[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 212 (Friday, November 3, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51250-51251]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-23911]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-1166]


Information Collection Approved by the Office of Management and 
Budget

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has received 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for a revision of a 
currently approved public information collection pursuant to the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. An agency may not conduct or sponsor a 
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB 
control number, and no person is required to respond to a collection of 
information unless it displays a currently valid control number. 
Comments concerning the accuracy of the burden estimates and any 
suggestions for reducing the burden should be directed to the person 
listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cathy Williams, Office of the Managing 
Director, at (202) 418-2918, or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The total annual reporting burdens and costs 
for the respondents are as follows:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1166.
    OMB Approval Date: October 23, 2017.
    OMB Expiration Date: October 31, 2020.
    Title: Section 1.21001, Participation in Competitive Bidding for 
Support; Section 1.21002, Prohibition of Certain Communications During 
the Competitive Bidding Process.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 750 respondents and 750 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1.5 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement.
    Total Annual Burden: 1,125 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Obligation To Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this information collection 47 U.S.C. 154, 254 
and 303(r).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for 
confidentiality. Information collected in each application for 
universal service support will be made available for public inspection, 
and the Commission is not requesting that respondents submit 
confidential information to the Commission as part of the pre-auction 
application process. Respondents seeking to have information collected 
on an application for universal service support withheld from public 
inspection may request confidential treatment of such information 
pursuant to section 0.459 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR Section 
0.459.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Needs and Uses: The Commission will use the information collected 
under this collection to determine whether applicants are eligible to 
participate in auctions for Universal Service Fund support. On November 
18, 2011, the Commission released an order

[[Page 51251]]

comprehensively reforming and modernizing the universal service and 
intercarrier compensation systems, creating the Connect America Fund 
(CAF), the Connect America Mobility Fund (MF), including the Tribal 
Mobility Fund (TMF), and the Remote Areas Fund (RAF). To implement 
these reforms and conduct competitive bidding for CAF, MF, TMF, and RAF 
support, the Commission adopted new rules containing information 
collection requirements that would be used to determine whether an 
applicant is generally qualified to bid for universal service support. 
The Commission also adopted rules containing information collection 
requirements that would be used to determine whether an applicant is 
specifically qualified to bid for Phase I of the Mobility Fund and 
Tribal Mobility Fund.
    The revised collection removes the information collection 
requirements that apply specifically to applicants seeking to 
participate in competitive bidding for Mobility Fund Phase I (MF-I) and 
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I (TMF-I) support, and the associated FCC 
Form 180 used by entities applying to participate in the MF-I and TMF-I 
auctions, because support under MF-I and TMF-I has been awarded. The 
revised collection retains the information collection requirements that 
apply generally to all applicants seeking to participate in competitive 
bidding for universal service support. The revised collection also 
amends the title of the information collection to ``Section 1.21001, 
Participation in Competitive Bidding for Support; Section 1.21002, 
Prohibition of Certain Communications During the Competitive Bidding 
Process'' to reflect the revised information collection.
    The Commission will use the information collected under the revised 
information collection to determine whether applicants are legally, 
technically, and financially qualified to participate in a Commission 
auction for universal service support. The information collection 
requirements retained under this collection are designed to limit the 
competitive bidding to qualified applicants; to deter possible abuse of 
the bidding process; and to enhance the use of competitive bidding to 
distribute Universal Service Fund (USF) support in furtherance of the 
public interest. Commission staff reviews the information collected as 
part of the pre-auction process, prior to the auction being held, and 
determines whether each applicant satisfies the Commission's 
requirements to participate in the auction. Thus, the information is 
being collected to meet the objectives of the USF program.
    The Commission received approval from OMB for the revised 
information collection requirements contained in OMB 3060-1166 on 
October 23, 2017.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-23911 Filed 11-2-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P