[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 6, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 396-397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-33241]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 1

[GN Docket No. 12-268; WT Docket Nos. 14-70, 05-211; RM-11395; FCC 15-
80]


 Updating Competitive Bidding Rules

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission announces that on December 
10, 2015, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved, on an 
emergency basis, for a period for six months, a revision to an approved 
information collection to implement a modified collection requirement 
under 47 CFR 1.2105(c)(4) contained in the Part 1 Report and Order, 
Updating Competitive Bidding Rules, FCC 15-80. This document is 
consistent with the Part 1 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 rule and requirement.

DATES: 47 CFR 1.2105(c)(4), published at 80 FR 56764 on September 18, 
2015, is effective on January 6, 2016.

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 a modified information 
collection requirement under 47 CFR 1.2105(c)(4), published at 80 FR 
56764 on September 18, 2015. The OMB Control Number is 3060-0995. The 
Commission publishes this document as an announcement of the effective 
date of the rule and requirement. 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 
section 1.2105(c)(4) of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.2105(c)(4).
    Total Annual Burden: 50 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $9,000.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    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, Expanding the Economic and Innovation Opportunities of Spectrum 
Through Incentive Auctions, FCC 14-50, the Commission adopted a new 
rule for forward auction applicants prohibiting certain communications 
in the context of the television broadcast incentive auction (BIA), and 
amended an existing rule to require forward auction applicants that 
make or receive a communication that is prohibited under the new rule 
to file a report of such a communication with the Commission. See 47 
CFR 1.2105(c)(4), 1.2105(c)(6). Subsequently, as a result of amendments 
to various other provisions in section 1.2105(c) adopted in the Part 1 
Report and Order, the new rule for forward auction applicants 
prohibiting certain communications in the context of the BIA and the 
amended reporting requirement for forward auction applicants were 
redesignated as 1.2105(c)(4) and 1.2105(c)(6), respectively, without 
any changes to the scope or substance of either rule. See 47 CFR 
1.2105(c)(4), 1.2105(c)(6). 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

[[Page 397]]

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 modified, 
BIA-specific rule in section 1.2105(c)(4) 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, 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.
Sheryl Todd,
Deputy Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-33241 Filed 1-5-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P