[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 32 (Friday, February 19, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10181-10183]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-00782]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 0, 1, 27, 90

[ET Docket No. 18-295; FCC 20-51; WT Docket No. 17-200; FCC 20-67, FRS 
17383]


Unlicensed Use of the 6 GHz Band; Review of the Commission's 
Rules Governing the 896-901/935-940 MHz 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 and policies adopted in the 
Federal Communications Commission's 6 GHz Report and Order, FCC 20-51, 
making 1,200 megahertz of spectrum in the 6 GHz band (5.925-7.125 GHz) 
available for unlicensed use, and 900 MHz Report and Order, FCC 20-67, 
establishing rules for broadband license operations in the 897.5-900.5/
936.5-939.5 MHz segment of the 900 MHz band (896-901/935-940 MHz), and 
that compliance with the new requirements is now required.

DATES: Compliance date: Compliance with 47 CFR 27.1503 and 27.1505, 
published at 85 FR 43124 on July 16, 2020, is required on February 19, 
2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jaclyn Rosen, Mobility Division, 
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, at (202) 418-0154 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approved the information collection 
requirements in 47 CFR 27.1503(b)(1), (b)(2), (b)(3), (c)(1) and 47 CFR 
27.1505(a), (b), on December 10, 2020. These rules were adopted in the 
6 GHz Order, FCC 20-51, published at 85 FR 31390 on May 26, 2020, and, 
900 MHz Report and Order, FCC 20-67, published at 85 FR 43124 on July 
16, 2020. Compliance with all new or amended rules adopted in the 6 GHz 
Order that do not require OMB approval

[[Page 10182]]

is required as of July 27, 2020, see 85 FR 31390 (May 26, 2020). 
Compliance with all new or amended rules adopted in the 900 MHz Report 
and Order that do not require OMB approval is required as of August 17, 
2020, see 85 FR 43124 (July 16, 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, [email protected], 
regarding OMB Control Number 3060-0798. Please include the OMB Control 
Number in your correspondence.
    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 December 10, 2020, for the information collection 
requirements contained in 47 CFR 27.1503(b)(1), (b)(2), (b)(3), (c)(1) 
and 27.1505(a), (b). 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 
27.1503(b)(1), (b)(2), (b)(3), (c)(1), 27.1505(a), (b) is 3060-0798.
    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: 3060-0798.
    OMB Approval Date: December 10, 2020.
    OMB Expiration Date: December 31, 2023.
    Title: FCC Application for Radio Service Authorization Wireless 
Telecommunications Bureau; Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau.
    Form Number: FCC Form 601.
    Respondents: Individuals and households; Business or other for-
profit entities; State, Local or Tribal Government; Not for profit 
institutions.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 255,552 respondents; 255,552 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.5 hours to 1.25 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirement; third party 
disclosure requirement; on occasion reporting requirement and periodic 
reporting requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 
U.S.C. 151, 152, 154, 155(c), 157, 201, 202, 208, 214, 301, 302a, 303, 
307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 314, 316, 319, 324, 331, 332, 333, 336, 534, 
535 and 554.
    Total Annual Burden: 225,808 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $72,474,000.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: Yes.
    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 section 0.459 of the 
Commission's rules for such information.
    Needs and Uses: FCC Form 601 is a consolidated, multi-part 
application form that is used for market-based and site-based licensing 
for wireless telecommunications services, including public safety, 
which are filed through the Commission's Universal Licensing System 
(ULS) or any other electronic filing interface the Commission develops. 
FCC Form 601 is composed of a main form that contains administrative 
information and a series of schedules used for filing technical and 
other information. This form is used to apply for a new license, to 
amend or withdraw a pending application, to modify or renew an existing 
license, cancel a license, request a duplicate license, submit required 
notifications, request an extension of time to satisfy construction 
requirements, request an administrative update to an existing license 
(such as mailing address change), or request a Special Temporary 
Authority License. Respondents are encouraged to submit FCC Form 601 
electronically and are required to do so when applying for an 
authorization for which the applicant was the winning bidder in a 
spectrum auction.
    On April 23, 2020, the Commission adopted a Report and Order and 
Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in ET Docket 18-295, FCC 20-51, 
(6 GHz Report and Order) that requires temporary fixed microwave 
licensees to register temporary fixed links in the ULS database in 
order to receive protection from unlicensed devices operating in the 6 
GHz band. Automated frequency coordination (AFC) administrators will 
use this information to determine where unlicensed devices can operate. 
Temporary fixed licensees were not previously required to file 
applications with the Commission when they commenced operation, so this 
is a new filing requirement. In addition to creating this new filing 
requirement, two new data fields will be required to describe when the 
temporary fixed links will be operational, so that the AFCs will know 
when to protect the temporary fixed links. For this purpose, a ``start 
date'' and ``end date'' will be added to the Form 601, Schedule I.
    Further, on May 13, 2020, the Commission adopted a Report and 
Order, 20-67 (900 MHz Report and Order), which realigned the 900 MHz 
band to make available six of the band's ten megahertz for the 
deployment of broadband services and technologies. The 900 MHz band 
currently is designated for narrowband land mobile radio communications 
by Business/Industrial/Land Transportation (B/ILT) Pool licensees and 
Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) providers. The 900 MHz Report and Order 
realigned the 900 MHz band to enable a broadband transition from 
interleaved SMR and B/ILT blocks to one broadband segment and two 
narrowband segments. To facilitate the transition, the Commission 
adopted a negotiation-based mechanism which, if private agreements are 
reached, will make available on a county-by-county basis six megahertz 
of low-band spectrum for the development of broadband technologies and 
services, while reserving the remaining four megahertz of the band for 
continued narrowband operations. If negotiations for the acquisition, 
relocation, and protection of 900 MHz incumbents in a market are 
successful and granting an application is otherwise in the public 
interest, the Commission will issue new initial licenses to applicants 
meeting eligibility requirements.
    The 900 MHz Report and Order established license application 
requirements, including requirements that an applicant for a new 900 
MHz broadband license demonstrate, as part of its application, that it 
satisfies the eligibility conditions (Eligibility Certification) and 
submit a plan for transitioning the 900 MHz band in a particular county 
(Transition Plan), to assess whether a grant of a 900 MHz

[[Page 10183]]

broadband license is in the public interest.
    In addition, the Commission adopted a two-fold performance 
requirement whereby a 900 MHz broadband licensee must: (1) Provide 
reliable signal coverage and offer broadband service; and (2) meet 
either (a) a population coverage requirement, or (b) a geographic 
coverage requirement.
    The information required in this collection will be used to ensure 
that a grant of a 900 MHz broadband license is in the public interest 
and to ensure that licensees use 900 MHz spectrum productively, provide 
service in a timely manner, and promote the provision of innovative 
services and technologies in unserved areas, particularly rural 
markets. The collection is also necessary for the Commission to satisfy 
its oversight responsibilities and/or agency specific/government-wide 
reporting obligations.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-00782 Filed 2-18-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P