[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 90 (Wednesday, May 9, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 21181-21182]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09874]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 63

[WC Docket No. 17-84; FCC 17-154]


Accelerating Wireline Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers 
to Infrastructure Investment

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) has approved, for a period of three years, 
the information collection associated with the Commission's 
discontinuance rules. This document is consistent with the Accelerating 
Wireline Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure 
Investment Report and Order, Declaratory Ruling, and Further Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 17-154, which stated that the Commission would 
publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective 
date of those rules.

DATES: The amendment to 47 CFR 63.60(d)-(i) and 63.71(k) published at 
82 FR 61453, December 28, 2017, is effective on May 9, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michele Levy Berlove, Attorney 
Advisor, Wireline Competition Bureau, at (202) 418-1477, or by email at 
[email protected]. For additional information concerning the 
Paperwork Reduction Act information collection requirements, contact 
Nicole Ongele at (202) 418-2991 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that, on May 1, 
2018, OMB approved, for a period of three years, the information 
collection requirements relating to certain discontinuance rules 
contained in the Commission's Accelerating Wireline Broadband 
Deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure Investment Report and 
Order, Declaratory Ruling, and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 
FCC 17-154, published at 82 FR 61453, December 28, 2017, as specified 
above.
    The OMB Control Number is 3060-0149. The Commission publishes this 
document as an announcement of the effective date of the rules. 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 Nicole Ongele, Federal Communications 
Commission, Room 1-A620, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554. 
Please include the OMB Control Number, 3060-0149, in your 
correspondence. The Commission will also accept your comments via email 
at [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),

[[Page 21182]]

the FCC is notifying the public that it received final OMB approval on 
May 1, 2018, for the information collection requirements contained in 
the modifications to the Commission's rules in 47 CFR part 63. Under 5 
CFR part 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 3060-0149.
    The foregoing notice is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, Public Law 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: 3060-0149.
    OMB Approval Date: May 1, 2018.
    OMB Expiration Date: May 31, 2021.
    Title: Part 63, Accelerating Wireline Broadband Deployment by 
Removing Barriers to Infrastructure Investment, WC Docket No. 17-84, 
FCC 17-154.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 58 respondents; 58 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 6 hours.
    Frequency of Response: One-time reporting requirement and third-
party disclosure requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in 
47 U.S.C. Sections 214 and 402 of the Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended.
    Total Annual Burden: 348 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost(s).
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission is not 
requesting that the respondents submit confidential information to the 
FCC. 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 is seeking Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) approval for a revision to a currently approved 
collection. Section 214 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 
requires that a carrier first obtain FCC authorization either to (1) 
construct, operate, or engage in transmission over a line of 
communications, or (2) discontinue, reduce or impair service over a 
line of communications. Part 63 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) implements Section 214. Part 63 also implements 
provisions of the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 pertaining to 
video which was approved under this OMB Control Number 3060-0149. In 
2009, the Commission modified part 63 to extend to providers of 
interconnected Voice of internet Protocol (VoIP) service the 
discontinuance obligations that apply to domestic non-dominant 
telecommunications carriers under Section 214 of the Communications Act 
of 1934, as amended. In 2014, the Commission adopted improved 
administrative filing procedures for domestic transfers of control, 
domestic discontinuances and notices of network changes, and among 
other adjustments, modified part 63 to require electronic filing for 
applications for authorization to discontinue, reduce, or impair 
service under section 214(a) of the Act. In July 2016, the Commission 
revised certain section 214(a) discontinuance procedures. OMB has 
approved the revised rules that: (1) Allow carriers to provide notice 
via email or other alternative methods to offer additional options to 
customers; (2) provide for streamlined treatment of applications to 
discontinue services for which the carrier has had no existing 
customers or reasonable requests for service during the previous 180 
days; (3) make a competitive LEC's application for discontinuance 
deemed granted on the effective date of any copper retirement that made 
the discontinuance unavoidable; and (4) require that applicants must 
provide notice of discontinuance applications to federally-recognized 
Tribal Nations. OMB approval has not yet been sought for the additional 
section 214(a) discontinuance rules adopted in 2016 pertaining to 
streamlined treatment of discontinuance applications for legacy voice 
service as part of a technology transition or outreach requirements for 
such transitions, and approval of those rules and requirements will be 
addressed separately at a later date. In Accelerating Wireline 
Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure Investment, 
WC Docket No. 17-84, Report and Order, Declaratory Ruling, and Further 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 17-154 (rel. Nov. 29, 2017) 
(Wireline Infrastructure Order), the Commission, among other things, 
reduced the public comment and auto-grant periods for applications that 
grandfather low speed legacy services and applications to discontinue 
previously grandfathered legacy data services. The Commission also held 
that if a carrier files an application to discontinue, reduce, or 
impair a legacy voice or data service below 1.544 Mbps for which it has 
had no customers and no request for service for at least a 30-day 
period immediately preceding submission of the application, that 
application will be automatically granted on the 15th day after its 
filing with the Commission, absent Commission notice to the contrary. 
The Commission will use the information collected under these revisions 
to 47 CFR part 63 to determine if affected respondents are in 
compliance with its rules and the requirements of section 214 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-09874 Filed 5-8-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P