[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 158 (Wednesday, August 15, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 40457-40458]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17479]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 54

[WC Docket No. 10-90; FCC 14-54, 16-64, and 18-5]


Connect America Fund

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission 
(Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
has approved, for a period of three years, an information collection 
associated with the rules for the Connect America Fund Phase II auction 
contained in the Commission's Connect America Fund Orders, FCC 14-54, 
FCC 16-64, and FCC 18-5. This document is consistent with the Connect 
America Fund Orders, which stated that the Commission would publish a 
document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of the 
new information collection requirements.

DATES: The amendment to Sec.  54.315(c)(1)(ii) published at 83 FR 
15982, April 13, 2018 is effective August 15, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexander Minard, Wireline Competition 
Bureau at (202) 418-7400 or TTY (202) 418-0484. For additional 
information concerning the Paperwork Reduction Act information 
collection requirements contact Nicole Ongele at (202) 418-2991 or via 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission submitted new information 
collection requirements for review and approval by OMB, as required by 
the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, on June 7, 2018. OMB 
approved the new information collection requirements on July 31, 2018. 
The information collection requirements are contained in the 
Commission's Connect America Fund Orders, FCC 14-54, published at 79 FR 
39164, July 9, 2014, FCC 16-64, published at 81 FR 44414, July 7, 2016 
and FCC 18-5, published at 83 FR 15982, April 13, 2018. The OMB Control 
Number is 3060-1256. The Commission publishes this document as an 
announcement of the effective date of the rules published on July 7, 
2016 and April 13, 2018. 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, 
3060-1256, 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 Commission is notifying the public that it received OMB 
approval on July 31, 2018, for the information collection requirements 
contained in 47 CFR 54.315(b) and (c) and the amendment to 47 CFR 
54.315(c)(1)(ii) published at 81 FR 44414, July 7, 2016 and 83 FR 
15982, April 13, 2018. 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 3060-1256. 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: 3060-1256.
    OMB Approval Date: July 31, 2018.
    OMB Expiration Date: July 31, 2021.
    Title: Application for Connect America Fund Phase II Auction 
Support--FCC Form 683.
    Form Number: FCC Form 683.
    Type of Review: New information collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities, Not-for-profit 
institutions, and State, Local or Tribal Governments.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 400 respondents; 800 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 2-12 hours (on average).
    Frequency of Response: Annual reporting requirements, on occasion 
reporting requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this information collection 47 U.S.C. 154, 254 
and 303(r) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
    Total Annual Burden: 5,600 hours.
    Total Annual Cost(s): No Cost.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Although most of the 
information collected in FCC Form 683 will be made available for public 
inspection, the Commission will withhold certain information collected 
in FCC Form 683 from routine public inspection. Specifically, the 
Commission will treat certain financial and technical information 
submitted in FCC Form 683 as confidential. In addition, an applicant 
may use the abbreviated process under 47 CFR 0.459(a)(4) to request 
confidential treatment of the audited financial statements that are 
submitted during the post-selection review process. However, if a 
request for public inspection for this technical or financial 
information is made under 47 CFR 0.461, and the applicant has any 
objections to disclosure, the applicant will be notified and will be 
required to justify continued confidential treatment. To the extent 
that an applicant seeks to have other information collected in FCC Form 
683 or during the post-selection review process withheld from public 
inspection, the applicant may request confidential treatment pursuant 
to 47 CFR 0.459.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Needs and Uses: The Commission will use the information collected 
under this information collection to determine whether Connect America 
Fund Phase II auction winning bidders are eligible to receive Phase II 
auction support. In its USF/ICC Transformation Order and Further Notice 
of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 11-161, 76 FR 78385, December 16, 2011, the 
Commission comprehensively reformed and modernized the high-cost

[[Page 40458]]

program within the universal service fund to focus support on networks 
capable of providing voice and broadband services. The Commission 
created the Connect America Fund and concluded that support in price 
cap areas would be provided through a combination of ``a new forward-
looking model of the cost of constructing modern multi-purpose 
networks'' and a competitive bidding process (the Connect America Fund 
Phase II auction or Phase II auction). The Commission also sought 
comment on proposed rules governing the Connect America Fund Phase II 
auction, including basic auction design and the application process.
    In the Connect America Fund Phase II auction, service providers 
will compete to receive support of up to $1.98 billion over 10 years to 
offer voice and broadband service in unserved high-cost areas. The 
Commission adopted new rules to implement the reforms, conduct the 
Phase II auction, and determine whether Phase II auction winning 
bidders are eligible to receive Phase II support. In its April 2014 
Connect America Order, FCC 14-54, the Commission adopted various rules 
regarding participation in the Phase II auction, the term of support, 
and the eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) designation process. 
In its Phase II Auction Order, FCC 16-64, the Commission adopted rules 
to govern the Phase II auction, including a two-stage application 
process that includes a pre-auction short-form application to be 
submitted by parties interested in bidding in the Phase II auction and 
a post-auction long-form application that must be submitted by winning 
bidders seeking to become authorized to receive Phase II auction 
support. In its Phase II Auction Procedures Public Notice, FCC 18-6, 83 
FR 13590, March 29, 2018, the Commission adopted the final procedures 
for the Phase II auction, including the long-form application 
disclosure and certification requirements for winning bidders seeking 
to become authorized to receive Phase II auction support. In its Phase 
II Auction Order on Reconsideration, FCC 18-5, the Commission modified 
its previously-adopted letter of credit rules to provide some 
additional relief for Phase II auction support recipients by reducing 
the costs of maintaining a letter of credit. Based on the Commission's 
experience with auctions and consistent with the record, this two-stage 
application process balances the need to collect information essential 
to conducting a successful auction and authorizing Phase II support 
with administrative efficiency.
    Under this information collection, the Commission will collect 
information from Connect America Fund Phase II auction winning bidders 
to determine the recipients of Phase II auction support. To aid in 
collecting this information, the Commission has created FCC Form 683, 
which the public will use to provide the disclosures and certifications 
that must be made by Phase II auction winning bidders in the Connect 
America Fund Phase II auction seeking to become authorized for Phase II 
support. Commission staff will review the information collected in FCC 
Form 683 as part of the post-selection review process to determine 
whether a long-form applicant is eligible to receive Phase II support.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-17479 Filed 8-14-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P