[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 10, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 13659-13660]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-04999]



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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 27

[GN Docket No. 18-122; FCC 20-22; FRS 17546]


Expanding Flexible Use of the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz 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 adopted in the Federal 
Communications Commission's 3.7 GHz Report and Order, FCC 20-22, 3.7 
GHz requiring service licensees to comply with certain technical rules 
and coordination practices designed to reduce the risk of interference 
to incumbent operations. This document is consistent with the 3.7 GHz 
Report and Order, FCC 20-22, which states that the Commission will 
publish a document in the Federal Register announcing a compliance date 
for the new rule sections.

DATES: Compliance with 47 CFR 27.1424 and paragraph 384 of the 3.7 GHz 
Report and Order published at 85 FR 22804 on April 23, 2020, is 
required on March 10, 2021.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approved the information collection 
requirements in 47 CFR 27.1424 and paragraph 384 of the 3.7 GHz Report 
and Order. This rule was 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 
this new rule. 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, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554, 
regarding OMB Control Number 3060-1281. 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 March 1, 2021, for the information collection 
requirements contained in 47 CFR 27.1424 and paragraph 384 of the 3.7 
GHz Report and Order. 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 
27.1424 and paragraph 384 of the 3.7 GHz Report and Order is 3060-1281.
    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: 3060-1281.
    OMB Approval Date: March 1, 2021.
    OMB Expiration Date: March 31, 2024.
    Title: 3.7 GHz Service Licensee and Earth Station Operator 
Agreements; 3.7 GHz Licensee Engineering Analysis.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; Not for profit 
institutions; State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 30 respondents; 30 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 2 hours to 5 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirement; on occasion 
reporting requirements; third party disclosure requirement.
    Obligation To Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in 
sections 1, 2, 4(i), 4(j), 5(c), 201, 302, 303, 304, 307(e), 309, and 
316 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, and 316.
    Total Annual Burden: 120 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. 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 Sec.  0.459 of the 
Commission's rules for such information.
    Needs and Uses: On February 28, 2020, in furtherance of the goal of 
releasing more mid-band spectrum into the market to support and 
enabling 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. 
Currently, the 3.7-4.2 GHz band is allocated in the United States 
exclusively for non-Federal use on a primary basis for Fixed Satellite 
Service (FSS) and Fixed Service. 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.
    The Commission concluded in the 3.7 GHz Report and Order that, once 
this transition is complete, coordination measures are needed to 
protect incumbent C-band operations in the upper portion of the 3.7-4.2 
GHz band. 3.7 GHz Service licensees are required to comply with certain 
technical rules and coordination practices designed to reduce the risk 
of interference to incumbent operations. Specifically, 3.7 GHz Service 
licensees are required to comply with specific power flux density (PFD) 
limits to protect incumbent earth stations from out-of-band emissions 
and blocking and to coordinate frequency usage with incumbent 
Telemetry, Tracking, and Command (TT&C) earth stations. The 3.7 GHz 
Report and Order allows 3.7 GHz Service licensees and C-

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Band earth station operators to modify these PFD limits, but it 
requires a 3.7 GHz Service licensee that is a party to such an 
agreement to maintain a copy of the agreement in its station files and 
disclose it, upon request, to prospective license assignees, 
transferees, or spectrum lessees, and to the Commission. The Commission 
also required any 3.7 GHz Service licensee with base stations located 
within the appropriate coordination distance to provide upon request an 
engineering analysis to the TT&C operator to demonstrate their ability 
to comply with the applicable -6 dB I/N criteria.
    The information that will be collected under this new information 
collection is designed to ensure that 3.7 GHz Service licensees operate 
in a manner that ensures incumbent C-band operations in the upper 
portion of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band and TT&C operations in the 3700-3980 
MHz band are protected. By requiring 3.7 GHz Service licensees to 
provide a copy of any private agreement with 3.7 GHz earth station 
operators to prospective license assignees, transferees, or spectrum 
lessees, and to the Commission, the Commission ensures that such 
agreements continue to protect incumbent C-band operations in the event 
a 3.7 GHz service license is subsequently transferred to a new 
licensee. This collection promotes the safety of operations in the band 
and reduces the risk of harmful interference to incumbents. It also 
ensures that relevant stakeholders have access to coordination 
agreements between 3.7 GHz Service licensees and entities operating 
earth stations or TT&C operations.
    The information provided by the 3.7 GHz Service licensee to the 
TT&C operator ensures the protection of TT&C operations. The 
information collection will facilitate an efficient and safe transition 
by requiring 3.7 GHz Service licensees to demonstrate their ability to 
comply with the -6 dB I/N criteria, thereby minimizing the risk of 
interference.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.

[FR Doc. 2021-04999 Filed 3-9-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P