[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 90 (Friday, May 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27416-27417]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09807]



[[Page 27416]]

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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-XXXX; FRS 16725]


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 of 1995 (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 collections. 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 PRA comments should be submitted on or before July 7, 
2020. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find 
it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this notice, 
you should advise the contact listed below as soon as possible.

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the 
information collection, contact Nicole Ongele, (202) 418-2991.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control Number: 3060-XXXX.
    Title: Improving Outage Reporting for Submarine Cables and Enhanced 
Submarine Outage Data.
    Form Number: Not applicable.
    Type of Review: New information collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 75 respondents; 336 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 6 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. Statutory authority for this 
information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i)-(j) & (o), 
405, and the Cable Landing License Act of 1921, 47 U.S.C. 34-39, and 3 
U.S.C. 301, and Exec. Order No. 10530.
    Total Annual Burden: 2,016 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Outage reports filed with the 
Commission pursuant to Part 4 are presumed confidential. The 
information in those filings may be shared with the Department of 
Homeland Security only under appropriate confidential disclosure 
protections. Other persons seeking disclosure must follow the 
procedures delineated in 47 CFR 0.457 and 0.459 for requests for and 
disclosure of information. The information collection discussed here 
does not affect the confidential treatment of information submitted to 
the Commission's Network Outage Reporting System (NORS), an internet 
portal that collects submitted outage filings.
    Needs and Uses: Section 151 of the Communications Act of 1934 
(Act), as amended, requires the Commission to promote the safety of 
life and property through the use of wire and radio communications. 
Additionally, the Cable Landing License Act, (47 U.S.C. 34-39), and 
Executive Order 10530, provide the Commission with authority to grant, 
withhold, condition and revoke submarine cable landing licenses. 
Further, the Cable Landing License Act and Executive Order 10530 
provide that the Commission may place conditions on the grant of a 
submarine cable landing license in order to assure just and reasonable 
rates and service in the operation and use of cables so licensed. 
``Just and reasonable service'' entails assurance that the cable 
infrastructure will be reasonably available. Availability of submarine 
cables is also critically important for national security and the 
economy because submarine cables carry approximately 95 percent of 
international communications traffic and are the primary means of 
connectivity for numerous U.S. states and territories. Currently, 
submarine cable licensees provide information to the Commission on a 
voluntary, ad hoc basis through the Undersea Cable Information System 
(UCIS).
    This is a new collection that will be part of the Commission's NORS 
outage reporting regime. As with the other information collection 
collected in NORS (under OMB Control No. 3060-0484), this new 
collection will facilitate FCC monitoring, analysis, and investigation 
of the reliability and security of submarine cable networks, and to 
identify and action on potential threats to our Nation's 
telecommunications infrastructure. Drawing from a decade of experience 
in outage reporting, the Commission will seek an ongoing dialogue with 
submarine cable licensees, as well as with the industry at large, 
regarding lessons learned from the new information collection. These 
efforts will help the Commission develop a better understanding of the 
root causes of significant outages, and to explore preventive measures 
to mitigate the impact of such outages on the Nation and the American 
public.
    The addition of mandatory submarine cable outage data will provide 
the Commission with greater visibility into the availability and health 
of these networks, allowing the Commission to better track and analyze 
submarine cable resiliency. This enhanced visibility into submarine 
cable network outages will allow the Commission to take appropriate 
actions to mitigate disruptions, if necessary, and to avoid the 
development of larger, more significant problems which could impact 
national security and public safety interests. Submarine cable outages 
do not typically occur with the same frequency as terrestrial outages, 
but when they do occur have a greater impact on the Nation's 
telecommunications due to the volume and nature of communications 
carried over such cables. Damages to submarine cables are usually 
caused by weather or inadvertent slicing by underseas equipment. 
However, submarine cables are also susceptible to intentional damage 
for nefarious purposes that could lead to a severe degradation of 
crucial government, as well as non-government, communications.


[[Page 27417]]


Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-09807 Filed 5-7-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P