[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 251 (Thursday, December 31, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 81769-81770]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-32824]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 1

[GN Docket No. 12-268; FCC 14-50]


Expanding the Economic and Innovation Opportunities of Spectrum 
Through Incentive Auctions

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approved, on an emergency basis, a revision 
to an approved information collection to implement new collection 
requirements contained in the Broadcast Incentive Auction Report and 
Order, Expanding the Economic and Innovation Opportunities of Spectrum 
Through Incentive Auctions, FCC 14-50. This document is consistent with 
the Broadcast Incentive Auction Report and Order, which stated that the 
Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing 
OMB approval and the effective date of the rules and requirements.

DATES: The amendments adding 47 CFR 1.2205(c) and 1.2205(d), published 
at 79 FR 48442, August 15, 2014, are effective on December 31, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Cathy Williams, 
[email protected], (202) 418-2918.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that, on December 
10, 2015, OMB approved, on an emergency basis, a revision to an 
approved information collection to implement new information collection 
requirements under 47 CFR 1.2205(c) and 1.2205(d), published at 79 FR 
48442 on August 15, 2014. The OMB Control Number is 3060-0995. The 
Commission publishes this document as an announcement of the effective 
date of the rules and requirements. If you have any comments on the 
burden estimates listed below, or how the Commission can improve the 
collections and reduce any burdens caused thereby, please contact Cathy 
Williams, Federal Communications Commission, Room 1-C823, 445 12th 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20554. Please include the OMB Control 
Number, 3060-0995, in your correspondence. The Commission will also 
accept your comments via the Internet if you send them to [email protected].
    To request materials in accessible formats for people with 
disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), 
send an email to [email protected] or call the Consumer and Governmental 
Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).

Synopsis

    As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3507), the Commission is notifying the public that it received 
emergency approval from OMB on December 10, 2015 for the revised 
information collection requirements contained in the information 
collection 3060-0995, Section 1.2105(c), Bidding Application and 
Certification Procedures; Sections 1.2105(c) and Section 1.2205, 
Prohibition of Certain Communications.
    Under 5 CFR 1320, an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection 
of information unless it displays a current, 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 
that does not display a current, valid OMB Control Number. The OMB 
Control Number is 3060-0995. The foregoing document is required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 
44 U.S.C. 3507.
    The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents 
are as follows:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0995.
    OMB Approval Date: December 10, 2015.
    OMB Expiration Date: June 30, 2016.
    Title: Section 1.2105(c), Bidding Application and Certification 
Procedures; Sections 1.2105(c) and Section 1.2205, Prohibition of 
Certain Communications.
    Form No.: N/A.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; Not-for-profit 
institutions; State, local or Tribal government.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 10 respondents; 10 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1.5 hours to 2 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On-occasion reporting requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 
sections 154(i), 309(j), and 1452(a)(3) of the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 4(i), 309(j)(5), and 1452(a)(3), and 
sections 1.2205(c) and 1.2205(d) of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 
1.2205(c), (d).
    Total Annual Burden: 50 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $9,000.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

[[Page 81770]]

    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission will take all 
reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality of all Commission-held 
data of a reverse auction applicant consistent with the confidentiality 
requirements of the Spectrum Act and the Commission's rules. See 47 
U.S.C. 1452(a)(3); 47 CFR 1.2206. In addition, to the extent necessary, 
a full power or Class A television broadcast licensee may request 
confidential treatment of any report of a prohibited communication 
submitted to the Commission that is not already being treated as 
confidential pursuant to section 0.459 of the Commission's rules. See 
47 CFR 0.459. Forward auction applicants are entitled to request 
confidentiality in accordance with section 0.459 of the Commission's 
rules, 47 CFR 0.459.
    Needs and Uses: In the Broadcast Incentive Auction Report and 
Order, the Commission adopted new requirements for parties that might 
participate in the reverse auction component of the television 
broadcast incentive auction (BIA) prohibiting certain communications 
and requiring a covered party that makes or receives a prohibited 
communication to file a report of such a communication with the 
Commission, along with procedures for reporting potentially prohibited 
communications. See 47 CFR 1.2205(b), (c), (d). The Commission's rules 
prohibiting certain communications in Commission auctions are designed 
to reinforce existing antitrust laws, facilitate detection of collusive 
conduct, and deter anticompetitive behavior, without being so strict as 
to discourage procompetitive arrangements between auction participants. 
They also help assure participants that the auction process will be 
fair and objective, and not subject to collusion. The revised 
information collection implements the new BIA-specific rules in 
sections 1.2205(c) and 1.2205(d) by making clear the responsibility of 
parties who receive information that potentially violates the rules to 
promptly submit a report notifying the Commission, thereby helping the 
Commission enforce the prohibition on covered parties in the BIA, and 
further assuring incentive auction participants that the auction 
process will be fair and competitive. The prohibited communication 
reporting requirement required of covered parties will enable the 
Commission to ensure that no bidder gains an unfair advantage over 
other bidders in its auctions and thus enhances the competitiveness and 
fairness of Commission's auctions. The information collected will be 
reviewed and, if warranted, referred to the Commission's Enforcement 
Bureau for possible investigation and administrative action. The 
Commission may also refer allegations of anticompetitive auction 
conduct to the Department of Justice for investigation.

Federal Communications Commission.
Gloria J. Miles,
Federal Register Liaison Officer. Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-32824 Filed 12-30-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P