[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 118 (Tuesday, June 21, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36852-36855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13237]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-0484, OMB 3060-1003, OMB 3060-1271; FR ID 91859]


Information Collections 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 July 21, 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)

[[Page 36853]]

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: 3060-0484.
    Title: Amendments to Part 4 of the Commission's Rules Concerning 
Disruptions to Communications.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions; State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 1,065 respondents; 27,395 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour-2 hours (average per response).
    Frequency of Response: On occasion and annual reporting 
requirements and recordkeeping requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Mandatory and Voluntary. Statutory authority 
for this collection is contained in sections 1, 4(i), 4(j), 4(o), 
251(e)(3), 254, 301, 303(b), 303(g), 303(r), 307, 309(a), 309(j), 316, 
332, and 403 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and section 
706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i)-(j) & 
(o), 251(e)(3), 254, 301, 303(b), 303(g), 303(r), 332, 403, and 1302.
    Total Annual Burden: 54,215 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No Cost.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: In accordance with 47 CFR 
4.2, reports and information contained in the underlying NORS filings 
are presumed confidential. The filings are shared with the Department 
of Homeland Security through password-protected real time access to 
NORS. Other persons seeking disclosure must follow the procedure 
delineated in 47 CFR 0.457 and 0.459 of the Commission's Rules for 
requests for and disclosure of information. The modified collection 
proposed here will allow ``need to know'' agencies acting on behalf of 
the federal government, the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Tribal 
Nations, and the U.S. territories access to confidential information 
derived from NORS filings based on events occurring within an agency's 
jurisdiction, provided those agencies maintain the confidentiality of 
the information and report any breach of that confidentiality.
    The Commission has adopted procedures allowing state, federal, 
local, and Tribal agencies with a demonstrated ``need to know'' to 
apply for ``read-only'' access to NORS reports impacting locations 
where the agency has jurisdiction. To protect the confidentiality of 
the NORS and DIRS information disclosed to these Participating 
Agencies, the Commission limited the access to only those agencies who 
complete the registration process and then limits by geographic area 
the reports available to each Participating Agency. The Commission also 
adopted safeguards to protect the data accessed by Participating 
Agencies from manipulation and from distribution to unauthorized 
recipients.
    Needs and Uses: The general purpose of the Commission's Part 4 
rules is to gather sufficient information regarding disruptions to 
telecommunications to facilitate FCC monitoring, analysis, and 
investigation of the reliability and security of voice, paging, and 
interconnected Voice over internet Protocol (interconnected VoIP) 
communications services, and to identify and act on potential threats 
to our Nation's telecommunications infrastructure. The Commission uses 
this information collection to identify the duration, magnitude, root 
causes, and contributing factors with respect to significant outages, 
and to identify outage trends; support service restoration efforts; and 
help coordinate with public safety officials during times of crisis. 
The Commission also maintains an ongoing dialogue with reporting 
entities, as well as with the communications industry at large, 
generally regarding lessons learned from the information collection in 
order to foster a better understanding of the root causes of 
significant outages and to explore preventive measures in the future so 
as to mitigate the potential scale and impact of such outages.
    In a Second Report and Order adopted on March 18, 2021, as FCC 21-
34, the Commission adopted rules allowing certain federal, state, and 
Tribal Nation agencies 10 (Participating Agencies) to access to certain 
geographically relevant outage reports filed in the Commission's 
Network Outage Reporting System (NORS). The information collections and 
record keeping provisions adopted will allow federal, state and Tribal 
Nation agencies (Participating Agencies) to apply for, and receive 
access to, NORS report in the areas where they have jurisdiction. The 
collection will further enable these Participating Agencies, at their 
election, to share NORS reports with qualified local agencies whose 
jurisdiction is affected by an outage, while still maintaining the 
confidentiality of the substantive data. The changes to the data 
collections fields in the NORS filings made by service providers will 
further facilitate the ability of Participating Agencies to access 
those reports relevant to their specific geographies. Finally, the 
changes to the information collection and associated recordkeeping 
requirements, including retention by participating agencies of 
qualification forms submitted by local agency seeking access to NORS 
data, as well as a list of which local agencies receive information 
from the Participating Agency, training materials setting clear 
parameters for the use of NORS data, and a list of those persons 
granted NORS account access, will enable auditing functions to ensure 
accountability in the use of NORS information and immediate reporting 
of breaches of access or confidentiality protocols.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1003.
    Title: Communications Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS).
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions; State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 400 respondents; 104,000 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour-1.5 hours (average per 
response).
    Frequency of Response: On occasion and annual reporting 
requirements and recordkeeping requirements.

[[Page 36854]]

    Obligation to Respond: Voluntary. Statutory authority for this 
collection is contained in sections 1, 4(i), 4(j), 4(o), 251(e)(3), 
254, 301, 303(b), 303(g), 303(r), 307, 309(a), 309(j), 316, 332, and 
403 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and section 706 of 
the Telecommunications Act of 1996, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i)-(j) & (o), 
251(e)(3), 254, 301, 303(b), 303(g), 303(r), 332, 403, and 1302.
    Total Annual Burden: 16,320 hours.
    Total Annual Costs: No Cost.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission provides 
respondents with assurances that their collected filings reports will 
be treated with a presumption of confidentiality. As noted in the DIRS 
User Manual, ``[b]ecause the information that communications companies 
input to [their collected filings] is sensitive for national security 
and/or commercial reasons, [the collected filings] shall be treated as 
presumptively confidential upon filing.''
    In accordance with 47 CFR 4.2, reports and information contained in 
the underlying DIRS filings are presumed confidential. The filings are 
shared with the Department of Homeland Security through password-
protected real time access to NORS. Other persons seeking disclosure 
must follow the procedure delineated in 47 CFR 0.457 and 0.459 of the 
Commission's Rules for requests for and disclosure of information. The 
modified collection proposed here will allow ``need to know'' agencies 
acting on behalf of the federal government, the 50 states, the District 
of Columbia, Tribal Nations, and the U.S. territories access to 
confidential information derived from DIRS filings based on events 
occurring within an agency's jurisdiction, provided those agencies 
maintain the confidentiality of the information and report any breach 
of that confidentiality.
    The Commission has adopted procedures allowing state, federal, 
local, and Tribal agencies with a demonstrated ``need to know'' to 
apply for ``read-only'' access to DIRS reports impacting locations 
where the agency has jurisdiction. To protect the confidentiality of 
the NORS and DIRS information disclosed to these Participating 
Agencies, the Commission limited the access to only those agencies who 
complete the registration process and then limits by geographic area 
the reports available to each Participating Agency. The Commission also 
adopted safeguards to protect the data accessed by Participating 
Agencies from manipulation and from distribution to unauthorized 
recipients.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission launched the Disaster Information 
Reporting System (DIRS) in 2007 pursuant to its mandate to promote the 
safety of life and property through the use of wire and radio 
communication as required by the Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended. DIRS is a voluntary, efficient, and web-based system that 
communications companies may use to report their infrastructure status 
during times of crisis (e.g., related to a disaster). DIRS uses a 
number of template forms tailored to different communications sectors 
(i.e., wireless, wireline, broadcast, and cable) to facilitate the 
entry of this information. To use DIRS, a company first inputs its 
emergency contact information. After this, they submit information 
using the template form appropriate for their communications sector. In 
a Second Report and Order adopted on March 18, 2021, as FCC 21-34, the 
Commission adopted rules allowing certain federal, state, and Tribal 
Nation agencies (Participating Agencies) to access to certain 
geographically relevant reports filed in the Commission's Disaster 
Information Reporting System (DIRS). The information collections and 
record keeping provisions adopted will allow Participating Agencies to 
apply for, and receive access to, DIRS report in the areas where they 
have jurisdiction. The collection will further enable these 
Participating Agencies, at their election, to share DIRS reports with 
qualified local agencies whose jurisdiction is affected by a disaster, 
while still maintaining the confidentiality of the substantive data. 
The changes to the data collections fields in the DIRS filings made by 
service providers will further facilitate the ability of Participating 
Agencies to access those reports relevant to their specific 
geographies. Finally, the changes to the information collection and 
associated recordkeeping requirements, including retention by 
participating agencies of qualification forms submitted by local agency 
seeking access to DIRS data, as well as a list of which local agencies 
receive information from the Participating Agency, training materials 
setting clear parameters for the use of DIRS data, and a list of those 
persons granted DIRS account access, will enable auditing functions to 
ensure accountability in the use of DIRS information and immediate 
reporting of breaches of access or confidentiality protocols.
    The Commission notes that the information sharing framework 
established in the Second Report and Order allows for access to be 
granted not only for DIRS, but also to the Commission's Network Outage 
Reporting System (NORS). We note that the process and requirements for 
Participating Agencies under this framework is identical, regardless of 
whether they seek access to NORS, DIRS, or both. Because the Commission 
anticipates that NORS and DIRS access will be requested together in 
most cases, it believes that the estimated burden hours and costs for 
Participating Agencies associated with DIRS access are fully included 
in the estimates that it has separately submitted as part of its 
collection on Part 4 of the Commission's Rules Concerning Disruptions 
to Communications, OMB Control No. 3060-0484. To avoid double-counting 
the estimated burden hours and costs associated with both collections, 
the Commission estimates the marginal cost of the Participating Agency 
aspect of this collection to be zero.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1271.
    Title: Promoting Telehealth for Low-Income Consumers, COVID-19 
Telehealth Program.
    Form Numbers: FCC Forms 460, 461, 462, and 463.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions; Federal Government; and State, Local, or Tribal 
governments.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 7,210 respondents; 34,553 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.30-25 hours.
    Frequency of Response: One-time, annual, and on occasion reporting 
requirements; recordkeeping requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in 
sections 1-4, 201-205, 214, 254, 303(r), and 403 of the Communications 
Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151-154, 201-205, 214, 254, 303(r), 
and 403, and DIVISION B of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic 
Security Act, Public Law 116-136, 134 Stat. 281.
    Total Annual Burden: 197,787 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No Impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Name, Address, DUNS 
Number and Business Type will be disclosed in accordance with the 
FFATA/DATA Act reporting requirements as part of the COVID-19 
Telehealth Program. Also, the COVID-19 Telehealth Program award and 
disbursement amounts will

[[Page 36855]]

be made public. We intend to keep other information submitted under the 
COVID-19 Telehealth Program confidential to the extent permitted by 
law. There is no assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents 
as part of the Connected Care Pilot Program, the selected applicants 
and estimated funding will be made public. Respondents under both 
programs may request materials or information submitted to the 
Commission to be withheld from public inspection under 47 CFR 0.459 of 
the Commission's rules.
    Needs and Uses: On March 31, 2020, the Commission adopted a Report 
and Order entitled Promoting Telehealth for Low-Income Consumers; 
COVID-19 Telehealth Program, WC Docket No. 18-213, WC Docket No. 20-89 
(FCC 20-44), establishing two programs designed to assist health care 
providers in providing connected care services to consumers--the COVID-
19 Telehealth Program and the Connected Care Pilot Program 
(collectively, Programs). June 2021, the Commission adopted a Second 
Report and Order, WC Docket No. 18-213 (FCC 21-74), that provided 
guidance on eligible services, competitive bidding, invoicing, and data 
reporting for Pilot Program participants. The information collected 
herein is necessary to meet the specific requirements for information 
that must be submitted as part of the annual and final reports to the 
Commission as outlined in the Second Connected Care Report and Order, 
and for the Commission to receive and evaluate data for the selected 
projects and ensure compliance with the Commission's rules and 
procedures applicable to the Connected Care Pilot Program. This 
submission does not make any changes to the previously approved 
information collections for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program and some of 
the previously approved requirements for the Pilot Program.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-13237 Filed 6-17-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P