[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 199 (Monday, October 17, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 62736-62737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22530]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 64

[WC Docket No. 12-375, DA 22-676; FR ID 109242]


Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission 
(Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
has approved, for a period of three years, an information collection 
associated with the Annual Reports Adoption Order issued by the 
Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB or Bureau) on June 24, 
2022. In that Order, WCB adopted instructions, a reporting template, 
and a certification form related to an Annual Report data collection 
regarding calling services for incarcerated people. The instant 
document is consistent with the Annual Reports Adoption Order, which 
indicated that the Commission will publish a document in the Federal 
Register announcing that OMB approved the data collection and 
establishing an effective date for the actions in the Order.

DATES: The Annual Reports Adoption Order, DA 22-676, including the 
reporting instructions, template, and certification form adopted in 
that Order, published August 2, 2022, at 87 FR 47103, is effective on 
October 17, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erik Raven-Hansen, Pricing Policy 
Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, (202) 418-1532, or email 
[email protected][email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that, on October 3, 
2022, OMB approved, for a period of three years, the information 
collection requirements adopted on June 24, 2022, in the Annual Reports 
Adoption Order, DA 22-676, published at 87 FR 47103 (August 2, 2022). 
The OMB Control Number is 3060-1222. The Commission publishes this 
document as an announcement of the effective date of the requirements 
for the Annual Report Collection.
    In the Annual Reports Adoption Order, WCB directed that 
requirements for the Annual Reports adopted in that Order would become 
effective on the date specified in a document to be published in the 
Federal Register announcing OMB approval. Annual Reports must be filed 
on April 1 of each year. We note that the next inmate calling services 
(ICS) providers' responses to the Annual Report data collection are due 
no later than Monday, April 3, 2023 because April 1, 2023, falls on a 
Saturday.
    If you have any comments on the Annual Report data collection, or 
how the Commission can improve the collections and reduce any burdens 
caused thereby, please contact Nicole Ongele, Federal Communications 
Commission, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Please include the 
OMB Control Number, 3060-1222, 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 FCC is notifying the public that it received OMB approval on 
October 3, 2022, for the information collection requirements contained 
in WCB's Annual Reports Adoption Order. 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 is 
3060-1222.
    The foregoing notification is required by the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.
    The total data collection burdens and costs for the respondents are 
as follows:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1222.
    OMB Approval Date: October 3, 2022.
    OMB Expiration Date: October 31, 2025.
    Title: Inmate Calling Services (ICS) Provider Annual Reporting, 
Certification, Consumer Disclosure, and Waiver Request Requirements, WC 
Docket No. 12-375, FCC 21-60.
    Form Numbers: FCC Form 2301(a) and FCC Form 2301(b).
    Respondents: Business or other for profit.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 20 respondents; 23 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 5 hours-120 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Annual reporting and certification 
requirements, third party disclosure and waiver request requirements.

[[Page 62737]]

    Total Annual Burden: 3,740 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 
sections 1, 4(i)-(j), 201(b), 218, 220, 225, 255, 276, 403, and 617 of 
the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i)-(j), 
201(b), 218, 220, 225, 255, 276, 403, and 617.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No Impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Protective Order in the 
Commission's ICS proceeding, WC Docket 12-375, 28 FCC Rcd 16954 (WCB 
2013), provides confidential treatment for the proprietary information 
submitted by ICS providers in response to the Commission's directives. 
The Commission will treat as presumptively confidential any particular 
information identified as confidential by the provider in accordance 
with the Freedom of Information Act and Commission rules. Each 
confidential document should be stamped and submitted to the 
Secretary's Office with an accompanying cover letter, as specified by 
the Protective Order.
    Needs and Uses: Section 201 of the Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended (Act), 47 U.S.C 201, requires that ICS providers' interstate 
and international rates and practices be just and reasonable. Section 
276 of the Act, 47 U.S.C. 276, requires that payphone service providers 
(including ICS providers), be fairly compensated for completed calls.
    In 2015, the Commission released the Second Report and Order and 
Third Notice of Further Proposed Rulemaking, WC Docket No. 12-375, 30 
FCC Rcd 12763, (2015 ICS Order), in which the Commission required that 
ICS providers file Annual Reports providing data and other information 
on their ICS operations, as well as Annual Certifications that reported 
data are complete and accurate and comply with the Commission's ICS 
rules. Pursuant to the authority delegated it by the Commission in the 
2015 ICS Order, the Bureau created a standardized reporting template 
(FCC Form No. 2301(a)) and a related certification of accuracy (FCC 
Form No. 2301(b)), as well as instructions to guide providers through 
the reporting process. The instructions explain the reporting and 
certification requirements and reduce the burden of the data 
collection. (ICS Annual Reporting Form (2017-2019), https://www.fcc.gov/general/ics-data-collections; ICS Annual Reporting 
Certification Form, https://www.fcc.gov/general/ics-data-collections).
    In 2021, the Commission released the Third Report and Order, Order 
on Reconsideration, and Fifth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(2021 ICS Order), WC Docket No. 12-375, 36 FCC Rcd (2021), in which it 
revised its rules by adopting, among other things, lower interim rate 
caps for interstate calls. The rules necessitated changes to the Annual 
Reports in order to simplify compliance with and reduce the burden of 
the data collection. On December 15, 2021, the Bureau issued a Public 
Notice, WC 12-375, DA 21-1583 (WCB December 15, 2021), seeking comment 
on its proposed revisions to the instructions and annual reporting and 
certification templates for the Annual Reports. After considering the 
comments and replies submitted in response to the Public Notice, the 
Bureau released the Annual Reports Adoption Order on June 24, 2022, 
revising the instructions, standardized reporting template, and the 
certification of accuracy. See https://www.fcc.gov/document/wcb-announces-ics-annual-reporting-and-certification-revisions. The Order 
largely adopted the proposals contained in the Public Notice, with 
certain minor refinements and reevaluations responsive to comments and 
replies filed in response to the Public Notice.
    Under the Bureau's Order, ICS providers must continue to submit all 
reports using the electronic template provided by the Commission, and 
to provide the data in a machine-readable, manipulatable format. The 
reporting requirements cover the general categories proposed in the 
Public Notice. These categories include the submission of information 
on facilities served; interstate, intrastate, and international ICS 
rates; ancillary service charges; site commissions; and disability 
access, among other matters. The Bureau adopted reporting requirements 
for interstate, international, and intrastate ICS rates as proposed, 
with minor revisions. Further, the Bureau adopted the reporting 
requirements for ancillary service charges assessed by ICS providers as 
proposed, with certain revisions. In addition, the Bureau adopted the 
reporting requirements as proposed concerning site commissions, with 
minor revisions. The Bureau also revised the instructions and reporting 
template to match these revisions, and to more precisely target the 
information to be reported in connection with providers' disability 
access services.

Federal Communications Commission.
Lynne Engledow,
Deputy Chief, Pricing Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2022-22530 Filed 10-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P