[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 147 (Thursday, July 30, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 45793-45794]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16348]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 54

[WC Docket Nos. 18-143, 10-90, 14-58; FCC 19-95; FRS 16955]


The Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund, Connect 
America Fund, ETC Annual Reports and Certifications

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.

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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 contained in the 
Commission's Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and Connect USVI Fund Order, 
FCC 19-95. This document is consistent with the Uniendo a Puerto Rico 
Fund and Connect USVI Fund Order, 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 amendments to Sec. Sec.  54.1505, 54.1508 and 54.1515 
published at 84 FR 59937, November 7, 2019 are effective July 30, 2020.

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: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission submitted revised information 
collection requirements for review and approval by OMB, as required by 
the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, on May 20, 2020, which were 
approved by OMB on July 9, 2020. The information collection 
requirements are contained in the Commission's Uniendo a Puerto Rico 
Fund and Connect USVI Fund Order, FCC 19-95 published at 84 FR 59937, 
November 7, 2019. The OMB Control Number is 3060-1274. If you have any 
comments on the burden estimates listed in the following, 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, 3060-1274, 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 9, 2020, for the information collection requirements 
contained in 47 CFR 54.1505, 54.1508 and 54.1515 published at 84 FR 
59937, November 7, 2019. 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 3060-1274.
    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:

[[Page 45794]]

    OMB Control Number: 3060-1274.
    OMB Approval Date: July 9, 2020.
    OMB Expiration Date: July 31, 2023.
    Title: Application for the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the 
Connect USVI Fund Stage 2 Fixed Support.
    Form Number: FCC Form 5634.
    Type of Review: New information collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 20 unique respondents; 30 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 2-80 hours.
    Frequency of Response: One-time and annual reporting requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 
U.S.C. 151-154, 214, and 254.
    Total Annual Burden: 1,620 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No Cost.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Although some information 
collected in FCC Form 5634 will be made available for routine public 
inspection, the Commission will withhold certain information collected 
in FCC Form 5634 from routine public inspection. Specifically, the 
Commission will treat certain financial and technical information 
submitted in FCC Form 5634 as confidential. 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 5634 or during the 
post-selection review process withheld from public inspection, the 
applicant may request confidential treatment pursuant to 47 CFR 0.459.
    Needs and Uses: In the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and Connect USVI 
Fund Order, the Commission comprehensively reformed the high-cost 
program within the universal service fund to focus support on networks 
capable of providing advanced, hardened voice and broadband services in 
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (collectively, the 
Territories). Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund, WC 
Dockets Nos. 18-143 et al., Report and Order and Order on 
Reconsideration, 34 FCC Rcd 9109 (PR-USVI Order). As part of the PR-
USVI Order, the Commission adopted a single-round competitive proposal 
process to award Stage 2 support for fixed telecommunications networks 
in the Territories (Stage 2 Competition).
    For the Stage 2 Competition, service providers will compete to 
receive high-cost support of up to $504.7 million in Puerto Rico and 
$186.5 million in the U.S. Virgin Islands over 10 years to offer fixed 
voice and broadband services to all locations in the Territories in 
accordance with the framework adopted in the PR-USVI Order. The 
information collection requirements reported under this new collection 
are the result of the competitive proposal process adopted by the PR-
USVI Order to award support to winning applicants. The Commission 
adopted various rules regarding the eligibility of service providers 
and the term of support. In addition, the Commission adopted rules to 
govern the competitive proposal process, which includes information to 
be submitted by parties as part of their competitive proposals and 
information that must be submitted by winning bidders seeking to become 
authorized to receive Stage 2 fixed support. The Commission concluded, 
based on its experience with awarding high-cost support and consistent 
with the record, that this single-stage competitive proposal process 
balances the need to collect information essential to awarding support 
and authorizing Stage 2 fixed support with administrative efficiency.
    The Commission estimates that approximately 20 parties will apply 
and approximately 10 will be selected as winning applicants. This 
information collection addresses the burdens associated with these 
requirements.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-16348 Filed 7-29-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P