[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 235 (Friday, December 6, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 66843-66844]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-26304]



[[Page 66843]]

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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 1

[MD Docket No. 19-333; FCC 19-113; FRS 16276]


Closure of FCC Lockbox 979096 Used To Collect Payment of Charges 
for Certain International Telecommunications Services

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC 
or Commission) adopts an Order that closes Lockbox 979096 and removes 
the relevant rule relating to the collection of payment for charges for 
certain international telecommunications services.

DATES: Effective January 6, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Warren Firschein, Office of Managing 
Director at (202) 418-2653 or Roland Helvajian, Office of Managing 
Director at (202) 418-0444.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Order, 
FCC 19-113, MD Docket No. 19-333, adopted on November 7, 2019 and 
released on November 12, 2019. The full text of this document is 
available for public inspection and copying during normal business 
hours in the FCC Reference Center (Room CY-A257), 445 12th Street SW, 
Washington, DC 20554, or by downloading the text from the Commission's 
website at https://www.fcc.gov/document/closure-lockbox-used-international-telecommunications-services.

I. Administrative Matters

A. Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    1. Section 603 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, as amended, 
requires a regulatory flexibility analysis in notice and comment 
rulemaking proceedings. See 5 U.S.C. 603(a). As we are adopting these 
rules without notice and comment, no regulatory flexibility analysis is 
required.

B. Final Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Analysis

    2. This document does not contain new or modified information 
collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA), Public Law 104-13. In addition, therefore, it does not contain 
any new or modified information collection burden for small business 
concerns with fewer than 25 employees, pursuant to the Small Business 
Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(4).

C. Congressional Review Act

    3. The Commission will not send a copy of the Order pursuant to the 
Congressional Review Act, see 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A), because the 
adopted rules are rules of agency organization, procedure, or practice 
that do not ``substantially affect the rights or obligations of non-
agency parties. See 5 U.S.C. 804(3)(C).

II. Introduction

    4. In the Order, we reduce expenditures by the Commission and 
modernize procedures by removing Sec.  1.1108 of our rules, 47 CFR 
1.1108, which sets forth the charges for applications and other filings 
for international telecommunications services. The rule amendment 
reflects the closure of the P.O. Box \1\ used to collect payment of 
charges for certain international telecommunications services, along 
with a fee for processing such transactions. Our action here stems from 
our recent decision, described below, to no longer function as an 
accounting authority of last resort and to accordingly cease collection 
of such charges.
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    \1\ A P.O. Box used for the collection of fees is referred to as 
a ``lockbox'' in our rules and other Commission documents. The FCC 
collects application processing fees using a series of P.O. Boxes 
located at U.S. Bank in St. Louis, Missouri. See 47 CFR 1.1101-
1.1109 (setting forth the fee schedule for each type of application 
remittable to the Commission along with the correct lockbox).
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    5. The FCC has historically performed the function of an accounting 
authority for international maritime mobile communications for those 
customers in the maritime mobile and maritime mobile-satellite radio 
services that had not otherwise designated any such accounting 
authority. This default function is referred to as the ``accounting 
authority of last resort.'' Essentially, this involves presenting 
telecommunications bills to U.S.-registered ships that have utilized 
telecommunications services from a foreign coast station or satellite, 
accepting payment, and remitting collected funds to the 
telecommunications provider. The Commission used P.O. Box 979096 to 
collect such payments.
    6. On December 21, 2018, the Commission released a Second Report 
and Order in which it adopted its proposal to transition the functions 
and duties performed by the FCC as an accounting authority of last 
resort (84 FR 8994 (March 13, 2019)). The Commission also directed the 
staff to finalize details of the transition and publish the detailed 
transition and outreach plan. The detailed plan was released on April 
22, 2019 in a Public Notice. The Public Notice indicated that the 
Commission would terminate its performance of the functions of an 
accounting authority at the close of business on April 22, 2020. The 
Public Notice also explained that no later than that date, users who 
have relied on the Commission as an accounting authority must 
affirmatively select an accounting authority, contract with such entity 
as their new accounting authority, and reactivate/recommission their 
terminal(s) to the new accounting authority's identification code 
(AAIC).
    7. In the Order, we announce that we will close P.O. Box 979096, 
effective July 15, 2020, at which time the Commission will no longer 
handle such transactions, and parties will be expected to utilize other 
accounting authorities as provided in the Second Report and Order and 
the Public Notice. While we do not anticipate receiving payments after 
April 22, 2020, delaying the closure of the P.O. Box until after the 
Commission ceases to function as an accounting authority will allow us 
to coordinate with parties whose payments have been delayed and assist 
them in utilizing another accounting authority.
    8. Closure of P.O. Box 979096 will reduce the agency's expenditures 
(including eliminating the annual fee for the bank's services). Because 
the Commission will no longer serve as an accounting authority, it will 
also provide no inconvenience to the Commission's regulatees, 
applicants, and the public. We amend our rules to reflect this change 
as indicated in the Appendix. We make this change without notice and 
comment because it is a rule of agency organization, procedure, or 
practice exempt from the general notice-and-comment requirements of the 
Administrative Procedure Act.

III. Ordering Clauses

    9. Accordingly, it is ordered, that pursuant to sections 4(i), 
4(j), 158, 208, and 224 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 
47 U.S.C. 154(i), 154(j), 158, 208, and 224, the Order is hereby 
adopted and the rules set forth in the Appendix of the Order are hereby 
amended effective January 6, 2020.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 1

    Administrative practice and procedure.


[[Page 66844]]


Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.

Final Rules

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 1 as follows:

PART 1--PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE

0
1. The authority citation for part 1 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. chs. 2, 5, 9, 13; 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, 
unless otherwise noted.


Sec.  1.1108  [Removed and Reserved]

0
2. Remove and reserve Sec.  1.1108.

[FR Doc. 2019-26304 Filed 12-5-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P