[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 153 (Thursday, August 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54318-54319]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17257]



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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-1222; FR ID 162067]


Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal 
Communications Commission

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 (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. 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.

DATES: Written PRA comments should be submitted on or before October 
10, 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 Nicole Ongele, FCC, via email 
[email protected] and to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the 
information collection, contact Nicole Ongele, (202) 418-2991.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a 
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid 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 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1222.
    Title: Inmate Calling Services (ICS) Provider Annual Reporting, 
Certification, and Other Requirements, WC Docket Nos. 23-62, 12-375, DA 
23-656.
    Form Number(s): FCC Form 2301(a) and FCC Form 2301(b).
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 30 respondents; 33 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 5 hours-220 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Annual reporting and certification 
requirements, third party disclosure and waiver request requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. Statutory authority for this 
collection of information is contained in sections 1, 2, 4(i)-(j), 
5(c), 201(b), 218, 220, 225, 255, 276, 403, and 716 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154(i)-(j), 
155(c), 201(b), 218, 220, 225, 255, 276, 403, and 617, and the Martha 
Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022, Pub. L. 
117-338, 136 Stat. 6156
    Total Annual Burden: 9,690 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Needs and Uses: 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 it 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 Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) 
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. See ICS 
Annual Reporting Form Word Template (Current), WC Docket No. 12-375 
https://www.fcc.gov/general/ics-data-collections (last visited August 
4, 2023) (Word Template); ICS Annual Reporting Form Excel Template 
(Current), WC Docket No. 12-375, https://www.fcc.gov/general/ics-data-collections (last visited August 4, 2023) (Excel Template); ICS Annual 
Reporting and Certification Instructions (Current), WC Docket No. 12-
375 https://www.fcc.gov/general/ics-data-collections (last visited 
August 4, 2023) (Instructions) (Certification Instructions); ICS Annual 
Report Certification Form (Current), WC Docket No. 12-375, https://www.fcc.gov/general/ics-data-collections (last visited August 4, 2023) 
(Certification Form).
    In 2021, the Commission released the Third Report and Order, Order 
on Reconsideration, and Fifth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking WC 
Docket No. 12-375, 36 FCC Rcd 9519 (2021). The Commission revised its 
rules by adopting, among other things, lower interim rate caps for 
interstate calls, new interim rate caps for international calls, and a 
new rate cap structure that requires ICS providers to differentiate 
between legally mandated and contractually required site commissions. 
The revisions also included expanded consumer disclosure requirements, 
as well as new reporting requirements for providers seeking waivers of 
the Commission's interstate and international rates.
    In 2022, the Commission released the Fourth Report and Order and 
Sixth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, WC Docket No. 12-375, FCC 
22-76 (Sept. 30, 2022). The Commission adopted numerous requirements to 
improve access to communications services for incarcerated people with 
communication disabilities and expanded the scope of the Annual Reports 
to reflect these new requirements. Specifically, the Commission 
required ICS providers to report, at a minimum, for each facility 
served, the types of telecommunications relay services (TRS) that can 
be accessed from the facility and the number of completed calls and 
complaints for TTY-to-TTY calls, ASL point-to-point video calls, and 
each type of TRS for which access is provided. The Commission also 
eliminated the safe harbor, adopted in 2015, that had exempted ICS 
providers from any TRS-related reporting requirements if they either 
(1) operated in a facility that allowed the offering of additional 
forms of TRS beyond those mandated by the Commission or (2) had not 
received any complaints related to TRS calls. The Commission found that 
the safe harbor was no longer appropriate given the expanded reporting 
requirement for additional forms of TRS, and the importance of 
transparency regarding the state of accessible communications in 
incarceration settings.
    The Commission also specified a number of provider obligations 
relating to access to and the provision of TRS. For instance, the 
Commission required, among other things, that an ICS provider must work 
with correctional authorities, equipment vendors, and TRS providers to 
ensure that screen-equipped communications devices such as tablets,

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smartphones, or videophones are available to incarcerated people who 
need to use TRS for effective communication, and all necessary TRS 
provider software applications are included, with any adjustments 
needed to meet the security needs of the institution. The Commission 
required that providers ensure compatibility with institutional 
communication systems and allow operability over the inmate calling 
services provider's network.
    On January 5, 2023, the President signed into law the Martha 
Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022, Public Law 
117-338, 136 Stat. 6156 (the Martha Wright-Reed Act or the Act), 
expanding the Commission's statutory authority over communications 
services between incarcerated people and the non-incarcerated to 
include ``any audio or video communications service used by inmates . . 
. regardless of the technology used.'' The new Act also amends section 
2(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the Communications 
Act) to make clear that the Commission's authority extends to 
intrastate as well as interstate and international communications 
services used by incarcerated people.
    The Act directs the Commission to ``promulgate any regulations 
necessary to implement'' the statutory provisions, including its 
mandate that the Commission establish a ``compensation plan'' ensuring 
that all rates and charges for IPCS ``are just and reasonable,'' not 
earlier than 18 months and not later than 24 months after its January 
5, 2023 enactment. The Act also requires the Commission to consider, as 
part of its implementation, the costs of ``necessary'' safety and 
security measures, as well as ``differences in costs'' based on 
facility size, or ``other characteristics.'' It also allows the 
Commission to ``use industry-wide average costs of telephone service 
and advanced communications services and the average costs of service a 
communications service provider'' in determining just and reasonable 
rates.
    On March 17, 2023, pursuant to the directive that the Commission 
implement the new Act and establish just and reasonable rates for IPCS 
services, the Commission released Incarcerated People's Communications 
Services; Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act; Rates for 
Interstate Inmate Calling Services, WC Docket Nos. 23-62, 12-375, 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order, FCC 23-19, 88 FR 20804 (2023 
IPCS Notice) and 88 FR 19001 (Order) (2023 IPCS Order). The Commission 
sought comment on how to interpret the Act's language to ensure that 
the Commission implements the statute in a manner that fulfills 
Congress's intent. Because the Commission is now required or allowed to 
consider certain types of costs, the Act contemplates that it would 
undertake an additional data collection. To ensure that it has the data 
necessary to meet its substantive and procedural responsibilities under 
the Act, the Commission adopted the 2023 IPCS Order delegating 
authority to WCB and the Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA) to 
modify the template and instructions for the most recent data 
collection to the extent appropriate to timely collect such information 
to cover the additional services and providers now subject to the 
Commission's authority. On April 28, 2023, WCB and OEA issued a Public 
Notice seeking comment on all aspects of the proposed data collection. 
WCB and OEA Seek Comment on Proposed 2023 Mandatory Data Collection for 
Incarcerated People's Communication Services, WC Docket Nos. 23-62, 12-
375, Public Notice, DA 23-355 (WCB/OEA Apr. 28, 2023). On July 26, 
2023, WCB and OEA released an Order adopting instructions, a reporting 
template, and a certification form to implement the 2023 Mandatory Data 
Collection. Incarcerated People's Communications Services; 
Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act, Rates for Interstate 
Inmate Calling Services, WC Docket Nos. 23-62, 12-375, Order, DA 23-638 
(July 26, 2023).
    In the 2023 IPCS Order, the Commission also reaffirmed and updated 
its prior delegation of authority to WCB and the Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) (collectively, the Bureaus) to revise 
the instructions and reporting templates for the Annual Reports. 
Specifically, the Commission delegated to the Bureaus the authority to 
modify, supplement, and update the instructions and templates for the 
Annual Reports, as appropriate, to supplement the information the 
Commission will receive in response to the 2023 Mandatory Data 
Collection.
    On August 3, 2023, the Bureaus issued a Public Notice seeking 
comment on proposed revisions to the instructions, template, and 
certification form for the Annual Reports, https://www.fcc.gov/proposed-2023-ipcs-annual-reports, which are necessary to reflect the 
revised rules improving access to communications services for 
incarcerated people with communication disabilities adopted in the 2022 
ICS Order and to help implement the Martha Wright-Reed Act to ensure 
just and reasonable rates for consumers and fair compensation for 
providers. Wireline Competition Bureau and Consumer and Governmental 
Affairs Bureau Seek Comment on Revisions to IPCS Providers' Annual 
Reporting and Certification Requirements, Public Notice, WC Docket Nos. 
23-62, 12-375, DA 23-656 (Aug. 3, 2023). https://www.fcc.gov/document/2023-incarcerated-peoples-communications-services-annual-reports-pn.
    Notice of this document will be published in the Federal Register. 
The Bureaus will consider comments submitted in response to the Public 
Notice in addition to comments submitted in response to this 60-Day 
Notice in finalizing this information collection prior to submitting 
the documents to the Office of Management and Budget.

Federal Communications Commission.
Katura Jackson,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-17257 Filed 8-9-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P