[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 92 (Friday, May 11, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 21927-21928]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-10063]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 1, 8, and 20

[WC Docket No. 17-108, FCC 17-166]


Restoring Internet Freedom

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 Restoring 
Internet Freedom Declaratory Ruling, Report and Order, and Order 
(Order)'s transparency rule. This document is consistent with the 
Order, which stated that the Commission would publish a notice in the 
Federal Register announcing the effective date of the refinements to 
the transparency rule, the delayed amendatory instructions revising the 
Commission's rules consistent with the Order, and the Order, which 
among other things restore the classification of broadband internet 
access service as an information service, reinstate the private mobile 
service classification of mobile broadband internet access service, and 
eliminate the conduct rules imposed by the Title II Order.

DATES: The Order and amendments to 47 CFR 1.49, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.5, 
8.7, 8.9, 8.11, 8.12, 8.13, 8.14, 8.15, 8.16, 8.17, 8.18, 8.19, and 
20.3, published at 83 FR 7852, February 22, 2018, are effective June 
11, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ramesh Nagarajan, Competition Policy 
Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, at (202) 418-2582, or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that, on May 2, 
2018, OMB approved, for a period of three years, the information 
collection requirements relating to the transparency rule contained in 
the Commission's Order, FCC 17-166, published at 83 FR 7852, February 
22, 2018. The OMB Control Number is 3060-1158. The Commission publishes 
this document as an announcement of the effective date of the 
refinements to the transparency rule, the delayed amendatory 
instructions (amendatory instructions 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8 published at 83 
FR 7852, February 22, 2018), and the Order, which among other things 
restore the classification of broadband internet access service as an 
information service, reinstate the private mobile service 
classification of mobile broadband internet access service, and 
eliminate the conduct rules imposed by the Title II Order. 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 email [email protected] or contact Nicole Ongele, Federal 
Communications Commission, at [email protected] or (202) 418-2991. 
Please include the OMB Control Number, 3060-1158, in your 
correspondence.
    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 FCC is notifying the public that it received final OMB 
approval on May 2, 2018, for the information collection requirements 
contained in the modifications to the Commission's rules in 47 CFR part 
8. 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 3060-1158.
    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: 3060-1158.
    OMB Approval Date: May 2, 2018.
    OMB Expiration Date: May 31, 2021.
    Title: Transparency Rule Disclosures, Restoring Internet Freedom, 
Report and Order, WC Docket No. 17-108, FCC 17-166.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities, Not-for-profit 
entities, State, local, or Tribal governments.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 1,919 respondents; 1,919 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 26 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On-occasion reporting requirement; Third-
party disclosure requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 
Section 257 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 
257.
    Total Annual Burden: 49,894 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $560,000.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for 
confidentiality with this information collection.
    Needs and Uses: The Order revises the information collection 
requirements applicable to internet service providers (ISPs). The Order 
requires an ISP to publicly disclose network management practices, 
performance characteristics, and commercial terms of its broadband

[[Page 21928]]

internet access service sufficient to enable consumers to make informed 
choices regarding the purchase and use of such services, and 
entrepreneurs and other small businesses to develop, market, and 
maintain internet offerings. As part of these disclosures, the rule 
requires ISPs to disclose their congestion management, application-
specific behavior, device attachment rules, and security practices, as 
well as any blocking, throttling, affiliated prioritization, or paid 
prioritization in which they engage. Specifically, the rule requires 
ISPs to disclose:
     Blocking. Any practice (other than reasonable network 
management elsewhere disclosed) that blocks or otherwise prevents end 
user access to lawful content, applications, service, or non-harmful 
devices, including a description of what is blocked.
     Throttling. Any practice (other than reasonable network 
management elsewhere disclosed) that degrades or impairs access to 
lawful internet traffic on the basis of content, application, service, 
user, or use of a non-harmful device, including a description of what 
is throttled.
     Affiliated Prioritization. Any practice that directly or 
indirectly favors some traffic over other traffic, including through 
use of techniques such as traffic shaping, prioritization, or resource 
reservation, to benefit an affiliate, including identification of the 
affiliate.
     Paid Prioritization. Any practice that directly or 
indirectly favors some traffic over other traffic, including through 
use of techniques such as traffic shaping, prioritization, or resource 
reservation, in exchange for consideration, monetary or otherwise.
     Congestion Management. Descriptions of congestion 
management practices, if any. These descriptions should include the 
types of traffic subject to the practices; the purposes served by the 
practices; the practices' effects on end users' experience; criteria 
used in practices, such as indicators of congestion that trigger a 
practice, including any usage limits triggering the practice, and the 
typical frequency of congestion; usage limits and the consequences of 
exceeding them; and references to engineering standards, where 
appropriate.
     Application-Specific Behavior. Whether and why the ISP 
blocks or rate-controls specific protocols or protocol ports, modifies 
protocol fields in ways not prescribed by the protocol standard, or 
otherwise inhibits or favors certain applications or classes of 
applications.
     Device Attachment Rules. Any restrictions on the types of 
devices and any approval procedures for devices to connect to the 
network.
     Security. Any practices used to ensure end-user security 
or security of the network, including types of triggering conditions 
that cause a mechanism to be invoked (but excluding information that 
could reasonably be used to circumvent network security).
    The rule also requires ISPs to disclose performance 
characteristics, including a service description and the impact of non-
broadband internet access services data services. Specifically, the 
rule requires ISPs to disclose a general description of the service--
including the service technology, expected and actual access speed and 
latency, and the suitability of the service for real-time 
applications--as well as what non-broadband internet access service 
data services, if any, are offered to end users, and whether and how 
any non-broadband internet access service data services may affect the 
last-mile capacity available for, and the performance of, broadband 
internet access service.
    Finally, the rule requires ISPs to disclose commercial terms of 
service, including price of the service, privacy policies, and redress 
options. Specifically, the rule requires disclosure of, for example, 
monthly prices, usage-based fees, and fees for early termination or 
additional network services; a complete and accurate disclosure about 
the ISP's privacy practices, if any, including whether any network 
management practices entail inspection of network traffic, and whether 
traffic is stored, provided to third parties, or used by the ISP for 
non-network management purposes; and practices for resolving complaints 
and questions from consumers, entrepreneurs, and other small 
businesses. The rule requires ISPs to make such disclosures either via 
a publicly available, easily accessible website or through transmittal 
to the Commission, which will make such disclosures available via a 
publicly available, easily accessible website.
    The Order eliminates the additional reporting obligations adopted 
in the Title II Order and the related guidance in the 2016 Advisory 
Guidance and returns to the requirements established in the Open 
internet Order. In addition, the Order eliminates the direct 
notification requirement adopted in the Title II Order.
    The Commission anticipates that the revised disclosures will 
empower consumers and businesses with information about their broadband 
internet access service, protecting the openness of the internet. The 
information collection will assist the Commission in its statutory 
obligation to report to Congress on market entry barriers in the 
telecommunications market.

Federal Communications Commission.
Katura Jackson,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-10063 Filed 5-10-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P