[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 96 (Wednesday, May 18, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30161-30163]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-10542]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 54

[WC Docket No. 16-271; DA 22-484; FR ID 86428]


Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Seeks Comment on Compliance 
Gap Drive Testing for Alaska Plan Participants

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed compliance with Alaska Plan; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau requests comment on 
requiring mobile-provider participants of the Alaska Plan subject to 
the drive test requirement to submit new drive-test data if they fail 
to demonstrate compliance with their approved performance plan.

DATES: Comments are due on or before June 1, 2022 and replies are due 
on or before June 8, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file comments on or before the date 
indicated above and must reference WC Docket No. 16-271. Comments may 
be filed using the Commission's Electronic Filing System (ECFS) or by 
filing paper copies.
     Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically 
using the internet by accessing the ECFS: http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/.
     Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must 
file an original and one copy of each filing.
     Filings can be sent by commercial overnight courier, or by 
first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All filings must be 
addressed to the Commission's Secretary, Office of the Secretary, 
Federal Communications Commission.
     Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service 
Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9050 Junction Drive, 
Annapolis Junction, MD 20701. U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, 
and Priority mail must be addressed to 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 
20554.

[[Page 30162]]

     Effective March 19, 2020, and until further notice, the 
Commission no longer accepts any hand or messenger delivered filings. 
This is a temporary measure taken to help protect the health and safety 
of individuals, and to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19.
    People with Disabilities: 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 FCC's 
Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information on this 
proceeding, contact Matthew Warner of the Wireless Telecommunications 
Bureau, Competition & Infrastructure Policy Division, 
[email protected], (202) 418-2419.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the ``Request for 
Comment'' portion of the Bureau's Alaska Plan Drive Test Order and 
Request for Comment, adopted on May 5, 2022, and released on May 5. 
2022. The summary of the Order portion is published elsewhere in this 
issue of the Federal Register. The full text of this document is 
available for public inspection on the Commission's website at: https://www.fcc.gov/document/alaska-drive-test-order-and-request-comment.

I. Introduction

    1. In the Order portion of this document, the Wireless 
Telecommunications Bureau (Bureau) adopts a drive-test model and 
parameters for the drive tests that are required of certain mobile 
providers participating in the Alaska Plan. The Bureau will use these 
drive-test data to determine whether mobile providers that receive more 
than $5 million in annual support for the deployment of mobile voice 
and broadband service in remote areas of Alaska have met their 
performance commitments. In the Request for Comment portion of this 
document, we seek comment on a proposal to require mobile-provider 
participants subject to the drive-test requirement to submit new drive-
test data consistent with the drive-test model and parameters if they 
fail to meet a buildout milestone and later seek to cure a compliance 
gap.

II. Request for Comment

    2. This Request for Comment seeks comment on an approach for mobile 
providers that receive more than $5 million annually from the Alaska 
Plan to address compliance gaps under Sec.  54.320(d)(1) of the 
Commission's rules. Section 54.320(d)(1) establishes a framework to 
assess any compliance gaps for Alaska Plan mobile providers' 
commitments. To ensure that mobile providers receiving more than $5 
million annually for the Alaska Plan have met their interim milestone 
commitments, the Commission will analyze the drive test data discussed 
in this Order, in addition to other data, to determine whether they 
have any compliance gaps and, if so, the extent of the compliance gap 
per commitment (i.e., which compliance gap tier the mobile provider 
falls into). We seek comment on requiring these mobile providers to 
submit new drive-test data if they fail to demonstrate compliance with 
their approved performance plan by the five-year interim milestone.
    3. To the extent that a mobile-provider participant subject to the 
drive-test requirement is shown through the results of the testing to 
have failed to meet its five-year performance requirement, and seeks to 
cure a compliance gap, we propose to require the provider to submit new 
drive-test data consistent with the Alaska Drive-Test Model we adopt 
today. Under this proposal, the provider would submit updated coverage 
data, including middle-mile data if applicable, whenever it seeks to 
improve its compliance gap tier until it has less than a 5% compliance 
gap. Commission staff then would provide new grid cells to test based 
on this updated coverage data. For example, if a provider that had a 
compliance gap of 30% (and is thus in Tier 3) reports that it reduced 
its compliance gap to 10%, which would warrant a move to Tier 1, then 
the provider would submit its updated coverage and middle-mile data to 
the Commission. Staff would provide the mobile-provider participant new 
grid cells to test, consistent with the mobile-provider participant's 
updated coverage data. The mobile-provider participant would need to 
provide new drive-test data consistent with the Alaska Drive-Test Model 
as verifying evidence that it has moved compliance tiers. For a mobile-
provider participant with multiple frames (if there is a compliance gap 
for its fiber-based 4G LTE population, for example), it would need to 
provide supporting drive-test data for all affected frames. This would 
ensure that new compliance gaps are not created when other compliance 
gaps are reduced. We seek comment on this proposal. We also seek 
comment on whether we should adopt any additional requirements for 
retesting beyond what is required under the Alaska Drive-Test Model.

A. Digital Equity and Inclusion

    4. Finally, as part of the Commission's continuing effort to 
advance digital equity for all, including people of color and others 
who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely 
affected by persistent poverty and inequality, we invite comment on any 
equity-related considerations and benefits (if any) that may be 
associated with the issues discussed herein. Specifically, we seek 
comment on how these matters may promote or inhibit advances in 
diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

III. Procedural Matters

A. Initial Regulatory Flexibility Certification

    5. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended (RFA), 
requires that an initial regulatory flexibility analysis be prepared 
for notice-and-comment rule making proceedings, unless the agency 
certifies that ``the rule will not, if promulgated, have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.'' The RFA 
generally defines the term ``small entity'' as having the same meaning 
as the terms ``small business,'' ``small organization,'' and ``small 
governmental jurisdiction.'' In addition, the term ``small business'' 
has the same meaning as the term ``small business concern'' under the 
Small Business Act. A ``small business concern'' is one which: (1) Is 
independently owned and operated; (2) is not dominant in its field of 
operation; and (3) satisfies any additional criteria established by the 
Small Business Administration (SBA).
    6. This Request for Comment seeks comment on the drive testing 
proposals required by the Alaska Plan for those wireless participants 
receiving more than $5 million in annual Alaska Plan support, excluding 
the smaller wireless participants that receive less than that in annual 
support. The proposals, if adopted, would apply to only two entities, 
one of which does not qualify as a small entity. Therefore, we certify 
that the proposals in this Request for Comment, if adopted, will not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.
    7. The Commission will send a copy of the Request for Comment, 
including a copy of this Initial Regulatory Flexibility Certification, 
to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the SBA. This initial 
certification will also be published in the Federal Register.

B. Ex Parte Presentations

    8. This proceeding shall be treated as a ``permit-but-disclose'' 
proceeding in

[[Page 30163]]

accordance with the Commission's ex parte rules. Persons making ex 
parte presentations must file a copy of any written presentation or a 
memorandum summarizing any oral presentation within two business days 
after the presentation (unless a different deadline applicable to the 
Sunshine period applies). Persons making oral ex parte presentations 
are reminded that memoranda summarizing the presentation must (1) list 
all persons attending or otherwise participating in the meeting at 
which the ex parte presentation was made, and (2) summarize all data 
presented and arguments made during the presentation. If the 
presentation consisted in whole or in part of the presentation of data 
or arguments already reflected in the presenter's written comments, 
memoranda or other filings in the proceeding, the presenter may provide 
citations to such data or arguments in his or her prior comments, 
memoranda, or other filings (specifying the relevant page and/or 
paragraph numbers where such data or arguments can be found) in lieu of 
summarizing them in the memorandum. Documents shown or given to 
Commission staff during ex parte meetings are deemed to be written ex 
parte presentations and must be filed consistent with rule 1.1206(b) 
(47 CFR 1.1206(b)). In proceedings governed by rule 1.49(f) (47 CFR 
1.49(f)) or for which the Commission has made available a method of 
electronic filing, written ex parte presentations and memoranda 
summarizing oral ex parte presentations, and all attachments thereto, 
must be filed through the electronic comment filing system available 
for that proceeding, and must be filed in their native format (e.g., 
.doc, .xml, .ppt, searchable .pdf). Participants in this proceeding 
should familiarize themselves with the Commission's ex parte rules.

C. Filing Requirements

    9. Comments. Interested parties may file comments and reply 
comments on or before the dates indicated on the first page of this 
document and must reference WC Docket No. 16-271. Comments may be filed 
using the Commission's Electronic Filing System (ECFS) or by filing 
paper copies.
     Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically 
using the internet by accessing the ECFS: http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/.
     Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must 
file an original and one copy of each filing.
     Filings can be sent by commercial overnight courier, or by 
first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All filings must be 
addressed to the Commission's Secretary, Office of the Secretary, 
Federal Communications Commission.
    [cir] Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service 
Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9050 Junction Drive, 
Annapolis Junction, MD 20701. U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, 
and Priority mail must be addressed to 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 
20554.
    [cir] Effective March 19, 2020, and until further notice, the 
Commission no longer accepts any hand or messenger delivered filings. 
This is a temporary measure taken to help protect the health and safety 
of individuals, and to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19. See FCC 
Announces Closure of FCC Headquarters Open Window and Change in Hand-
Delivery Policy, Public Notice, 35 FCC Rcd 2788 (2020), https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-closes-headquarters-open-window-and-changes-hand-delivery-policy.
    10. People with Disabilities. 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 FCC's 
Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice).
    11. Additional Information. For additional information on this 
proceeding, contact Matthew Warner of the Wireless Telecommunications 
Bureau, Competition & Infrastructure Policy Division, 
[email protected], (202) 418-2419.

IV. Ordering Clauses

    12. It is ordered that, pursuant to the authority contained in 
Sections 1 through 4, 201, 254, 301, 303, 307, 309, 332 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151 through 154, 201, 
254, 301, 303, 307, 309, 332 and Sections 0.91, 0.131, 0.291, 0.311, 
54.317, 54.320, and 54.321 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 0.91, 
0.131, 0.291, 0.311, 54.317, 54.320, and 54.321, and the delegated 
authority contained in the Alaska Plan Order, 31 FCC Rcd 10139, 10160, 
10166 through 67, paras. 67, 85, notice is hereby given of the 
proposals described and tentative conclusions in the Request for 
Comment.
    13. It is further ordered that the Commission's Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference Information Center, shall send a 
copy of this Order and Request for Comment, including the Initial 
Regulatory Flexibility Certification and the Final Regulatory 
Flexibility Certification, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 
Small Business Administration.

Federal Communications Commission.
Amy Brett,
Acting Chief of Staff, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2022-10542 Filed 5-17-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P