[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 230 (Monday, November 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76569-76571]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26261]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-1210; FRS 17265]


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 January 
29, 2021. 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: 3060-1210.
    Title: Wireless E911 Location Accuracy Requirements (PS Docket No. 
07-114).
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit, State, Local or Tribal 
Government, and Federal Government.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 4,567 respondents; 35,531 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 2-10 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping, on occasion; one-time; 
quarterly and semi-annual reporting requirements, and third-party 
disclosure requirements.
    Obligation To Respond: Mandatory. Statutory authority for this 
information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 1, 2, 4(i), 7, 10, 
201, 214, 222, 251(e), 301, 302, 303, 303(b), 303(r), 307, 307(a), 309, 
309(j)(3), 316, 316(a), and 332 of the Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended.
    Total Annual Burden: 139,461 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No Cost.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission is requesting 
that respondents submit confidential information to the Commission in 
the context of the test bed. Nationwide Commercial Mobile Radio Service 
(CMRS) providers must make data from the test bed available to small 
and regional CMRS providers so that the smaller providers can deploy 
technology throughout their networks that is consistent with a 
deployment that was successfully tested in the test bed. CMRS providers 
also may request confidential treatment of live 911 call data reports, 
but the Commission reserves the right to release aggregate or 
anonymized data on a limited basis to facilitate compliance with its 
rules.
    Needs and Uses: This notice pertains to multiple information 
collections relating to the Commission's wireless E911 indoor location 
accuracy regulations. As described below, OMB previously approved the 
information collections associated with OMB Control No 3060-1210. This 
notice seeks comment on proposed modifications to those information 
collections pursuant to the Sixth Report and Order and Order on 
Reconsideration in this proceeding, PS Docket 07-114.
    New or modified collections. Section 9.10(i)(4)(iv) requires all 
CMRS providers to certify ``that neither they nor any third party they 
rely on to obtain dispatchable location information will use 
dispatchable location information or associated data for any non-911 
purpose, except with prior express consent or as otherwise required by 
law.'' In addition, ``[t]he certification must state that CMRS 
providers and any third party they rely on to obtain dispatchable 
location information will implement measures sufficient to safeguard 
the privacy and security of dispatchable location information.'' Under 
47 CFR 9.10(i)(4)(v), all CMRS providers must certify ``that neither 
they nor any third party they rely on to obtain z-axis information will 
use z-axis information or associated data for any non-911 purpose, 
except with prior express consent or as otherwise required by law.'' 
Further, ``[t]he certification must state that CMRS providers and any 
third party they rely on to obtain z-axis information will implement 
measures sufficient to safeguard the privacy and security of z-axis 
location information.'' The Commission obtained OMB approval for the 
information collections contained in these certifications after 
adopting the Fourth Report and Order and Fifth Report and Order under 
OMB Control No. 3060-1210. The Sixth Report and Order modified these 
information collections slightly by deleting references to the National 
Emergency Address Database (NEAD), which has been discontinued and will 
not be available to CMRS providers. The Commission does not expect 
these changes to the certification requirements to result in any 
increase or decrease in the burden estimates for these collections as 
previously approved by OMB.

[[Page 76570]]

    Section 9.10(i)(3)(ii) requires CMRS providers that serve any of 
the six Test Cities identified by ATIS (Atlanta, Denver/Front Range, 
San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Manhattan Borough of New York 
City) or portions thereof to collect and report aggregate data on the 
location technologies used for live 911 calls. As discussed below, in 
2018, the Commission developed a reporting template to assist CMRS 
providers in collecting, formatting, and submitting aggregate live 911 
call data in accordance with the requirements in the rules. After 
adopting the Fifth Report and Order, the Commission indicated that it 
would modify the live call template to include vertical location. We 
now propose to modify the form to include z-axis (vertical) location 
information from live calls in addition to horizontal location 
information. Specifically, we propose to revise the template to include 
fields for reporting the percentage of total 911 calls that result in 
dispatchable location or z-axis location information by morphology and 
position technology and for reporting z-axis deployment options used 
for 911 calls.
    Section 9.10(j)(4) requires CMRS providers to supply confidence and 
uncertainty (C/U) information with wireless E911 calls that have 
dispatchable location or z-axis information and to do so in accordance 
with the timelines for vertical location accuracy compliance. As noted 
below, OMB previously approved and renewed a C/U data requirement for 
horizontal location information under OMB Control No. 3060-1204. (See 
also OMB Control No. 3060-1147.) The Fifth Report and Order extended 
the C/U requirements to include vertical location information, and OMB 
approved that modification. The Sixth Report and Order revised 47 CFR 
9.10(j)(4) to add a requirement that where floor-level information is 
available to CMRS providers, they must provide C/U data for the z-axis 
(vertical) information included with such floor-level information.
    Under Section 9.10(k), CMRS providers must record information on 
all live 911 calls, including the C/U data that they provide to PSAPs 
under Section 9.10(j) of the rules. In addition, Section 9.10(k) 
requires CMRS providers to make this information available to PSAPs 
upon request and to retain it for a period of two years. The Commission 
obtained OMB approval for the information collections contained in 
Section 9.10(k) after adopting the Fourth Report and Order. The Sixth 
Report and Order amended Section 9.10(k) to make explicit that the 
requirements in the rule extend to C/U data for dispatchable location 
and floor-level information, as well as for z-axis information. This 
eliminated a potential gap in the rule, which previously referred only 
to z-axis information.
    Section 9.10(i)(2)(ii)(J)(4) provides that a CMRS provider will be 
deemed to have met its z-axis technology deployment obligation so long 
as it either pre-installs or affirmatively pushes the location 
technology to end users so that they receive a prompt or other notice 
informing them that the application or service is available and what 
they need to do to download and enable the technology on their phone. A 
CMRS provider will be deemed in compliance with its z-axis deployment 
obligation if it makes the technology available to the end user in this 
manner even if the end user declines to use the technology or 
subsequently disables it. This is a new collection adopted by the 
Commission in the Sixth Report and Order.
    Previously approved collections. Section 9.10(i)(2)(ii)(A) requires 
that within three years of the effective date of the rule, CMRS 
providers shall deliver uncompensated barometric pressure data from any 
device capable of delivering such data to PSAPs. This requirement is 
necessary to ensure that PSAPs are receiving all location information 
possible to be used for dispatch. This requirement is also necessary to 
ensure that CMRS providers implement a vertical location solution in 
the event that the proposed ``dispatchable location'' solution does not 
function as intended by the three-year mark and beyond.
    Section 9.10(i)(2)(ii)(B) requires that the four nationwide 
providers submit to the Commission for review and approval a reasonable 
metric for z-axis (vertical) location accuracy no later than 3 years 
from the effective date of rules. This requirement is critical to 
ensure that the vertical location framework adopted in the Fourth 
Report and Order is effectively implemented.
    Section 9.10(i)(2)(iii) requires CMRS providers to certify 
compliance with the Commission's rules at various benchmarks throughout 
implementation of improved location accuracy. This requirement is 
necessary to ensure that CMRS providers remain ``on track'' to reach 
the location accuracy benchmarks.
    Section 9.10(i)(2)(iv) provides that PSAPs may seek Commission 
enforcement of the location accuracy requirements within their 
geographic service area, but only so long as they have implemented 
policies that are designed to obtain all location information made 
available by CMRS providers when initiating and delivering 911 calls to 
the PSAP. Prior to seeking Commission enforcement, a PSAP must provide 
the CMRS provider with 30 days written notice, and the CMRS provider 
shall have an opportunity to address the issue informally. If the issue 
has not been addressed to the PSAP's satisfaction within 90 days, the 
PSAP may seek enforcement relief.
    Section 9.10(i)(3)(i) requires that within 12 months of the 
effective date, the four nationwide CMRS providers must establish the 
test bed described in the Fourth Report and Order, which will validate 
technologies intended for indoor location. The test bed is necessary 
for the compliance certification framework adopted in the Fourth Report 
and Order.
    Section 9.10(i)(3)(ii) requires that beginning 18 months from the 
effective date of the rules, CMRS providers providing service in any of 
the six Test Cities identified by ATIS (Atlanta, Denver/Front Range, 
San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Manhattan Borough of New York 
City) or portions thereof must collect and report aggregate data on the 
location technologies used for live 911 calls. Nationwide CMRS 
providers must submit call data on a quarterly basis; non-nationwide 
CMRS providers need only submit this data every six months. Non-
nationwide providers that do not provide service in any of the Test 
Cities may satisfy this requirement by collecting and reporting data 
based on the largest county within the carrier's footprint. This 
reporting requirement is necessary to validate and verify the 
compliance certifications made by CMRS providers.
    The Commission developed a reporting template to assist CMRS 
providers in collecting, formatting, and submitting aggregate live 911 
call data in accordance with the requirements in the rules. The 
template will also assist the Commission in evaluating the progress 
CMRS providers have made toward meeting the 911 location accuracy 
benchmarks. The template is an Excel spreadsheet and will be available 
for downloading on the Commission's website. The Commission may also 
develop an online filing mechanism for these reports in the future.
    Section 9.10(i)(3)(iii) requires CMRS providers to retain testing 
and live call data gathered pursuant to this section for a period of 2 
years.
    Section 9.10(i)(4)(i) provides that no later than 18 months from 
the effective date of the adoption of the rule, nationwide CMRS 
providers shall report to the Commission their initial plans for 
meeting the indoor location accuracy

[[Page 76571]]

requirements of paragraph (i)(2) of Section 9.10. Non-nationwide CMRS 
providers will have an additional 6 months to submit their 
implementation plan.
    Section 9.10(i)(4)(ii) requires that no later than 18 months from 
the effective date, each CMRS provider shall submit to the Commission a 
report on its progress toward implementing improved indoor location 
accuracy. Non-nationwide CMRS providers will have an additional 6 
months to submit their progress reports. All CMRS providers shall 
provide an additional progress report no later than 36 months from the 
effective date of the adoption of this rule. The 36-month reports shall 
indicate what progress the provider has made consistent with its 
implementation plan.
    Section 9.10(i)(4)(iii) requires that prior to activation of the 
NEAD but no later than 18 months from the effective date of the 
adoption of this rule, the nationwide CMRS providers shall file with 
the Commission and request approval for a security and privacy plan for 
the administration and operation of the NEAD.
    Section 9.10(i)(4)(iv) requires CMRS providers to certify ``that 
neither they nor any third party they rely on to obtain dispatchable 
location information will use dispatchable location information or 
associated data for any non-911 purpose, except with prior express 
consent or as otherwise required by law.'' In addition, ``[t]he 
certification must state that CMRS providers and any third party they 
rely on to obtain dispatchable location information will implement 
measures sufficient to safeguard the privacy and security of 
dispatchable location information.'' As noted above, the Commission is 
revising this requirement to account for the fact that the NEAD has 
been discontinued.
    Section 9.10(i)(4)(v) requires that prior to use of z-axis 
information to meet the Commission's location accuracy requirements, 
CMRS providers must certify ``that neither they nor any third party 
they rely on to obtain z-axis information will use z-axis information 
or associated data for any non-911 purpose, except with prior express 
consent or as otherwise required by law.'' Further, ``[t]he 
certification must state that CMRS providers and any third party they 
rely on to obtain z-axis information will implement measures sufficient 
to safeguard the privacy and security of z-axis location information.'' 
This requirement is necessary to ensure the privacy and security of any 
personally identifiable information that may be collected by the CMRS 
provider. As noted above, the Commission is revising this requirement 
to account for the fact that the NEAD has been discontinued.
    Section 9.10(j) requires CMRS providers to provide standardized 
confidence and uncertainty (C/U) data for all wireless 911 calls, 
whether from outdoor or indoor locations, on a per-call basis upon the 
request of a PSAP. This requirement makes the use of C/U data easier 
for PSAPs.
    Section 9.10(j)(4) also requires that upon meeting the timeframes 
pursuant to paragraphs (i)(2)(ii)(C) and (D) of this section, CMRS 
providers shall provide with wireless 911 calls that have dispatchable 
location or z-axis (vertical) information the C/U data required under 
paragraph (j)(1) of this section. Where available to the CMRS provider, 
floor level information must be provided with associated C/U data in 
addition to z-axis location information.
    Section 9.10(k) requires CMRS providers to record information on 
all live 911 calls, including but not limited to the positioning source 
method used to provide a location fix associated with the call, as well 
as confidence and uncertainty data. This information must be made 
available to PSAPs upon request, as a measure to promote transparency 
and accountability for this set of rules.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-26261 Filed 11-27-20; 8:45 am]
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