[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 162 (Wednesday, August 23, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57363-57364]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18081]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 54

[WC Docket No. 21-450; FCC 22-87; FR ID 164120]


Affordable Connectivity Program; Emergency Broadband Benefit 
Program

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.

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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 
titled Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Transparency Data 
Collection, which is associated with the rules contained in the Fourth 
Report and Order, FCC 22-87 (Nov. 23, 2022) (Fourth Report and Order), 
which was summarized in a document published on January 13, 2023. This 
document is consistent with the Fourth Report and Order and its 
summary.

DATES: The amendments to Sec.  54.1813(b) through (d) (instruction 3), 
published at 88 FR 2248, January 13, 2023, and the amendments to Sec.  
54.1813(c) and (g) in this final rule, are effective August 23, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Wu, Attorney Advisor, 
Telecommunications Access Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, 
at (202) 418-7400 or [email protected]. For additional information 
concerning the Paperwork Reduction Act information collection 
requirements contact Nicole Ongele at (202) 418-2991 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission submitted information 
collection requirements for review and approval by OMB, as required by 
the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, on June 7, 2023, which were 
approved by OMB on August 11, 2023. The information collection 
requirements are found in the Commission's Affordable Connectivity 
Program; Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, WC Docket No. 21-450, 
Fourth Report and Order, FCC 22-87 (Nov. 23, 2022) (Fourth Report and 
Order), which was summarized in 88 FR 2248, January 13, 2023. The OMB 
Control Number is 3060-1310. If you have any comments on the burden 
estimates listed in the following, 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 20554. Please include the OMB Control Number, 3060-1310, 
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 & 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 Commission is notifying the public that it received OMB 
approval on August 11, 2023, for the information collection 
requirements contained in 47 CFR 54.1813, published at 88 FR 2248, 
January 13, 2023.
    Section 54.1813(g) of title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
provides that compliance with Sec.  54.1813(b) through (d) wouldn't be 
required until Sec.  54.1813(g) is removed or contains a compliance 
date, which wouldn't occur until after OMB completes review pursuant to 
the PRA. Since OMB has completed its review of the information 
collection requirements, this document removes Sec.  54.1813(g). This 
document further revises Sec.  54.1813(c) to delete the reference to 
paragraph (g) and to add the compliance date for the ACP Transparency 
Data Collection.
    These amendments to Sec.  54.1813(c) and (g) are effective on the 
date this document is published in the Federal Register. The amendments 
are minor corrections, and the public was given notice in the November 
2022 Fourth Report and Order that the rules would need to be amended to 
reflect completion of OMB review under the Paperwork Reduction Act. 
Additionally, the Commission separately announced the compliance date 
for the ACP Transparency Data Collection in a Public Notice issued on 
August 11, 2023. These amendments impose no immediate burdens or 
obligations on members of the public, and making them effective upon 
publication will enhance notice to the public by incorporating the 
compliance date sooner into the Code of Federal Regulations. There is 
thus good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) for the amendments to be 
effective less than 30 days after their publication.
    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.
    Additionally, 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 3060-1310.
    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 annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents 
are as follows:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1310.
    OMB Approval Date: August 11, 2023.
    OMB Expiration Date: August 31, 2026.
    Title: Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Transparency Data 
Collection.
    Form Number: FCC Form 5651.
    Type of Review: New information collection.

[[Page 57364]]

    Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 1,755 respondents; 1,755 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 31 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Annual reporting requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 
section 904 of Division N, Title IX of the Consolidated Appropriations 
Act, 2021, Public Law 116-260, 134 Stat. 1182, as amended by the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law 117-58, section 
60502(c), 135 Stat. 429, 1243 (2021) and 47 U.S.C. 1752.
    Total Annual Burden: 54,405 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Needs and Uses: On November 15, 2021, the President signed the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law 117-58, 135 Stat. 
429 (2021), which appropriated $14.2 billion to expand and modify the 
Emergency Broadband Benefit Program in the form of a new, longer-term 
broadband affordability program called the Affordable Connectivity 
Program (ACP). The Affordable Connectivity Program provides qualifying 
low-income households with a monthly discount of up to $30 per month 
(or up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal Lands) for 
broadband services, and a one-time $100 discount on a connected device 
(tablet, laptop, or desktop computer) from the participating provider 
with a co-pay of more than $10 but less than $50.
    The Infrastructure Act also directed the Commission to ``issue 
final rules regarding the annual collection by the Commission of data 
relating to the price and subscription rates of each internet service 
offering of a participating provider under the Affordable Connectivity 
Program . . . to which an eligible household subscribes.'' 
Infrastructure Act, section 60502(c)(1). On November 23, 2022, the 
Commission adopted a Fourth Report and Order, WC Docket No. 21-450, FCC 
22-87 (Fourth Report and Order), establishing the ACP Data Collection 
to satisfy the statutory collection requirement. The data collection 
also will allow the Commission to determine the value being provided by 
the affordable connectivity benefit.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 54

    Internet, Telecommunications, Telephone.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.

Final Rules

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 54 as follows:

PART 54--UNIVERSAL SERVICE

0
1. The authority citation for part 54 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 155, 201, 205, 214, 219, 220, 
229, 254, 303(r), 403, 1004, 1302, 1601-1609, and 1752, unless 
otherwise noted.


0
2. Amend Sec.  54.1813 by:
0
a. Revising paragraph (c); and
0
b. Removing paragraph (g).
    The revision reads as follows:


Sec.  54.1813  Affordable Connectivity Program Transparency Data 
Collection.

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    (c) Timing of collection. No later than November 9, 2023, and 
annually thereafter, participating providers must submit to the 
Commission the information in paragraph (b) of this section for all 
plans in which an Affordable Connectivity Program household is 
subscribed. The information must be current as of an annual snapshot 
date established and announced by the Bureau.
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[FR Doc. 2023-18081 Filed 8-22-23; 8:45 am]
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