[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 81 (Thursday, April 29, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 22621-22622]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08424]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 73

[MB Docket Nos. 19-311, 13-249; FCC 20-154; FRS 22220]


All-Digital AM Broadcasting, Revitalization of the AM Radio 
Service

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of 
Management and Budget has approved a revision to the information 
collection requirements under OMB Control Number 3060-1034 associated 
with new or amended rules adopted in the Federal Communications 
Commission's All-Digital AM Broadcasting Report and Order, FCC 20-154, 
governing the contents of all-digital notifications submitted using the 
Digital Notification Form, FCC Form 335-AM, and that compliance with 
these rules is now required. This document is consistent with the All-
Digital AM Broadcasting Report and Order, which states that the 
Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing 
the effective date for these new or amended rule sections and revise 
the rules accordingly.

DATES: The addition of 47 CFR 73.406, published at 85 FR 78022 on 
December 3, 2020, is effective April 29, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cathy Williams, Office of the Managing 
Director, Federal Communications Commission, at (202) 418-2918 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approved the information collection 
requirements in 47 CFR 73.406 on April 14, 2021. This rule section was 
adopted in the All-Digital AM Broadcasting Report and Order, FCC 20-154 
(85 FR 78022, December 3, 2020). The Commission publishes this document 
as an announcement of the effective date for these new or amended 
rules. 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, Room 3.317, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 
20554, regarding OMB Control Number 3060-1034. 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 April 14, 2021, for the information collection 
requirements contained in 47 CFR 73.406. 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 
73.406 is 3060-1034.
    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: 3060-1034.
    OMB Approval Date: April 14, 2021.
    OMB Expiration Date: April 30, 2024.
    Title: Digital Audio Broadcasting Systems and their Impact on the 
Terrestrial Radio Broadcast Service; Digital Notification, FCC Form 
335.
    Form Number: FCC Form 335-AM.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 270 respondents; 270 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour-8 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 
Sections 154(i), 303, 310, and 553 of the Communications Act of 1934, 
as amended.
    Total Annual Burden: 490 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $197,000.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for 
confidentiality with this collection of information.
    Needs and Uses: On October 27, 2020, the Commission released the 
All-Digital AM Broadcasting Report and Order, FCC 20-154, MB Dockets 
19-311, 13-249, where it adopted rules to allow AM radio stations, on a 
voluntary basis, to broadcast an all-digital signal using the HD radio 
in-band on-channel (IBOC) mode name MA3. This action benefits AM 
stations and their listeners by improving reception quality and 
listenable signal coverage in stations' service areas and by advancing 
the Commission's goal of improving the AM service, thereby helping to 
ensure the future of the service. AM broadcast station licensees are 
required to notify the Commission of a change to all- digital 
operations using Digital Notification Form, FCC Form 335-AM. 
Specifically pertaining to this Information Collection, in the All-
Digital AM Broadcasting Report and Order, the Commission requires AM 
broadcast stations to electronically file a digital notification using 
the existing FCC Form 335-AM Digital Notification (or any successor 
notification form) to notify the Commission of the following changes: 
(1) The commencement of new all-digital operation; (2) an increase in 
nominal power of an all-digital AM station; or (3) a transition from 
core-only to enhanced operating mode. Although we direct broadcasters 
to use the current Form 335-AM for all-digital notifications, 
additional information is required for notification of AM all-digital 
operations specifically. Therefore, until the Form 335-AM is updated to 
display the new all-digital operation requirements, we direct filers to 
select ``N/A'' as appropriate within the form and submit an attachment 
containing the following information. These new all-digital AM 
notification requirements have been added to new Sec.  73.406 of the 
Commission's rules.
    (a) The type of notification (all-digital notification, increase in 
nominal power, reduction in nominal power, transition from core-only to 
enhanced, transition from enhanced to core-only, reversion from all-
digital to hybrid or analog operation);
    (b) the date that new or modified all-digital operation will 
commence or has ceased;
    (c) a certification that the all-digital operations will conform to 
the relevant

[[Page 22622]]

nominal power and spectral emissions limits;
    (d) the nominal power of the all-digital station;
    (e) a certification that the all-digital station complies with all 
EAS requirements; and
    (f) if a notification of commencement of new all-digital service or 
a nominal power change, whether the station is operating in core-only 
or enhanced mode.
    The All-Digital AM Broadcasting Report and Order also revises and 
reorganizes the digital notification requirements formally contained in 
Sec.  73.404(e) of the rules by removing Sec.  73.404(e) and adding new 
Sec.  73.406 notification.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-08424 Filed 4-28-21; 8:45 am]
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