[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 220 (Thursday, November 14, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61905-61906]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24660]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-0816]


Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal 
Communications Commission

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, 
and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), the Federal 
Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) invites the general 
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on the following information collection. Comments are requested 
concerning: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary 
for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, 
including whether the information shall have practical utility; the 
accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on the 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology; and ways to further reduce the 
information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer 
than 25 employees. The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of 
information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) control number. No person shall be subject to any 
penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject 
to the PRA that does not display a valid OMB control number.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted on or before January 13, 
2020. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments but find 
it difficult to do so within the time period allowed by this notice, 
you should advise the contacts below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Cathy Williams, FCC, via email 
[email protected] and to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information, contact 
Cathy Williams at (202) 418-2918.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0816.
    Title: Local Telephone Competition and Broadband Reporting, Report 
and Order, FCC Form 477, (WC Docket No. 19-195, WC Docket No, 11-10, 
FCC 19-79).
    Form Number: FCC Form 477.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; not-for-profit 
institutions; and state, local, or tribal governments.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 2,515 respondents; 5,030 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 387 hours (average).
    Frequency of Response: Semi-annual reporting requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 
U.S.C. 4(i), 201, 218-220, 251-252, 271, 303(r), 332, and 403 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and in section 706 of the 
Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended, codified in section 1302 of 
the Broadband Data Improvement Act, 47 U.S.C. 1302.
    Total Annual Burden: 1,946,610 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission will no longer 
treat as confidential service providers' minimum advertised or expected 
speed data for mobile broadband services. Thus, provider-specific 
coverage data will be publicly released for all subsequent Form 477 
filings. This action is necessary to ensure that consumers can easily 
use the information that is disclosed to the public, including minimum 
advertised or expected speed data, because such information is only 
beneficial if consumers know where service coverage is available.
    Needs and Uses: After the 60-day comment period expires, the 
Commission will submit the revised information collection to the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) to obtain a full three-year clearance.
    The revisions to the information collection are necessitated by a 
Report and Order in WC Docket Nos. 19-195 and 11-10, FCC 19-79, adopted 
on August 1, 2019. In this Order, the Commission makes targeted changes 
to the existing Form 477 data collection to reduce reporting burdens 
for all filers and incorporate new technologies.
    The Order adopts the 5G-NR (New Radio) technology standards 
developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) with Release 
15 and requires providers to submit 5G deployment data that meet the 
specifications of Release 15 (or any successor release that may be 
adopted by the Commission's Bureaus). The Order also requires mobile 
providers to submit broadband and voice subscriber data at the census-
tract level based on the subscriber's place of primary use for postpaid 
subscribers and based on the subscriber's telephone number for prepaid 
and resold subscribers. These changes are necessary because the 
deployment data collected on Form 477 are no longer sufficient for 
targeting universal service funds. The actions to improve the Form 477 
data collection are designed to increase the usefulness of the 
information to the Commission, Congress, the industry, and the public.
    The Order reduces the burden on broadband providers by removing the 
requirement that facilities-based providers submit separate coverage 
maps depicting their broadband network coverage areas for each 
transmission technology and each frequency band. It also modifies the 
requirement that mobile broadband

[[Page 61906]]

providers report coverage information for each technology deployed in 
their networks by reducing the number of categories from nine to four. 
The Order eliminates the requirement that facilities-based providers 
submit a list of census tracts in which the provider advertises its 
mobile wireless broadband service and in which the service is available 
to actual and potential subscribers. Finally, the Order removes the 
requirement that fixed providers offering business/enterprise/
government services to report the maximum downstream and upstream 
contractual or guaranteed data throughput rate (committed information 
rate) available in each reported census block.
    As part of these revisions to the Form 477 data collection, the 
Commission is requesting approval of certain changes to the form and 
the related instructions. These changes are necessary to streamline the 
filing process, implement revisions to the data collection, eliminate 
burdensome filings requirements, and increase the usefulness of the 
information to the Commission, Congress, the industry, and the public.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-24660 Filed 11-13-19; 8:45 am]
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