[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 180 (Wednesday, September 16, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57765-57767]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19947]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 27

[GN Docket No. 18-122; FCC 20-22; FRS 17058]


Expanding Flexible Use of the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz Band

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of compliance date.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of 
Management and Budget has approved the information collection 
requirements associated with the rules adopted in the Federal 
Communications Commission's 3.7 GHz Report and Order, FCC 20-22, 
requiring the Relocation Payment Clearinghouse, the Relocation 
Coordinator, and the Space Station Operators to disclose status reports 
and other information regarding costs and procedures of the transition 
process and its clearing efforts. This document is consistent with the 
3.7 GHz Report and Order, FCC 20-22, which states that the Commission 
will publish a document in the Federal Register

[[Page 57766]]

announcing a compliance date for the new rule sections.

DATES: Compliance with 47 CFR 27.1412(b)(3)(i), (d)(2), and (f) through 
(h); 27.1413(a)(2) and (3), (b), and (c)(3); 27.1414(b)(3), 
(b)(4)(iii), and (c)(1) through (3) and (6) and (7); 27.1415; 
27.1416(a); 27.1417; 27.1421; and 27.1422(c), published at 85 FR 22804 
on April 23, 2020, is required on September 16, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anna Gentry, Mobility Division, 
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, at (202) 418-7769 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approved the information collection 
requirements in 47 CFR 27.1412(b)(3)(i), (d)(2), and (f) through (h); 
27.1413(a)(2) and (3), (b), and (c)(3); 27.1414(b)(3), (b)(4)(iii), and 
(c)(1) through (3) and (6) and (7); 27.1415; 27.1416(a); 27.1417; 
27.1421; and 27.1422(c), on August 28, 2020. These rules were adopted 
in the 3.7 GHz Report and Order, FCC 20-22, published at 85 FR 22804 on 
April 23, 2020. The Commission publishes this document as an 
announcement of the compliance date for these new rules. OMB approval 
for all other new or amended rules for which OMB approval is required 
will be requested, and compliance is not yet required for those rules. 
Compliance with all new or amended rules adopted in the 3.7 GHz Report 
and Order that do not require OMB approval is required as of June 22, 
2020, see 85 FR 22804 (Apr. 23, 2020). If you have any comments on the 
burden estimates listed below, or how the Commission can improve the 
collections and reduce any burdens caused thereby, please contact Cathy 
Williams, Federal Communications Commission, Room 1-C823, 445 12th 
Street SW, Washington, DC 20554, regarding OMB Control Number 3060-
1275. Please include the OMB Control Number 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 final 
OMB approval on August 28, 2020, for the information collection 
requirements contained in 47 CFR 27.1412(b)(3)(i), (d)(2), and (f) 
through (h); 27.1413(a)(2) and (3), (b), and (c)(3); 27.1414(b)(3), 
(b)(4)(iii), and (c)(1) through (3) and (6) and (7); 27.1415; 
27.1416(a); 27.1417; 27.1421; and 27.1422(c) . 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 for the information collection requirements in 47 CFR 
27.1412(b)(3)(i), (d)(2), and (f) through (h); 27.1413(a)(2) and (3), 
(b), and (c)(3); 27.1414(b)(3), (b)(4)(iii), and (c)(1) through (3) and 
(6) and (7); 27.1415; 27.1416(a); 27.1417; 27.1421; and 27.1422(c) is 
3060-1275.
    The foregoing notice is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, Pub. L. 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: 3060-1275.
    OMB Approval Date: August 28, 2020.
    OMB Expiration Date: August 31, 2023.
    Title: 3.7 GHz Band Relocation Payment Clearinghouse; 3.7 GHz Band 
Relocation Coordinator; 3.7 GHz Band Space Station Operators.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; Not for profit 
institutions; State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 3,007 respondents; 9,362 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.5 hours to 600 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirement; on occasion, 
weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annul, and annual reporting 
requirements; third party disclosure requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 
sections 1, 2, 4(i), 4(j), 5(c), 201, 302, 303, 304, 307(e), 309, 316 
of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 
154(i), 154(j), 155(c), 201, 302, 303, 304, 307(e), 309, 316.
    Total Annual Burden: 77,754 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $10,705,353.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The information collected 
under this collection will be made publicly available. However, to the 
extent information submitted pursuant to this information collection is 
determined to be confidential, it will be protected by the Commission. 
If a respondent seeks to have information collected pursuant to this 
information collection withheld from public inspection, the respondent 
may request confidential treatment pursuant to Sec.  0.459 of the 
Commission's rules for such information.
    Needs and Uses: On February 28, 2020, in furtherance of the goal of 
releasing more mid-band spectrum into the market to support and enable 
next-generation wireless networks, the Commission adopted a Report and 
Order, FCC 20-22 (3.7 GHz Report and Order) in which it reformed the 
use of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band, also known as the C-Band. The 3.7-4.2 GHz 
band currently is allocated in the United States exclusively for non-
Federal use on a primary basis for Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) and 
Fixed Service. Domestically, space station operators use the 3.7-4.2 
GHz band to provide downlink signals of various bandwidths to licensed 
transmit-receive, registered receive-only, and unregistered receive-
only earth stations throughout the United States. The 3.7 GHz Report 
and Order calls for the relocation of existing FSS operations in the 
band into the upper 200 megahertz of the band (4.0-4.2 GHz) and making 
the lower 280 megahertz (3.7-3.98 GHz) available for flexible-use 
throughout the contiguous United States through a Commission-
administered public auction of overlay licenses in the 3.7 GHz Service 
that is scheduled to occur later this year, with the 20 megahertz from 
3.98-4.0 GHz reserved as a guard band. The Commission adopted a robust 
transition schedule to achieve an expeditious relocation of FSS 
operations and ensure that a significant amount of spectrum is made 
available quickly for next-generation wireless deployments, while also 
ensuring effective accommodation of relocated incumbent users. The 3.7 
GHz Report and Order establishes a deadline of December 5, 2025, for 
full relocation to ensure that all FSS operations are cleared in a 
timely manner, but provides an opportunity for accelerated clearing of 
the band by allowing incumbent space station operators, as defined in 
the 3.7 GHz Report and Order, to commit to voluntarily relocate on a 
two-phased accelerated schedule (with additional obligations and 
incentives for such operators), with a Phase I deadline of December 5, 
2021, and a Phase II deadline of December 5, 2023.
    The Commission concluded in the 3.7 GHz Report and Order that a 
neutral,

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independent third-party Relocation Payment Clearinghouse (RPC) should 
be established to administer the cost-related aspects of the transition 
in a fair, transparent manner, mitigate financial disputes among 
stakeholders, and collect and distribute payments in a timely manner to 
transition incumbent space station operators out of the 3.7-3.98 GHz 
band. The Commission also concluded that a Relocation Coordinator (RC) 
should be appointed to ensure that all incumbent space station 
operators are relocating in a timely manner, and to be responsible for 
receiving notice from earth station operators or other satellite 
customers of any disputes related to comparability of facilities, 
workmanship, or preservation of service during the transition and 
notify the Commission of disputes and recommendations for resolution.
    To ensure that 3.7-4.2 GHz band stakeholders adopt practices and 
standards in their operations to ensure an effective, efficient, and 
streamlined transition, the RPC, the RC, and the Space Station 
Operators (SSOs) are required to disclose status reports and other 
information regarding costs and procedures of the transition process 
and its clearing efforts.
    The information required in this collection will be used to ensure 
that the process of clearing the lower portion of the band is efficient 
and timely, so that the spectrum can be auctioned for flexible-use 
service licenses and deployed for next-generation wireless services, 
including 5G, as quickly as possible. The collection is also necessary 
for the Commission to satisfy its oversight responsibilities and/or 
agency specific/government-wide reporting obligations. Under this new 
information collection, the RPC, the RC, and the SSOs will make the 
required disclosures of status reports and other information required 
by the Commission.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-19947 Filed 9-15-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P