[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 181 (Thursday, September 17, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57980-57982]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19687]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 1, 2, 25, 27 and 101

[GN Docket No. 18-122; FCC 20-22; FRS 17048]


Expanding Flexible Use of the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz Band

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; corrections and announcement of compliance date.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission corrects a typographical 
error in the 3.7 GHz Report and Order, FCC 20-22, published on April 
23, 2020, and 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, requiring the Relocation Payment Clearinghouse and the 
Relocation Coordinator to each make real-time, public disclosures of 
the content and timing of and the parties to communications, if any, 
from or to applicants in the Commission's auction for overlay licenses 
in the 3.7 GHz Service, and that compliance with the new rules is now 
required. This document is consistent with the 3.7 GHz Report and 
Order, which states that the Commission will publish a document in the 
Federal Register announcing a compliance date for the new rule 
sections.

DATES: Effective date: The corrections are effective September 17, 
2020.
    Compliance date: Compliance with 47 CFR 27.1413(c)(6) and 
27.1414(b)(4)(i), published at 85 FR 22804 on April 23, 2020, is 
required on September 17, 2020.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document corrects a typographical error

[[Page 57981]]

in the 3.7 GHz Report and Order, FCC 20-22, published at 85 FR 22804 on 
April 23, 2020, referencing 47 CFR 27.1413(c)(7) as the rule section 
for which OMB approval was required, rather than 47 CFR 27.1413(c)(6).
    In FR Doc. 2020-05164 appearing on page 22804 in the Federal 
Register of Thursday, April 23, 2020, the following corrections are 
made:
    1. On page 22804, in the first column, in the DATES section, the 
reference ``27.1413(a)(2) and (3), (b), and (c)(3) and (7)'' is 
corrected to read ``27.1413(a)(2) and (3), (b), and (c)(3) and (6).''
    2. On page 22804, in the third column, in the first paragraph under 
the heading ``Paperwork Reduction Act,'' the reference ``27.1413(a)(2) 
and (3), (b), and (c)(3) and (7)'' is corrected to read ``27.1413(a)(2) 
and (3), (b), and (c)(3) and (6).''
    3. On page 22860, in the third column, under the section heading 
``Ordering Clauses,'' the reference ``27.1413(a)(2) and (3), (b), and 
(c)(3) and (7)'' is corrected to read ``27.1413(a)(2) and (3), (b), and 
(c)(3) and (6)'' in both instances where it appears in paragraph 428.
    This document also announces that the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) approved the information collection requirements in 47 CFR 
27.1413(c)(6) and 27.1414(b)(4)(i), on August 31, 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 3060-1276. 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 May 5, 2020, for the information collection 
requirements contained in 47 CFR 27.1413(c)(6) and 27.1414(b)(4)(i). 
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 
27.1413(c)(6) and 27.1414(b)(4)(i), is 3060-1276.
    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:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1276.
    OMB Approval Date: August 31, 2020.
    OMB Expiration Date: August 31, 2023.
    Title: 3.7 GHz Band Relocation Coordinator and Relocation Payment 
Clearinghouse Real-Time Disclosure of Communications Required by 
Sections 27.1413(c)(6) and 27.1414(b)(4)(i).
    Form Number: N/A.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 2 respondents; 12 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting 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), and 309 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.
    Total Annual Burden: 12 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The information collected 
under this collection will be made publicly available.
    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, 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

[[Page 57982]]

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 protect the fair and level playing field for applicants to 
participate in the Commission's auction for overlay licenses in the 3.7 
GHz Service, the RPC and the RC are each required to make real-time, 
public disclosures of the content and timing of and the parties to 
communications, if any, from or to such applicants, as applicants are 
defined by the Commission's rule prohibiting certain auction-related 
communications, 47 CFR 1.2105(c)(5)(i), whenever the prohibition in 47 
CFR 1.2105(c) applies to competitive bidding for licenses in the 3.7 
GHz Service. See 47 CFR 27.1413(c)(6), 27.1414(b)(4)(i) (as adopted in 
the 3.7 GHz Report and Order). Under this new information collection, 
the RPC and the RC will each make the required real-time, public 
disclosure of any such communications, as necessary.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-19687 Filed 9-16-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P