[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 207 (Thursday, October 25, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53822-53823]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-23349]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 1

[GN Docket No. 12-268; FCC 14-50]


Expanding the Economic and Innovation Opportunities of Spectrum 
Through Incentive Auctions

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, on an emergency basis, new 
information collection requirements and FCC Form 1875, Reverse Auction 
(Auction 1001) Incentive Payment Instructions from Reverse Auction 
Winning Bidder associated with the Commission's Expanding the Economic 
and Innovation Opportunities of Spectrum Through Incentive Auctions 
Report and Order (Incentive Auction Report and Order), FCC 14-50. This 
document is consistent with the Incentive Auction Report and Order, 
which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the 
Federal Register announcing OMB approval and the effective date of the 
new information collection requirements.

DATES: The amendment to 47 CFR 1.2209 published at 79 FR 48442 on 
August 15, 2014, is effective on October 25, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information contact 
Nicole Ongele, [email protected], (202) 418-2991.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that, on January 17, 
2017 OMB approved, on an emergency basis, new information collection 
requirements and FCC Form 1875, Reverse Auction (Auction 1001) 
Incentive Payment Instructions from Reverse Auction Winning Bidder, 
contained in the Commission's Incentive Auction Report and Order, FCC 
14-50, published at 79 FR 48442, August 15, 2014. The OMB Control 
Number is 3060-1224. The Commission publishes this document as an 
announcement of the effective date of the rules and requirements. If 
you have

[[Page 53823]]

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, 3060-1224, 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 emergency 
approval from OMB on January 17, 2017, for the information collection 
requirements contained in 47 CFR 1.2209.
    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 3060-1224.
    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: 3060-1224.
    OMB Approval Date: January 17, 2017.
    OMB Expiration Date: July 31, 2017.
    Title: Reverse Auction (Auction 1001) Incentive Payment 
Instructions from Reverse Auction Winning Bidder.
    Form Number: FCC Form 1875.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit, Not-for-profit 
institutions and State, Local or Tribal government.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 750 respondents; 1,500 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 2.5 hours.
    Frequency of Response: One-time reporting requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for this information collection is contained in the 
Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Public Law 112-96 
(Spectrum Act) Sec.  6403(a)(1).
    Total Annual Burden: 3,750 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No Cost.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The information collection 
includes information identifying bank accounts and providing account 
and routing numbers to access those accounts. FCC considers that 
information to be records not routinely available for public inspection 
under 47 CFR 0.457, and exempt from disclosure under FOIA exemption 4 
(5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)).
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Needs and Uses: The collection was submitted to OMB and approved, 
on an emergency basis, for the information collection requirements 
contained in the Commission's Incentive Auction Order, FCC 14-50, which 
adopted rules for holding an Incentive Auction as required by the 
Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (Spectrum Act).
    The Spectrum Act mandates ``a reverse auction to determine the 
amount of compensation that each broadcast television licensee would 
accept in return for voluntarily relinquishing some or all of its 
broadcast television spectrum usage rights in order to make spectrum 
available for assignment through a system of competitive bidding''.\1\
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    \1\ Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Public 
Law 112-96 (Spectrum Act) Sec.  6403(a)(1).
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    The Commission conducted notice-and-comment rulemaking to implement 
the Spectrum Act, and ruled in the Incentive Auction Report and Order 
that:
    ``we adopt the Commission's proposal to require successful bidders 
in the reverse auction to submit additional information to facilitate 
incentive payments. As mentioned in the NPRM, we envision that the 
information would be submitted on standardized incentive payment forms 
similar to the Automated Clearing House (``ACH'') forms unsuccessful 
bidders in typical spectrum license auctions use to request refunds of 
their deposits and upfront payments. This information collection is 
necessary to facilitate incentive payments and should not be burdensome 
to successful bidders. Specifically, without further instruction and 
bank account information from successful bidders, the Commission would 
not know where to send the incentive payments.'' [footnotes omitted] 
\2\
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    \2\ Expanding the Economic and Innovation Opportunities of 
Spectrum Through Incentive Auctions, GN Docket No. 12-268, Report 
and Order, 29 FCC Rcd 6567 (2014) (``Incentive Auction R&O'') at 
537.
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    The information collection for which we are requesting approval is 
the standardized incentive payment form referred to in the paragraph 
above.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-23349 Filed 10-24-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P