[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 76 (Thursday, April 20, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24421-24422]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08386]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-1243; FR ID 136825]


Information Collections Being Reviewed by the Federal 
Communications Commission Under Delegated Authority

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, 
and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the 
Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) invites the 
general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to 
comment on the following information collections. Comments are 
requested concerning: 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; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; 
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; and ways to further reduce the 
information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer 
than 25 employees. The FCC 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 PRA comments should be submitted on or before June 20, 
2023. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments but find 
it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this notice, 
you should advise the contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Cathy Williams, FCC, via email to 
[email protected] and to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the 
information collection, contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-2918.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1243.
    Title: Sections 1.9020(n), 1.9030(m), 1.9035(o), Community 
notification requirement for certain contraband interdiction systems; 
Section 20.18(r), Contraband Interdiction System (CIS) requirement; 
Section 20.23(a), good faith negotiations.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Respondents: Businesses or other for-profit entities and state, 
local or Tribal Governments.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 25 respondents and 66 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 8-16 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: There is no obligation to respond; response 
required to obtain benefits. The statutory authority for this 
collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154(i), 154(j), 301, 
302a, 303, 307, 308, 309, 310, and 332.
    Total Annual Burden: 664 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Needs and Uses: On March 24, 2017, the Federal Communications 
Commission released a Report and Order, Promoting Technological 
Solutions to Combat Contraband Wireless Devices in Correctional 
Facilities, GN Docket No. 13-111, FCC 17-25 (Report and Order), in 
which the Commission took important steps to help law enforcement 
combat the serious threats posed by the illegal use of contraband 
wireless devices by inmates. Across the country, inmates have used 
contraband devices to order hits, run drug operations, operate phone 
scams, and otherwise engage in criminal activity that endangers prison 
employees, other inmates, and innocent members of the public. In the 
Report and Order, the Commission streamlined the process of deploying 
contraband wireless device interdiction systems--systems that use radio 
communications signals requiring Commission authorization--in 
correctional facilities. The action will reduce the cost of deploying 
solutions and ensure that they can be deployed more quickly and 
efficiently. In particular, the Commission waived certain filing 
requirements and provided for immediate approval of the spectrum lease 
applications needed to operate these systems.
    The effectiveness of Contraband Interdiction System (CIS) 
deployment requires all carriers in the relevant area of the 
correctional facility to execute a spectrum lease with the CIS 
provider. Even if the major Commercial Mobile Radio Services (CMRS) 
licensees

[[Page 24422]]

negotiate expeditiously and in good faith, if one CMRS licensee in the 
area fails to engage in lease negotiations in a reasonable time frame 
or at all, the CIS solution will not be effective. The lack of 
cooperation of even a single wireless provider in a geographic area of 
a correctional facility can result in deployment of a system with 
insufficient spectral coverage, subject to abuse by inmates in 
possession of contraband wireless devices operating on frequencies not 
covered by a spectrum lease agreement. While some carriers have been 
cooperative, it is imperative that all CMRS licensees be required to 
engage in lease negotiations in good faith and in a timely fashion. 
Therefore, the Commission adopted a rule requiring that CMRS licensees 
negotiate in good faith with entities seeking to deploy a CIS in a 
correctional facility. If, after a 45 day period, there is no 
agreement, CIS providers seeking Special Temporary Authority (STA) to 
operate in the absence of CMRS licensee consent may file a request for 
STA with the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB), with a copy 
served at the same time on the CMRS licensee, accompanied by evidence 
demonstrating its good faith, and the unreasonableness of the CMRS 
licensee's actions, in negotiating an agreement. The CMRS licensee may 
then file a response with WTB, with a copy served on the CIS provider 
at that time, within 10 days of the filing of the STA request.
    The supplementary information provided along with the STA 
application by the CIS provider will be used by WTB to determine 
whether the CIS provider has negotiated in good faith, yet the CMRS 
licensee has not negotiated in good faith. The CMRS licensee may use 
the evidence accompanying the STA application to craft a response. WTB 
will analyze the evidence from the CIS providers and the CMRS 
licensee's response to determine whether to issue STA to the entity 
seeking to deploy the CIS.
    The Commission explored whether it should impose a requirement that 
the community in the vicinity of a correctional facility where a CIS is 
installed be notified of the installation. The Commission explained 
that a goal of the proceeding is to expedite the deployment of 
technological solutions to combat the use of contraband wireless 
devices, not to impose unnecessary barriers to CIS deployment. 
Consistent with that goal, the Commission found that a flexible and 
community-tailored notification requirement for certain CISs outweighed 
the minimal burden of notification and furthered the public interest. 
After careful consideration of the record, the Commission imposed a 
rule that, 10 days prior to deploying a CIS that prevents 
communications to or from mobile devices, a lessee must notify the 
community in which the correctional facility is located, and the 
Commission amended its spectrum leasing rules to reflect this 
requirement. The Commission agreed with commenters that support 
notification of the surrounding community due to the potential for 
accidental call blocking and the public safety issues involved. The 
information provided in the notification will put the houses and 
businesses in the surrounding community on notice that a CIS will be 
deployed in the vicinity that has the potential for accidental call 
blocking.
    Acknowledging the importance of ensuring the availability of 
emergency 911 calls from correctional facilities, and the fact that 
delivering emergency calls to public safety answering points (PSAPs) 
facilitates public safety services and generally serves the public 
interest, the Commission amended its rules to require that CIS 
providers regulated as private mobile radio service (PMRS) must route 
all 911 calls to the local PSAP. That said, the Commission also 
acknowledged the important role state and local public safety officials 
play in the administration of the 911 system. Accordingly, although the 
CIS provider is required to pass through emergency 911 calls, the PSAPs 
can inform the CIS provider that they do not want to receive calls from 
a given correctional facility. By allowing the PSAPs to decline the 
emergency 911 calls, the Commission recognized the reported increased 
volume of PSAP harassment through repeated inmate fraudulent 911 calls. 
The information provided by the PSAP or emergency authority will result 
in the CIS provider not passing through E911 calls from a particular 
correctional facility.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-08386 Filed 4-19-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P