer-related improvements, as well as 
improvements to the process by which entities and individuals access 
and make use of information that is contained in CORES. The proposed 
changes would affect rules governing Practice and Procedure (see 47 CFR 
part 1).
    2. We are able to offer these proposed modifications to the current 
version of CORES based on our own experience with the system since its 
inception in 2000, as well as on informal suggestions that have been 
provided by CORES FRN holders themselves. We hope that comments 
received in this rulemaking will further add to and refine our efforts 
for improving the CORES system. In addition, we plan to invite the 
public to participate in a public forum at the FCC's headquarters in 
Washington, DC to discuss these proposed changes to CORES, and to give 
interested parties the opportunity to discuss their concerns and 
suggest further modifications. A public notice announcing the date of 
the forum will be released shortly. We invite parties to indicate their 
interest in participating in this public forum by contacting us through 
the information provided in Section IV.F., below.

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    3. This proceeding is part of the Commission's larger effort to 
reform and transform the agency into a model of excellence in 
government. Like the NPRMs on the FCC's ex parte rules and the one 
focused on the rules governing Commission practice and procedure,\1\ 
this NPRM will reform FCC procedures, modifying CORES to make it easier 
for individuals \2\ and entities \3\ to do business with the FCC. In 
addition, this NPRM is related both to the Commission's new Core 
Financial System and the development and design of the FCC's new 
Consolidated Licensing System (``CLS'').\4\
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    \1\ Amendment of the Commission's Ex Parte Rules and Other 
Procedural Rules, GC Docket No. 10-43, Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking, 25 FCC Rcd 2403 (2010); Amendment of Certain of the 
Commission's Part 1 Rules of Practice and Procedure and Part 0 Rules 
of Commission Organization, GC Docket No. 10-44, Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking, 25 FCC Rcd 2430 (2010). See also FCC Proposes Rule 
Changes to Improve Decision-Making and Efficiency, Promote 
Participation in FCC Proceedings, 2010 WL 589844 (rel. February 18, 
2010) (news release announcing the commencement of the two 
previously-mentioned proceedings).
    \2\ The terms ``individuals'' and ``persons'' are used 
synonymously in this NPRM.
    \3\ An ``entity'' is any business or organization. This includes 
public or private, and profit or not-for-profit, organizations.
    \4\ Federal Communications Commission (FCC) To Hold April 7, 
2010 Workshop on Development of Consolidated Licensing System, MD 
Docket No. 10-73, Public Notice, 25 FCC Rcd 3176 (2010). See also 
the Commission's Web page on the effort to develop the consolidated 
licensing system, found at http://reboot.fcc.gov/reform/systems/cls.
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    4. Our proposed modifications to CORES partly include: Requiring 
entities and individuals to rely primarily upon a single FRN that may, 
at their discretion, be linked to subsidiary or associated accounts; 
allowing entities to identify multiple points of contact; eliminating 
some of our exceptions to the requirement that entities and individuals 
provide their Taxpayer Identification Number (``TIN'') \5\ at the time 
of registration; requiring FRN holders to provide their e-mail 
addresses; giving FRN holders the option to create a custom User ID; 
modifying CORES log-in procedures for entities so as to ease use by 
multiple individuals; adding attention flags and notices that would 
inform FRN holders of their financial standing before the Commission 
when logging onto CORES; and adding data fields to enable FRN holders 
to indicate their tax-exempt status and notify the Commission of 
pending bankruptcy proceedings. These modifications, if implemented, 
will make CORES more feature-friendly and will eliminate some of the 
system's current limitations. They will also improve the Commission's 
ability to comply with various statutes that govern debt collection and 
the collection of personal information by the Federal government.
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    \5\ For individuals, the TIN is their social security number.
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II. Background

    5. The Commission is required in a variety of contexts to manage 
and collect substantial sums of money, including annual regulatory fees 
and application fees \6\ and civil monetary penalties.\7\ The 
Commission also auctions various licenses through competitive bidding 
and administers the collection of payments for these licenses.\8\ In 
addition, the Commission directs the collection of mandated 
contributions to the Universal Service Fund (``USF'') and other 
statutory programs.\9\
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    \6\ See 47 U.S.C. 159 and Assessment and Collection of 
Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2009, MD Docket No. 09-65, Report 
and Order, 4 FCC Rcd 10301 (2009) (regulatory fees); 47 U.S.C. 158 
and Amendment of the Schedule of Application Fees Set Forth in 
Sections 1.1102 through 1.1107 of the Commission's Rules, GEN Docket 
No. 86-285, Order, 23 FCC Rcd 14192 (2008) (application fees).
    \7\ See, e.g., 47 U.S.C. 503; 47 CFR 1.80; see also Forfeiture 
Policy Statement and Amendment of Section 1.80 of the Rules to 
Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines, CI Docket No. 95-6, Report 
and Order, 12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303 
(1999).
    \8\ See 47 U.S.C. 309(j).
    \9\ See 47 U.S.C. 254(d); 47 CFR 54.706.
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    6. In operating these programs, the Commission is subject to a 
variety of Federal statutes designed to ensure that the Government's 
financial management systems consistently and accurately report assets, 
liabilities, revenues and expenditures.\10\ In particular, the 
Commission is subject to the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 
(``DCIA''), which sought to address Congressional concerns that debts 
owed to the Federal government were not being properly collected.\11\
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    \10\ See, e.g., 31 U.S.C. 3512(b) (mandating the establishment 
and maintenance of systems of accounting and internal controls); 4 
CFR 102.1(a) (requiring agencies to ``take aggressive action, on a 
timely basis, to collect all claims of the United States''); 4 CFR 
102.17 (requiring agencies to establish procedures to identify the 
causes of overpayments, delinquencies, and defaults, and the 
corrective actions needed).
    \11\ Public Law 104-134, 110 Stat. 1321 (1996), codified at 31 
U.S.C. 3701, et seq. See United States v. Texas, 507 U.S. 529, 536-
37 (1993) (Debt Collection Act was passed ``in order to strengthen 
the Government's hand in collecting its debts'').
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    7. To improve its collection activities, the Commission established 
an internal revenue management system that supports application and 
regulatory fee accounting, spectrum auction loan portfolio management, 
accounting for auction proceeds, accounting for enforcement actions, 
and other accounts receivable of the Commission. In developing this 
revenue management system, it became apparent that persons doing 
business with the Commission, as that term is defined by the DCIA,\12\ 
were identified in various ways in our filing and licensing systems 
that made unified accounting and revenue management difficult. To 
address this problem, the Commission developed CORES.
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    \12\ The DCIA, 31 U.S.C. 7701(c)(2), states that ``a person 
shall be considered to be doing business with a Federal agency if 
the person is--
    (A) A lender or servicer in a Federal guaranteed or insured loan 
program administered by the agency;
    (B) An applicant for, or recipient of, a Federal license, 
permit, right-of-way, grant, or benefit payment administered by the 
agency or insurance administered by the agency;
    (C) A contractor of the agency;
    (D) Assessed a fine, fee, royalty or penalty by the agency; and
    (E) In a relationship with the agency that may give rise to a 
receivable due to that agency, such as a partner of a borrower in or 
a guarantor of a Federal direct or insured loan administered by the 
agency.''
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    8. CORES is a Web-based, password-protected, registration system 
that assigns a unique 10-digit FRN to a registrant for use when doing 
business with the FCC. These FRNs are used by all Commission systems 
that handle financial, authorization of service, and enforcement 
activities, and enable our customers to be more easily identified as 
the filers of applications, reports, remittance payments and other 
documents with the FCC. CORES was designed to serve as a central 
standard repository for basic regulatee and licensee information, and 
to help the Commission more effectively forecast, assess and collect 
regulatory fees; track enforcement of fines and forfeiture actions; 
monitor and collect penalties; manage the grant of waivers and 
exemptions; and, provide information to the public.\13\
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    \13\ See Office of the Managing Director Implements the FCC 
Registration Number (FRN) and Commission Registration System (CORES) 
Registration Process Effective March 27, 2000, DA 00-407, Public 
Notice, 15 FCC Rcd 16427 (2000).
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    9. When CORES first became operational on July 19, 2000, the public 
was permitted to obtain FRNs to be used on Commission filings on a 
voluntary basis.\14\ Then, by way of rulemaking effective December 3, 
2001, the Commission established that FRNs were to be used on 
Commission filings on a mandatory basis.\15\ Since then, in an effort 
to limit the unnecessary use of social security numbers in agency 
systems and programs, the Commission

[[Page 5655]]

has expanded the use of FRNs to other purposes beyond compliance with 
the DCIA.\16\ Now, based on several years of experience with CORES and 
the FRN registration process, we now wish to modify and enhance CORES 
to better serve the interests of the Commission and the public by 
identifying areas of improvement in the way customers interact with and 
make use of CORES, thus enabling us to improve the system's features 
and eliminate or reduce limitations of the system in its current state.
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    \14\ See New Commission Registration System (CORES) to be 
Implemented July 19, DA 00-1596, Public Notice, 15 FCC Rcd 18754 
(2000).
    \15\ See Amendments of Parts 1, 21, 61, 73, 74 and 76 of 
Commission's Rules, Adoption of Mandatory FCC Registration Number, 
MD Docket No. 00-205, Report and Order, 16 FCC Rcd 16138 (2001) 
(``2001 CORES Order'').
    \16\ See para. 1, supra. These additional uses for the FRN 
comport with a government-wide effort to safeguard personally 
identifiable information by reducing the unnecessary use of social 
security numbers and exploring alternatives to serve as a personal 
identifier for Federal programs. See, e.g., Safeguarding Against and 
Responding to the Breach of Personally Identifiable Information, OMB 
Memorandum M-07-16 (May 22, 2007).
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    10. Consolidated Licensing System. Recently, the Commission 
announced its intent to develop and deploy an agency-wide Consolidated 
Licensing System (``CLS'') in an effort to improve its spectrum 
management and to develop a transparent, easily accessible, data 
driven, efficient, cost-effective and green consolidated licensing 
system.\17\ The CLS is expected to consolidate a number of licensing 
systems and databases currently used by the Commission's Bureaus and 
Offices, including the Antenna Structure Registration System (``ASR'') 
(managed by the Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau); the 
Cable Operations and Licensing System (``COALS'') (managed by the Media 
Bureau); the Consolidated Database System (``CDBS'') (managed by the 
Media Bureau); the Experimental Licensing System (``ELS'') (managed by 
the Office of Engineering and Technology); the International Bureau 
Filing System (``IBFS'') (managed by the International Bureau); and, 
the Universal Licensing System (``ULS'') (managed by the Wireless 
Telecommunications Bureau and the Public Safety and Homeland Security 
Bureau). Among other things, the Consolidated Licensing System is 
expected to establish a single consolidated form for filing different 
types of license application, permit a single sign-on to all of the 
underlying Commission systems, and create an enhanced environment for 
accessing and searching Commission data. The present proceeding is 
viewed by the Commission as one necessary step of the overall 
development of the CLS.
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    \17\ Federal Communications Commission (FCC) To Hold April 7, 
2010 Workshop on Development of Consolidated Licensing System, MD 
Docket No. 10-73, Public Notice, 25 FCC Rcd 3176 (2010).
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III. Proposed Changes to Cores

    11. In the discussion that follows, we seek comment on specific 
modifications proposed for CORES. As described above, one of the 
primary goals of this proceeding is to improve the customer interface 
with CORES so that customers can use the system in a more efficient and 
effective manner. To that end, we encourage commenters in this 
proceeding to address problems that they have experienced while 
navigating CORES and using their FRN(s) on subsequent remittance 
payments, filings and applications before the Commission. We ask that 
commenters recommend specific measures that we could take that would 
ease any such navigation and usage problems. Commenters should also 
propose measures that we could take to simplify the registration 
process, as well as measures that would enhance their ability to use 
the Commission's other automated systems, in light of the Commission's 
intent to develop an agency-wide consolidated licensing system, as 
described above.

A. A Single FRN

    12. In the 2001 CORES Order,\18\ we concluded that requiring 
entities and individuals doing business with the Commission to obtain 
an FRN would ``improve the management of our financial systems,'' and 
was ``part of a long-range solution to better manage our financial 
systems.'' \19\ Accordingly, we adopted a 10-digit unique identifier 
called the FRN, and chose CORES as the automated system for assigning 
FRNs to entities and individuals doing business with the Commission.
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    \18\ See supra n. 14.
    \19\ 2001 CORES Order, 16 FCC Rcd at 16139, para. 3.
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    13. Since the creation of CORES, entities have been able to obtain 
multiple FRNs in order to permit different members of their corporate 
family to obtain their own individual FRNs, regardless of whether those 
entities had different taxpayer identification numbers (``TINs''),\20\ 
and to allow entities to organize their dealings with the Commission 
along logical business lines.\21\ As a result of this policy, however, 
it is difficult for the Commission to identify all the FRNs that are 
held by the same entity and tie them together in order to examine the 
entity's entire course of dealing with the agency. Although entities 
are required to provide their TIN during the FRN registration process, 
the data reported by entities has not always been consistent. In many 
cases a TIN has not been reported at all. For example, in some 
instances, due to exceptions allowed by the Commission, entities are 
not required to provide their TIN during the CORES registration 
process.\22\ In other cases, entities have inappropriately selected a 
TIN exception reason during the CORES registration process that is not 
intended to apply to them, thereby circumventing the requirement that 
they provide a valid TIN.
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    \20\ A TIN is a unique identifier assigned to an entity for tax 
payment purposes. A TIN may either be a Social Security Number 
(``SSN'') assigned to an individual by the Social Security 
Administration (``SSA''), or an employer identification number 
(``EIN'') assigned to a business or organization by the Internal 
Revenue Service (``IRS'').
    \21\ 2001 CORES Order, 16 FCC Rcd at 16141, para. 12.
    \22\ Currently, entities are permitted to select from among six 
``exceptions'' to the general requirement that they furnish a TIN 
during their CORES registration process, while individuals are 
allowed to select from four exception reasons. For example, foreign 
citizens and entities that do not maintain a business presence in 
the U.S. may be eligible to claim an exception to this requirement. 
Later in this NPRM, we propose to eliminate or otherwise modify some 
of our TIN exception reasons for CORES registrants.
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    14. That the Commission is unable to use CORES to electronically 
link all of an entity's valid FRNs has several consequences. First, it 
hinders the Commission's ability to fulfill its debt collection 
obligations under the DCIA. Second, it limits the effectiveness of the 
Red Light Display System \23\ as (for example) it is used to review 
applications to participate in Commission auctions.\24\ Third, it

[[Page 5656]]

inconveniences our licensing and enforcement bureaus, and even our 
licensees themselves, in their efforts to remember, recognize, and 
manage the various FRNs obtained throughout their course of business 
with the Commission.
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    \23\ The Commission's Red Light Display System (``RLDS'') 
enables entities and individuals doing business with the Commission 
to determine if they have any outstanding delinquent debt. When an 
entity/individual applying for or seeking benefits is delinquent in 
non-tax debts owed to the Commission, we are required by law to 
postpone action on applications and other requests until the 
outstanding debt is repaid. See http://www.fcc.gov/debt_collection. 
RLDS is electronically checked when electronic license applications 
are received by the Commission.
    \24\ The FCC's auction short-form application requires 
applicants to certify under penalty of perjury that they, their 
affiliates, their controlling interests, and the affiliates of their 
controlling interests, as defined by Section 1.2110 of the 
Commission's rules, are not in default on any payments for 
Commission licenses (including down payments), and that they are not 
delinquent on any non-tax debt owed to any Federal agency. See 47 
CFR 1.2105(a)(2)(x), 1.2105(b)(1), and 1.2110; see also Amendment of 
Part 1 of the Commission's Rules--Competitive Bidding Procedures, WT 
Docket No. 97-82, Order on Reconsideration of the Third Report and 
Order, Fifth Report and Order, and Fourth Further Notice of Proposed 
Rule Making, 15 FCC Rcd 15293, 15317 para. 42 and n.142 (``If any 
one of an applicant's controlling interests or their affiliates * * 
* is in default on any Commission licenses or is delinquent on any 
non-tax debt owed to any Federal agency at the time the applicant 
files it[s] FCC Form 175, the applicant will not be able to make the 
certification required by Section 1.2105(a)(2)(x) * * * and will not 
be eligible to participate in Commission auctions.''). Absent linked 
FRNs, every FRN of each relevant entity must be reviewed separately 
in RLDS. The inability to easily and simply link multiple FRNs 
therefore limits the ability of auction participants and the 
Commission to use the RLDS to determine whether an auction applicant 
complies with the Commission's competitive bidding rules.
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    15. After nearly a decade of experience with CORES, for these 
reasons expressed here, including our overarching effort to reform how 
the FCC interacts with the public and ongoing reform of the way the 
Commission collects and retains data, we tentatively conclude that it 
is in the best interest of all parties for the Commission to be able to 
view and search information on entities registered in CORES by a single 
unique identifier. The benefits of requiring entities to identify 
themselves in Commission filings and applications by a single unique 
identifier include administrative simplicity, enhanced search 
capability, and improved reliability of basic company data. In 
addition, limiting entities to a single FRN will enhance our ability to 
inform regulatees of financial and other administrative-related issues, 
such as past due regulatory fees and impending license renewal 
deadlines, through e-mail or on-line notification messages. In section 
III.K, below, we propose to institute a company-centric ``dashboard'' 
that filers would see upon login, through which the filer would have 
the ability to review the progress on their filings, fees that are due, 
the history of files the filer has submitted, as well as other 
important information the filer may need. Similarly, in section III.G, 
we propose to post warning flags to each entity's CORES account 
indicating their status in the Commission's Red Light Display System 
and their debarment status. Such features could only be made possible 
by limiting entities to a single company-wide identifier. We believe 
that the benefits of such notifications and an entity-wide license 
administration ``center'' far outweigh any potential burden. Therefore, 
we propose to limit entities and individuals registered in CORES to the 
use of a single FRN that incorporates subsidiary FRNs or sub-accounts, 
as described below.\25\
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    \25\ In theory, this proposal only needs to apply to entities. 
However, in practice, we seek to apply it to individuals as well. 
CORES is populated with many instances in which individuals hold 
multiple FRNs. These instances are most likely the result of 
individuals who have forgotten their FRNs or FRN passwords over the 
course of time and who then chose to electronically register for 
another FRN, instead of resetting their original password with the 
assistance of our Customer Support Help Desk.
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    16. As an initial matter, we clarify that, for the purposes of this 
discussion, an entity shall be defined by the use of a single TIN. 
Thus, under the proposals described below, affiliated entities that are 
part of a larger corporate structure would not be limited to use of the 
same FRN if they have obtained separate TINs from the IRS.
    17. Although we propose to permit only a single FRN per entity, we 
tentatively conclude that entities should nevertheless retain the 
ability to organize their filings and other dealings with the 
Commission among logical business lines of their choosing. This 
particularly applies to larger businesses and organizations that do 
business with the Commission through various sources, business 
operations, etc., and therefore would prefer to have several 
registrants associated with their single FRN.
    18. There is any number of possible methods that could be 
implemented to limit entities to the use of a single FRN in CORES while 
still affording them the ability to establish multiple registrants 
within that FRN. One such option would be to modify the structure of 
existing FRNs to incorporate an alpha-numeric suffix that would allow 
entities to populate a single FRN with sub-accounts for additional 
registrants. Under this proposal, which we shall refer to as ``Option 
1,'' an entity would be permitted to utilize a single ten-digit FRN for 
all of its dealings with the FCC, but would have the ability to create 
an unlimited number of sub-accounts that could be assigned to 
organizational units, such as a geographic district served by the 
entity or a distinct line of business conducted by the entity, or even 
to particular employees. These sub-accounts would be distinguished by a 
unique multi-character suffix that would trail the entity's single ten-
digit FRN. For example, under Option 1, an entity with the single FRN 
1234-5678-90 may decide to establish three sub-accounts within its FRN: 
One for Jane Q. Smith (perhaps expressed 1234-5678-90-JQS), one for its 
West Coast Operations (perhaps expressed 1234-5678-90-WCO), and one for 
Broadcast License WXYZ (perhaps expressed 1234-5678-90-XYZ). These 
suffixes would not be limited to letters; an entity could just as 
easily create a sub-account expressed with a purely numeric extension, 
such as 1234-5678-90-001. Alternatively, the Commission could 
automatically generate numeric suffixes for each sub-account (that is, 
-001, -002, -003, etc.), while providing entities with the option to 
subsequently customize these suffixes as it sees fit. Thus, this 
proposal would require each entity to surrender all but one of its ten-
digit FRNs, which would serve as the foundation of all of its future 
sub-accounts. Under this proposal, entities would have the ability to 
create and use additional sub-accounts within their single FRN 
according to their business and administrative needs. We seek comment 
on this proposal, along with the alternative outlined above. If 
adopted, should entities have the ability to choose which of their 
existing FRNs would serve as the ten-digit FRN core? If so, how much 
time should entities have to make such a selection? Commenters should 
consider any potential burden that may be incurred through the adoption 
of these options.
    19. Another proposal, which we shall refer to as ``Option 2,'' 
would enable entities that currently hold multiple FRNs to retain all 
of their various FRNs, which would be electronically linked to each 
other through the assignment of an identical prefix that would precede 
each of the entity's ten-digit FRNs. It would not be necessary for the 
user to input this prefix; the system would automatically access and 
attach the appropriate prefix whenever one of an entity's assigned FRNs 
was used. Although the prefix would be visible to the entity, it would 
only be used for internal purposes by the Commission to link all of an 
entity's FRNs for the purposes identified above. Thus, under Option 2, 
entities will be able to retain all of their current FRNs, and would 
not be required to re-register in CORES, reducing the potential burden 
on both regulated entities and the Commission, especially in the wake 
of future mergers and acquisitions among different entities that 
currently hold an FRN in CORES. We seek comment on this option, as well 
as on any other proposal for limiting entities to a single FRN, such as 
requiring entities to manually select one of their existing FRNs to 
serve as their ``primary'' FRN, while their remaining FRNs would be 
automatically converted to subsidiary, or sub-FRNs, which would be 
electronically linked to its primary FRN.
    20. In addition, we seek comment on whether we should also allow an 
FRN registered to an individual to have sub-accounts in much the same 
way as

[[Page 5657]]

business entities under either option outlined above, or whether 
individuals should be prohibited from utilizing sub-accounts or sub-
FRNs. For example, individuals may find it beneficial to create sub-
FRNs for use by outside attorneys or consultants. We encourage 
commenters to provide examples of where an individual's business needs 
at the Commission would benefit from being able to populate sub-
accounts to their FRN.
    21. Our current process for how entities and individuals obtain an 
FRN from CORES requires that only a single registrant may be associated 
with each FRN. However, any proposal to limit entities to the use of a 
single FRN--regardless of the approach that is eventually adopted--
needs to address the need for multiple individuals to utilize the same 
FRN. This need is especially evident for most businesses and 
organizations, but it may apply to some individuals as well. We seek 
comment generally on if (and, if so, how) entities and individuals will 
wish to wield administrative access rights and authority for their 
single FRN, or for multiple FRNs that are electronically linked to each 
other. Should CORES allow multiple individuals to be able to register 
with and access a single FRN with their own unique user name and 
password? Or rather, should CORES adopt a new feature in which the FRN 
has a ``primary registrant'' that is granted exclusive administrative 
access and authority for adding subsequent registrants to the FRN and 
allowing registrant access to the FRN? We seek comment on the 
administrative burden of having a primary registrant. Should 
individuals with administrative rights to an entity's primary FRN have 
rights to alter any data contained in any of the entity's sub-FRNs? Why 
or why not? What about the reverse: Should individuals with 
administrative rights to a particular sub-FRN be restricted from 
altering data in the primary or another sub-FRN? With any approach 
taken, the Commission can provide user-driven options for such actions 
as disabling an FRN's sub-account feature or otherwise managing how 
subsequent registrants are added to a single FRN. We seek comment on 
these thoughts, as well as on other administrative access and authority 
concerns.
    22. In the event that we adopt a process for limiting entities and 
individuals to a single FRN (as opposed to Option Two, above, which 
would simply assign an identical alpha-numeric prefix to existing FRNs 
held by a particular entity), we seek comment on the manner in which 
previously-registered entities and individuals should migrate to their 
single FRN. How and when should a single FRN for each entity/individual 
be established? Should the Commission issue a newly assigned FRN to 
each entity/individual? Should entities and individuals with two or 
more FRNs currently registered in CORES be permitted to select which 
single FRN they will use on a going forward basis (while the Commission 
de-activates the entity's remaining unselected FRNs), or should they 
simply be assigned the most recent one they have used? We seek comment 
on whether previously-registered entities and individuals with a single 
FRN should simply keep their existing FRN, and not migrate to a newly 
assigned number.
    23. Finally, we invite parties to offer other approaches for data 
migration within CORES. In addition, we seek comment on whether the 
migration to a single FRN should occur automatically--and if so, under 
what criteria--or whether entities and individuals should be required 
to actively interface with CORES to establish their single FRN. If we 
adopt a scenario where previously-registered entities and individuals 
are to interface with CORES to establish a single FRN, should 
registrants be required to complete the process within a particular 
time frame after the effective date of the rules adopted in this 
proceeding before all of their FRNs are automatically deactivated? What 
should that time frame be?
    24. As mentioned above, we plan to invite the public to participate 
in a public forum at the FCC's headquarters in Washington, DC to 
discuss our various proposals to limit entities and individuals to a 
single FRN. All interested parties will have the opportunity to discuss 
their concerns and to suggest other solutions that would accomplish the 
goals outlined here with a minimal amount of disruption on the 
industry. A public notice announcing the date of the forum will be 
released shortly. We invite parties to indicate their interest in 
participating in this public forum by contacting us through the 
information provided in Section IV.F., below.

B. Multiple Registrants With Multiple Points of Contact

    25. Currently, CORES does not permit FRN holders to identify anyone 
other than themselves as the sole point of contact for their FRN. Such 
contact information is often used by the Commission to contact entities 
and individuals to collect delinquent debt or resolve remittance issues 
that may arise during their course of dealing with the agency. We have 
come to believe that the inability of FRN holders to identify 
additional points of contact for their FRN unnecessarily limits the 
FRN's usefulness to the FRN holder, as well as to the Commission. 
Because the sole point of contact attributed to the FRN is not always 
the appropriate individual to resolve a particular issue or to provide 
necessary information, it is not uncommon for delays to occur while the 
appropriate contact is established. For this reason, we tentatively 
conclude that FRN holders should have the ability to voluntarily 
provide additional points of contact for their FRNs, as well as for 
each sub-account or sub-FRN as the case may be. We seek comment on this 
conclusion.
    26. We propose that FRN registrants would be permitted to 
voluntarily provide point of contact information for certain specific, 
pre-designated functions, such as ``Accounting,'' ``Billing,'' 
``Licensing,'' ``Legal Issues,'' etc. Points of contact provided by an 
FRN holder would not become registrants to the FRN, and therefore would 
not be able to gain access to confidential data submitted by the entity 
to CORES. They would simply be static points of contact that have been 
established by one of the FRN's registrants to address particular 
issues or subject matter as needed. We seek comment on this proposal. 
Also, in addition to the functions listed above, what other pre-
designated subject matter categories should be made available for an 
FRN registrant to select when identifying individuals that will serve 
as points of contact? Should FRN holders have the ability to create 
their own categories of uses for contacts that they provide, or should 
they be limited to a menu of pre-designated functions offered by the 
Commission? We seek comment on these questions.
    27. Finally, we seek comment on whether we should extend this 
proposal for multiple points of contact to FRN holders who are 
individuals. Under what circumstances and to what extent may 
individuals desire to identify multiple points of contact to be 
associated with their FRN? Should individuals have the same range of 
choices as entities for points of contact? In what ways, if any, should 
the point of contact options for individuals differ from those for 
entities?

C. Elimination of Certain TIN Exception Reasons

    28. Foreign Entities and Non-United States Citizens. As noted 
above, if you are doing business with the Commission, you need to 
register for an

[[Page 5658]]

FRN.\26\ This includes foreign registrants and non-United States 
citizens who are generally required to provide their TIN before 
completing the CORES registration process. In some instances, foreign 
entities do not have a taxpayer identification number. Since the 
inception of CORES, the Commission has permitted foreign entities and 
individuals to decline to provide their TIN in certain circumstances. 
With regard to foreign entities, the prevailing logic was that such 
businesses and organizations are not required to obtain an employer 
identification number (``EIN'') from the Internal Revenue Service 
(``IRS''), and are thus unable to furnish a TIN during their CORES 
registration process. Therefore, we have historically allowed such 
entities to complete the CORES registration process without providing a 
valid TIN.\27\ Similarly, because individuals who are not U.S. citizens 
and who are not employed within the United States typically are not 
issued a social security number (``SSN'') by the U.S. Social Security 
Administration (``SSA''), we have previously permitted individuals to 
complete the CORES registration process without providing a valid TIN 
by certifying that they have not been issued a SSN because they are not 
U.S. citizens.
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    \26\ See n.2, supra.
    \27\ See 2001 CORES Order, 16 FCC Rcd at 16142, para. 18. See 
also the Frequently Asked Questions section on the Commission's 
CORES Web site, https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/coresWeb/html/tin.html#q52, ``What if my entity does not have a TIN?''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    29. As originally crafted, our TIN exception reason for foreign 
entities failed to recognize that foreign entities operating inside the 
U.S., or who have employees working in the United States, are required 
to obtain an EIN from the IRS.\28\ Thus, we tentatively conclude that 
foreign entities operating within the U.S. should now be required to 
provide their EIN when seeking to obtain an FRN through CORES. We seek 
comment on this conclusion. With regard to foreign entities that do not 
operate in the United States nor have employees in the United States, 
we wish to operate from the assumption that they may still be able to 
provide some form of equivalent tax identification number issued by 
their respective home government. We seek comment on the validity of 
our assumption and request that commenters provide specific examples of 
developed countries whose governments do not employ any concept of a 
TIN for their businesses and organizations. Should we determine that 
our assumption is accurate (i.e., that the use of taxpayer 
identification numbers is a near-universal concept), we would eliminate 
our taxpayer identification number exception reason for all businesses 
and organizations and require such entities to furnish their country's 
equivalent taxpayer identification number as issued by their home 
government. To distinguish foreign equivalent taxpayer identification 
numbers from IRS-issued EINs in CORES, we propose that all foreign 
taxpayer identification numbers would receive a prefix consisting of 
their respective country's international two-character country code. To 
ensure that we are able to uniquely identify every entity that does 
business with the Commission and deter the intentional misuse of this 
exception by domestic businesses seeking to avoid reporting their 
correct EINs,, should we require all foreign business and organizations 
to furnish the Commission with a copy of their country's taxpayer 
identification documentation at the time of registering an FRN in 
CORES? If so, what would be the most effective and least burdensome 
method for foreign entities to submit a copy of their country's 
taxpayer identification documentation? Morevoer, we seek comment on 
whether foreign entities that are existing license holders should 
submit a copy of their country's taxpayer identification documentation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \28\ See Internal Revenue Service Form SS-4 Application for 
Employer Identifier Number.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    30. Similarly, we propose to eliminate our TIN exception reason for 
foreign individuals. We note that foreign nationals working in the 
United States, including all individuals working in the United States 
on an immigrant visa, are issued an SSN by the SSA.\29\ In addition, 
some temporary visitors, students, and workers on non-immigrant visas 
are allowed and sometimes required to obtain an SSN.\30\ We therefore 
conclude that in the vast majority of cases, individuals should be able 
to furnish a valid SSN as issued by the SSA. We also note that there is 
another type of TIN that may be held by foreign individuals that CORES 
has never been programmed to accept. This TIN is known as an Individual 
Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN. The IRS issues ITINs to 
individuals who are required to have a U.S. taxpayer identification 
number but who do not have, and are not eligible to obtain, an SSN from 
the SSA.\31\ ITINs and SSNs share the same nine-digit 000-00-0000 data 
structure. Only non-U.S. citizens can apply for an ITIN.\32\ We note 
that individuals who already have a valid SSN should not apply for an 
ITIN because it is not permissible for an individual to hold both an 
SSN and an ITIN.\33\ We tentatively conclude that individuals should be 
permitted to use their ITIN in place of an SSN when applying for an 
FRN. We seek comment on this conclusion.
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    \29\ See ``Social Security Card Application Guide,'' https://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/social-security-card.html.
    \30\ Id.
    \31\ See https://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96287,00.html, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number 
(ITIN).
    \32\ See ``ITIN Application,'' https://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/itin.html.
    \33\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    31. Furthermore, foreign individuals who are unable to furnish 
either an SSN or an ITIN as their TIN may still be able to provide some 
form of equivalent taxpayer identification number or general 
identification number that has been issued by his or her home 
government which the Commission could accept in place of an SSN or 
ITIN. We seek comment on this matter. We specifically seek examples of 
developed countries whose governments do not assign taxpayer 
identification numbers or utilize a general identification system for 
their citizens. If used, we propose to identify foreign-issued tax 
identification numbers (or the equivalent) for individuals in CORES by 
adding a prefix that represents the individual's applicable 
international two-character country code. We seek comment on whether we 
should require supporting documentation to be furnished to the 
Commission at the time of registering an FRN. In particular, parties 
should indicate whether requiring the submission of foreign-equivalent 
taxpayer identification numbers and supporting documentation would help 
ensure that we are able to uniquely identify every individual that does 
business with the Commission, and would deter the intentional misuse of 
this exception by individuals seeking to avoid reporting their correct 
social security numbers or attempting to register simultaneously under 
multiple aliases. We seek comment on these potential measures, 
including the most effective and least burdensome method to submit such 
supporting documentation.
    32. Finally, we seek comment on how the Commission should treat 
FRNs that were obtained by foreign entities and foreign individuals 
through the use of the previously-mentioned TIN exception reasons. 
Should these existing FRN holders be ``grandfathered'' into CORES, or 
should they be required to provide a valid SSN, ITIN, or foreign 
equivalent taxpayer identification number within a particular time 
frame?

[[Page 5659]]

How long of a waiting period is appropriate to allow for previously 
registered foreign entities and foreign individuals to provide one of 
the aforementioned valid identifiers? If adopted, we tentatively 
conclude that affected entities and individuals would be electronically 
notified of the requirement that they provide a valid identifier upon 
logging in to the system. Thus, we tentatively conclude that foreign 
entities and foreign individuals must furnish their TIN or TIN-
equivalent documentation within thirty days of their first log-in after 
the effective date of any final rules adopted in this proceeding. We 
seek comment on this conclusion.
    33. Petitioners and Non-Feeable Complainants. Petitioners and non-
feeable complainants are not required by Commission rules to provide 
their TIN to the Commission, nor to obtain an FRN,\34\ under the 
rationale that non-feeable items do not involve payments to the 
Commission. When CORES was first developed, however, we understood that 
some of these same petitioners and non-feeable complainants may 
voluntarily wish to obtain an FRN, possibly for internal record-keeping 
purposes. Thus, to reduce the regulatory burden on such entities, we 
established an exception permitting entities and individuals to obtain 
an FRN without providing their TIN by certifying during the 
registration process either that ``the individual is a petitioner'' or 
``the entity (business or organization) is a petitioner.'' However, our 
experience since then has underscored that this particular TIN 
exception reason provides an opportunity for entities and individuals 
who file license applications or otherwise conduct business with the 
Commission to circumvent their TIN provision requirement by falsely 
identifying themselves in CORES as petitioners or non-feeable 
complainants. We therefore propose to eliminate this TIN exception 
reason. We seek comment on this proposal and on how we should treat 
FRNs that were obtained by entities and individuals holding licenses or 
other authorizations (i.e., doing business with the Commission) through 
inappropriate use of this TIN exception reason.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \34\ See the Frequently Asked Questions section on the 
Commission's CORES Web site, https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/coresWeb/html/know.html#q103, ``What do you mean by ``doing business'' with 
the FCC?''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    34. Temporary Exceptions. Under our existing processes, entities 
who have applied for (but have not yet received) their EIN from the IRS 
are considered temporarily exempt from providing a TIN when registering 
in CORES. Similarly, individuals who have applied for, but have not yet 
received, their SSN from the SSA are temporarily exempt from providing 
their TIN. In CORES, these exception reasons are phrased as ``The EIN 
has been applied for'' and ``Applied for'' for entities and 
individuals, respectively. Unfortunately, CORES does not have the 
capability to automatically revisit these temporary exceptions, and 
often entities and individuals claiming this exception are awarded a 
license and fail to provide a valid TIN at a later date. Thus, as a 
practical matter, entities and individuals who have claimed this 
temporary TIN exception are effectively treated by the Commission as 
having received permanent waivers of the TIN provision requirement. To 
remedy this, we propose to establish a time frame within which such 
entities and individuals must subsequently provide their TIN. The time 
remaining before the expiration of this waiver would be viewable when 
the FRN holder accesses CORES. FRNs that have been obtained through 
this TIN exception reason would automatically expire and be de-
activated after this time period unless a valid TIN is subsequently 
provided. We seek comment on this proposal. Specifically, we seek 
comment on the appropriate time frame for the Commission to wait for 
entities and individuals to furnish their newly acquired TINs to the 
Commission before deactivation of their FRNs. We note that, according 
to the IRS Web site, an entity may obtain an EIN immediately upon 
completing an on-line form,\35\ while it may take ``several weeks'' for 
foreign workers to obtain an SSN.\36\ Thus, we tentatively conclude 
that entities should be required to provide their newly-obtained EIN to 
the Commission within fifteen days, and that individuals should be 
required to provide their newly-acquired SSN to the Commission within 
sixty days. We seek comment on these tentative conclusions. In the 
event that entities and individuals are unable to obtain a TIN within 
our established time limits, we will set aside their FRNs for an 
additional period of time so that they may retain their current FRNs 
once they obtain their TIN, thus preventing the need to re-register in 
CORES. Such ``reserved'' FRNs will be inactive, however, and will not 
be able to be used on remittance payments or applications filed with 
the Commission until a TIN is provided. We seek comment on the length 
of time that such FRNs should remain in an inactive status before 
considered abandoned by the FRN holder and deleted from our system.
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    \35\ See http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=102767,00.html?portlet=4.
    \36\ See http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10107.html#time.
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    35. Exempted Activities. Currently, CORES allows both entities and 
individuals to select a TIN exception reason known as ``exempted 
activities'' when registering an FRN. For an entity, this exception 
applies when IRS rules do not require the acquisition of an EIN due to 
the nature of the organization. For now, we continue to believe that, 
while rarely used, this remains a valid TIN exception reason for 
entities.\37\ Therefore, we recommend that this exemption be maintained 
for future use. For individuals, however, we propose to discontinue the 
availability of this TIN exception reason. As we have discussed above, 
we now believe that all individuals--be they domestic or foreign--are 
able to provide either a valid SSN, or ITIN, or a foreign equivalent 
taxpayer identification number or general identification number, as 
issued by their home government. We seek comment on this tentative 
conclusion. We are concerned, however, that the phrase used by the 
CORES system to identify this exception, ``exempted activities,'' is 
vague and confusing, and could result in tax exempt entities (and 
possibly individuals, should we ultimately reject our tentative 
conclusion above) erroneously attempting to use it to avoid providing 
their TIN. In this proceeding, we seek to further our understanding of 
the circumstances that may lead the IRS or SSA to exempt particular 
entities and individuals from the requirement of obtaining an EIN or 
SSN. Should we require documentation to be provided by entities 
claiming the proper use of this exemption? What documentation should we 
require prospective FRN registrants to provide in order to use this TIN 
exception?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \37\ Virtually all entities are required to obtain an EIN, 
including foreign companies with employees in the U.S., non-profit 
organizations, church or church-controlled organizations, farmers 
cooperatives, State and local governments, Indian Tribal 
governments, Federal agencies, the U.S. military and the National 
Guard. See IRS Form SS-4 Application for Employer Identification 
Number.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    36. Amateur Club. Currently, amateur radio clubs wishing to obtain 
an FRN through CORES are not required to provide a valid TIN of one of 
their members. Instead, such clubs may complete the registration 
process by selecting an exemption labeled ``amateur club.'' We propose 
to keep the ``amateur club'' TIN exception reason, but tentatively 
conclude that we should rename ``amateur club'' to ``amateur

[[Page 5660]]

radio club'' for added clarity. In addition, we propose to limit the 
use of FRNs obtained through the use of the ``amateur club'' TIN 
exception reason to applying for amateur licenses only. To apply for 
other types of licenses, an amateur radio club would be required to 
furnish a valid TIN. We seek comment on these conclusions. What 
documentation should we require of amateur radio clubs when seeking to 
use this TIN exception reason?
    37. Tribal Government or Entity. A TIN exception reason has been 
offered to Tribal governments or entities since the inception of CORES. 
In some cases, Commission staff has independently assigned an FRN to 
Tribal governments to enable their use of our Tower Construction 
Notification System (TCNS), which allows Federally-recognized Indian 
Tribes and Alaska Native Villages, Native Hawaiian Organizations, and 
State Historic Preservation Officers to receive, and respond to, 
notifications about a proposed tower construction, without the 
provision of an EIN. We now understand, however, that Federally 
recognized Tribal governments, as well as Tribally owned and operated 
economic development entities, including myriad types of businesses 
involving services, products and tourism, such as gaming, are required 
by the IRS to secure an EIN if they conduct business operations which 
have employees or report gaming withholdings.\38\ Moreover, an internal 
review of the Commission's records suggests that approximately a mere 
5% of the FRNs held by Tribal governments or enterprises have been 
assigned by the Commission without the submission of an EIN. We 
therefore seek comment on whether to eliminate this exception, and 
require Tribal governments and enterprises to submit an EIN in order to 
retain their FRNs. We seek comment on how the Commission should handle 
the assignment of FRNs in the rare case where a Tribal government or 
enterprise does not have an EIN. We tentatively conclude that Tribal 
governments and enterprises that have not previously provided an EIN 
should be permitted to retain their FRNs in the TCNS indefinitely to 
permit the continued use of the TCNS. In such circumstances, these FRNs 
will be made inactive and will not be able to be used on remittance 
payments or license applications with the Commission until an EIN has 
been provided. We seek comment on this tentative conclusion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \38\ See IRS Form SS-4 Application for Employer Identification 
Number. Although Federally recognized Indian Tribes are not subject 
to income taxes, Tribal governments are still required to obtain an 
EIN if they conduct business operations which have employees, issue 
information returns, or report gaming withholdings. See generally, 
http://www.irs.gov/govt/tribes/index.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

D. ``Special Use'' FRNs

    38. ``Special use'' FRNs are electronically assigned to individuals 
holding attributable interests in various media licenses from whom 
social security numbers could not be obtained, and are used exclusively 
by media services licensees to report ownership interests on FCC Form 
323. More specifically, if, after using diligent and good-faith 
efforts, a media service licensee is unable to obtain, and/or does not 
have permission to use, a social security number in order to generate 
an FRN for any specific individual whose FRN must be reported on Form 
323, such licensee may obtain a ``special use'' FRN through a mechanism 
contained in the electronic Form 323.\39\ Licensees that use ``special 
use'' FRNs are deemed to be fully compliant with the Form 323 filing 
obligation. These ``special use'' FRNs are generated through the Media 
Bureau's Consolidated Database System (CDBS), not CORES, and, 
significantly, can be used for no other purpose at the Commission other 
than for licensees to fulfill their Form 323 media ownership reporting 
requirements.\40\ Thus, the issuance of these ``special use'' FRNs does 
not compromise the Commission's obligations under the DCIA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \39\ See ``Form 323 Frequently Asked Questions,'' at http://www.fcc.gov/bureaus/mb/industry_analysis/form323faqs.html.
    \40\ See, e.g., Promoting Diversification of Ownership in the 
Broadcasting Services, MB Docket Nos. 07-294, 06-121, 02-277, and 
04-228, and MM Docket Nos. 01-235, 01-317, and 00-244, Report and 
Order and Fourth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 24 FCC Rcd 
5896, 5908, para. 21 (2009).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    39. We seek comment on whether it would be appropriate to generate 
and assign ``special use'' FRNs in other contexts at the Commission, 
such as to fulfill other ownership reporting requirements. For example, 
wireless licensees are required to report those entities and 
individuals that hold a 10% or greater interest on FCC Form 602 when 
seeking new licenses, transfers of control/assignments, and renewals, 
or while applying to participate in an auction conducted through 
competitive bidding.\41\ Similarly, companies seeking to obtain or 
transfer control of domestic or international section 214 
authorizations are required to report 10% or greater ownership 
interests. Would ``special use'' FRNs be helpful for such licensees/
authorization holders that have difficulty obtaining investor 
information to make FCC filings? Again, we emphasize that these 
``special use'' FRNs would not be eligible to be utilized for any other 
purpose at the Commission other than to fulfill ownership reporting 
requirements. In what other situations should we consider making 
available the use of ``special use'' FRNs?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \41\ See 47 CFR 1.2112(a).
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E. Registrant E-mail Addresses

    40. Currently, entities and individuals are given the opportunity 
to voluntarily provide an e-mail address when completing the CORES 
registration process to obtain an FRN. Given the significant increase 
in the use of and dependence on e-mail in the years since CORES first 
became operational, however, we tentatively conclude that all FRN 
holders should be required to provide an e-mail address upon 
registration. In this day and age, e-mail communication is an efficient 
tool for maintaining contact with our regulatees. For example, the 
provision of a valid e-mail address would enhance the Commission's 
ability to contact registrants in the event that a remittance issue 
arises, or if there is a need to disseminate an important notice. In 
addition, the Commission is committed to reducing the environmental 
impact of its activities, and intends to increase its use of e-mail and 
other electronic means to communicate with regulated entities and 
interested parties in the future. Therefore, we propose to require 
entities and individuals who register for an FRN for the first time to 
provide their e-mail address, which will remain hidden from public 
view. An e-mail address would also be required for each sub-FRN or sub-
account that is subsequently established. We seek comment on this 
proposal.
    41. We also seek comment on how the Commission should treat 
previously registered FRNs for which FRN holders did not voluntarily 
furnish an e-mail address. What is the least disruptive or most 
efficient way for the Commission to obtain these e-mail addresses? 
Should current FRN holders be required to provide their e-mail 
addresses the next time they attempt to use their FRN on an electronic 
Commission filing? We also seek comment on whether entities and 
individuals should be required to provide the e-mail addresses of their 
points of contact. Moreover, we tentatively conclude that entities and 
individuals should be required to navigate an e-mail validation process 
at the time of registration by clicking on a link that CORES will 
automatically send to the e-mail address that was provided. Should we 
require entities and individuals to update their e-mail addresses that 
are on file in CORES as

[[Page 5661]]

part of the license renewal process? We seek comment on these 
questions.

F. Creation of a User ID

    42. As is typically the case with most online information systems, 
CORES requires FRN holders to input a ``User ID'' in order to access 
the system. Currently, CORES does not offer FRN holders the option to 
choose or modify their User ID; instead, for all FRN holders, their 
assigned ten-digit FRN serves as their User ID. In the interest of 
implementing customer improvements, we tentatively conclude that FRN 
holders should be provided with the ability to create, at their 
discretion, a custom User ID. We seek comment on this conclusion. 
Should the FRN serve as the initial default User ID until it is 
modified by the FRN holder?
    43. In addition, we are aware of business practices in which third-
party representatives (e.g., outside legal counsel) for several clients 
either establish an FRN for each of their clients or regularly require 
access to each client's FRN. In either event, these third-party CORES 
users are currently required to log out of the CORES system before 
being able to log-in to the next FRN in question. We seek comment on 
whether we should permit third-party CORES users to associate a custom 
User ID with multiple FRNs that belong to multiple clients, thereby 
permitting access to various FRNs with just a single log-in to the 
CORES system. We ask commenters to identify any risks that might be 
associated with permitting third parties to access multiple FRNs with a 
single log-in. For example, would this feature hinder the ability of 
law firms to validate or audit charges later billed to clients for work 
conducted on their behalf?

G. Log-In Information

    44. As currently designed, the CORES log-in information that is 
created by an FRN holder consists of two elements: A single password 
and, as a password recovery tool, a Personal Security Question/Answer. 
One drawback to this system is that, if an FRN holder authorizes 
multiple individuals to utilize the FRN, the log-in information must be 
shared among these different individuals. This, in turn, creates a 
security risk for the FRN holder every time the entity undergoes a 
personnel change.
    45. To remedy this, we propose to provide entities with the option 
to create a unique User ID for each individual that will be permitted 
to use the FRN (or a particular sub-FRN, as the case may be). Each User 
ID would have a unique password and associated Personal Security 
Question. Entities would have the ability to delete any particular User 
IDs that have been created, or have them reset with the help of the 
CORES help desk. We seek comment on this tentative conclusion. Should 
each registered entity be permitted to designate an ``administrator'' 
or ``primary user account,'' with the ability to modify or delete the 
accounts of individual users? Alternatively, should each user have the 
ability to create a new User ID or modify an existing one? If so, 
should we notify a designated sub-FRN or sub-account when a new user 
has been added? In addition, we seek comment on whether individuals 
should have the ability to create additional User IDs to access their 
FRN as well. Why or why not?

H. Using CORES To Alert FRN Holders About Financial or Other 
Administrative Issues

    46. In its current form, CORES lacks the capability to alert FRN 
holders about known financial or other administrative-related issues 
regarding their standing at the Commission, such as their status in the 
Commission's Red Light Display System, their debarment status,\42\ or 
the fact that we have discovered that their contact information is 
incorrect or nonoperational. We believe adding such features to CORES 
will benefit the Commission and regulatees alike, and tentatively 
conclude that the Commission should have the ability to communicate 
such issues to regulatees through CORES. One option for accomplishing 
this is to post warning messages on CORES that would appear the next 
time a regulatee accesses its FRN through the system. Another use for 
this feature might be to display payment histories and unpaid bills for 
Commission-related activities, such as unpaid fines and forfeitures, as 
well as the section 9 regulatory fee payment status. Alternatively, or 
in addition to the above, CORES could send an alert notification 
electronically to the e-mail address provided by the FRN holder. We 
seek comment on these proposals. Should displays, prompts and 
notifications of this nature come to an FRN holder's attention 
immediately upon logging in to any Commission system, or just upon 
logging in to CORES? Should certain information just be available to 
the registrant of the single FRN, to certain pre-designated FRN sub-
account registrants, or to all of an FRN's registrants? Taking into 
account any privacy or security concerns, which information should be 
available to all of an FRN's registrants or to just specific users? We 
seek comment on how entities and individuals would best like to see 
this information displayed and managed.
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    \42\ The Commission's rules at 47 CFR 1.2001, et seq., require 
that each applicant requesting professional or commercial licenses 
certify that neither the applicant nor any party to the application 
is subject to a denial of Federal benefits that include Commission 
benefits pursuant to section 5301 of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 
1988.
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I. Tax Exempt Indicator

    47. We propose to add a data field to FRNs that would enable 
entities and individuals to indicate any tax exempt status that they 
possess through CORES. Under our proposal, entities and individuals 
claiming to be tax exempt would be required to provide substantiating 
documentation to the Commission through CORES for review within thirty 
(30) days of registration; otherwise, the tax exempt indicator would be 
removed from the FRN record.\43\ Because tax-exempt entities generally 
also qualify for a reduction or elimination of their section 8 or 
section 9 annual regulatory fee requirements, the availability of such 
data and documentation through CORES would simplify the process for 
confirming eligibility for a reduction of (or exemption from) annual 
fee requirements, thus improving our financial operations. We seek 
comment on this proposal. Once scanned or uploaded, the documentation 
would be publicly accessible through CORES via a hyperlink or similar 
icon. In the event that the tax exempt status is not accepted by the 
Commission, most likely due to a lack of proper documentation, we 
tentatively conclude that the entity or individual would be notified of 
this determination through its FRN in CORES, and its tax exempt 
indicator would be changed as deemed appropriate. We seek comment on 
this proposal, as well as on any appeal process that should be 
implemented.
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    \43\ The most commonly accepted documentation is an IRS 
determination letter. An entity's IRS determination letter proves 
that it has been recognized by the IRS as a nonprofit, tax exempt 
entity under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code. Acceptable 
documentation may also include State or government certifications or 
other documentation that nonprofit status has been approved by a 
State or other governmental authority.
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J. Bankruptcy Indicator

    48. In certain contexts, our various Bureaus and Offices have an 
interest in knowing when industry participants are filing for (or 
emerging from) bankruptcy. For example, the Commission is required to 
process assignments or transfers of control of licenses for

[[Page 5662]]

parties that enter bankruptcy.\44\ Also, the Commission's Office of 
Financial Operations routinely receives requests for waiver of Section 
9 regulatory fees from debtors claiming to be in bankruptcy. 
Furthermore, the Commission sometimes assumes the role of debt 
collector as one of a bankrupt regulatee's many creditors.\45\ 
Currently, the Commission does not have a central depository of 
notifications that an entity is in bankruptcy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \44\ See, e.g., 47 CFR 1.948(g), 5.59(d), 25.119(c), 
63.03(d)(2), 63.24(g), 73.3541.
    \45\ Debt collected by the Commission includes, in part, auction 
debt, fines and forfeitures for rule violations, and regulatory fee 
obligations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    49. To reduce administrative burdens at the Commission and enable 
our Bureaus and Offices to better coordinate their efforts to fulfill 
our regulatory obligations to our regulatees that have filed for 
bankruptcy, we propose to add a data field that would enable entities 
and individual license holders (or their representatives) to notify the 
Commission through CORES that they have entered into bankruptcy, or 
that there has been a change in their bankruptcy status (such as, for 
example, when they emerge from bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. 
Bankruptcy Code).\46\ If this proposal is adopted, such entities and 
individuals would be required to provide their bankruptcy court filing 
to the Commission in conjunction with an FCC filing involving their 
bankruptcy, such as for an involuntary transfer of control to the 
debtor-in-possession or a request for waiver of certain regulatory 
fees, by electronically scanning it and uploading it to CORES through 
their FRN account. We seek comment on our bankruptcy notification 
proposals. Would it be unduly burdensome or duplicative to require 
regulatees that have filed for bankruptcy to electronically submit 
their bankruptcy court filings to the Commission through CORES? We also 
seek comment on whether bankruptcy filings that are electronically 
scanned to the entity's/individual's FRN account should be made 
viewable to the public in CORES or whether they only should be viewable 
to Commission staff. We emphasize that the proposed bankruptcy 
notification fields would not be intended to take the place of any of 
the Commission's existing filing requirements for bankruptcy cases, and 
that we will continue to uphold our filing requirements for entities 
and individual license holders seeking financial relief. Thus, entities 
and individuals who have notified the Commission through CORES that 
they have entered into bankruptcy will continue to be required to 
formally file for any transfers of control or assignment of licenses, 
as well as for any waivers, reductions and deferrals of regulatory fees 
they seek.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \46\ We clarify that this requirement would apply solely to 
entities and individuals that hold FCC licenses or certifications, 
or otherwise are considered to be doing business with the agency. 
Regulated entities' individual investors who have themselves filed 
for bankruptcy protection would not be required to report their 
status to the agency under this proposal.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

K. Incorporating Data Contained in the Commission's Form 499 Database

    50. Section 254(d) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended 
(the ``Act'') directs every telecommunications carrier that provides 
interstate telecommunications service to contribute to the mechanisms 
established by the Commission to preserve and advance universal 
service.\47\ As a result, all entities that provide interstate 
telecommunications services to the public for a fee must contribute to 
the universal service fund.\48\ The Commission also requires certain 
other providers of interstate telecommunications to contribute to the 
universal service fund.\49\ Certain providers, such as de minimis 
providers, however, do not contribute directly to the universal service 
fund.\50\ The amount that entities are required to contribute to the 
fund is based on certain revenues reported on FCC Form 499, also known 
as the Telecommunications Reporting Worksheets.\51\ Specifically, 
contributors report historical revenue annually using FCC Form 499-A; 
\52\ projected future quarterly revenue is reported quarterly using the 
related FCC Form 499-Q.\53\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \47\ 47 U.S.C. 254(d).
    \48\ See Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, CC 
Docket No. 96-45, Report and Order, 12 FCC Rcd 8776, 8797, para. 787 
(1997) (subsequent history omitted).
    \49\ See, e.g., Universal Service Contribution Methodology, WC 
Docket Nos. 06-122 and 04-36, CC Docket Nos. 96-45, 98-171, 90-571, 
92-237, 99-200, 95-116, and 98-170, Report and Order and Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking, 21 FCC Rcd 7518 (2006) (requiring 
interconnected voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) providers to 
contribute to the universal service fund because they are providers 
of interstate telecommunications).
    \50\ See, e.g., Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, 
Access Charge Reform, Price Cap Performance Review for Local 
Exchange Carriers, Transport Rate Structure and Pricing, End User 
Common Line Charge, CC Docket Nos. 96-45, 96-262, 94-1, 91-213, 95-
72, Fourth Order on Reconsideration, 13 FCC Rcd 5381, 5481, para. 
298.
    \51\ The forms are filed with the Universal Service 
Administrative Company (``USAC''), which is the entity responsible 
for administering and managing the fund. See 47 CFR 54.711(a).
    \52\ Form 499-A is generally filed on April 1 of each year. See 
Universal Service Administrative Company, Schedule of Filings, at 
http://www.universalservice.org/fund-administration/contributors/revenue-reporting/schedule-filings.aspx (USAC Form 499 Filing 
Schedule).
    \53\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    51. In addition to revenue information, Forms 499-A and 499-Q are 
used by telecommunications carriers to report basic identifying 
information, such as the address of the entity's corporate 
headquarters; the name and address of the entity's Chief Executive 
Officer, the name and address of the entity's agent for service of 
process; and the jurisdictions in which the entity provides 
telecommunications services. This data is then compiled and made 
publicly available through a searchable electronic database that is 
available on the FCC's Web site.\54\ Individual records may be accessed 
either by a particular entity's 499 Filer ID Number or, conveniently, 
its FRN.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \54\ See http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgb/form499/499a.cfm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    52. Thus, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act's 
requirement that we ``improve the integrity, quality, and utility of 
information to all users within and outside the agency,'' \55\ we seek 
comment on how best to connect and incorporate data reported by 
registrants on FCC Form 499 (and other data systems) into CORES. As 
explained above, information filed as a part of FCC Form 499 is already 
publicly available (and searchable) through an FCC database. 
Incorporating this data into CORES will improve the ability of both 
filing entities and agency staff to review the data for errors and 
omissions, and speed the identification of those entities that have 
reported an erroneous FRN on their Form 499 filings. We seek comment on 
whether there are emerging industry conventions or data formats for 
combining data to which we should adhere or from which we should take 
guidance. Also, do our various proposals to limit entities to a single 
FRN create difficulties for affiliated entities when filing FCC Form 
499?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \55\ The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (``PRA''), Public Law 
104-13, 109 Stat 163 (1995) (codified in Chapter 35 of title 44 
U.S.C.). Specifically, the PRA requires:
    (b) With respect to general information resources management, 
each agency shall--
    (1) Manage information resources to--
    (A) Reduce information collection burdens on the public;
    (B) Increase program efficiency and effectiveness; and
    (C) Improve the integrity, quality, and utility of information 
to all users within and outside the agency, including capabilities 
for ensuring dissemination of public information, public access to 
government information, and protections for privacy and security [* 
* *]
    44 U.S.C. 3506.

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[[Page 5663]]

L. Company Dashboard

    53. In light of the Commission's intent to develop and deploy an 
agency-wide Consolidated Licensing System,\56\ we also seek comments on 
the usefulness of utilizing a company dashboard or summary profile that 
filers would see upon login, which would serve as a central repository 
of information for the filer. As described above, through the 
dashboard, the filer would have the ability to quickly and easily 
review various pertinent information, such as the progress on their 
filings, fees that are due, the history of files the filer has 
submitted, as well as any other important information the filer may 
need. Other uses for such a dashboard may include: Identifying any 
information that is missing from a pending application, updating their 
profile, and detecting actions requiring immediate attention. How 
should such a dashboard be designed so that it is simple for users to 
navigate? Should users be able to contact the Commission in an online 
chat if they have questions? Should there be a ``guided wizard'' to 
help users fill-out an application(s)/form(s)? What other information 
would be useful if readily available to users through such a dashboard? 
We seek comment on this proposal.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \56\ See para. 10, supra.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

M. Petition for Rulemaking

    54. We wish to take this opportunity to address a Petition for 
Rulemaking that was filed with the Commission by Frederick Maia 
(``Maia'') concerning certain records contained in the CORES system and 
the Commission's Universal Licensing System (``ULS'').\57\ Maia notes 
that, with the exception of an applicant's TIN, the personal licensee 
information contained in these two systems is exactly the same.\58\ 
Maia therefore proposes that the CORES system be automatically updated 
whenever an amateur radio operator applicant updates his or her name 
and address in ULS.\59\ Maia further notes that Commission rules do not 
require an amateur radio operator applicant to provide telephone 
numbers, fax numbers or e-mail addresses in CORES or ULS, and suggests 
that the Commission may wish to make submission of this additional 
information mandatory in the part 1 and part 97 rules.\60\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \57\ See Petition for Rulemaking, WTB 07-36, filed July 11, 2007 
(``Maia Petition''). The Universal Licensing System (``ULS'') is a 
Commission electronic filing system that enables the public to 
research applications, licenses, and antenna structures, among other 
things, regarding wireless services. See http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/index.htm.
    \58\ Maia Petition at 2.
    \59\ Id.
    \60\ Id. at 2-3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    55. The petitioner proposes this change to CORES based on his 
experience in amateur radio service. Maia notes that while Sec.  97.23 
of the Commission's rules requires that license grants ``must show the 
grantee's correct name and mailing address,'' there is nothing in the 
part 97 rules that obligates a licensee to also keep their CORES name 
and address record updated.\61\ The Maia Petition goes on to state that 
many amateur radio operators who have submitted a name or address 
update in ULS believe that they have fulfilled their obligation to keep 
their personal information accurate at the Commission.\62\ Maia 
maintains that few amateur radio operators know that they are also 
required to update their CORES listing.\63\
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    \61\ Id. at 5. See 47 CFR 97.23.
    \62\ Maia Petition at 5.
    \63\ Id. at 2 and 5 (citing 47 CFR 1.8002).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    56. We seek comment on this proposal. As noted above, the 
Commission has begun a proceeding related to the development of a new 
Consolidated Licensing System, which would eventually replace ULS. 
Should modifications or updates to personal information in ULS/CLS be 
automatically imported into CORES, or vice versa? Should such 
information be uploaded from ULS/CLS into CORES (or, alternatively, 
from CORES to ULS/CLS) voluntarily, that is, only at the user's option? 
Should this feature apply to all duplicative personal information, or 
should we require that users change some information in each system 
manually? Why or why not? We seek comment on what other Commission 
services would benefit from this auto-update feature.

N. Other Considerations

    57. Foreign nationals and non-United States citizens who are not 
employed in the United States currently are not required to provide a 
domestic mailing address as part of the process for obtaining an FRN 
through CORES. It has often proven difficult for the Commission to 
contact or otherwise collect delinquent debt from these foreign 
individuals through their foreign addresses. Therefore, we tentatively 
conclude that foreign nationals and non-United States citizens who are 
not employed in the United States should be required to designate and 
identify an address for a domestic agent authorized to accept notice 
from the Commission either as a prerequisite to or as part of the 
process of obtaining an FRN. We seek comment on this proposal.
    58. Finally, we seek comment on any other issues relating to the 
customer interface with CORES that the Commission should consider in 
this rulemaking proceeding. Are there particular issues relating to 
performance or access to the system that the Commission should endeavor 
to improve through this proceeding? Are there any other issues or 
improvements that we could make to the CORES system that have not been 
raised above? We particularly invite commenters to discuss challenges 
they have had with accessing, using, or exchanging information with 
CORES or with their FRNs in the past, and invite comment on how such 
difficulties could be ameliorated in the future.

IV. Procedural Matters

A. Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    59. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, see 5 U.S.C. 
603, the Commission has prepared an Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis (``IRFA'') of the possible significant economic impact on 
small entities of the proposals suggested in this Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking. The IRFA is set forth in Appendix A. Written public 
comments on the IRFA must be filed in accordance with the comment 
filing deadlines indicated on the first page of this document, and 
using the procedures and format described in Appendix A and section 
IV.D., below.

B. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Analysis

    60. Initial Paperwork Reduction Act Analysis. This Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking contains proposed new and modified information 
collection requirements.\64\ The Commission, as part of its continuing 
effort to reduce paperwork burdens, invites the general public and the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to comment on the proposed 
information collection requirements contained in this Notice, as 
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. In 
addition, pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, 
Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), we seek specific comment 
on how me might further reduce the information collection burden for 
small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \64\ The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (``PRA''), Public Law 
104-13, 109 Stat 163 (1995) (codified in Chapter 35 of title 44 
U.S.C.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    61. In addition to filing comments with the Secretary, a copy of 
any PRA

[[Page 5664]]

comments on the proposed collection requirements contained herein 
should be submitted to the Federal Communications Commission via e-mail 
to [email protected] and to Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of Management and 
Budget, via e-mail to [email protected] or via fax at 202-395-5167.
    62. Further Information. For additional information concerning the 
proposed information collection requirements contained in this Notice 
of Proposed Rulemaking, send an e-mail to [email protected] or contact Warren 
Firschein, Federal Communications Commission, Room 3-C768, 445 12th 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554, or by e-mail to 
[email protected]. To view or obtain a copy of this information 
collection request (ICR) submitted to OMB: (1) Go to this OMB/GSA 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 list of FCC ICRs currently 
under review appears, look for the OMB control number of this ICR as 
shown in the Supplementary Information section below (or its title if 
there is no OMB control number) and then click on the ICR Reference 
Number. A copy of the FCC submission to OMB will be displayed.

C. Ex Parte Rules

    63. Permit-But-Disclose. This proceeding will be treated as a 
``permit-but-disclose'' proceeding subject to the ``permit-but-
disclose'' requirements under Sec.  1.1206(b) of the Commission's 
rules.\65\ Ex parte presentations are permissible if disclosed in 
accordance with Commission rules, except during the Sunshine Agenda 
period when presentations, ex parte or otherwise, are generally 
prohibited. Persons making oral ex parte presentations are reminded 
that a memorandum summarizing a presentation must contain a summary of 
the substance of the presentation and not merely a listing of the 
subjects discussed. More than a one or two-sentence description of the 
views and arguments presented is generally required.\66\ Additional 
rules pertaining to oral and written presentations are set forth in 
Sec.  1.1206(b).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \65\ See 47 CFR 1.1206(b); see also 47 CFR 1.1202, 1.1203.
    \66\ See 47 CFR 1.1206(b)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

D. Filing Requirements

    64. Comments and Reply Comments. Pursuant to Sec. Sec.  1.415 and 
1.419 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.415, 1.419, interested 
parties may file comments and reply comments on or before the dates 
indicated on the first page of this document. Comments may be filed 
using: (1) The Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), 
(2) the Federal Government's eRulemaking Portal, or (3) by filing paper 
copies. See Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 
63 FR 24121 (1998).
     Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically 
using the Internet by accessing the ECFS: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/ or the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
     Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must 
file an original and four copies of each filing. If more than one 
docket or rulemaking number appears in the caption of this proceeding, 
filers must submit two additional copies for each additional docket or 
rulemaking number.
    Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial 
overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service 
mail. All filings must be addressed to the Commission's Secretary, 
Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.
     All hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings 
for the Commission's Secretary must be delivered to FCC Headquarters at 
445 12th St., SW., Room TW-A325, Washington, DC 20554. The filing hours 
are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. All hand deliveries must be held together with 
rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes must be disposed of before 
entering the building.
     Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service 
Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300 East Hampton 
Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743.
     U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority 
mail must be addressed to 445 12th Street, SW., Washington DC 20554.
    65. Parties should send a copy of their filings to Warren 
Firschein, Federal Communications Commission, Room 3-C768, 445 12th 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554, or by e-mail to 
[email protected]. Parties shall also serve one copy with the 
Commission's copy contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc. (BCPI), 
Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554, 
(202) 488-5300, or via e-mail to [email protected].
    66. Documents in Docket No. 10-234 will be available for public 
inspection and copying during business hours at the FCC Reference 
Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-A257, 
Washington, DC 20554. The documents may also be purchased from BCPI, 
telephone (202) 488-5300, facsimile (202) 488-5563, TTY (202) 488-5562, 
e-mail [email protected].

E. Accessible Formats

    67. To request materials in accessible formats for people with 
disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), 
send an e-mail to [email protected] or call the Consumer & Governmental 
Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice) or 202-418-0432 (TTY). Contact 
the FCC to request reasonable accommodations for filing comments 
(accessible format documents, sign language interpreters, CART, etc.) 
by e-mail: [email protected]; phone: 202-418-0530 or TTY: 202-418-0432.

F. Additional Information

    68. For additional information on this proceeding, contact Warren 
Firschein at (202) 418-0844, or via e-mail at [email protected]. 
Press inquiries should be directed to David Fiske at (202) 418-0513.

V. Ordering Clauses

    69. Accordingly, it is ordered that, pursuant to Sections 4(i), 
8(c)(2), 9(c)(2), and 303(r) of the Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 158(c)(2), 159(c)(2), and 303(r); 5 U.S.C. 
5514; and section 7701 of the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, 
31 U.S.C. 7701(c)(1), notice is hereby given of the proposals and 
tentative conclusions described in this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
    70. It is further ordered that the Secretary shall cause a copy of 
this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to be published in the Federal 
Register.
    71. It is further ordered that the Commission's Consumer & 
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference Information Center, shall send a 
copy of this Notice, including the Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 1

    Administrative practice and procedure.


[[Page 5665]]


Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.

Appendix A

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    72. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA),\67\ the 
Commission has prepared an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 
(``IRFA'') of the possible economic impact on small entities of the 
policies and rules proposed in this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(``Notice'').\68\ Written public comments are requested on the IRFA. 
Comments must be identified as responses to the IRFA and must be 
filed by the deadlines for comments on the Notice. The Commission 
will send a copy of the Notice, including the IRFA, to the Chief 
Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration 
(``SBA'').\69\ In addition, the Notice and IRFA (or summaries 
thereof) will be published in the Federal Register.\70\
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    \67\ See 5 U.S.C. 603. The RFA, see 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., has 
been amended by the Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996, 
Public Law 104-121, 110 Stat. 847 (1996) (``CWAA''). Title II of the 
CWAA is the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 
1996 (``SBREFA'').
    \68\ We also note that we could certify this action under 5 
U.S.C. 605, given that a substantial number of entities and 
individuals doing business with the Commission have already received 
their FRN by virtue of their prior registration in CORES, and the 
changes proposed here will have no significant economic impact on 
them. Moreover, we have proposed to make it extremely simple, and 
virtually cost-free, for anyone else to obtain or revise their 
already-existing FRN(s). Finally, the few entities that, as a result 
of our action, would be required to scan and file documentation 
demonstrating their tax-exempt or bankruptcy status will experience 
only a minor compliance burden.
    \69\ 5 U.S.C. 603(a).
    \70\ Id.
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A. Need for and Objectives of the Proposed Rules

    73. The Notice tentatively concludes that the Commission should 
modify its electronic registration system, known as ``CORES,'' to 
make improvements to the process by which entities and individuals 
access and make use of information that is contained in CORES and to 
make it easier for individuals and entities to do business with the 
FCC. Specifically, the Notice proposes to limit entities and 
individuals to the use of a primary FRN, while allowing subsidiary 
or associated FRNs; allow entities to identify multiple points of 
contact; eliminate some of our exceptions to the requirement that 
entities and individuals provide their Taxpayer Identification 
Number (``TIN'') at the time of registration; require FRN holders to 
provide their e-mail addresses; give FRN holders the option to 
create a custom User ID; modify CORES log-in procedures for entities 
so as to ease use by multiple individuals; add attention flags and 
notices that would inform FRN holders of their financial standing 
before the Commission when logging onto CORES; and add data fields 
to enable FRN holders to indicate their tax-exempt status and notify 
the Commission of pending bankruptcy proceedings. These 
modifications, if implemented, would eliminate some of the system's 
current limitations and improve the customer interface with CORES so 
that customers can use the system in a more efficient and effective 
manner, especially in light of the Commission's intent to develop an 
agency-wide consolidated licensing system. The proposed changes 
would also improve the Commission's ability to comply with various 
statutes that govern debt collection and the collection of personal 
information by the Federal government.

B. Legal Basis

    74. The proposed action is authorized under sections 4(i), 
8(c)(2), 9(c)(2), and 303(r) of the Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 158(c)(2), 159(c)(2), and 303(r); 5 
U.S.C. 5514; and section 7701 of the Debt Collection Improvement Act 
of 1996, 31 U.S.C. 7701(c)(1).

C. Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to 
Which the Proposed Rules Will Apply

    75. The RFA directs agencies to provide a description of and, 
where feasible, an estimate of the number of small entities that may 
be affected by the proposed rules, if adopted.\71\ The RFA defines 
the term ``small entity'' as having the same meaning as the terms 
``small business,'' ``small organization,'' and ``small governmental 
jurisdiction.'' \72\ In addition, the term ``small business'' has 
the same meaning as the term ``small business concern'' under the 
Small Business Act.\73\ A small business concern is one which: (1) 
Is independently owned and operated; (2) is not dominant in its 
field of operation; and (3) satisfies any additional criteria 
established by the Small Business Administration.\74\
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    \71\ 5 U.S.C. 603(b)(3).
    \72\ 5 U.S.C. 601(6).
    \73\ 5 U.S.C. 601(3) (incorporating by reference the definition 
of ``small business concern'' in 15 U.S.C. 632). Pursuant to the 
RFA, the statutory definition of a small business applies ``unless 
an agency, after consultation with the Office of Advocacy of the 
Small Business Administration and after opportunity for public 
comment, establishes one or more definitions of such term which are 
appropriate to the activities of the agency and publishes such 
definition(s) in the Federal Register.'' 5 U.S.C. 601(3).
    \74\ Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 632 (1996).
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    76. Any proposed changes or additions to the Commission's part 1 
rules that may be made as a result of the Notice would be of general 
applicability to all services, applying to all entities of any size 
that apply for or hold Commission licenses, permits, certifications, 
etc., as well as entities or individuals that have attributable 
ownership interests in such entities, and have already obtained a 
unique identifying number through CORES called an FCC Registration 
Number, or ``FRN.'' We also note that these changes may also affect 
small entities, such as law firms and accounting firms, that prepare 
filings or otherwise access CORES on the behalf of regulatees. The 
Commission does not keep statistics on the number of such small 
entities, but we conclude that any burden on such entities is 
unlikely to be significant.
    77. Small Businesses. Nationwide, there are a total of 
approximately 29.6 million small businesses, according to the 
SBA.\75\
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    \75\ See SBA, Office of Advocacy, ``Frequently Asked 
Questions,'' http://web.sba.gov/faqs (accessed Jan. 2009).
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    78. Small Organizations. Nationwide, as of 2002, there were 
approximately 1.6 million small organizations.\76\ A ``small 
organization'' is generally ``any not-for-profit enterprise which is 
independently owned and operated and is not dominant in its field.'' 
\77\
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    \76\ Independent Sector, The New Nonprofit Almanac & Desk 
Reference (2002).
    \77\ 5 U.S.C. 601(4).
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    79. Small Governmental Jurisdictions. The term ``small 
governmental jurisdiction'' is defined generally as ``governments of 
cities, towns, townships, villages, school districts, or special 
districts, with a population of less than fifty thousand.'' \78\ 
Census Bureau data for 2002 indicate that there were 87,525 local 
governmental jurisdictions in the United States.\79\ We estimate 
that, of this total, 84,377 entities were ``small governmental 
jurisdictions.'' \80\ Thus, we estimate that most governmental 
jurisdictions are small.
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    \78\ 5 U.S.C. 601(5).
    \79\ U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United 
States: 2006, Section 8, p. 272, Table 415.
    \80\ We assume that the villages, school districts, and special 
districts are small, and total 48,558. See U.S. Census Bureau, 
Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2006, section 8, p. 273, 
Table 417. For 2002, Census Bureau data indicate that the total 
number of county, municipal, and township governments nationwide was 
38,967, of which 35,819 were small. Id.
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    80. We have included small incumbent local exchange carriers in 
this present RFA analysis. As noted above, a ``small business'' 
under the RFA is one that, inter alia, meets the pertinent small 
business size standard (e.g., a telephone communications business 
having 1,500 or fewer employees), and ``is not dominant in its field 
of operation.'' \81\ The SBA's Office of Advocacy contends that, for 
RFA purposes, small incumbent local exchange carriers are not 
dominant in their field of operation because any such dominance is 
not ``national'' in scope.\82\ We have therefore included small 
incumbent local exchange carriers in this RFA analysis, although we 
emphasize that this RFA action has no effect on Commission analyses 
and determinations in other, non-RFA contexts.
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    \81\ 15 U.S.C. 632.
    \82\ Letter from Jere W. Glover, Chief Counsel for Advocacy, 
SBA, to William E. Kennard, Chairman, FCC (May 27, 1999). The Small 
Business Act contains a definition of ``small-business concern,'' 
which the RFA incorporates into its own definition of ``small 
business.'' See 15 U.S.C. 632(a) (``Small Business Act''); 5 U.S.C. 
601(3) (``RFA''). SBA regulations interpret ``small business 
concern'' to include the concept of dominance on a national basis. 
See 13 CFR 121.102(b).
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    81. Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (``ILECs''). Neither the 
Commission nor the SBA has developed a small business size standard 
specifically for incumbent local exchange services. The appropriate 
size standard under SBA rules is for the category Wired 
Telecommunications Carriers. Under that size standard, such a 
business is small

[[Page 5666]]

if it has 1,500 or fewer employees.\83\ According to Commission 
data,\84\ 1,311 carriers have reported that they are engaged in the 
provision of incumbent local exchange services. Of these 1,311 
carriers, an estimated 1,024 have 1,500 or fewer employees and 287 
have more than 1,500 employees. Consequently, the Commission 
estimates that most providers of incumbent local exchange service 
are small businesses.
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    \83\ 13 CFR 121.201, North American Industry Classification 
System (NAICS) code 517110.
    \84\ FCC, Wireline Competition Bureau, Industry Analysis and 
Technology Division, ``Trends in Telephone Service'' at Table 5.3, 
Page 5-5 (Aug. 2008) (``Trends in Telephone Service''). This source 
uses data that are current as of November 1, 2006.
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    82. Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (``CLECs''), Competitive 
Access Providers (``CAPs''), ``Shared-Tenant Service Providers,'' 
and ``Other Local Service Providers.'' Neither the Commission nor 
the SBA has developed a small business size standard specifically 
for these service providers. The appropriate size standard under SBA 
rules is for the category Wired Telecommunications Carriers. Under 
that size standard, such a business is small if it has 1,500 or 
fewer employees.\85\ According to Commission data,\86\ 1005 carriers 
have reported that they are engaged in the provision of either 
competitive access provider services or competitive local exchange 
carrier services. Of these 1005 carriers, an estimated 918 have 
1,500 or fewer employees and 87 have more than 1,500 employees. In 
addition, 16 carriers have reported that they are ``Shared-Tenant 
Service Providers,'' and all 16 are estimated to have 1,500 or fewer 
employees. In addition, 89 carriers have reported that they are 
``Other Local Service Providers.'' Of the 89, all have 1,500 or 
fewer employees. Consequently, the Commission estimates that most 
providers of competitive local exchange service, competitive access 
providers, ``Shared-Tenant Service Providers,'' and ``Other Local 
Service Providers'' are small entities.
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    \85\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110.
    \86\ ``Trends in Telephone Service'' at Table 5.3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    83. Local Resellers. The SBA has developed a small business size 
standard for the category of Telecommunications Resellers. Under 
that size standard, such a business is small if it has 1,500 or 
fewer employees.\87\ According to Commission data,\88\ 151 carriers 
have reported that they are engaged in the provision of local resale 
services. Of these, an estimated 149 have 1,500 or fewer employees 
and two have more than 1,500 employees. Consequently, the Commission 
estimates that the majority of local resellers are small entities.
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    \87\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517310.
    \88\ ``Trends in Telephone Service'' at Table 5.3.
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    84. Toll Resellers. The SBA has developed a small business size 
standard for the category of Telecommunications Resellers. Under 
that size standard, such a business is small if it has 1,500 or 
fewer employees.\89\ According to Commission data,\90\ 815 carriers 
have reported that they are engaged in the provision of toll resale 
services. Of these, an estimated 787 have 1,500 or fewer employees 
and 28 have more than 1,500 employees. Consequently, the Commission 
estimates that the majority of toll resellers are small entities.
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    \89\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517310.
    \90\ ``Trends in Telephone Service'' at Table 5.3.
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    85. Payphone Service Providers (``PSPs''). Neither the 
Commission nor the SBA has developed a small business size standard 
specifically for payphone services providers. The appropriate size 
standard under SBA rules is for the category Wired 
Telecommunications Carriers. Under that size standard, such a 
business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees.\91\ According 
to Commission data,\92\ 526 carriers have reported that they are 
engaged in the provision of payphone services. Of these, an 
estimated 524 have 1,500 or fewer employees and two have more than 
1,500 employees. Consequently, the Commission estimates that the 
majority of payphone service providers are small entities.
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    \91\ 3 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110.
    \92\ ``Trends in Telephone Service'' at Table 5.3.
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    86. Interexchange Carriers (``IXCs''). Neither the Commission 
nor the SBA has developed a small business size standard 
specifically for providers of interexchange services. The 
appropriate size standard under SBA rules is for the category Wired 
Telecommunications Carriers. Under that size standard, such a 
business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees.\93\ According 
to Commission data,\94\ 300 carriers have reported that they are 
engaged in the provision of interexchange service. Of these, an 
estimated 268 have 1,500 or fewer employees and 32 have more than 
1,500 employees. Consequently, the Commission estimates that the 
majority of IXCs are small entities.
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    \93\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110.
    \94\ ``Trends in Telephone Service'' at Table 5.3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    87. Operator Service Providers (``OSPs''). Neither the 
Commission nor the SBA has developed a small business size standard 
specifically for operator service providers. The appropriate size 
standard under SBA rules is for the category Wired 
Telecommunications Carriers. Under that size standard, such a 
business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees.\95\ According 
to Commission data,\96\ 28 carriers have reported that they are 
engaged in the provision of operator services. Of these, an 
estimated 27 have 1,500 or fewer employees and one has more than 
1,500 employees. Consequently, the Commission estimates that the 
majority of OSPs are small entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \95\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110.
    \96\ ``Trends in Telephone Service'' at Table 5.3.
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    88. Prepaid Calling Card Providers. Neither the Commission nor 
the SBA has developed a small business size standard specifically 
for prepaid calling card providers. The appropriate size standard 
under SBA rules is for the category Telecommunications Resellers. 
Under that size standard, such a business is small if it has 1,500 
or fewer employees.\97\ According to Commission data,\98\ 88 
carriers have reported that they are engaged in the provision of 
prepaid calling cards. Of these, an estimated 85 have 1,500 or fewer 
employees and three have more than 1,500 employees. Consequently, 
the Commission estimates that the majority of prepaid calling card 
providers are small entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \97\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517310.
    \98\ ``Trends in Telephone Service'' at Table 5.3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    89. 800 and 800-Like Service Subscribers.\99\ Neither the 
Commission nor the SBA has developed a small business size standard 
specifically for 800 and 800-like service (``toll free'') 
subscribers. The appropriate size standard under SBA rules is for 
the category Telecommunications Resellers. Under that size standard, 
such a business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees.\100\ 
The most reliable source of information regarding the number of 
these service subscribers appears to be data the Commission receives 
from Database Service Management on the 800, 866, 877, and 888 
numbers in use.\101\ According to our data, at the end of December 
2007, the number of 800 numbers assigned was 7,860,000; the number 
of 888 numbers assigned was 5,210,184; the number of 877 numbers 
assigned was 4,388,682; and the number of 866 numbers assigned was 
7,029,116. We do not have data specifying the number of these 
subscribers that are independently owned and operated or have 1,500 
or fewer employees, and thus are unable at this time to estimate 
with greater precision the number of toll free subscribers that 
would qualify as small businesses under the SBA size standard. 
Consequently, we estimate that there are 7,860,000 or fewer small 
entity 800 subscribers; 5,210,184 or fewer small entity 888 
subscribers; 4,388,682 or fewer small entity 877 subscribers, and 
7,029,116 or fewer entity 866 subscribers.
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    \99\ We include all toll-free number subscribers in this 
category.
    \100\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517310.
    \101\ ``Trends in Telephone Service'' at Tables 18.4, 18.5, 
18.6, and 18.7.
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    90. Satellite Telecommunications and All Other 
Telecommunications. These two economic census categories address the 
satellite industry. The first category has a small business size 
standard of $15 million or less in average annual receipts, under 
SBA rules.\102\ The second has a size standard of $25 million or 
less in annual receipts.\103\ The most current Census Bureau data in 
this context, however, are from the (last) economic census of 2002, 
and we will use those figures to gauge the prevalence of small 
businesses in these categories.\104\
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    \102\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517410.
    \103\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517919.
    \104\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS codes 517410 and 517910 (2002).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    91. The category of Satellite Telecommunications ``comprises 
establishments primarily engaged in providing telecommunications 
services to other establishments in the telecommunications and 
broadcasting industries by forwarding and receiving communications 
signals via a system of satellites or reselling satellite 
telecommunications.'' \105\ For this category, Census Bureau data 
for 2002 show that there were a total of 371 firms that operated for 
the entire year.\106\ Of this total, 307 firms had

[[Page 5667]]

annual receipts of under $10 million, and 26 firms had receipts of 
$10 million to $24,999,999.\107\ Consequently, we estimate that the 
majority of Satellite Telecommunications firms are small entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \105\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, ``517410 
Satellite Telecommunications''; http://www.census.gov/naics/2007/def/ND517410.HTM.
    \106\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, Subject Series: 
Information, ``Establishment and Firm Size (Including Legal Form of 
Organization),'' Table 4, NAICS code 517410 (issued Nov. 2005).
    \107\ Id. An additional 38 firms had annual receipts of $25 
million or more.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    92. The second category of All Other Telecommunications 
comprises, inter alia, ``establishments primarily engaged in 
providing specialized telecommunications services, such as satellite 
tracking, communications telemetry, and radar station operation. 
This industry also includes establishments primarily engaged in 
providing satellite terminal stations and associated facilities 
connected with one or more terrestrial systems and capable of 
transmitting telecommunications to, and receiving telecommunications 
from, satellite systems.'' \108\ For this category, Census Bureau 
data for 2002 show that there were a total of 332 firms that 
operated for the entire year.\109\ Of this total, 303 firms had 
annual receipts of under $10 million and 15 firms had annual 
receipts of $10 million to $24,999,999.\110\ Consequently, we 
estimate that the majority of All Other Telecommunications firms are 
small entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \108\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, ``517919 All 
Other Telecommunications''; http://www.census.gov/naics/2007/def/ND517919.HTM#N517919.
    \109\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, Subject Series: 
Information, ``Establishment and Firm Size (Including Legal Form of 
Organization),'' Table 4, NAICS code 517910 (issued Nov. 2005).
    \110\ Id. An additional 14 firms had annual receipts of $25 
million or more.
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    93. Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite). 
Since 2007, the Census Bureau has placed wireless firms within this 
new, broad, economic census category.\111\ Prior to that time, such 
firms were within the now-superseded categories of ``Paging'' and 
``Cellular and Other Wireless Telecommunications.'' \112\ Under the 
present and prior categories, the SBA has deemed a wireless business 
to be small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees.\113\ Because Census 
Bureau data are not yet available for the new category, we will 
estimate small business prevalence using the prior categories and 
associated data. For the category of Paging, data for 2002 show that 
there were 807 firms that operated for the entire year.\114\ Of this 
total, 804 firms had employment of 999 or fewer employees, and three 
firms had employment of 1,000 employees or more.\115\ For the 
category of Cellular and Other Wireless Telecommunications, data for 
2002 show that there were 1,397 firms that operated for the entire 
year.\116\ Of this total, 1,378 firms had employment of 999 or fewer 
employees, and 19 firms had employment of 1,000 employees or 
more.\117\ Thus, we estimate that the majority of wireless firms are 
small.
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    \111\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, ``517210 
Wireless Telecommunications Categories (Except Satellite)''; http://www.census.gov/naics/2007/def/ND517210.HTM#N517210.
    \112\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 NAICS Definitions, ``517211 
Paging''; http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/def/NDEF517.HTM.; U.S. 
Census Bureau, 2002 NAICS Definitions, ``517212 Cellular and Other 
Wireless Telecommunications''; http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/def/NDEF517.HTM.
    \113\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210 (2007 NAICS). The now-
superseded, pre-2007 CFR citations were 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS codes 
517211 and 517212 (referring to the 2002 NAICS).
    \114\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, Subject Series: 
Information, ``Establishment and Firm Size (Including Legal Form of 
Organization,'' Table 5, NAICS code 517211 (issued Nov. 2005).
    \115\ Id. The census data do not provide a more precise estimate 
of the number of firms that have employment of 1,500 or fewer 
employees; the largest category provided is for firms with ``1000 
employees or more.''
    \116\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, Subject Series: 
Information, ``Establishment and Firm Size (Including Legal Form of 
Organization,'' Table 5, NAICS code 517212 (issued Nov. 2005).
    \117\ Id. The census data do not provide a more precise estimate 
of the number of firms that have employment of 1,500 or fewer 
employees; the largest category provided is for firms with ``1000 
employees or more.''
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    94. Common Carrier Paging. As noted, the SBA has developed a 
small business size standard for Wireless Telecommunications 
Carriers (except Satellite) firms within the broad economic census 
categories of ``Cellular and Other Wireless Telecommunications.'' 
\118\ Since 2007, the Census Bureau has placed wireless firms within 
this new, broad, economic census category.\119\ Prior to that time, 
such firms were within the now-superseded categories of ``Paging'' 
and ``Cellular and Other Wireless Telecommunications.'' \120\ Under 
the present and prior categories, the SBA has deemed a wireless 
business to be small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees.\121\ 
Because Census Bureau data are not yet available for the new 
category, we will estimate small business prevalence using the prior 
categories and associated data. For the category of Paging, data for 
2002 show that there were 807 firms that operated for the entire 
year.\122\ Of this total, 804 firms had employment of 999 or fewer 
employees, and three firms had employment of 1,000 employees or 
more.\123\ For the category of Cellular and Other Wireless 
Telecommunications, data for 2002 show that there were 1,397 firms 
that operated for the entire year.\124\ Of this total, 1,378 firms 
had employment of 999 or fewer employees, and 19 firms had 
employment of 1,000 employees or more.\125\ Thus, we estimate that 
the majority of wireless firms are small.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \118\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517212.
    \119\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, ``517210 
Wireless Telecommunications Categories (Except Satellite)''; http://www.census.gov/naics/2007/def/ND517210.HTM#N517210.
    \120\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 NAICS Definitions, ``517211 
Paging''; http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/def/NDEF517.HTM.; U.S. 
Census Bureau, 2002 NAICS Definitions, ``517212 Cellular and Other 
Wireless Telecommunications''; http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/def/NDEF517.HTM.
    \121\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210 (2007 NAICS). The now-
superseded, pre-2007 CFR citations were 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS codes 
517211 and 517212 (referring to the 2002 NAICS).
    \122\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, Subject Series: 
Information, ``Establishment and Firm Size (Including Legal Form of 
Organization,'' Table 5, NAICS code 517211 (issued Nov. 2005).
    \123\ Id. The census data do not provide a more precise estimate 
of the number of firms that have employment of 1,500 or fewer 
employees; the largest category provided is for firms with ``1000 
employees or more.''
    \124\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, Subject Series: 
Information, ``Establishment and Firm Size (Including Legal Form of 
Organization,'' Table 5, NAICS code 517212 (issued Nov. 2005).
    \125\ Id. The census data do not provide a more precise estimate 
of the number of firms that have employment of 1,500 or fewer 
employees; the largest category provided is for firms with ``1000 
employees or more.''
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    95. In addition, in the Paging Second Report and Order, the 
Commission adopted a size standard for ``small businesses'' for 
purposes of determining their eligibility for special provisions 
such as bidding credits and installment payments.\126\ A small 
business is an entity that, together with its affiliates and 
controlling principals, has average gross revenues not exceeding $15 
million for the preceding three years.\127\ The SBA has approved 
this definition.\128\ An initial auction of Metropolitan Economic 
Area (``MEA'') licenses was conducted in the year 2000. Of the 2,499 
licenses auctioned, 985 were sold.\129\ Fifty-seven companies 
claiming small business status won 440 licenses.\130\ A subsequent 
auction of MEA and Economic Area (``EA'') licenses was held in the 
year 2001. Of the 15,514 licenses auctioned, 5,323 were sold.\131\ 
One hundred thirty-two companies claiming small business status 
purchased 3,724 licenses. A third auction, consisting of 8,874 
licenses in each of 175 EAs and 1,328 licenses in all but three of 
the 51 MEAs, was held in 2003. Seventy-seven bidders claiming small 
or very small business status won 2,093 licenses.\132\
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    \126\ Revision of Part 22 and Part 90 of the Commission's Rules 
to Facilitate Future Development of Paging Systems, Second Report 
and Order, 12 FCC Rcd 2732, 2811-2812, paras. 178-181 (``Paging 
Second Report and Order''); see also Revision of Part 22 and Part 90 
of the Commission's Rules to Facilitate Future Development of Paging 
Systems, Memorandum Opinion and Order on Reconsideration, 14 FCC Rcd 
10030, 10085-10088, paras. 98-107 (1999).
    \127\ Paging Second Report and Order, 12 FCC Rcd at 2811, para. 
179.
    \128\ See Letter from Aida Alvarez, Administrator, SBA, to Amy 
Zoslov, Chief, Auctions and Industry Analysis Division, Wireless 
Telecommunications Bureau (``WTB''), FCC (Dec. 2, 1998) (``Alvarez 
Letter 1998'').
    \129\ See ``929 and 931 MHz Paging Auction Closes,'' Public 
Notice, 15 FCC Rcd 4858 (WTB 2000).
    \130\ See id.
    \131\ See ``Lower and Upper Paging Band Auction Closes,'' Public 
Notice, 16 FCC Rcd 21821 (WTB 2002).
    \132\ See ``Lower and Upper Paging Bands Auction Closes,'' 
Public Notice, 18 FCC Rcd 11154 (WTB 2003). The current number of 
small or very small business entities that hold wireless licenses 
may differ significantly from the number of such entities that won 
in spectrum auctions due to assignments and transfers of licenses in 
the secondary market over time. In addition, some of the same small 
business entities may have won licenses in more than one auction.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    96. Currently, there are approximately 74,000 Common Carrier 
Paging licenses. According to the most recent Trends in Telephone 
Service, 281 carriers reported that they were engaged in the 
provision of ``paging

[[Page 5668]]

and messaging'' services.\133\ Of these, an estimated 279 have 1,500 
or fewer employees and two have more than 1,500 employees.\134\ We 
estimate that the majority of common carrier paging providers would 
qualify as small entities under the SBA definition.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \133\ ``Trends in Telephone Service'' at Table 5.3.
    \134\ ``Trends in Telephone Service'' at Table 5.3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    97. 2.3 GHz Wireless Communications Services. This service can 
be used for fixed, mobile, radiolocation, and digital audio 
broadcasting satellite uses. The Commission defined ``small 
business'' for the wireless communications services (``WCS'') 
auction as an entity with average gross revenues of $40 million for 
each of the three preceding years, and a ``very small business'' as 
an entity with average gross revenues of $15 million for each of the 
three preceding years.\135\ The SBA has approved these 
definitions.\136\ The Commission auctioned geographic area licenses 
in the WCS service. In the auction, which was conducted in 1997, 
there were seven bidders that won 31 licenses that qualified as very 
small business entities, and one bidder that won one license that 
qualified as a small business entity.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \135\ Amendment of the Commission's Rules to Establish Part 27, 
the Wireless Communications Service (WCS), Report and Order, 12 FCC 
Rcd 10785, 10879, para. 194 (1997).
    \136\ See Alvarez Letter 1998.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    98. 1670-1675 MHz Services. An auction for one license in the 
1670-1675 MHz band was conducted in 2003. One license was awarded. 
The winning bidder was not a small entity.
    99. Wireless Telephony. Wireless telephony includes cellular, 
personal communications services, and specialized mobile radio 
telephony carriers. As noted, the SBA has developed a small business 
size standard for Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except 
Satellite).\137\ Under the SBA small business size standard, a 
business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees.\138\ According 
to Trends in Telephone Service data, 434 carriers reported that they 
were engaged in wireless telephony.\139\ Of these, an estimated 222 
have 1,500 or fewer employees and 212 have more than 1,500 
employees.\140\ We therefore estimate that 222 of these are small 
under the SBA small business size standard.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \137\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210.
    \138\ Id.
    \139\ ``Trends in Telephone Service'' at Table 5.3.
    \140\ ``Trends in Telephone Service'' at Table 5.3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    100. Broadband Personal Communications Service. The broadband 
personal communications services (``PCS'') spectrum is divided into 
six frequency blocks designated A through F, and the Commission has 
held auctions for each block. The Commission has created a small 
business size standard for Blocks C and F as an entity that has 
average gross revenues of less than $40 million in the three 
previous calendar years.\141\ For Block F, an additional small 
business size standard for ``very small business'' was added and is 
defined as an entity that, together with its affiliates, has average 
gross revenues of not more than $15 million for the preceding three 
calendar years.\142\ These small business size standards, in the 
context of broadband PCS auctions, have been approved by the 
SBA.\143\ No small businesses within the SBA-approved small business 
size standards bid successfully for licenses in Blocks A and B. 
There were 90 winning bidders that qualified as small entities in 
the Block C auctions. A total of 93 ``small'' and ``very small'' 
business bidders won approximately 40 percent of the 1,479 licenses 
for Blocks D, E, and F.\144\ In 1999, the Commission reauctioned 155 
C, D, E, and F Block licenses; there were 113 small business winning 
bidders.\145\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \141\ See Amendment of Parts 20 and 24 of the Commission's 
Rules--Broadband PCS Competitive Bidding and the Commercial Mobile 
Radio Service Spectrum Cap, Report and Order, 11 FCC Rcd 7824, 7850-
7852, paras. 57-60 (1996) (``PCS Report and Order''); see also 47 
CFR 24.720(b).
    \142\ See PCS Report and Order, 11 FCC Rcd at 7852, para. 60.
    \143\ See Alvarez Letter 1998.
    \144\ FCC News, ``Broadband PCS, D, E and F Block Auction 
Closes,'' No. 71744 (rel. Jan. 14, 1997).
    \145\ See ``C, D, E, and F Block Broadband PCS Auction Closes,'' 
Public Notice, 14 FCC Rcd 6688 (WTB 1999).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    101. In 2001, the Commission completed the auction of 422 C and 
F Broadband PCS licenses in Auction 35. Of the 35 winning bidders in 
this auction, 29 qualified as ``small'' or ``very small'' 
businesses.\146\ Subsequent events, concerning Auction 35, including 
judicial and agency determinations, resulted in a total of 163 C and 
F Block licenses being available for grant. In 2005, the Commission 
completed an auction of 188 C block licenses and 21 F block licenses 
in Auction 58. There were 24 winning bidders for 217 licenses.\147\ 
Of the 24 winning bidders, 16 claimed small business status and won 
156 licenses. In 2007, the Commission completed an auction of 33 
licenses in the A, C, and F Blocks in Auction 71.\148\ Of the 14 
winning bidders, six were designated entities.\149\ In 2008, the 
Commission completed an auction of 20 Broadband PCS licenses in the 
C, D, E and F block licenses in Auction 78.\150\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \146\ See ``C and F Block Broadband PCS Auction Closes; Winning 
Bidders Announced,'' Public Notice, 16 FCC Rcd 2339 (2001).
    \147\ See ``Broadband PCS Spectrum Auction Closes; Winning 
Bidders Announced for Auction No. 58,'' Public Notice, 20 FCC Rcd 
3703 (2005).
    \148\ See ``Auction of Broadband PCS Spectrum Licenses Closes; 
Winning Bidders Announced for Auction No. 71,'' Public Notice, 22 
FCC Rcd 9247 (2007).
    \149\ Id.
    \150\ See Auction of AWS-1 and Broadband PCS Licenses 
Rescheduled For August 13, 2008, Notice of Filing Requirements, 
Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront Payments and Other Procedures For 
Auction 78, Public Notice, 23 FCC Rcd 7496 (2008) (``AWS-1 and 
Broadband PCS Procedures Public Notice'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    102. Advanced Wireless Services. In 2008, the Commission 
conducted the auction of Advanced Wireless Services (``AWS'') 
licenses.\151\ This auction, which as designated as Auction 78, 
offered 35 licenses in the AWS 1710-1755 MHz and 2110-2155 MHz bands 
(``AWS-1''). The AWS-1 licenses were licenses for which there were 
no winning bids in Auction 66. That same year, the Commission 
completed Auction 78. A bidder with attributed average annual gross 
revenues that exceeded $15 million and did not exceed $40 million 
for the preceding three years (``small business'') received a 15 
percent discount on its winning bid. A bidder with attributed 
average annual gross revenues that did not exceed $15 million for 
the preceding three years (``very small business'') received a 25 
percent discount on its winning bid. A bidder that had combined 
total assets of less than $500 million and combined gross revenues 
of less than $125 million in each of the last two years qualified 
for entrepreneur status.\152\ Four winning bidders that identified 
themselves as very small businesses won 17 licenses.\153\ Three of 
the winning bidders that identified themselves as a small business 
won five licenses. Additionally, one other winning bidder that 
qualified for entrepreneur status won 2 licenses.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \151\ See AWS-1 and Broadband PCS Procedures Public Notice, 23 
FCC Rcd 7496. Auction 78 also included an auction of Broadband PCS 
licenses.
    \152\ Id. at 23 FCC Rcd at 7521-22.
    \153\ See ``Auction of AWS-1 and Broadband PCS Licenses Closes, 
Winning Bidders Announced for Auction 78, Down Payments Due 
September 9, 2008, FCC Forms 601 and 602 Due September 9, 2008, 
Final Payments Due September 23, 2008, Ten-Day Petition to Deny 
Period'', Public Notice, 23 FCC Rcd 12749-65 (2008).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    103. Narrowband Personal Communications Services. In 1994, the 
Commission conducted an auction for Narrowband PCS licenses. A 
second auction was also conducted later in 1994. For purposes of the 
first two Narrowband PCS auctions, ``small businesses'' were 
entities with average gross revenues for the prior three calendar 
years of $40 million or less.\154\ Through these auctions, the 
Commission awarded a total of 41 licenses, 11 of which were obtained 
by four small businesses.\155\ To ensure meaningful participation by 
small business entities in future auctions, the Commission adopted a 
two-tiered small business size standard in the Narrowband PCS Second 
Report and Order.\156\ A ``small business'' is an entity that, 
together with affiliates and controlling interests, has average 
gross revenues for the three preceding years of not more than $40 
million.\157\ A ``very small business'' is an entity that, together 
with affiliates and controlling interests, has average gross 
revenues for the three preceding years of not more than $15 
million.\158\ The SBA has

[[Page 5669]]

approved these small business size standards.\159\ A third auction 
was conducted in 2001. Here, five bidders won 317 (Metropolitan 
Trading Areas and nationwide) licenses.\160\ Three of these claimed 
status as a small or very small entity and won 311 licenses.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \154\ Implementation of Section 309(j) of the Communications 
Act--Competitive Bidding Narrowband PCS, Third Memorandum Opinion 
and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 10 FCC Rcd 175, 
196, para. 46 (1994).
    \155\ See ``Announcing the High Bidders in the Auction of ten 
Nationwide Narrowband PCS Licenses, Winning Bids Total 
$617,006,674,'' Public Notice, PNWL 94-004 (rel. Aug. 2, 1994); 
``Announcing the High Bidders in the Auction of 30 Regional 
Narrowband PCS Licenses; Winning Bids Total $490,901,787,'' Public 
Notice, PNWL 94-27 (rel. Nov. 9, 1994).
    \156\ Amendment of the Commission's Rules to Establish New 
Personal Communications Services, Narrowband PCS, Second Report and 
Order and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making, 15 FCC Rcd 
10456, 10476, para. 40 (2000) (``Narrowband PCS Second Report and 
Order'').
    \157\ Narrowband PCS Second Report and Order, 15 FCC Rcd at 
10476, para. 40.
    \158\ Id.
    \159\ See Alvarez Letter 1998.
    \160\ See ``Narrowband PCS Auction Closes,'' Public Notice, 16 
FCC Rcd 18663 (WTB 2001).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    104. 700 MHz Band Licenses. The Commission previously adopted 
criteria for defining three groups of small businesses for purposes 
of determining their eligibility for special provisions such as 
bidding credits.\161\ The Commission defined a ``small business'' as 
an entity that, together with its affiliates and controlling 
principals, has average gross revenues not exceeding $40 million for 
the preceding three years.\162\ A ``very small business'' is defined 
as an entity that, together with its affiliates and controlling 
principals, has average gross revenues that are not more than $15 
million for the preceding three years.\163\ Additionally, the lower 
700 MHz Service had a third category of small business status for 
Metropolitan/Rural Service Area (``MSA/RSA'') licenses. The third 
category is ``entrepreneur,'' which is defined as an entity that, 
together with its affiliates and controlling principals, has average 
gross revenues that are not more than $3 million for the preceding 
three years.\164\ The SBA approved these small size standards.\165\ 
The Commission conducted an auction in 2002 of 740 licenses (one 
license in each of the 734 MSAs/RSAs and one license in each of the 
six Economic Area Groupings (EAGs)). Of the 740 licenses available 
for auction, 484 licenses were sold to 102 winning bidders. Seventy-
two of the winning bidders claimed small business, very small 
business or entrepreneur status and won a total of 329 
licenses.\166\ The Commission conducted a second auction in 2003 
that included 256 licenses: 5 EAG licenses and 476 Cellular Market 
Area licenses.\167\ Seventeen winning bidders claimed small or very 
small business status and won 60 licenses, and nine winning bidders 
claimed entrepreneur status and won 154 licenses.\168\ In 2005, the 
Commission completed an auction of 5 licenses in the lower 700 MHz 
band (Auction 60). There were three winning bidders for five 
licenses. All three winning bidders claimed small business status.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \161\ See Reallocation and Service Rules for the 698-746 MHz 
Spectrum Band (Television Channels 52-59), Report and Order, 17 FCC 
Rcd 1022 (2002) (``Channels 52-59 Report and Order'').
    \162\ See Channels 52-59 Report and Order, 17 FCC Rcd at 1087-
88, para. 172.
    \163\ See id.
    \164\ See id, 17 FCC Rcd at 1088, para. 173.
    \165\ See Letter from Aida Alvarez, Administrator, SBA, to 
Thomas Sugrue, Chief, WTB, FCC (Aug. 10, 1999) (``Alvarez Letter 
1999'').
    \166\ See ``Lower 700 MHz Band Auction Closes,'' Public Notice, 
17 FCC Rcd 17272 (WTB 2002).
    \167\ See ``Lower 700 MHz Band Auction Closes,'' Public Notice, 
18 FCC Rcd 11873 (WTB 2003).
    \168\ See id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    105. In 2007, the Commission adopted the 700 MHz Second Report 
and Order.\169\ The Order revised the band plan for the commercial 
(including Guard Band) and public safety spectrum, adopted services 
rules, including stringent build-out requirements, an open platform 
requirement on the C Block, and a requirement on the D Block 
licensee to construct and operate a nationwide, interoperable 
wireless broadband network for public safety users. In 2008, the 
Commission commenced Auction 73 which offered all available, 
commercial 700 MHz Band licenses (1,099 licenses) for bidding using 
the Commission's standard simultaneous multiple-round (``SMR'') 
auction format for the A, B, D, and E block licenses and an SMR 
auction design with hierarchical package bidding (``HPB'') for the C 
Block licenses. Later in 2008, the Commission concluded Auction 
73.\170\ A bidder with attributed average annual gross revenues that 
did not exceed $15 million for the preceding three years (very small 
business) qualified for a 25 percent discount on its winning bids. A 
bidder with attributed average annual gross revenues that exceeded 
$15 million, but did not exceed $40 million for the preceding three 
years, qualified for a 15 percent discount on its winning bids. 
There were 36 winning bidders (who won 330 of the 1,090 licenses 
won) that identified themselves as very small businesses. There were 
20 winning bidders that identified themselves as a small business 
that won 49 of the 1,090 licenses won.\171\ The provisionally 
winning bids for the A, B, C, and E Block licenses exceeded the 
aggregate reserve prices for those blocks. However, the 
provisionally winning bid for the D Block license did not meet the 
applicable reserve price and thus did not become a winning bid.\172\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \169\ Service Rules for the 698-746, 747-762 and 777-792 MHz 
Band, WT Docket No. 06-150, Revision of the Commission's Rules to 
Ensure Compatibility with Enhanced 911 Emergency Calling Systems, CC 
Docket No. 94-102, Section 68.4(a) of the Commission's Rules 
Governing Hearing Aid-Compatible Telephone, WT Docket No. 01-309, 
Biennial Regulatory Review--Amendment of Parts 1, 22, 24, 27, and 90 
to Streamline and Harmonize Various Rules Affecting Wireless Radio 
Services, WT Docket No. 03-264, Former Nextel Communications, Inc. 
Upper 700 MHz Guard Band Licenses and Revisions to Part 27 of the 
Commission's Rules, WT Docket No. 06-169, Implementing a Nationwide, 
Broadband Interoperable Public Safety Network in the 700 MHz Band, 
PS Docket No. 06-229, Development of Operational, Technical and 
Spectrum Requirements for Meeting Federal, State, and Local Public 
Safety Communications Requirements Through the Year 2010, WT Docket 
No. 96-86, Second Report and Order, FCC 07-132 (2007) (``700 MHz 
Second Report and Order''), 22 FCC Rcd 15289 (2007).
    \170\ Auction of 700 MHz Band Licenses Closes, Winning Bidders 
Announced for Auction 73, Down Payments Due April 3, 2008, FCC Forms 
601 and 602 April 3, 2008, Final Payment Due April 17, 2008, Ten-Day 
Petition to Deny Period, Public Notice, 23 FCC Rcd 4572 (2008).
    \171\ Id. 23 FCC Rcd at 4572-73.
    \172\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    106. 700 MHz Guard Band Licenses. In the 700 MHz Guard Band 
Order, the Commission adopted size standards for ``small 
businesses'' and ``very small businesses'' for purposes of 
determining their eligibility for special provisions such as bidding 
credits and installment payments.\173\ A small business in this 
service is an entity that, together with its affiliates and 
controlling principals, has average gross revenues not exceeding $40 
million for the preceding three years.\174\ Additionally, a very 
small business is an entity that, together with its affiliates and 
controlling principals, has average gross revenues that are not more 
than $15 million for the preceding three years.\175\ SBA approval of 
these definitions is not required.\176\ In 2000, the Commission 
conducted an auction of 52 Major Economic Area (``MEA'') 
licenses.\177\ Of the 104 licenses auctioned, 96 licenses were sold 
to nine bidders. Five of these bidders were small businesses that 
won a total of 26 licenses. A second auction of 700 MHz Guard Band 
licenses commenced and closed in 2001. All eight of the licenses 
auctioned were sold to three bidders. One of these bidders was a 
small business that won a total of two licenses.\178\ Subsequently, 
in the 700 MHz Second Report and Order, the Commission reorganized 
the licenses pursuant to an agreement among most of the licensees, 
resulting in a spectral relocation of the first set of paired 
spectrum block licenses, and an elimination of the second set of 
paired spectrum block licenses (many of which were already vacant, 
reclaimed by the Commission from Nextel).\179\ A single licensee 
that did not participate in the agreement was grandfathered in the 
initial spectral location for its two licenses in the second set of 
paired spectrum blocks.\180\ Accordingly, at this time there are 54 
licenses in the 700 MHz Guard Bands.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \173\ See Service Rules for the 746-764 MHz Bands, and Revisions 
to Part 27 of the Commission's Rules, Second Report and Order, 15 
FCC Rcd 5299 (2000) (``746-764 MHz Band Second Report and Order'').
    \174\ See 746-764 MHz Band Second Report and Order, 15 FCC Rcd 
at 5343, para. 108.
    \175\ See id.
    \176\ See id., 15 FCC Rcd 5299, 5343, para. 108 n.246 (for the 
746-764 MHz and 776-794 MHz bands, the Commission is exempt from 15 
U.S.C. 632, which requires Federal agencies to obtain SBA approval 
before adopting small business size standards).
    \177\ See ``700 MHz Guard Bands Auction Closes: Winning Bidders 
Announced,'' Public Notice, 15 FCC Rcd 18026 (2000).
    \178\ See ``700 MHz Guard Bands Auction Closes: Winning Bidders 
Announced,'' Public Notice, 16 FCC Rcd 4590 (WTB 2001).
    \179\ See In the Matter of Service Rules for the 698-746, 747-
762 and 777-792 MHz Bands, WT Docket 06-150, Second Report and 
Order, 22 FCC Rcd 15289, 15339-15344 ]] 118-134 (2007) (700 MHz 
Second Report and Order).
    \180\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    107. Specialized Mobile Radio. The Commission awards ``small 
entity'' bidding credits in auctions for Specialized Mobile Radio 
(SMR) geographic area licenses in the 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands to 
firms that had revenues of no more than $15 million in each of the 
three previous calendar years.\181\ The Commission awards ``very 
small entity'' bidding credits to firms that had revenues of no more 
than $3 million in each of the three previous calendar years.\182\ 
The SBA has

[[Page 5670]]

approved these small business size standards for the 900 MHz 
Service.\183\ The Commission has held auctions for geographic area 
licenses in the 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands. The 900 MHz SMR auction 
was completed in 1996. Sixty bidders claiming that they qualified as 
small businesses under the $15 million size standard won 263 
geographic area licenses in the 900 MHz SMR band. The 800 MHz SMR 
auction for the upper 200 channels was conducted in 1997. Ten 
bidders claiming that they qualified as small businesses under the 
$15 million size standard won 38 geographic area licenses for the 
upper 200 channels in the 800 MHz SMR band.\184\ A second auction 
for the 800 MHz band was conducted in 2002 and included 23 BEA 
licenses. One bidder claiming small business status won five 
licenses.\185\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \181\ 47 CFR 90.814(b)(1).
    \182\ 47 CFR 90.814(b)(1).
    \183\ See Alvarez Letter 1999.
    \184\ See ``Correction to Public Notice DA 96-586 `FCC Announces 
Winning Bidders in the Auction of 1020 Licenses to Provide 900 MHz 
SMR in Major Trading Areas,' '' Public Notice, 18 FCC Rcd 18367 (WTB 
1996).
    \185\ See ``Multi-Radio Service Auction Closes,'' Public Notice, 
17 FCC Rcd 1446 (WTB 2002).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    108. The auction of the 1,053 800 MHz SMR geographic area 
licenses for the General Category channels was conducted in 2000. 
Eleven bidders won 108 geographic area licenses for the General 
Category channels in the 800 MHz SMR band qualified as small 
businesses under the $15 million size standard.\186\ In an auction 
completed in 2000, a total of 2,800 Economic Area licenses in the 
lower 80 channels of the 800 MHz SMR service were awarded.\187\ Of 
the 22 winning bidders, 19 claimed small business status and won 129 
licenses. Thus, combining all three auctions, 40 winning bidders for 
geographic licenses in the 800 MHz SMR band claimed status as small 
business.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \186\ See ``800 MHz Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) Service 
General Category (851-854 MHz) and Upper Band (861-865 MHz) Auction 
Closes; Winning Bidders Announced,'' Public Notice, 15 FCC Rcd 17162 
(2000).
    \187\ See, ``800 MHz SMR Service Lower 80 Channels Auction 
Closes; Winning Bidders Announced,'' Public Notice, 16 FCC Rcd 1736 
(2000).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    109. In addition, there are numerous incumbent site-by-site SMR 
licensees and licensees with extended implementation authorizations 
in the 800 and 900 MHz bands. We do not know how many firms provide 
800 MHz or 900 MHz geographic area SMR pursuant to extended 
implementation authorizations, nor how many of these providers have 
annual revenues of no more than $15 million. One firm has over $15 
million in revenues. In addition, we do not know how many of these 
firms have 1500 or fewer employees.\188\ We assume, for purposes of 
this analysis, that all of the remaining existing extended 
implementation authorizations are held by small entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \188\ See generally 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    110. 220 MHz Radio Service--Phase I Licensees. The 220 MHz 
service has both Phase I and Phase II licenses. Phase I licensing 
was conducted by lotteries in 1992 and 1993. There are approximately 
1,515 such non-nationwide licensees and four nationwide licensees 
currently authorized to operate in the 220 MHz band. The Commission 
has not developed a definition of small entities specifically 
applicable to such incumbent 220 MHz Phase I licensees. To estimate 
the number of such licensees that are small businesses, we apply the 
small business size standard under the SBA rules applicable to 
Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite).\189\ This 
category provides that a small business is a wireless company 
employing no more than 1,500 persons.\190\ The Commission estimates 
that most such licensees are small businesses under the SBA's small 
business standard.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \189\ Id.
    \190\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    111. 220 MHz Radio Service--Phase II Licensees. The 220 MHz 
service has both Phase I and Phase II licenses. The Phase II 220 MHz 
service is a new service, and is subject to spectrum auctions. In 
the 220 MHz Third Report and Order, the Commission adopted a small 
business size standard for defining ``small'' and ``very small'' 
businesses for purposes of determining their eligibility for special 
provisions such as bidding credits and installment payments.\191\ 
This small business standard indicates that a ``small business'' is 
an entity that, together with its affiliates and controlling 
principals, has average gross revenues not exceeding $15 million for 
the preceding three years.\192\ A ``very small business'' is defined 
as an entity that, together with its affiliates and controlling 
principals, has average gross revenues that do not exceed $3 million 
for the preceding three years.\193\ The SBA has approved these small 
size standards.\194\ Auctions of Phase II licenses commenced on and 
closed in 1998.\195\ In the first auction, 908 licenses were 
auctioned in three different-sized geographic areas: three 
nationwide licenses, 30 Regional Economic Area Group (``EAG'') 
Licenses, and 875 Economic Area (EA) Licenses. Of the 908 licenses 
auctioned, 693 were sold.\196\ Thirty-nine small businesses won 373 
licenses in the first 220 MHz auction. A second auction included 225 
licenses: 216 EA licenses and 9 EAG licenses. Fourteen companies 
claiming small business status won 158 licenses.\197\ A third 
auction included four licenses: 2 BEA licenses and 2 EAG licenses in 
the 220 MHz Service. No small or very small business won any of 
these licenses.\198\ In 2007, the Commission conducted a fourth 
auction of the 220 MHz licenses.\199\ Bidding credits were offered 
to small businesses. A bidder with attributed average annual gross 
revenues that exceeded $3 million and did not exceed $15 million for 
the preceding three years (``small business'') received a 25 percent 
discount on its winning bid. A bidder with attributed average annual 
gross revenues that did not exceed $3 million for the preceding 
three years received a 35 percent discount on its winning bid 
(``very small business''). Auction 72, which offered 94 Phase II 220 
MHz Service licenses, concluded in 2007.\200\ In this auction, five 
winning bidders won a total of 76 licenses. Two winning bidders 
identified themselves as very small businesses won 56 of the 76 
licenses. One of the winning bidders that identified themselves as a 
small business won 5 of the 76 licenses won.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \191\ Amendment of Part 90 of the Commission's Rules to Provide 
For the Use of the 220-222 MHz Band by the Private Land Mobile Radio 
Service, Third Report and Order, 12 FCC Rcd 10943, 11068-70, paras. 
291-295 (1997).
    \192\ Id. at 11068, para. 291.
    \193\ Id.
    \194\ See Letter from Aida Alvarez, Administrator, SBA, to 
Daniel Phythyon, Chief, WTB, FCC (Jan. 6, 1998) (``Alvarez to 
Phythyon Letter 1998'').
    \195\ See generally ``220 MHz Service Auction Closes,'' Public 
Notice, 14 FCC Rcd 605 (1998).
    \196\ See ``FCC Announces It is Prepared to Grant 654 Phase II 
220 MHz Licenses After Final Payment is Made,'' Public Notice, 14 
FCC Rcd 1085 (1999).
    \197\ See ``Phase II 220 MHz Service Spectrum Auction Closes,'' 
Public Notice, 14 FCC Rcd 11218 (1999).
    \198\ See ``Multi-Radio Service Auction Closes,'' Public Notice, 
17 FCC Rcd 1446 (2002).
    \199\ See ``Auction of Phase II 220 MHz Service Spectrum 
Scheduled for June 20, 2007, Notice and Filing Requirements, Minimum 
Opening Bids, Upfront Payments and Other Procedures for Auction 72, 
Public Notice, 22 FCC Rcd 3404 (2007).
    \200\ See ``Auction of Phase II 220 MHz Service Spectrum 
Licenses Closes, Winning Bidders Announced for Auction 72, Down 
Payments due July 18, 2007, FCC Forms 601 and 602 due July 18, 2007, 
Final Payments due August 1, 2007, Ten-Day Petition to Deny Period, 
Public Notice, 22 FCC Rcd 11573 (2007).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    112. Cellular Radiotelephone Service. Auction 77 was held to 
resolve one group of mutually exclusive applications for Cellular 
Radiotelephone Service licenses for unserved areas in New 
Mexico.\201\ Bidding credits for designated entities were not 
available in Auction 77.\202\ In 2008, the Commission completed the 
closed auction of one unserved service area in the Cellular 
Radiotelephone Service, designated as Auction 77. Auction 77 
concluded with one provisionally winning bid for the unserved area 
totaling $25,002.\203\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \201\ See Closed Auction of Licenses for Cellular Unserved 
Service Area Scheduled for June 17, 2008, Notice and Filing 
Requirements, Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront Payments, and Other 
Procedures for Auction 77, Public Notice, 23 FCC Rcd 6670 (2008).
    \202\ Id. at 6685.
    \203\ See Auction of Cellular Unserved Service Area License 
Closes, Winning Bidder Announced for Auction 77, Down Payment due 
July 2, 2008, Final Payment due July 17, 2008, Public Notice, 23 FCC 
Rcd 9501 (2008).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    113. Private Land Mobile Radio (``PLMR''). PLMR systems serve an 
essential role in a range of industrial, business, land 
transportation, and public safety activities. These radios are used 
by companies of all sizes operating in all U.S. business categories, 
and are often used in support of the licensee's primary (non-
telecommunications) business operations. For the purpose of 
determining whether a licensee of a PLMR system is a small business 
as defined by the SBA, we use the broad census category, Wireless 
Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite). This definition 
provides that a small entity is any such entity employing no more 
than 1,500 persons.\204\ The Commission does not require PLMR 
licensees to disclose information about number of employees, so the 
Commission does not have information

[[Page 5671]]

that could be used to determine how many PLMR licensees constitute 
small entities under this definition. We note that PLMR licensees 
generally use the licensed facilities in support of other business 
activities, and therefore, it would also be helpful to assess PLMR 
licensees under the standards applied to the particular industry 
subsector to which the licensee belongs.\205\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \204\ See 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210.
    \205\ See generally 13 CFR 121.201.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    114. As of March 2010, there were 424,162 PLMR licensees 
operating 921,909 transmitters in the PLMR bands below 512 MHz. We 
note that any entity engaged in a commercial activity is eligible to 
hold a PLMR license, and that any revised rules in this context 
could therefore potentially impact small entities covering a great 
variety of industries.
    115. Fixed Microwave Services. Fixed microwave services include 
common carrier,\206\ private operational-fixed,\207\ and broadcast 
auxiliary radio services.\208\ At present, there are approximately 
22,015 common carrier fixed licensees and 61,670 private 
operational-fixed licensees and broadcast auxiliary radio licensees 
in the microwave services. The Commission has not created a size 
standard for a small business specifically with respect to fixed 
microwave services. For purposes of this analysis, the Commission 
uses the SBA small business size standard for the category Wireless 
Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite), which is 1,500 or 
fewer employees.\209\ The Commission does not have data specifying 
the number of these licensees that have no more than 1,500 
employees, and thus are unable at this time to estimate with greater 
precision the number of fixed microwave service licensees that would 
qualify as small business concerns under the SBA's small business 
size standard. Consequently, the Commission estimates that there are 
22,015 or fewer common carrier fixed licensees and 61,670 or fewer 
private operational-fixed licensees and broadcast auxiliary radio 
licensees in the microwave services that may be small and may be 
affected by the rules and policies proposed herein. We note, 
however, that the common carrier microwave fixed licensee category 
includes some large entities.
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    \206\ See 47 CFR 101 et seq. for common carrier fixed microwave 
services (except Multipoint Distribution Service).
    \207\ Persons eligible under parts 80 and 90 of the Commission's 
Rules can use Private Operational-Fixed Microwave services. See 47 
CFR Parts 80 and 90. Stations in this service are called 
operational-fixed to distinguish them from common carrier and public 
fixed stations. Only the licensee may use the operational-fixed 
station, and only for communications related to the licensee's 
commercial, industrial, or safety operations.
    \208\ Auxiliary Microwave Service is governed by Part 74 of 
Title 47 of the Commission's Rules. See 47 CFR Part 74. This service 
is available to licensees of broadcast stations and to broadcast and 
cable network entities. Broadcast auxiliary microwave stations are 
used for relaying broadcast television signals from the studio to 
the transmitter, or between two points such as a main studio and an 
auxiliary studio. The service also includes mobile television 
pickups, which relay signals from a remote location back to the 
studio.
    \209\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210.
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    116. 39 GHz Service. The Commission created a special small 
business size standard for 39 GHz licenses--an entity that has 
average gross revenues of $40 million or less in the three previous 
calendar years.\210\ An additional size standard for ``very small 
business'' is: An entity that, together with affiliates, has average 
gross revenues of not more than $15 million for the preceding three 
calendar years.\211\ The SBA has approved these small business size 
standards.\212\ The auction of the 2,173, 39 GHz licenses, began and 
closed in 2000. The 18 bidders who claimed small business status won 
849 licenses.
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    \210\ See Amendment of the Commission's Rules Regarding the 
37.0-38.6 GHz and 38.6-40.0 GHz Bands, ET Docket No. 95-183, Report 
and Order, 12 FCC Rcd 18600 (1997).
    \211\ Id.
    \212\ See Letter from Aida Alvarez, Administrator, SBA, to 
Kathleen O'Brien Ham, Chief, Auctions and Industry Analysis 
Division, WTB, FCC (Feb. 4, 1998); see Letter from Hector Barreto, 
Administrator, SBA, to Margaret Wiener, Chief, Auctions and Industry 
Analysis Division, WTB, FCC (Jan. 18, 2002).
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    117. Local Multipoint Distribution Service. Local Multipoint 
Distribution Service (``LMDS'') is a fixed broadband point-to-
multipoint microwave service that provides for two-way video 
telecommunications.\213\ The auction of the 986 LMDS licenses began 
and closed in 1998. The Commission established a small business size 
standard for LMDS licenses as an entity that has average gross 
revenues of less than $40 million in the three previous calendar 
years.\214\ An additional small business size standard for ``very 
small business'' was added as an entity that, together with its 
affiliates, has average gross revenues of not more than $15 million 
for the preceding three calendar years.\215\ The SBA has approved 
these small business size standards in the context of LMDS 
auctions.\216\ There were 93 winning bidders that qualified as small 
entities in the LMDS auctions. A total of 93 small and very small 
business bidders won approximately 277 A Block licenses and 387 B 
Block licenses. In 1999, the Commission re-auctioned 161 licenses; 
there were 32 small and very small businesses winning that won 119 
licenses.
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    \213\ See Rulemaking to Amend Parts 1, 2, 21, 25, of the 
Commission's Rules to Redesignate the 27.5-29.5 GHz Frequency Band, 
Reallocate the 29.5-30.5 Frequency Band, to Establish Rules and 
Policies for Local Multipoint Distribution Service and for Fixed 
Satellite Services, Second Report and Order, Order on 
Reconsideration, and Fifth Notice of Proposed Rule Making, 12 FCC 
Rcd 12545, 12689-90, para. 348 (1997) (``LMDS Second Report and 
Order'').
    \214\ See LMDS Second Report and Order, 12 FCC Rcd at 12689-90, 
para. 348.
    \215\ See id.
    \216\ See Alvarez to Phythyon Letter 1998.
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    118. 218-219 MHz Service. The first auction of 218-219 MHz 
(previously referred to as the Interactive and Video Data Service or 
IVDS) spectrum resulted in 178 entities winning licenses for 594 
Metropolitan Statistical Areas (``MSAs'').\217\ Of the 594 licenses, 
567 were won by 167 entities qualifying as a small business. For 
that auction, the Commission defined a small business as an entity 
that, together with its affiliates, has no more than a $6 million 
net worth and, after Federal income taxes (excluding any carry over 
losses), has no more than $2 million in annual profits each year for 
the previous two years.\218\ In the 218-219 MHz Report and Order and 
Memorandum Opinion and Order, we defined a small business as an 
entity that, together with its affiliates and persons or entities 
that hold interests in such an entity and their affiliates, has 
average annual gross revenues not exceeding $15 million for the 
preceding three years.\219\ A very small business is defined as an 
entity that, together with its affiliates and persons or entities 
that hold interests in such an entity and its affiliates, has 
average annual gross revenues not exceeding $3 million for the 
preceding three years.\220\ The SBA has approved of these 
definitions.\221\ A subsequent auction is not yet scheduled. Given 
the success of small businesses in the previous auction, and the 
prevalence of small businesses in the subscription television 
services and message communications industries, we assume for 
purposes of this analysis that in future auctions, many, and perhaps 
most, of the licenses might be awarded to small businesses.
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    \217\ See ``Interactive Video and Data Service (IVDS) 
Applications Accepted for Filing,'' Public Notice, 9 FCC Rcd 6227 
(1994).
    \218\ Implementation of Section 309(j) of the Communications 
Act--Competitive Bidding, Fourth Report and Order, 9 FCC Rcd 2330 
(1994).
    \219\ Amendment of Part 95 of the Commission's Rules to Provide 
Regulatory Flexibility in the 218-219 MHz Service, Report and Order 
and Memorandum Opinion and Order, 15 FCC Rcd 1497 (1999).
    \220\ Id.
    \221\ See Alvarez to Phythyon Letter 1998.
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    119. Location and Monitoring Service (``LMS''). Multilateration 
LMS systems use non-voice radio techniques to determine the location 
and status of mobile radio units. For purposes of auctioning LMS 
licenses, the Commission has defined ``small business'' as an entity 
that, together with controlling interests and affiliates, has 
average annual gross revenues for the preceding three years not 
exceeding $15 million.\222\ A ``very small business'' is defined as 
an entity that, together with controlling interests and affiliates, 
has average annual gross revenues for the preceding three years not 
exceeding $3 million.\223\ These definitions have been approved by 
the SBA.\224\ An auction for LMS licenses commenced and closed in 
1999. Of the 528 licenses auctioned, 289 licenses were sold to four 
small businesses.
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    \222\ Amendment of Part 90 of the Commission's Rules to Adopt 
Regulations for Automatic Vehicle Monitoring Systems, Second Report 
and Order, 13 FCC Rcd 15182, 15192, para. 20 (1998) (``Automatic 
Vehicle Monitoring Systems Second Report and Order''); see also 47 
CFR 90.1103.
    \223\ Automatic Vehicle Monitoring Systems Second Report and 
Order, 13 FCC Rcd at 15192, para. 20; see also 47 CFR 90.1103.
    \224\ See Alvarez Letter 1998.
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    120. Rural Radiotelephone Service. The Commission has not 
adopted a size standard for small businesses specific to the Rural

[[Page 5672]]

Radiotelephone Service.\225\ A significant subset of the Rural 
Radiotelephone Service is the Basic Exchange Telephone Radio System 
(``BETRS'').\226\ In the present context, we will use the SBA's 
small business size standard applicable to Wireless 
Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite), i.e., an entity 
employing no more than 1,500 persons.\227\ There are approximately 
1,000 licensees in the Rural Radiotelephone Service, and the 
Commission estimates that there are 1,000 or fewer small entity 
licensees in the Rural Radiotelephone Service that may be affected 
by the rules and policies proposed herein.
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    \225\ The service is defined in section 22.99 of the 
Commission's Rules, 47 CFR 22.99.
    \226\ BETRS is defined in sections 22.757 and 22.759 of the 
Commission's Rules, 47 CFR 22.757 and 22.759.
    \227\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210.
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    121. Air-Ground Radiotelephone Service.\228\ The Commission has 
previously used the SBA's small business definition applicable to 
Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite), i.e., an 
entity employing no more than 1,500 persons.\229\ There are 
approximately 100 licensees in the Air-Ground Radiotelephone 
Service, and under that definition, we estimate that almost all of 
them qualify as small entities under the SBA definition. For 
purposes of assigning Air-Ground Radiotelephone Service licenses 
through competitive bidding, the Commission has defined ``small 
business'' as an entity that, together with controlling interests 
and affiliates, has average annual gross revenues for the preceding 
three years not exceeding $40 million.\230\ A ``very small 
business'' is defined as an entity that, together with controlling 
interests and affiliates, has average annual gross revenues for the 
preceding three years not exceeding $15 million.\231\ These 
definitions were approved by the SBA.\232\ In 2006, the Commission 
completed an auction of nationwide commercial Air-Ground 
Radiotelephone Service licenses in the 800 MHz band (Auction 65). 
Later in 2006, the auction closed with two winning bidders winning 
two Air-Ground Radiotelephone Services licenses. Neither of the 
winning bidders claimed small business status.
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    \228\ The service is defined in section 22.99 of the 
Commission's Rules, 47 CFR 22.99.
    \229\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS codes 517210.
    \230\ Amendment of Part 22 of the Commission's Rules to Benefit 
the Consumers of Air-Ground Telecommunications Services, Biennial 
Regulatory Review--Amendment of Parts 1, 22, and 90 of the 
Commission's Rules, Amendment of Parts 1 and 22 of the Commission's 
Rules to Adopt Competitive Bidding Rules for Commercial and General 
Aviation Air-Ground Radiotelephone Service, WT Docket Nos. 03-103 
and 05-42, Order on Reconsideration and Report and Order, 20 FCC Rcd 
19663, paras. 28-42 (2005).
    \231\ Id.
    \232\ See Letter from Hector V. Barreto, Administrator, SBA, to 
Gary D. Michaels, Deputy Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access 
Division, WTB, FCC (Sept. 19, 2005).
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    122. Aviation and Marine Radio Services. There are approximately 
26,162 aviation, 34,555 marine (ship), and 3,296 marine (coast) 
licensees.\233\ The Commission has not developed a small business 
size standard specifically applicable to all licensees. For purposes 
of this analysis, we will use the SBA small business size standard 
for the category Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except 
Satellite), which is 1,500 or fewer employees.\234\ We are unable to 
determine how many of those licensed fall under this standard. For 
purposes of our evaluations in this analysis, we estimate that there 
are up to approximately 62,969 licensees that are small businesses 
under the SBA standard.\235\ In 1998, the Commission held an auction 
of 42 VHF Public Coast licenses in the 157.1875-157.4500 MHz (ship 
transmit) and 161.775-162.0125 MHz (coast transmit) bands. For this 
auction, the Commission defined a ``small'' business as an entity 
that, together with controlling interests and affiliates, has 
average gross revenues for the preceding three years not to exceed 
$15 million. In addition, a ``very small'' business is one that, 
together with controlling interests and affiliates, has average 
gross revenues for the preceding three years not to exceed $3 
million.\236\ Further, the Commission made available Automated 
Maritime Telecommunications System (``AMTS'') licenses in Auctions 
57 and 61.\237\ Winning bidders could claim status as a very small 
business or a very small business. A very small business for this 
service is defined as an entity with attributed average annual gross 
revenues that do not exceed $3 million for the preceding three 
years, and a small business is defined as an entity with attributed 
average annual gross revenues of more than $3 million but less than 
$15 million for the preceding three years.\238\ Three of the winning 
bidders in Auction 57 qualified as small or very small businesses, 
while three winning entities in Auction 61 qualified as very small 
businesses.
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    \233\ Vessels that are not required by law to carry a radio and 
do not make international voyages or communications are not required 
to obtain an individual license. See Amendment of Parts 80 and 87 of 
the Commission's Rules to Permit Operation of Certain Domestic Ship 
and Aircraft Radio Stations Without Individual Licenses, Report and 
Order, WT Docket No. 96-82, 11 FCC Rcd 14849 (1996).
    \234\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210.
    \235\ A licensee may have a license in more than one category.
    \236\ Amendment of the Commission's Rules Concerning Maritime 
Communications, PR Docket No. 92-257, Third Report and Order and 
Memorandum Opinion and Order, 13 FCC Rcd 19853 (1998).
    \237\ See ``Automated Maritime Telecommunications System 
Spectrum Auction Scheduled for September 15, 2004, Notice and Filing 
Requirements, Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront Payments and Other 
Auction Procedures,'' Public Notice, 19 FCC Rcd 9518 (WTB 2004); 
``Auction of Automated Maritime Telecommunications System Licenses 
Scheduled for August 3, 2005, Notice and Filing Requirements, 
Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront Payments and Other Auction Procedures 
for Auction No. 61,'' Public Notice, 20 FCC Rcd 7811 (WTB 2005).
    \238\ 47 CFR 80.1252.
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    123. Offshore Radiotelephone Service. This service operates on 
several ultra high frequencies (``UHF'') television broadcast 
channels that are not used for television broadcasting in the 
coastal areas of States bordering the Gulf of Mexico.\239\ There is 
presently 1 licensee in this service. We do not have information 
whether that licensee would qualify as small under the SBA's small 
business size standard for Wireless Telecommunications Carriers 
(except Satellite) services.\240\ Under that SBA small business size 
standard, a business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer 
employees.\241\
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    \239\ This service is governed by Subpart I of Part 22 of the 
Commission's Rules. See 47 CFR 22.1001-22.1037.
    \240\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210.
    \241\ Id.
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    124. Multiple Address Systems (``MAS''). Entities using MAS 
spectrum, in general, fall into two categories: (1) Those using the 
spectrum for profit-based uses, and (2) those using the spectrum for 
private internal uses. With respect to the first category, the 
Commission defines ``small entity'' for MAS licenses as an entity 
that has average gross revenues of less than $15 million in the 
three previous calendar years.\242\ ``Very small business'' is 
defined as an entity that, together with its affiliates, has average 
gross revenues of not more than $3 million for the preceding three 
calendar years.\243\ The SBA has approved of these definitions.\244\ 
The majority of these entities will most likely be licensed in bands 
where the Commission has implemented a geographic area licensing 
approach that would require the use of competitive bidding 
procedures to resolve mutually exclusive applications. The 
Commission's licensing database indicates that, as of March 5, 2010, 
there were over 11,500 MAS station authorizations. In addition, an 
auction for 5,104 MAS licenses in 176 EAs was conducted in 
2001.\245\ Seven winning bidders claimed status as small or very 
small businesses and won 611 licenses. In 2005, the Commission 
completed an auction (Auction 59) of 4,226 MAS licenses in the Fixed 
Microwave Services from the 928/959 and 932/941 MHz bands. Twenty-
six winning bidders won a total of 2,323 licenses. Of the 26 winning 
bidders in this auction, five claimed small business status and won 
1,891 licenses.
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    \242\ See Amendment of the Commission's Rules Regarding Multiple 
Address Systems, Report and Order, 15 FCC Rcd 11956, 12008, para. 
123 (2000).
    \243\ Id.
    \244\ See Alvarez Letter 1999.
    \245\ See ``Multiple Address Systems Spectrum Auction Closes,'' 
Public Notice, 16 FCC Rcd 21011 (2001).
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    125. With respect to the second category, which consists of 
entities that use, or seek to use, MAS spectrum to accommodate 
internal communications needs, we note that MAS serves an essential 
role in a range of industrial, safety, business, and land 
transportation activities. MAS radios are used by companies of all 
sizes, operating in virtually all U.S. business categories, and by 
all types of public safety entities. For such private internal 
users, the small business size standard developed by the SBA would 
be more appropriate. The applicable size standard in this instance 
is that of Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite). 
This definition provides that a small entity is any such entity 
employing no more than 1,500 persons.\246\ The

[[Page 5673]]

Commission's licensing database indicates that, as of January 20, 
1999, of the 8,670 total MAS station authorizations, 8,410 
authorizations were for private radio service, and of these, 1,433 
were for private land mobile radio service.
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    \246\ See 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210.
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    126. 1.4 GHz Band Licensees. The Commission conducted an auction 
of 64 1.4 GHz band licenses \247\ in 2007.\248\ In that auction, the 
Commission defined ``small business'' as an entity that, together 
with its affiliates and controlling interests, had average gross 
revenues that exceed $15 million but do not exceed $40 million for 
the preceding three years, and a ``very small business'' as an 
entity that, together with its affiliates and controlling interests, 
has had average annual gross revenues not exceeding $15 million for 
the preceding three years.\249\ Neither of the two winning bidders 
sought designated entity status.\250\
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    \247\ See ``Auction of 1.4 GHz Bands Licenses Scheduled for 
February 7, 2007,'' Public Notice, 21 FCC Rcd 12393 (WTB 2006).
    \248\ See ``Auction of 1.4 GHz Band Licenses Closes; Winning 
Bidders Announced for Auction No. 69,'' Public Notice, 22 FCC Rcd 
4714 (2007) (``Auction No. 69 Closing PN'').
    \249\ Auction No. 69 Closing PN, Attachment C.
    \250\ See Auction No. 69 Closing PN.
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    127. Incumbent 24 GHz Licensees. This analysis may affect 
incumbent licensees who were relocated to the 24 GHz band from the 
18 GHz band, and applicants who wish to provide services in the 24 
GHz band. The applicable SBA small business size standard is that of 
Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite). This 
category provides that such a company is small if it employs no more 
than 1,500 persons.\251\ The broader census data notwithstanding, we 
believe that there are only two licensees in the 24 GHz band that 
were relocated from the 18 GHz band, Teligent \252\ and TRW, Inc. It 
is our understanding that Teligent and its related companies have 
fewer than 1,500 employees, though this may change in the future. 
TRW is not a small entity. There are approximately 122 licensees in 
the Rural Radiotelephone Service, and the Commission estimates that 
there are 122 or fewer small entity licensees in the Rural 
Radiotelephone Service that may be affected by the rules and 
policies proposed herein.
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    \251\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210.
    \252\ Teligent acquired the DEMS licenses of FirstMark, the only 
licensee other than TRW in the 24 GHz band whose license has been 
modified to require relocation to the 24 GHz band.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    128. Future 24 GHz Licensees. With respect to new applicants in 
the 24 GHz band, we have defined ``small business'' as an entity 
that, together with controlling interests and affiliates, has 
average annual gross revenues for the three preceding years not 
exceeding $15 million.\253\ ``Very small business'' in the 24 GHz 
band is defined as an entity that, together with controlling 
interests and affiliates, has average gross revenues not exceeding 
$3 million for the preceding three years.\254\ The SBA has approved 
these definitions.\255\ The Commission will not know how many 
licensees will be small or very small businesses until the auction, 
if required, is held.
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    \253\ Amendments to Parts 1, 2, 87 and 101 of the Commission's 
Rules To License Fixed Services at 24 GHz, Report and Order, 15 FCC 
Rcd 16934, 16967, para. 77 (2000) (``24 GHz Report and Order''); see 
also 47 CFR 101.538(a)(2).
    \254\ 24 GHz Report and Order, 15 FCC Rcd at 16967, para. 77; 
see also 47 CFR 101.538(a)(1).
    \255\ See Letter from Gary M. Jackson, Assistant Administrator, 
SBA, to Margaret W. Wiener, Deputy Chief, Auctions and Industry 
Analysis Division, WTB, FCC (July 28, 2000).
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    129. Broadband Radio Service and Educational Broadband Service. 
Broadband Radio Service systems, previously referred to as 
Multipoint Distribution Service (``MDS'') and Multichannel 
Multipoint Distribution Service (``MMDS'') systems, and ``wireless 
cable,'' transmit video programming to subscribers and provide two-
way high speed data operations using the microwave frequencies of 
the Broadband Radio Service (``BRS'') and Educational Broadband 
Service (``EBS'') (previously referred to as the Instructional 
Television Fixed Service (``ITFS'')).\256\ In connection with the 
1996 BRS auction, the Commission established a small business size 
standard as an entity that had annual average gross revenues of no 
more than $40 million in the previous three calendar years.\257\ The 
BRS auctions resulted in 67 successful bidders obtaining licensing 
opportunities for 493 Basic Trading Areas (``BTAs''). Of the 67 
auction winners, 61 met the definition of a small business. BRS also 
includes licensees of stations authorized prior to the auction. At 
this time, we estimate that of the 61 small business BRS auction 
winners, 48 remain small business licensees. In addition to the 48 
small businesses that hold BTA authorizations, there are 
approximately 392 incumbent BRS licensees that are considered small 
entities.\258\ After adding the number of small business auction 
licensees to the number of incumbent licensees not already counted, 
we find that there are currently approximately 440 BRS licensees 
that are defined as small businesses under either the SBA or the 
Commission's rules. In 2009, the Commission conducted Auction 86, 
the sale of 78 licenses in the BRS areas.\259\ The Commission 
offered three levels of bidding credits: (i) A bidder with 
attributed average annual gross revenues that exceed $15 million and 
do not exceed $40 million for the preceding three years (small 
business) will receive a 15 percent discount on its winning bid; 
(ii) a bidder with attributed average annual gross revenues that 
exceed $3 million and do not exceed $15 million for the preceding 
three years (very small business) will receive a 25 percent discount 
on its winning bid; and (iii) a bidder with attributed average 
annual gross revenues that do not exceed $3 million for the 
preceding three years (entrepreneur) will receive a 35 percent 
discount on its winning bid.\260\ Auction 86 concluded in 2009 with 
the sale of 61 licenses.\261\ Of the ten winning bidders, two 
bidders that claimed small business status won four licenses; one 
bidder that claimed very small business status won three licenses; 
and two bidders that claimed entrepreneur status won six licenses.
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    \256\ Amendment of Parts 21 and 74 of the Commission's Rules 
with Regard to Filing Procedures in the Multipoint Distribution 
Service and in the Instructional Television Fixed Service and 
Implementation of Section 309(j) of the Communications Act--
Competitive Bidding, MM Docket No. 94-131 and PP Docket No. 93-253, 
Report and Order, 10 FCC Rcd 9589, 9593, para. 7 (1995) (``MDS 
Auction R&O'').
    \257\ 47 CFR 21.961(b)(1).
    \258\ 47 U.S.C. 309(j). Hundreds of stations were licensed to 
incumbent MDS licensees prior to implementation of Section 309(j) of 
the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. 309(j). For these pre-
auction licenses, the applicable standard is SBA's small business 
size standard.
    \259\ Auction of Broadband Radio Service (BRS) Licenses, 
Scheduled for October 27, 2009, Notice and Filing Requirements, 
Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront Payments, and Other Procedures for 
Auction 86, Public Notice, 24 FCC Rcd 8277 (2009).
    \260\ Id. at 8296.
    \261\ Auction of Broadband Radio Service Licenses Closes, 
Winning Bidders Announced for Auction 86, Down Payments Due November 
23, 2009, Final Payments Due December 8, 2009, Ten-Day Petition to 
Deny Period, Public Notice, 24 FCC Rcd 13572 (2009).
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    130. In addition, the SBA's Cable Television Distribution 
Services small business size standard is applicable to EBS. There 
are presently 2,032 EBS licensees. All but 100 of these licenses are 
held by educational institutions. Educational institutions are 
included in this analysis as small entities.\262\ Thus, we estimate 
that at least 1,932 licensees are small businesses. Since 2007, 
Cable Television Distribution Services have been defined within the 
broad economic census category of Wired Telecommunications Carriers; 
that category is defined as follows: ``This industry comprises 
establishments primarily engaged in operating and/or providing 
access to transmission facilities and infrastructure that they own 
and/or lease for the transmission of voice, data, text, sound, and 
video using wired telecommunications networks. Transmission 
facilities may be based on a single technology or a combination of 
technologies.'' \263\ The SBA has developed a small business size 
standard for this category, which is: All such firms having 1,500 or 
fewer employees. To gauge small business prevalence for these cable 
services we must, however, use current census data that are based on 
the previous category of Cable and Other Program Distribution and 
its associated size standard; that size standard was: All such firms 
having $13.5 million or less in annual receipts.\264\ According to 
Census Bureau data for 2002, there were a total of 1,191 firms in 
this previous category that operated for the entire year.\265\ Of 
this total,

[[Page 5674]]

1,087 firms had annual receipts of under $10 million, and 43 firms 
had receipts of $10 million or more but less than $25 million.\266\ 
Thus, the majority of these firms can be considered small.
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    \262\ The term ``small entity'' within SBREFA applies to small 
organizations (nonprofits) and to small governmental jurisdictions 
(cities, counties, towns, townships, villages, school districts, and 
special districts with populations of less than 50,000). 5 U.S.C. 
601(4)-(6). We do not collect annual revenue data on EBS licensees.
    \263\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, ``517110 Wired 
Telecommunications Carriers'' (partial definition); http://www.census.gov/naics/2007/def/ND517110.HTM#N517110.
    \264\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110.
    \265\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, Subject Series: 
Information, Table 4, Receipts Size of Firms for the United States: 
2002, NAICS code 517510 (issued November 2005).
    \266\ Id. An additional 61 firms had annual receipts of $25 
million or more.
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    131. Television Broadcasting. This Economic Census category 
``comprises establishments primarily engaged in broadcasting images 
together with sound. These establishments operate television 
broadcasting studios and facilities for the programming and 
transmission of programs to the public.'' \267\ The SBA has created 
the following small business size standard for Television 
Broadcasting firms: Those having $14 million or less in annual 
receipts.\268\ The Commission has estimated the number of licensed 
commercial television stations to be 1,395.\269\ In addition, 
according to Commission staff review of the BIA Publications, Inc., 
Master Access Television Analyzer Database (BIA) on March 30, 2007, 
about 986 of an estimated 1,395 commercial television stations (or 
approximately 72 percent) had revenues of $13 million or less.\270\ 
We therefore estimate that the majority of commercial television 
broadcasters are small entities.
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    \267\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, ``515120 
Television Broadcasting'' (partial definition); http://www.census.gov/naics/2007/def/ND515120.HTM#N515120.
    \268\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 515120 (updated for inflation 
in 2008).
    \269\ See FCC News Release, ``Broadcast Station Totals as of 
June 30, 2009,'' dated September 4, 2009; http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2008/db0318/DOC-280836A1.pdf.
    \270\ We recognize that BIA's estimate differs slightly from the 
FCC total given supra.
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    132. We note, however, that in assessing whether a business 
concern qualifies as small under the above definition, business 
(control) affiliations \271\ must be included. Our estimate, 
therefore, likely overstates the number of small entities that might 
be affected by our action, because the revenue figure on which it is 
based does not include or aggregate revenues from affiliated 
companies. In addition, an element of the definition of ``small 
business'' is that the entity not be dominant in its field of 
operation. We are unable at this time to define or quantify the 
criteria that would establish whether a specific television station 
is dominant in its field of operation. Accordingly, the estimate of 
small businesses to which rules may apply does not exclude any 
television station from the definition of a small business on this 
basis and is therefore possibly over-inclusive to that extent.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \271\ ``[Business concerns] are affiliates of each other when 
one concern controls or has the power to control the other or a 
third party or parties controls or has to power to control both.'' 
13 CFR 21.103(a)(1).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    133. In addition, the Commission has estimated the number of 
licensed noncommercial educational (NCE) television stations to be 
390.\272\ These stations are non-profit, and therefore considered to 
be small entities.\273\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \272\ See FCC News Release, ``Broadcast Station Totals as of 
June 30, 2009,'' dated September 4, 2009; http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2008/db0318/DOC-280836A1.pdf.
    \273\ See generally 5 U.S.C. 601(4), (6).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    134. In addition, there are also 2,386 low power television 
stations (LPTV).\274\ Given the nature of this service, we will 
presume that all LPTV licensees qualify as small entities under the 
above SBA small business size standard.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \274\ See FCC News Release, ``Broadcast Station Totals as of 
June 30, 2009,'' dated September 4, 2009; http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2008/db0318/DOC-280836A1.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    135. Radio Broadcasting. This Economic Census category 
``comprises establishments primarily engaged in broadcasting aural 
programs by radio to the public. Programming may originate in their 
own studio, from an affiliated network, or from external sources.'' 
\275\ The SBA has established a small business size standard for 
this category, which is: Such firms having $7 million or less in 
annual receipts.\276\ According to Commission staff review of BIA 
Publications, Inc.'s Master Access Radio Analyzer Database on March 
31, 2005, about 10,840 (95%) of 11,410 commercial radio stations had 
revenues of $6 million or less. Therefore, the majority of such 
entities are small entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \275\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, ``515112 Radio 
Stations''; http://www.census.gov/naics/2007/def/ND515112.HTM#N515112.
    \276\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 515112 (updated for inflation 
in 2008).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    136. We note, however, that in assessing whether a business 
concern qualifies as small under the above size standard, business 
affiliations must be included.\277\ In addition, to be determined to 
be a ``small business,'' the entity may not be dominant in its field 
of operation.\278\ We note that it is difficult at times to assess 
these criteria in the context of media entities, and our estimate of 
small businesses may therefore be over-inclusive.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \277\ ``Concerns and entities are affiliates of each other when 
one controls or has the power to control the other, or a third party 
or parties controls or has the power to control both. It does not 
matter whether control is exercised, so long as the power to control 
exists.'' 13 CFR 121.103(a)(1) (an SBA regulation).
    \278\ 13 CFR 121.102(b) (an SBA regulation).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    137. Auxiliary, Special Broadcast and Other Program Distribution 
Services. This service involves a variety of transmitters, generally 
used to relay broadcast programming to the public (through 
translator and booster stations) or within the program distribution 
chain (from a remote news gathering unit back to the station). The 
Commission has not developed a definition of small entities 
applicable to broadcast auxiliary licensees. The applicable 
definitions of small entities are those, noted previously, under the 
SBA rules applicable to radio broadcasting stations and television 
broadcasting stations.\279\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \279\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS codes 515112 and 515120.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    138. The Commission estimates that there are approximately 5,618 
FM translators and boosters.\280\ The Commission does not collect 
financial information on any broadcast facility, and the Department 
of Commerce does not collect financial information on these 
auxiliary broadcast facilities. We believe that most, if not all, of 
these auxiliary facilities could be classified as small businesses 
by themselves. We also recognize that most commercial translators 
and boosters are owned by a parent station which, in some cases, 
would be covered by the revenue definition of small business entity 
discussed above. These stations would likely have annual revenues 
that exceed the SBA maximum to be designated as a small business 
($7.0 million for a radio station or $14.0 million for a TV 
station). Furthermore, they do not meet the Small Business Act's 
definition of a ``small business concern'' because they are not 
independently owned and operated.\281\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \280\ See supra note 242.
    \281\ See 15 U.S.C. 632.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    139. Cable Television Distribution Services. Since 2007, these 
services have been defined within the broad economic census category 
of Wired Telecommunications Carriers; that category is defined as 
follows: ``This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged 
in operating and/or providing access to transmission facilities and 
infrastructure that they own and/or lease for the transmission of 
voice, data, text, sound, and video using wired telecommunications 
networks. Transmission facilities may be based on a single 
technology or a combination of technologies.'' \282\ The SBA has 
developed a small business size standard for this category, which 
is: All such firms having 1,500 or fewer employees. To gauge small 
business prevalence for these cable services we must, however, use 
current census data that are based on the previous category of Cable 
and Other Program Distribution and its associated size standard; 
that size standard was: All such firms having $13.5 million or less 
in annual receipts.\283\ According to Census Bureau data for 2002, 
there were a total of 1,191 firms in this previous category that 
operated for the entire year.\284\ Of this total, 1,087 firms had 
annual receipts of under $10 million, and 43 firms had receipts of 
$10 million or more but less than $25 million.\285\ Thus, the 
majority of these firms can be considered small.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \282\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, ``517110 Wired 
Telecommunications Carriers'' (partial definition); http://www.census.gov/naics/2007/def/ND517110.HTM#N517110.
    \283\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110.
    \284\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, Subject Series: 
Information, Table 4, Receipts Size of Firms for the United States: 
2002, NAICS code 517510 (issued November 2005).
    \285\ Id. An additional 61 firms had annual receipts of $25 
million or more.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    140. Cable Companies and Systems. The Commission has also 
developed its own small business size standards, for the purpose of 
cable rate regulation. Under the Commission's rules, a ``small cable 
company'' is one serving 400,000 or fewer subscribers, 
nationwide.\286\ Industry data indicate that, of 1,076 cable 
operators nationwide, all but

[[Page 5675]]

eleven are small under this size standard.\287\ In addition, under 
the Commission's rules, a ``small system'' is a cable system serving 
15,000 or fewer subscribers.\288\ Industry data indicate that, of 
6,635 systems nationwide, 5,802 systems have under 10,000 
subscribers, and an additional 302 systems have 10,000-19,999 
subscribers.\289\ Thus, under this second size standard, most cable 
systems are small.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \286\ 47 CFR 76.901(e). The Commission determined that this size 
standard equates approximately to a size standard of $100 million or 
less in annual revenues. Implementation of Sections of the 1992 
Cable Act: Rate Regulation, Sixth Report and Order and Eleventh 
Order on Reconsideration, 10 FCC Rcd 7393, 7408 (1995).
    \287\ These data are derived from: R.R. Bowker, Broadcasting & 
Cable Yearbook 2006, ``Top 25 Cable/Satellite Operators,'' pages A-8 
& C-2 (data current as of June 30, 2005); Warren Communications 
News, Television & Cable Factbook 2006, ``Ownership of Cable Systems 
in the United States,'' pages D-1805 to D-1857.
    \288\ 47 CFR 76.901(c).
    \289\ Warren Communications News, Television & Cable Factbook 
2008, ``U.S. Cable Systems by Subscriber Size,'' page F-2 (data 
current as of Oct. 2007). The data do not include 851 systems for 
which classifying data were not available.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    141. Cable System Operators. The Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended, also contains a size standard for small cable system 
operators, which is ``a cable operator that, directly or through an 
affiliate, serves in the aggregate fewer than 1 percent of all 
subscribers in the United States and is not affiliated with any 
entity or entities whose gross annual revenues in the aggregate 
exceed $250,000,000.'' \290\ The Commission has determined that an 
operator serving fewer than 677,000 subscribers shall be deemed a 
small operator, if its annual revenues, when combined with the total 
annual revenues of all its affiliates, do not exceed $250 million in 
the aggregate.\291\ Industry data indicate that, of 1,076 cable 
operators nationwide, all but ten are small under this size 
standard.\292\ We note that the Commission neither requests nor 
collects information on whether cable system operators are 
affiliated with entities whose gross annual revenues exceed $250 
million,\293\ and therefore we are unable to estimate more 
accurately the number of cable system operators that would qualify 
as small under this size standard.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \290\ 47 U.S.C. 543(m)(2); see 47 CFR 76.901(f) & nn. 1-3.
    \291\ 47 CFR 76.901(f); see Public Notice, FCC Announces New 
Subscriber Count for the Definition of Small Cable Operator, DA 01-
158 (Cable Services Bureau, Jan. 24, 2001).
    \292\ These data are derived from: R.R. Bowker, Broadcasting & 
Cable Yearbook 2006, ``Top 25 Cable/Satellite Operators,'' pages A-8 
& C-2 (data current as of June 30, 2005); Warren Communications 
News, Television & Cable Factbook 2006, ``Ownership of Cable Systems 
in the United States,'' pages D-1805 to D-1857.
    \293\ The Commission does receive such information on a case-by-
case basis if a cable operator appeals a local franchise authority's 
finding that the operator does not qualify as a small cable operator 
pursuant to 76.901(f) of the Commission's rules. See 47 CFR 
76.909(b).

    142. Open Video Systems. The open video system (``OVS'') 
framework was established in 1996, and is one of four statutorily 
recognized options for the provision of video programming services 
by local exchange carriers.\294\ The OVS framework provides 
opportunities for the distribution of video programming other than 
through cable systems. Because OVS operators provide subscription 
services,\295\ OVS falls within the SBA small business size standard 
covering cable services, which is ``Wired Telecommunications 
Carriers.'' \296\ The SBA has developed a small business size 
standard for this category, which is: All such firms having 1,500 or 
fewer employees. To gauge small business prevalence for such 
services we must, however, use current census data that are based on 
the previous category of Cable and Other Program Distribution and 
its associated size standard; that size standard was: All such firms 
having $13.5 million or less in annual receipts.\297\ According to 
Census Bureau data for 2002, there were a total of 1,191 firms in 
this previous category that operated for the entire year.\298\ Of 
this total, 1,087 firms had annual receipts of under $10 million, 
and 43 firms had receipts of $10 million or more but less than $25 
million.\299\ Thus, the majority of cable firms can be considered 
small. In addition, we note that the Commission has certified some 
OVS operators, with some now providing service.\300\ Broadband 
service providers (``BSPs'') are currently the only significant 
holders of OVS certifications or local OVS franchises.\301\ The 
Commission does not have financial or employment information 
regarding the entities authorized to provide OVS, some of which may 
not yet be operational. Thus, again, at least some of the OVS 
operators may qualify as small entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \294\ 47 U.S.C. 571(a)(3)-(4). See Annual Assessment of the 
Status of Competition in the Market for the Delivery of Video 
Programming, Thirteenth Annual Report, 24 FCC Rcd 542, 606 para. 135 
(2009) (``Thirteenth Annual Cable Competition Report'').
    \295\ See 47 U.S.C. 573.
    \296\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, ``517110 Wired 
Telecommunications Carriers''; http://www.census.gov/naics/2007/def/ND517110.HTM#N517110.
    \297\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110.
    \298\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, Subject Series: 
Information, Table 4, Receipts Size of Firms for the United States: 
2002, NAICS code 517510 (issued November 2005).
    \299\ Id. An additional 61 firms had annual receipts of $25 
million or more.
    \300\ A list of OVS certifications may be found at http://www.fcc.gov/mb/ovs/csovscer.html.
    \301\ See Thirteenth Annual Cable Competition Report, 24 FCC Rcd 
at 606-07 para. 135. BSPs are newer firms that are building state-
of-the-art, facilities-based networks to provide video, voice, and 
data services over a single network.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    143. Cable Television Relay Service. This service includes 
transmitters generally used to relay cable programming within cable 
television system distribution systems. This cable service is 
defined within the broad economic census category of Wired 
Telecommunications Carriers; that category is defined as follows: 
``This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in 
operating and/or providing access to transmission facilities and 
infrastructure that they own and/or lease for the transmission of 
voice, data, text, sound, and video using wired telecommunications 
networks. Transmission facilities may be based on a single 
technology or a combination of technologies.'' \302\ The SBA has 
developed a small business size standard for this category, which 
is: All such firms having 1,500 or fewer employees. To gauge small 
business prevalence for cable services we must, however, use current 
census data that are based on the previous category of Cable and 
Other Program Distribution and its associated size standard; that 
size standard was: All such firms having $13.5 million or less in 
annual receipts.\303\ According to Census Bureau data for 2002, 
there were a total of 1,191 firms in this previous category that 
operated for the entire year.\304\ Of this total, 1,087 firms had 
annual receipts of under $10 million, and 43 firms had receipts of 
$10 million or more but less than $25 million.\305\ Thus, the 
majority of these firms can be considered small.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \302\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, ``517110 Wired 
Telecommunications Carriers'' (partial definition); http://www.census.gov/naics/2007/def/ND517110.HTM#N517110.
    \303\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110.
    \304\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, Subject Series: 
Information, Table 4, Receipts Size of Firms for the United States: 
2002, NAICS code 517510 (issued November 2005).
    \305\ Id. An additional 61 firms had annual receipts of $25 
million or more.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    144. Multichannel Video Distribution and Data Service. MVDDS is 
a terrestrial fixed microwave service operating in the 12.2-12.7 GHz 
band. The Commission adopted criteria for defining three groups of 
small businesses for purposes of determining their eligibility for 
special provisions such as bidding credits. It defined a very small 
business as an entity with average annual gross revenues not 
exceeding $3 million for the preceding three years; a small business 
as an entity with average annual gross revenues not exceeding $15 
million for the preceding three years; and an entrepreneur as an 
entity with average annual gross revenues not exceeding $40 million 
for the preceding three years.\306\ These definitions were approved 
by the SBA.\307\ On January 27, 2004, the Commission completed an 
auction of 214 MVDDS licenses (Auction No. 53). In this auction, ten 
winning bidders won a total of 192 MVDDS licenses.\308\ Eight of the 
ten winning bidders claimed small business status and won 144 of the 
licenses. The Commission also held an auction of MVDDS licenses on 
December 7, 2005 (Auction 63). Of the three winning bidders who won 
22 licenses, two winning bidders, winning 21 of

[[Page 5676]]

the licenses, claimed small business status.\309\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \306\ Amendment of Parts 2 and 25 of the Commission's Rules to 
Permit Operation of NGSO FSS Systems Co-Frequency With GSO and 
Terrestrial Systems in the Ku-Band Frequency Range; Amendment of the 
Commission's Rules To Authorize Subsidiary Terrestrial Use of the 
12.2-12.7 GHz Band by Direct Broadcast Satellite Licenses and their 
Affiliates; and Applications of Broadwave USA, PDC Broadband 
Corporation, and Satellite Receivers, Ltd. To Provide A Fixed 
Service in the 12.2-12.7 GHz Band, ET Docket No. 98-206, Memorandum 
Opinion and Order and Second Report and Order, 17 FCC Rcd 9614, 
9711, para. 252 (2002).
    \307\ See Letter from Hector V. Barreto, Administrator, U.S. 
Small Business Administration, to Margaret W. Wiener, Chief, 
Auctions and Industry Analysis Division, WTB, FCC (Feb. 13, 2002).
    \308\ See ``Multichannel Video Distribution and Data Service 
Auction Closes,'' Public Notice, 19 FCC Rcd 1834 (2004).
    \309\ See ``Auction of Multichannel Video Distribution and Data 
Service Licenses Closes; Winning Bidders Announced for Auction No. 
63,'' Public Notice, 20 FCC Rcd 19807 (2005).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    145. Amateur Radio Service. These licensees are held by 
individuals in a noncommercial capacity; these licensees are not 
small entities.
    146. Aviation and Marine Services. Small businesses in the 
aviation and marine radio services use a very high frequency 
(``VHF'') marine or aircraft radio and, as appropriate, an emergency 
position-indicating radio beacon (and/or radar) or an emergency 
locator transmitter. The Commission has not developed a small 
business size standard specifically applicable to these small 
businesses. For purposes of this analysis, the Commission uses the 
SBA small business size standard for the category Wireless 
Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite), which is 1,500 or 
fewer employees.\310\ Most applicants for recreational licenses are 
individuals. Approximately 581,000 ship station licensees and 
131,000 aircraft station licensees operate domestically and are not 
subject to the radio carriage requirements of any statute or treaty. 
For purposes of our evaluations in this analysis, we estimate that 
there are up to approximately 712,000 licensees that are small 
businesses (or individuals) under the SBA standard. In addition, 
between December 3, 1998 and December 14, 1998, the Commission held 
an auction of 42 VHF Public Coast licenses in the 157.1875-157.4500 
MHz (ship transmit) and 161.775-162.0125 MHz (coast transmit) bands. 
For purposes of the auction, the Commission defined a ``small'' 
business as an entity that, together with controlling interests and 
affiliates, has average gross revenues for the preceding three years 
not to exceed $15 million. In addition, a ``very small'' business is 
one that, together with controlling interests and affiliates, has 
average gross revenues for the preceding three years not to exceed 
$3 million.\311\ There are approximately 10,672 licensees in the 
Marine Coast Service, and the Commission estimates that almost all 
of them qualify as ``small'' businesses under the above special 
small business size standards.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \310\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210.
    \311\ Amendment of the Commission's Rules Concerning Maritime 
Communications, Third Report and Order and Memorandum Opinion and 
Order, 13 FCC Rcd 19853 (1998).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    147. Personal Radio Services. Personal radio services provide 
short-range, low power radio for personal communications, radio 
signaling, and business communications not provided for in other 
services. The Personal Radio Services include spectrum licensed 
under part 95 of our rules.\312\ These services include Citizen Band 
Radio Service (``CB''), General Mobile Radio Service (``GMRS''), 
Radio Control Radio Service (``R/C''), Family Radio Service 
(``FRS''), Wireless Medical Telemetry Service (``WMTS''), Medical 
Implant Communications Service (``MICS''), Low Power Radio Service 
(``LPRS''), and Multi-Use Radio Service (``MURS'').\313\ There are a 
variety of methods used to license the spectrum in these rule parts, 
from licensing by rule, to conditioning operation on successful 
completion of a required test, to site-based licensing, to 
geographic area licensing. Under the RFA, the Commission is required 
to make a determination of which small entities are directly 
affected by the rules being proposed. Since all such entities are 
wireless, we apply the definition of Wireless Telecommunications 
Carriers (except Satellite), pursuant to which a small entity is 
defined as employing 1,500 or fewer persons.\314\ Many of the 
licensees in these services are individuals, and thus are not small 
entities. In addition, due to the mostly unlicensed and shared 
nature of the spectrum utilized in many of these services, the 
Commission lacks direct information upon which to base an estimation 
of the number of small entities under an SBA definition that might 
be directly affected by the proposed rules.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \312\ 47 CFR Part 90.
    \313\ The Citizens Band Radio Service, General Mobile Radio 
Service, Radio Control Radio Service, Family Radio Service, Wireless 
Medical Telemetry Service, Medical Implant Communications Service, 
Low Power Radio Service, and Multi-Use Radio Service are governed by 
Subpart D, Subpart A, Subpart C, Subpart B, Subpart H, Subpart I, 
Subpart G, and Subpart J, respectively, of Part 95 of the 
Commission's rules. See generally 47 CFR Part 95.
    \314\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS Code 517210.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    148. Public Safety Radio Services. Public Safety radio services 
include police, fire, local government, forestry conservation, 
highway maintenance, and emergency medical services.\315\ There are 
a total of approximately 127,540 licensees in these services. 
Governmental entities as well as private businesses comprise the 
licensees for these services. All governmental entities with 
populations of fewer than 50,000 fall within the definition of a 
small entity.\316\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \315\ With the exception of the special emergency service, these 
services are governed by Subpart B of part 90 of the Commission's 
Rules, 47 CFR 90.15-90.27. The police service includes approximately 
27,000 licensees that serve State, county, and municipal enforcement 
through telephony (voice), telegraphy (code) and teletype and 
facsimile (printed material). The fire radio service includes 
approximately 23,000 licensees comprised of private volunteer or 
professional fire companies as well as units under governmental 
control. The local government service that is presently comprised of 
approximately 41,000 licensees that are State, county, or municipal 
entities that use the radio for official purposes not covered by 
other public safety services. There are approximately 7,000 
licensees within the forestry service which is comprised of 
licensees from State departments of conservation and private forest 
organizations who set up communications networks among fire lookout 
towers and ground crews. The approximately 9,000 State and local 
governments are licensed to highway maintenance service provide 
emergency and routine communications to aid other public safety 
services to keep main roads safe for vehicular traffic. The 
approximately 1,000 licensees in the Emergency Medical Radio Service 
(``EMRS'') use the 39 channels allocated to this service for 
emergency medical service communications related to the delivery of 
emergency medical treatment. 47 CFR 90.15-90.27. The approximately 
20,000 licensees in the special emergency service include medical 
services, rescue organizations, veterinarians, handicapped persons, 
disaster relief organizations, school buses, beach patrols, 
establishments in isolated areas, communications standby facilities, 
and emergency repair of public communications facilities. 47 CFR 
90.33-90.55.
    \316\ 5 U.S.C. 601(5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    149. Internet Service Providers. The 2007 Economic Census places 
these firms, whose services might include voice over Internet 
protocol (VoIP), in either of two categories, depending on whether 
the service is provided over the provider's own telecommunications 
connections (e.g. cable and DSL, ISPs), or over client-supplied 
telecommunications connections (e.g. dial-up ISPs). The former are 
within the category of Wired Telecommunications Carriers,\317\ which 
has an SBA small business size standard of 1,500 or fewer 
employees.\318\ The latter are within the category of All Other 
Telecommunications,\319\ which has a size standard of annual 
receipts of $25 million or less.\320\ The most current Census Bureau 
data for all such firms, however, are the 2002 data for the previous 
census category called Internet Service Providers.\321\ That 
category had a small business size standard of $21 million or less 
in annual receipts, which was revised in late 2005 to $23 million. 
The 2002 data show that there were 2,529 such firms that operated 
for the entire year.\322\ Of those, 2,437 firms had annual receipts 
of under $10 million, and an additional 47 firms had receipts of 
between $10 million and $24,999,999.\323\ Consequently, we estimate 
that the majority of ISP firms are small entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \317\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, ``517110 Wired 
Telecommunications Carriers'', http://www.census.gov/naics/2007/def/ND517110.HTM#N517110.
    \318\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110 (updated for inflation 
in 2008).
    \319\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, ``517919 All 
Other Telecommunications''; http://www.census.gov/naics/2007/def/ND517919.HTM#N517919.
    \320\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517919 (updated for inflation 
in 2008).
    \321\ U.S. Census Bureau, ``2002 NAICS Definitions, ``518111 
Internet Service Providers''; http://www.census.gov/eped/naics02/def/NDEF518.HTM.
    \322\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, Subject Series: 
Information, ``Establishment and Firm Size (Including Legal Form of 
Organization),'' Table 4, NAICS code 518111 (issued Nov. 2005).
    \323\ An additional 45 firms had receipts of $25 million or 
more.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    150. The ISP industry has changed dramatically since 2002. The 
2002 data cited above may therefore include entities that no longer 
provide Internet access service and may exclude entities that now 
provide such service. To ensure that this IRFA describes the 
universe of small entities that our action might affect, we discuss 
in turn several different types of entities that might be providing 
Internet access service.
    151. We note that, although we have no specific information on 
the number of small entities that provide Internet access service 
over unlicensed spectrum, we include these entities here.

D. Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other 
Compliance Requirements

    152. The rules proposed herein would require certain entities or 
individuals to

[[Page 5677]]

replace and/or consolidate their existing FRNs. Some additional 
entities and individuals would be required to report their Taxpayer 
Identification Number. In addition, potential CORES registrants 
would be required to provide a valid e-mail address as a 
prerequisite to completing the registration process. Also, entities 
claiming tax-exempt status or engaged in bankruptcy proceedings 
would be required to submit documentation demonstrating their tax-
exempt or bankruptcy status. A substantial number of entities and 
individuals doing business with the Commission have already received 
their FRN by virtue of their prior registration in CORES, and we 
anticipate that the changes proposed here will have no significant 
economic impact on them. We have proposed to make it extremely 
simple, and virtually cost-free, for anyone else to obtain or revise 
their already-existing FRN(s). The proposals contained in this 
Notice do not include any changes in the language of FCC Forms nor 
would they require extra filings.

E. Steps Taken To Minimize Significant Economic Impact on Small 
Entities, and Significant Alternatives Considered

    153. The RFA requires an agency to describe any significant, 
specifically small business, alternatives that it has considered in 
reaching its proposed approach, which may include the following four 
alternatives (among others): ``(1) The establishment of differing 
compliance or reporting requirements or timetables that take into 
account the resources available to small entities; (2) the 
clarification, consolidation, or simplification of compliance or 
reporting requirements under the rule for small entities; (3) the 
use of performance, rather than design standards; and (4) an 
exemption from coverage of the rule, or any part thereof, for small 
entities.'' \324\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \324\ 5 U.S.C. 603(c)(1)-(c)(4).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    154. We are attempting to reduce a possible regulatory burden by 
considering different methods by which we could limit individuals 
and entities to a single FRN, in order to improve the effectiveness 
and efficiency of our electronic registration system and to limit 
the documentation that certain entities would be required to submit 
to demonstrate their tax exempt or bankruptcy status. We will 
continue to examine alternatives in the future, with the objective 
of minimizing any significant impact on small entities. We seek 
comment on significant alternatives that commenters believe we 
should adopt.

F. Federal Rules That Overlap, Duplicate, or Conflict With These 
Proposed Rules

    155. None.

[FR Doc. 2011-1941 Filed 1-31-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P