[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 137 (Tuesday, July 17, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 33143-33144]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-15157]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 64

[WC Docket No. 17-141; CC Docket No. 96-128; WC Docket No. 16-132; FCC 
18-21]


Modernization of Payphone Compensation Rules; Implementation of 
the Pay Telephone Reclassification and Compensation Provisions of the 
Telecommunications Act of 1996; 2016 Biennial Review of 
Telecommunications Regulations

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 payphone 
compensation rules. This document is consistent with the Modernization 
of Payphone Compensation Rules Report and Order, FCC 18-21, 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 64.1310(a)(3) published at 83 FR 11422, 
March 15, 2018, is effective on July 17, 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

[[Page 33144]]

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 July 2, 
2018, OMB approved, for a period of three years, the information 
collection requirements relating to certain payphone compensation rules 
contained in the Commission's Modernization of Payphone Compensation 
Rules Report and Order, FCC 18-21, published at 83 FR 11422, March 15, 
2018, as specified above.
    The OMB Control Number is 3060-1046. 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, 3060-1046, 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), the FCC is notifying the public that it received final OMB 
approval on July 2, 2018, for the information collection requirements 
contained in the modifications to the Commission's rules in 47 CFR part 
64. 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 3060-1046. 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: 3060-1046.
    OMB Approval Date: July 2, 2018.
    OMB Expiration Date: July 31, 2021.
    Title: Part 64, Modernization of Payphone Compensation Rules et 
al., WC Docket No. 17-141 et al., FCC 18-21.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 329 respondents; 2,257 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.50 hours-122 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion, one-time, and quarterly 
reporting requirements; third party disclosure requirements; and 
recordkeeping requirement.
    Obligation To Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in 
47 U.S.C. 151, 154 and 276 of the Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended.
    Total Annual Burden: 34,720 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: Section 276 of the Communications Act, as amended 
(the Act), requires that the Federal Communications Commission 
(Commission or FCC) establish rules ensuring that payphone service 
providers or PSPs are ``fairly compensated'' for each and every 
completed payphone-originated call. The Commission's Payphone 
Compensation Rules satisfy section 276 by identifying the party liable 
for compensation and establishing a mechanism for PSPs to be paid. A 
2003 Report and Order (FCC 03-235) established detailed rules (Payphone 
Compensation Rules) ensuring that payphone service providers or PSPs 
are ``fairly compensated'' for each and every completed payphone-
originated call pursuant to section 276 of the Communications Act, as 
amended (the Act). The Payphone Compensation Rules satisfy section 276 
by identifying the party liable for compensation and establishing a 
mechanism for PSPs to be paid. The Payphone Compensation Rules: (1) 
Place liability to compensate PSPs for payphone-originated calls on the 
facilities-based long distance carriers or switch-based resellers 
(SBRs) from whose switches such calls are completed; (2) define these 
responsible carriers as ``Completing Carriers'' and require them to 
develop their own system of tracking calls to completion; (3) require 
Completing Carriers to file with PSPs a quarterly report and also 
submit an attestation by the chief financial officer (CFO) that the 
payment amount for that quarter is accurate and is based on 100% of all 
completed calls; (4) require quarterly reporting obligations for other 
facilities-based long distance carriers in the call path, if any, and 
define these carriers as ``Intermediate Carriers;'' and (5) give 
parties flexibility to agree to alternative compensation arrangements 
(ACA) so that small Completing Carriers may avoid the expense of 
instituting a tracking system and undergoing an audit. On February 22, 
2018, the Commission adopted a Report and Order, FCC 18-21 (2018 
Payphone Order), that: (1) Eliminated the payphone call tracking system 
audit and associated reporting requirements; (2) permitted a company 
official, including but no longer limited to, the chief financial 
officer (CFO), to certify that a Completing Carrier's quarterly 
compensation payments to PSPs are accurate and complete; and (3) 
eliminated expired interim and intermediate per-payphone compensation 
rules that no longer apply to any entity. We believe that the revisions 
adopted in the 2018 Payphone Order significantly decrease the paperwork 
burden on carriers.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-15157 Filed 7-16-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P