[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 82 (Thursday, April 28, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25268-25269]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09031]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-1151; FR ID 84075]


Information Collection 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 
might ``further reduce the information collection burden for small 
business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.'' 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.

DATES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be submitted on or before May 31, 2022.

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 Nicole Ongele, 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 Nicole Ongele at (202) 418-2991. 
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: 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 Number: 3060-1151.
    Title: Sections 1.1411, 1.1412, and 1.1415 Pole Attachment Access 
Requirements.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 1,313 respondents; 163,876 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.50-6 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On-occasion reporting requirement, 
recordkeeping requirement, and third-party disclosure requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. Statutory authority for this 
information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 224.
    Total Annual Burden: 112,534 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $6,750,000.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: No questions of a 
confidential nature are asked.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission is requesting the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approval for this revised information 
collection. In Accelerating Wireline Broadband Deployment by Removing 
Barriers to Infrastructure Investment, WC Docket No. 17-84, WT Docket 
No. 17-70, Third Report and Order and Declaratory Ruling, FCC 18-111 
(2018) (Order), the Commission adopted rules that implement the pole 
attachment requirements in section 224 of the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended. The Order substantially revised 47 CFR 1.1411 and 
1.1412. It also added new 47 CFR 1.1415.
    Section 1.1411. In the Order, the Commission adopted a one-touch, 
make-ready (OTMR) process for when a telecommunications carrier or 
cable television system (new attacher) elects to do the work itself to 
prepare a utility pole for a simple wireline attachment in the 
communications space. As part of the OTMR process, the new attacher 
typically first conducts a survey of the affected poles, giving the 
utility and

[[Page 25269]]

existing attachers a chance to be present for the survey. New attachers 
must elect the OTMR process in their pole attachment application and 
must demonstrate to the utility that the planned work qualifies for 
OTMR. The utility then must determine whether the pole attachment 
application is complete and whether the work qualifies for OTMR, and 
then must either grant or deny pole access and explain its decision in 
writing. The utility also can object to the new attacher's 
determination that the work qualifies for OTMR, and that objection is 
final and determinative so long as it is specific and in writing, 
includes all relevant evidence and information supporting its decision, 
made in good faith, and explains how such evidence and information 
relates to a determination that the make-ready is not simple. If the 
new attacher's OTMR application is approved, then it can proceed with 
OTMR work by giving advance notice to the utility and existing 
attachers and allowing them an opportunity to be present when OTMR work 
is being done. New attachers must provide immediate notice to affected 
utilities and existing attachers if outages or equipment damage is 
caused by their OTMR work. Finally, new attachers must provide notice 
to affected utilities and existing attachers after OTMR work is 
completed, allowing them to inspect the work and request remediation, 
if necessary. The Commission also adopted changes to its existing pole 
attachment timeline, which still will be used for complex work, work 
above the communications space on a utility pole, and in situations 
where new attachers do not want to elect OTMR. The Commission largely 
kept the existing pole attachment timeline intact, except for the 
following changes: (1) Revising the definition of a complete pole 
attachment application and establishing a timeline for a utility's 
determination whether an application is complete; (2) requiring 
utilities to provide at least three business days' advance notice of 
any surveys to attachers; (3) establishing a 30-day deadline for 
completion of all make-ready work in the communications space; (4) 
eliminating the 15-day utility make-ready period for communications 
space attachments; (5) streamlining the utility's notice requirements; 
(6) enhancing the new attacher's self-help remedy by making the remedy 
available for surveys and make-ready work for all attachments anywhere 
on the pole in the event that the utility or the existing attachers 
fail to meet the required deadlines; (7) providing notice requirements 
when new attachers elect self-help, such notices to be given when new 
attachers perform self-help surveys and make-ready work, when outages 
or equipment damage results from self-help work, and upon completion of 
self-help work to allow for inspection; (8) allowing utilities to meet 
the survey requirement by electing to use surveys previously prepared 
on the affected poles by new attachers; and (9) requiring utilities to 
provide detailed make-ready cost estimates and final invoices on a 
pole-by-pole basis if requested by new attachers. Both utilities and 
existing attachers can deviate from the existing pole attachment make-
ready timeline for reasons of safety or service interruption by giving 
written notice to the affected parties that includes a detailed 
explanation of the need for the deviation and a new completion date. 
The deviation shall be for a period no longer than necessary to 
complete make-ready on the affected poles, and the deviating party 
shall resume make-ready without discrimination when it returns to 
routine operations.
    Section 1.1412. The Commission required utilities to make 
available, and keep up-to-date, a reasonably sufficient list of 
contractors that they authorize to perform surveys and make-ready work 
that are complex or involve self-help work above the communications 
space of a utility pole. Attachers can request to add to the list any 
contractor that meets certain minimum qualifications, subject to the 
utility's ability to reasonably object. For simple work, a utility may, 
but is not required, to keep an up-to-date, reasonably sufficient list 
of contractors that they authorize to perform surveys and simple make-
ready work. For any utility-supplied contractor list, the utility must 
ensure that the contractors meet certain minimum requirements. 
Attachers can request to add to the list any contractor that meets the 
minimum qualifications, subject to the utility's ability to reasonably 
object. If the utility does not provide a list of approved contractors 
for surveys or simple make-ready, or no utility-approved contractor is 
available within a reasonable time period, then the new attacher may 
choose its own qualified contractor that meets the minimum 
requirements, subject to notice and the utility's ability to disqualify 
the chosen contractor for reasonable safety or reliability concerns.
    Section 1.1415. The Commission codified its policy that utilities 
may not require an attacher to obtain prior approval for overlashing on 
an attacher's existing wires or for third-party overlashing of an 
existing attachment when such overlashing is conducted with the 
permission of the existing attacher. In addition, the Commission 
adopted a rule that allows utilities to establish reasonable advance 
notice requirements for overlashing (up to 15 days' advance notice). If 
a utility requires advance notice for overlashing, then the utility 
must provide existing attachers with advance written notice of the 
notice requirement or include the notice requirement in the attachment 
agreement with the existing attacher. If, after receiving advance 
notice, the utility determines that an overlash would create a 
capacity, safety, reliability, or engineering issue, then it must 
provide specific documentation of the issue to the party seeking to 
overlash within the 15-day advance notice period, and the party seeking 
to overlash must address any identified issues before continuing with 
the overlash either by modifying its proposal or by explaining why, in 
the party's view, a modification is unnecessary. An overlashing party 
must notify the affected utility within 15 days of completion of the 
overlash and provide the affected utility at least 90 days to inspect 
the overlash. If damage or code violations are discovered by the 
utility during the inspection, then it must notify the overlashing 
party, provide adequate documentation of the problem, and elect to 
either fix the problem itself at the overlashing party's expense or 
require remediation by the overlashing party.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-09031 Filed 4-27-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P