[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 10, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8906-8907]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-02681]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-XXXX and 3060-1166; FRS 17418]


Information Collections Being Submitted for Review and Approval 
to Office of Management and Budget

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, 
as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal 
Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) invites the general 
public and other Federal Agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on the following information collection. Pursuant to the Small Business 
Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, the FCC seeks specific comment on how it 
can further reduce the information collection burden for small business 
concerns with fewer than 25 employees.

DATES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be submitted on or before March 12, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting 
``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using 
the search function. Your comment must be submitted into 
www.reginfo.gov per the above instructions for it to be considered. In 
addition to submitting in www.reginfo.gov also send a copy of your 
comment on the proposed information collection to Cathy Williams, FCC, 
via email to [email protected] and to [email protected]. Include in the 
comments the OMB control number as shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies 
of the information collection, contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-
2918. To view a copy of this information collection request (ICR) 
submitted to OMB: (1) Go to the web page http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, (2) look for the section of the web page called ``Currently 
Under Review,'' (3) click on the downward-pointing arrow in the 
``Select Agency'' box below the ``Currently Under Review'' heading, (4) 
select ``Federal Communications Commission'' from the list of agencies 
presented in the ``Select Agency'' box, (5) click the ``Submit'' button 
to the right of the ``Select Agency'' box, (6) when the list of FCC 
ICRs currently under review appears, look for the Title of this ICR and 
then click on the ICR Reference Number. A copy of the FCC submission to 
OMB will be displayed.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission 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.
    As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, as 
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520), the FCC invited the general public and other Federal Agencies to 
take this opportunity to comment on the following information 
collection. Comments are requested concerning: (a) 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; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's 
burden estimates; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information collected; and (d) 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. Pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 
2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), the FCC seeks 
specific comment on how it might ``further reduce the information 
collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 
employees.''
    OMB Control No.: 3060-XXXX.
    Title: Telemetry, Tracking and Command Earth Station Operators.
    Form No: N/A.
    Type of Review: New collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 4 respondents; 4 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 12 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement and Third-
party disclosure requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
Commission has statutory authority for the information collection 
requirements under 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154(i), 154(j), 155(c), 201, 
302, 303, 304, 307(e), 309, and 316.
    Total Annual Burden: 48 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $2,200.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for 
confidentiality pertaining to the information collection requirements 
in this collection.
    Needs and Uses: On March 3, 2020, the Commission released a Report 
and Order and Order of Proposed Modification titled, ``In the Matter of 
Expanding Flexible Use of the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz,'' GN Docket Number 18-122 
(FCC 20-22). This rulemaking, which is under the purview of the 
Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, is hereinafter 
referred to as the 3.7 GHz Report and Order.
    The Commission believes that C-band spectrum for terrestrial 
wireless uses will play a significant role in bringing next-generation 
services like 5G to the American public and assuring American 
leadership in the 5G ecosystem. The agency took action to make this 
valuable spectrum resource available for new terrestrial wireless uses 
as quickly as possible, while also preserving the continued operation 
of existing Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) available during and after 
the transition.
    In the 3.7 GHz Report and Order, the Commission concluded that a 
public auction of the lower 280 megahertz of the C-band will best carry 
out our goals, and the agency will add a mobile allocation to the 3.7-
4.0 GHz band so that next-generation services such as 5G can use the 
band. Relying on the Emerging Technologies framework, the Commission 
adopted a process to relocate FSS operations into the upper 200 
megahertz of the band, while fully reimbursing existing operators for 
the costs of this relocation and offering accelerated relocation 
payments to encourage a speedy transition. The Commission also adopted 
service and technical rules for overlay licensees in the 280 megahertz 
of spectrum designated for transition to flexible use.
    Among other information collection requirements in the 3.7 GHz 
Report and Order, the Commission has adopted several requirements, 
described in the text, related to the protection of TT&C earth stations 
and coordination with 3.7 GHz Service licensees. In a section of

[[Page 8907]]

the 3.7 GHz Report and Order titled ``Adjacent Channel Protection 
Criteria'' the Commission sets out the following requirements:
    Pursuant to paragraph 388 of the 3.7 GHz Report and Order, the 
Commission requires that the TT&C operators make available certain 
pertinent technical information about their systems upon request by 
licensees in the 3.7 GHz Service to ensure the protection of TT&C 
operations. In addition, paragraph 389 of the 3.7 GHz Report and Order 
includes the requirement that, in the event of a claim by a TT&C earth 
station operating in 4.0-4.2 GHz of harmful interference by a 3.7 GHZ 
operator, the earth station operator must demonstrate that that have 
installed a filter that complies with the mask requirement prescribed 
by the Commission. This requirement will facilitate an efficient and 
safe transition by requiring earth station operators to demonstrate 
their compliance with the mask requirements, thereby minimizing the 
risk of interference.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1166.
    Title: Section 1.21001, Participation in Competitive Bidding for 
Support; Section 1.21002, Prohibition of Certain Communications During 
the Competitive Bidding Process.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities, not-for-profit 
institutions, and state, local or tribal governments.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 750 respondents and 750 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1.5 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this information collection 47 U.S.C. 154, 254 
and 303(r).
    Total Annual Burden: 1,125 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Information collected in each 
application to participate in an auction for universal service support 
will be made available for public inspection, and the Commission is not 
requesting that respondents submit confidential information to the 
Commission as part of the pre-auction application process. However, to 
the extent that a respondent seeks to have certain information 
collected in an application to participate in an auction for universal 
service support or in a report of a prohibited communication withheld 
from public inspection, the respondent may request confidential 
treatment of such information pursuant to section 0.459 of the 
Commission's rules, 47 CFR Section 0.459.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Needs and Uses: The information required by section 1.21001 of the 
Commission's rules that is collected under this information collection 
is used by the Commission to determine whether applicants are eligible 
to participate in auctions for Universal Service Fund support. The 
reports of prohibited communications made or received by an auction 
applicant required by section 1.21002 of the Commission's rules that 
are collected under this information collection enable the Commission 
to ensure that no bidder gains an unfair advantage over other bidders 
in its auctions for universal service support and thus enhance the 
competitiveness and fairness of Commission's auctions for universal 
service support.
    On November 18, 2011, the Commission released an order 
comprehensively reforming and modernizing the universal service and 
intercarrier compensation systems to ensure that robust, affordable 
voice and broadband service, both fixed and mobile, are available to 
Americans throughout the nation. Connect America Fund et al., Order and 
Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 11-161 (USF/ICC 
Transformation Order). In the USF/ICC Transformation Order, the 
Commission, among other things, created (1) the Connect America Fund 
(CAF), to help make broadband available to homes, businesses, and 
community anchor institutions in areas that do not, or would not 
otherwise, have broadband, (2) the Mobility Fund, to ensure the 
availability of mobile broadband networks in areas where a private-
sector business case, (3) the Remote Areas Fund (RAF), to ensure that 
Americans living in the most remote areas in the nation, where the cost 
of deploying traditional terrestrial broadband networks is extremely 
high, can obtain affordable access through alternative technology 
platforms, including satellite and unlicensed wireless services. The 
USF/ICC Transformation Order directed that support under CAF Phase II, 
the Mobility Fund, and the RAF be awarded by competitive bidding. The 
Commission adopted rules to implement the reforms it adopted in the 
USF/ICC Transformation Order, including rules in Part 1, Subpart AA of 
the Commission's rules governing competitive bidding for universal 
service support generally. See 47 CFR 1.21001-1.21004.
    On October 27, 2020, the Commission adopted a Report and Order in 
which it, among other things, amended its existing Part 1, Subpart AA 
general universal service competitive bidding rules to codify policies 
and procedures applicable to the universal service auction application 
process that have been adopted in its recent universal service 
auctions, better align provisions in the universal service competitive 
bidding rules with like provisions in the Commission's spectrum auction 
rules, and make other updates for consistency, clarification, and other 
purposes that would apply in all universal service auctions. 
Establishing a 5G Fund for Rural America, Report and Order, FCC 20-150 
(5G Fund Report and Order). The amended Part 1, Subpart AA rules 
adopted in the 5G Fund Report and Order apply to applicants seeking to 
participate in future Commission auctions for universal service 
support.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-02681 Filed 2-9-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P