[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 19 (Tuesday, January 29, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6102-6104]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-01767]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


Information Collection(s) Being Reviewed by the Federal 
Communications Commission, Comments Requested

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: 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 take this opportunity to comment 
on the following information collection(s). Comments are requested 
concerning: 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; the 
accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on the 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology; and ways to further reduce the 
information burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 
employees.
    The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information 
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. No person 
shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection 
of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) that does 
not display a valid OMB control number.

DATES: Written Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments should be 
submitted on or before April 1, 2013. If you anticipate that you will 
be submitting PRA comments, but find it difficult to do so within the 
period of time allowed by this notice, you should advise the FCC 
contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Submit your PRA comments to Judith B. Herman, Federal 
Communications Commission, via the Internet at [email protected]. 
To submit your PRA comments by email send them to: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Judith B. Herman, Office of Managing 
Director, (202) 418-0214.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0496.
    Title: ARMIS Operating Data Report.
    Report Number: FCC Report 43-08.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 55 respondents; 55 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 139 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Annual reporting requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. Statutory authority for this 
information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. sections 11, 219(b) 
and 220 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
    Total Annual Burden: 7,645 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: N/A.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: N/A.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: In most cases, ARMIS reports 
do not require submission of any confidential or commercially-sensitive 
data. The areas in which detailed information is required are fully 
subject to regulation. If a respondent finds it necessary to submit a 
confidential or commercially-sensitive data, Section 0.459, 47 CFR 
contains the procedures for requesting confidential treatment of data.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission will submit this expiring 
information collection after this comment period to obtain the full, 
three year clearance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 
The Commission is requesting approval for an extension (no change in 
the reporting requirement). There is no change to the Commission's 
previous burden estimates.
    The ARMIS (Automated Reporting Management Information System) 
reporting requirements were established by the Commission in 1987 to 
facilitate the timely and efficient analysis of carrier operating costs 
and rates of return that provide an improved basis for audits and other 
oversight functions; and to enhance the Commission's ability to 
quantify the effects of alternative policy proposals. Additional ARMIS 
Reports were added in 1991 and 1992. Certain incumbent local exchange 
carriers (LECs) were required to submit the ARMIS Reports to the 
Commission annually on or before April 1. See Reporting Requirements of 
Certain Class A and Tier 1 Telephone Companies (Parts 31, 43, 67 and 69 
of the Commission's rules) CC Docket No. 86-182, Order, 2 FCC Rcd 5770 
(1987), modified on recon. 3 FCC Rcd 6375 (1988); see also 47 CFR Part 
43, Sections 43.21.
    The information contained in FCC Report 43-08 has helped the 
Commission fulfill its regulatory

[[Page 6103]]

responsibilities. These data facilitate the timely and efficient 
analysis of revenue requirements, rates of return and price caps, 
provide an improved basis for auditing and other oversight functions, 
and enhance the Commission's ability to quantify the effects of policy 
proposals. Automated reporting of these data also augments the 
Commission's ability to process and analyze the extensive amount of 
data provided in the reports.
    The Commission has granted AT&T, Verizon, legacy Qwest and other 
similarly-situated carriers forbearance from FCC Report 43-08, except 
for Table III, columns FC, FD, FE and FI, business line count 
information. See Petition of AT&T Inc. for Forbearance under 47 U.S.C. 
160 from Enforcement of Certain of the Commission's Cost Assignment 
Rules, WC Docket Nos. 07-21, 05-342, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 23 
FCC Rcd 7302 (2008) (AT&T Cost Assignment Forbearance Order), pet. for 
recon pending, pet.for review pending, NASUCA v. FCC, Case No. 08-1226 
(D.C. Cir. Filed June 23, 2008); Service Quality, Customer 
Satisfaction, Infrastructure and Operating Data Gathering, WC Docket 
Nos. 08-190, 07-139, 07-204, 07-273, 07-21, Memorandum Opinion and 
Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 23 FCC Rcd 13747 (2008) 
(Verizon/Qwest Cost Assignment Forbearance Order), pet. for recon. 
pending, pet. for review pending, NASCUA v. FCC, Case No. 08-1353 (D.C. 
Cir. Filed Nov. 4, 2008).
    Despite this forbearance, the Commission seeks OMB approval for the 
extension of this information collection for three years because 
petitions for reconsideration and review of those forbearance decisions 
are currently pending before the Commission and the U.S. Court of 
Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0775.
    Title: Section 64.1903, Obligations of All Incumbent Local Exchange 
Carriers (LECs).
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 510 respondents; 510 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 500 hours to 6,056 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. Statutory authority for this 
information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. sections 151, 152, 
154, 201, 202, 251, 271, 272 and 303(r) of the Communications Act of 
1934.
    Total Annual Burden: 310,560 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $15,217,440.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: N/A.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for 
confidentiality.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission will submit this expiring 
information collection after this comment period to obtain the full, 
three year clearance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 
The Commission is requesting approval for an extension (no change in 
the recordkeeping requirements). There are no changes to the 
Commission's previous burden estimates.
    Section 64.1903 imposes recordkeeping requirements on independent 
local exchange carriers (LECs) offering in-region, interstate, 
interexchange services or in-region international interexchange 
services. Among other requirements, section 64.1903 requires 
independent LECs and their affiliates to maintain separate books of 
account. This regulation does not require that the affiliate maintain 
books of account that comply with the Commission's Part 32 rules; 
rather it refers to the fact that as a separate legal entity, the 
international, interexchange affiliate must maintain its own books of 
account in the ordinary course of business.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0895.
    Title: Numbering Resource Optimization.
    Form Number: FCC Form 502.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities and state, local 
or tribal government.
    Number of Respondents: 2,780 respondents; 7,385 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour to 44.4 hours
    Frequency of Response: On occasion and semi-annual reporting 
requirements and recordkeeping requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. Statutory authority for this 
information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. sections 151, 153, 
154, 201-205 and 251 of the Communications Act of 1934.
    Total Annual Burden: 131,782 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $3,462,800.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: N/A.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Disaggregated, carrier 
specific forecast and utilization data will be treated as confidential 
and will be exempt from public disclosure under 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4).
    Needs and Uses: The Commission will submit this expiring 
information collection after this comment period to obtain the full, 
three year clearance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 
There are no changes to the reporting and/or recordkeeping 
requirements. There are no changes to the Commission's previous burden 
estimates.
    The data collected on FCC Form 502 helps the Commission manage the 
ten-digit North American Numbering Plan (NANP), which is currently 
being used by the United States and 19 other countries. Under the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, the Commission was given 
``exclusive jurisdictions over those portions of the North American 
Numbering Plan that pertains to the United States.'' Pursuant to that 
authority, the Commission conducted a rulemaking in March 2000 that the 
Commission found that mandatory data collection is necessary to 
efficiently monitor and manage numbering use. The Commission received 
OMB approval for this requirement and the following:
    (1) Utilization/Forecast Report;
    (2) Application for initial numbering resource;
    (3) Application for growth numbering resources;
    (4) Recordkeeping requirement;
    (5) Notifications by state commissions;
    (6) Demonstration to state commission; and
    (7) Petitions for additional delegation of numbering authority.
    The data from this information collection is used by the FCC, state 
regulatory commissions, and the NANPA to monitor numbering resource 
utilization by all carriers using the resource and to project the dates 
of area code and NANP exhaust.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1044.
    Title: Review of the Section 251 Unbundling Obligations of 
Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers, CC Docket No. 03-338 and WC Docket 
No. 04-313, FCC 04-290, Order on Remand.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities, not-for-profit 
institutions, and state, local or tribal government.
    Number of Respondents: 645 respondents; 645 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 8 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement, 
recordkeeping requirement and third party disclosure requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 
U.S.C. section 251 of the Communications Act of 1934.
    Total Annual Burden: 5,160 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: N/A.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: N/A.

[[Page 6104]]

    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission is not 
requesting respondents to submit or disclose confidential information. 
However, in certain circumstances, respondents may voluntarily choose 
to submit confidential information pursuant to applicable Commission 
confidentiality rules.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission will submit this expiring 
information collection after this comment period to obtain the full, 
three year clearance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 
The Commission is requesting approval for an extension (no change in 
the reporting, recordkeeping and/or third party disclosure 
requirements). There are no changes to the Commission's previous burden 
estimates. Section 251 is designed to accelerate private sector and 
deployment of telecommunications technologies and services by spurring 
competition. In order to foster competition in the local telephone 
market, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires incumbent local 
exchange carriers (incumbent LECs) to share certain elements of their 
local telephone networks, providing them to other carriers at 
reasonable prices on an unbundled basis. These ``unbundled network 
elements (UNEs)'' are necessary for competition because the only 
alternative, building entire new telephone networks, would be 
prohibitively expensive for new entrants. In Order FCC 03-36, the 
Commission adopted rules and regulation designed to eliminate operation 
barriers to competition in the telecommunications services market and 
implement certain provisions of section 251, including the UNE 
obligations of incumbent LECs. In the Order on Remand, FCC 04-290, the 
Commission responded to a decision by the United States Court of 
Appeals for the District of Columbia that vacated the ``sub-
delegation'' of authority to state commissions and vacated and remanded 
certain nationwide impairment findings, including mass market switching 
and dedicated transport.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1138.
    Title: Sections 1.49 and 1.54, Forbearance Petition Filing 
Requirements.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 10 respondents; 10 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 640 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement, 
recordkeeping requirement and third party disclosure requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 
U.S.C. sections 10, 151, 154(i), 154(j), 155(c), 160, 201 and 303(r) of 
the Communications Act of 1934.
    Total Annual Burden: 6,400 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: N/A.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: N/A.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission is not 
requesting respondents to submit or disclose confidential information. 
Respondents may, however, request confidential treatment for 
information they believe to be confidential under 47 CFR 0.459 of the 
Commission's rules.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission will submit this expiring 
information collection after this comment period to obtain the full, 
three year clearance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 
The Commission is requesting approval for an extension (no change in 
the reporting, recordkeeping and/or third party disclosure 
requirements).
    Under section 10 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 
telecommunications carriers may petition the Commission to forbear from 
applying to a telecommunications carrier any statutory provision or 
Commission regulation. When a carrier petitions the Commission for 
forbearance, section 10 requires the Commission to make three 
determinations with regard to the need for the challenged provision or 
regulation. If the Commission fails to act within one year (extended by 
three additional months, if necessary) the petition is ``deemed 
granted'' by operation of law. These determinations require complex, 
fact-intensive analysis, e.g., ``whether forbearance from enforcing the 
provision or regulation will promote competitive market conditions.'' 
Under the new filing procedures, the Commission requires that petitions 
for forbearance must be ``complete as filed'' and explain in detail 
what must be included in the forbearance petition. The Commission also 
incorporates by reference its rule, 47 CFR 1.49, which states the 
Commission's standard ``specifications as to pleadings and documents.'' 
Precise filing requirements are necessary because of section 10's 
strict time limit for Commission action. Also, commenters must be able 
to understand clearly the scope of the petition in order to comment on 
it. Finally, standard filing procedures inform petitioners precisely 
what the Commission expects from them in order to make the statutory 
determinations that the statute requires.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-01767 Filed 1-28-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P