[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 189 (Friday, September 30, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59327-59329]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21197]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 1

[WC Docket No. 18-89; DA 22-967; FR ID 106418]


Wireline Competition Bureau Reminds Secure and Trusted 
Communications Networks Reimbursement Program Recipients of Their 
Status Update Filing Obligation

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) 
reminds Recipients in the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks 
Reimbursement Program (Reimbursement Program) of their obligation to 
file status updates with the Federal Communications Commission 
(Commission or FCC) every 90 days, beginning on the date on which the 
Bureau approved Recipients' applications, until the obligation to file 
expires. Because Recipients' applications were approved on July 15, 
2022, all initial status updates are due on October 13, 2022.

DATES: The final rule is effective on September 30, 2022. All initial 
status updates are due on October 13, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Callie Coker, Wireline Competition 
Bureau, at 202-418-2793, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Bureau's document 
in WC Docket No. 18-89; DA 22-967, released on September 16, 2022. The 
full text of this document is available at the following internet 
address: https://www.fcc.gov/document/supply-chain-reimbursement-program-status-update-deadline-reminder. 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 & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 
(voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY).
    1. By this document, the Bureau reminds Recipients in the 
Reimbursement Program of their obligation to file status updates with 
the Commission every 90 days, beginning on the date on which the Bureau 
approved Recipients' applications, until the obligation to file 
expires. Because Recipients' applications were approved on July 15, 
2022, all initial status updates are due on October 13, 2022. As 
required by the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019, 
as amended (Secure Networks Act), the status updates must inform the 
Commission about the work of the Recipient to permanently remove, 
replace, and dispose of the covered communications equipment or 
services, which for the purposes of the Reimbursement Program means all 
communications equipment or services produced or provided by Huawei 
Technologies Company or ZTE Corporation and obtained on or before June 
30, 2020 (covered communications equipment or services.
    2. Background. As directed in the Secure Networks Act, the 
Commission established the Reimbursement Program to reimburse providers 
of advanced communications services with ten million or fewer customers 
for reasonable costs incurred in the removal, replacement, and disposal 
of covered communications equipment or services from their networks 
that pose a national security risk. In the 2020 Supply Chain Order, 86 
FR 2904 (January 13, 2021), the Commission established and adopted 
rules for the Reimbursement Program, revised these rules in the 2021 
Supply Chain Order, 86 FR 46995, August 23, 2021, and subsequently 
provided additional guidance on the application, reimbursement, and 
disposal process. On July 15, 2022, the Bureau issued decisions 
approving and denying applications submitted for Reimbursement Program 
support. Recipients were announced in a Public Notice released by the 
Bureau on July 18, 2022.
    3. The Secure Networks Act requires that ``[n]ot less frequently 
than once every 90 days beginning on the date on which the Commission 
approves an application for a reimbursement under the [Reimbursement] 
Program, the recipient of the reimbursement shall submit to the 
Commission a status update on the work of the recipient to permanently 
remove, replace, and dispose of the covered communications equipment or 
services.'' The Secure Networks Act also provides that ``[n]ot

[[Page 59328]]

earlier than 30 days after the date on which the Commission receives a 
status update,'' the Commission ``shall make such status update public 
on the website of the Commission.'' In the 2020 Supply Chain Order, the 
Commission required Recipients to file the first status updates within 
90 days of receiving their funding allocations.
    4. Status Updates Obligation. In accordance with the Secure 
Networks Act and Commission rules, each Recipient must regularly submit 
status updates beginning on October 13, 2022, and then every 90 days 
thereafter until the Recipient has notified the Commission of the 
completion of the permanent removal, replacement, and disposal of the 
covered communications equipment or service pursuant to a final 
certification. The Commission has interpreted the Secure Networks Act 
as permitting the Commission to require the first status update filing 
90 days after the approval of applications for reimbursement, and also 
that the updates be filed at least every 90 days. In the 2020 Supply 
Chain Order, the Commission noted that status updates ``will help the 
Commission monitor the overall pace of the removal, replacement, and 
disposal [(RRD)] process and whether recipients are acting consistently 
with the timelines provided to the Commission or whether unexpected 
challenges are causing delay.'' Furthermore, due to the importance of 
status updates in the Commission's role to monitor Recipients' 
implementation of their RRD timelines, we clarify that while Recipients 
may submit status updates more frequently than every 90 days, they must 
file status updates every 90 days to satisfy their obligation. As such, 
we make a procedural revision to Sec.  1.50004(k) to clarify that 
Recipients must file a status update with the Commission 90 days after 
the date on which the Bureau approves the Recipient's application, and 
every 90 days thereafter until the expiration of the obligation to 
file. This revision is permissible without notice and comment because 
the timeframe in which a Recipient must file its periodic reports under 
Sec.  1.50004(k) of the Commission's rules is a procedural rule. This 
rule modification will ensure that the status updates provide the 
Bureau with the information it needs to perform the assessments 
contemplated by the Secure Networks Act and the Commission's orders and 
rules. For instance, if a Recipient filed its first status update on 
October 13, 2022, and filed its second on October 27, 2022, the second 
report would provide little insight into how much progress the 
Recipient has made on the permanent removal, replacement, and disposal 
of the covered communications equipment and services in its network 
since the first 90-day reporting period.
    5. Recipients are required to report on their ``work to permanently 
remove, replace, and dispose of the covered communications equipment or 
services'' in their communications networks, including the efforts 
undertaken and challenges encountered in performing that work. The 
status updates must also include whether the Recipient has: (1) fully 
complied with, or is in the process of complying with, all requirements 
of the Reimbursement Program; (2) fully complied with, or is in the 
process of complying with, the commitments made in the Recipient's 
application; (3) permanently removed from its communications network, 
replaced, and disposed of, or is in the process of permanently 
removing, replacing, and disposing of, all covered communications 
equipment or services that were in the Recipient's network as of the 
date of the submission of the Recipient's application; and (4) fully 
complied with, or is in the process of complying with, the timeline 
submitted by the Recipient in their application. We remind Recipients 
that timelines submitted to the Commission outlining the Recipient's 
RRD process must comport with the Recipient's deadline to complete the 
permanent removal, replacement, and disposal of covered communications 
equipment and services, which is one year from its initial distribution 
of a reimbursement. Recipients shall also report in detail on the 
availability of replacement equipment in the marketplace so the 
Commission can assess whether a general, six-month extension permitted 
by the statute is appropriate. Lastly, each status update must include 
a certification that affirms the information in the update is accurate.
    6. The Bureau issued decisions approving and denying applications 
submitted for Reimbursement Program support on July 15, 2022. As such, 
Recipients must submit their first status updates on October 13, 2022, 
and thereafter every 90 days until the expiration of the obligation to 
file. The obligation to file status updates expires after the Recipient 
has notified the Commission of the completion of the permanent removal, 
replacement, and disposal of the covered communications equipment or 
service pursuant to a final certification. Recipients will submit 
status updates through the online portal, https://fccprod.servicenowservices.com/scrp (SCRP Online Portal) by completing 
FCC Form 5640 Part K: Status Updates.
    7. Public Posting and Requests for Confidentiality. Consistent with 
the Secure Networks Act, the Bureau will make the Recipients' status 
updates public by publishing them on the Commission's website no 
earlier than 30 days after the 90-day filing deadline. A link to the 
public status updates will be provided on the Commission's 
Reimbursement Program web page, https://www.fcc.gov/supplychain. For 
administrative ease, we clarify that if a Recipient opts to file 
multiple status updates within a particular 90-day period (e.g., a 
status update filed at the 30-day mark prior to filing the mandatory 
status update at the 90-day mark), we will post all status updates 
filed for a given 90-day period to the Commission's website no earlier 
than 30 days after the close of that period. We also correct a 
discrepancy between Sec.  1.50004(k)(2) of the Commission's rules and 
section 4(d)(8)(B) of the Secure Networks Act regarding the timing by 
which the Commission must post the status updates to its website. To 
comply with the Secure Networks Act, we clarify that the Bureau will 
publicly post the status update filings on the Commission's website no 
earlier than 30 days after the close of the 90-day period covered by 
the status update. This revision is permissible without notice and 
comment because Sec.  1.50004(k)(2) is a procedural rule. Further, we 
find that notice and comment is not necessary under the ``good cause'' 
exception of the Administrative Procedure Act because the revision 
modifies the rule to be consistent with the statutory requirement.
    8. Consistent with this requirement, we remind Recipients that 
status updates submitted to the Commission are public. We believe that 
most Recipients will be able to comply with the content requirements 
for status updates without including details that the Commission has 
determined are presumptively confidential. For instance, we believe 
that Recipients may comply with the content requirements of status 
updates without disclosing vendor price quotes; invoices; detailed 
accounting information on the covered communications equipment and 
services removed, replaced, and disposed of, and the replacement 
equipment or services purchased, rented, leased, or otherwise obtained 
using Reimbursement Program funds; the address, latitude/longitude of 
equipment or service locations; sensitive information in removal or 
replacement plans; specific equipment or service types; or the specific 
details

[[Page 59329]]

of removal, replacement, and disposal timeliness. Recipients that need 
to include confidential information to accurately and fully report on 
the status of their removal, replacement, and disposal work, any 
challenges encountered in performing that work, or other status report 
content requirements must request confidential treatment of those 
details pursuant to Sec.  0.459 of the Commission's rules. In addition 
to the content requirements of Sec.  0.459 of the Commission's rules, 
Recipients should include the SCRP application numbers applicable to 
the status update and the Recipient's FCC Registration number in their 
requests for confidential treatment. Requests for confidential 
treatment must be submitted by filing a written request electronically 
in WC Docket No. 18-89 in the Commission's Electronic Comments Filing 
System (ECFS), https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs. Recipients should file any 
such requests for confidential treatment concurrently with submission 
of the corresponding status update on the SCRP Online Portal. 
Recipients must attach to their filings a version of their status 
updates that redacts the specific information for which they are 
seeking confidential treatment. Recipients may download a PDF copy of 
their completed status updates from the SCRP Online Portal to redact 
and submit with requests for confidential treatment. We remind 
Recipients that requests for confidential treatment and associated 
redactions that are overbroad or otherwise inconsistent with the 
Commission's rules will be rejected. The Bureau will post the redacted 
version of a status update for which confidential treatment has been 
sought on the Commission's website.
    9. The final regulations at the end of this document reflect the 
two procedural rule changes for the Reimbursement Program adopted 
herein. The updated rules will become effective upon publication in the 
Federal Register.
    10. Additional Information and Resources. Recipients with questions 
may contact the Fund Administrator Help Desk by email at 
[email protected] or by calling (202) 418-7540 from 9:00 a.m. ET to 
5:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except for Federal holidays. 
General information and Commission documents regarding the 
Reimbursement Program are available on the Reimbursement Program web 
page, https://www.fcc.gov/supplychain.
    11. The Commission will not send a copy of this document to 
Congress and the Government Accountability Office pursuant to the 
Congressional Review Act (CRA), see 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A), because it 
does not adopt any rule as defined in the CRA, 5 U.S.C. 804(3).

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 1

    Communications, Communications common carriers, Communications 
equipment, Telecommunications, Telephone.

(47 U.S.C. chs. 2, 5, 9, 13; 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, unless otherwise 
noted)

Federal Communications Commission.
Pamela Arluk,
Chief, Competition Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau.

Final Regulations

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Federal Communications 
Commission amends 47 CFR part 1 as follows:

PART 1--PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE

0
1. The authority citation for part 1 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. chs. 2, 5, 9, 13; 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, 
unless otherwise noted.

0
2. Amend Sec.  1.50004 by revising paragraphs (k) introductory text and 
(k)(2) to read as follows:


Sec.  1.50004  Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement 
Program.

* * * * *
    (k) Status updates. Reimbursement Program recipients must file a 
status update with the Commission 90 days after the date on which the 
Wireline Competition Bureau approves the recipient's application for 
reimbursement and every 90 days thereafter, until the recipient has 
filed the final certification.
* * * * *
    (2) The Wireline Competition Bureau will publicly post on the 
Commission's website the status update filings no earlier than 30 days 
after submission.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2022-21197 Filed 9-29-22; 8:45 am]
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