[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 37 (Friday, February 26, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11765-11766]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-03933]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-XXXX; FRS 17477]


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

[[Page 11766]]

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 April 27, 
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 Cathy Williams, FCC, via email to 
[email protected] and to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the 
information collection, contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-2918.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-XXXX.
    Title: Legacy Support Usage Flexibility Certification.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: New information collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities, not-for-profit 
institutions, and state, local or tribal governments.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: Up to 110 respondents and 110 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1.75 hours.
    Frequency of Response: One-time reporting requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 
U.S.C. 154, 254 and 303(r).
    Total Annual Burden: 193 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $16,500.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The information collected 
under this collection will be made publicly available. However, to the 
extent that a respondent seeks to have certain information collected in 
response to this information collection withheld from public 
inspection, the respondent may request confidential treatment pursuant 
to 47 CFR 0.459 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR Section 0.459.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Needs and Uses: A request for approval of this new information 
collection will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) after this 60-day comment period in order to obtain the full 
three-year clearance from OMB.
    On November 18, 2011, the Commission released the USF/ICC 
Transformation Order (FCC 11-161) in which it comprehensively reformed 
and modernized 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. In the USF/ICC Transformation Order, the Commission, among 
other things, adopted a requirement that all ETCs offer broadband 
service in their supported area that meets certain basic performance 
requirements and report regularly on associated performance measures as 
a condition of receiving federal high-cost universal service support.
    On October 27, 2020, the Commission adopted the 5G Fund Report and 
Order (FCC 20-150) in which it, among other things, helped to complete 
the reform of the high-cost program begun in the USF/ICC Transformation 
Order by adopting additional public interest obligations and 
performance requirements for legacy high-cost support recipients, whose 
broadband-specific public interest obligations for mobile wireless 
services were not previously detailed. The public interest obligations 
adopted in the 5G Fund Report and Order for each competitive eligible 
telecommunications carrier (ETC) receiving legacy high-cost support for 
mobile wireless services require that such a carrier (1) use an 
increasing percentage of its legacy support toward the deployment, 
maintenance, and operation of voice and broadband networks that support 
5G meeting the adopted performance requirements within its subsidized 
service area(s), and (2) meet specific 5G broadband service deployment 
coverage requirements and service deployment milestone deadlines that 
take into consideration the amount of legacy support the carrier 
receives. With respect to the requirement to use an increasing 
percentage of its legacy support toward the deployment, maintenance, 
and operation of voice and broadband networks that support 5G, the 
rules adopted in the 5G Fund Report and Order specify that each legacy 
support recipient must use at least one-third of the legacy support it 
receives in 2021, at least two-thirds of the legacy support it receives 
in 2022, and all of the legacy support in 2023 and beyond for these 
purposes.
    To address a concern that budgets and deployment plans for 2021 are 
largely complete, which could make it difficult for some competitive 
ETCs to achieve the 2021 support usage requirement, the Commission 
adopted a rule that affords such competitive ETCs the flexibility to 
use less than one-third of their legacy support in 2021 and make up for 
any shortfall in 2021 by proportionally increasing the requirement in 
2022 (above the two-thirds of its support the competitive ETC is 
required to spend on 5G in that year). See 47 CFR 54.322(c)(4). In 
order to take advantage of this flexibility, a competitive ETC 
receiving legacy support for mobile wireless services must submit a 
certification in which it (1) provides information regarding the 
service area(s) for which it and any affiliated mobile competitive 
ETC(s) receive legacy support and the annual amount of support they 
receive in each area; (2) indicates the total amount of legacy high-
cost support to be spent on the deployment, maintenance, and operation 
of mobile networks that provide 5G service in calendar year 2021 across 
the identified service areas; and (3) certifies that any 2021 spending 
shortfall will be made up in 2022. Only those competitive ETCs 
receiving legacy high-cost support for mobile wireless services that 
wish to avail themselves of the flexibility concerning their 2021 and 
2022 legacy high-cost support usage requirements will be required to 
respond to this information collection.
    The certification will be used by the Commission to identify how 
much a competitive ETC that chooses to avail itself of the flexibility 
concerning its 2021 and 2022 legacy high-cost support usage 
requirements will spend on 5G in 2021 and the spending shortfall it 
must make up in 2022, and to confirm the competitive ETC's commitment 
to make up its 2021 spending shortfall in 2022 in accordance with its 
certification and the Commission's rules.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-03933 Filed 2-25-21; 8:45 am]
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