[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 230 (Friday, December 1, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 83828-83829]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-26349]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 51

[WC Docket No. 18-155; FCC 23-31; FR ID 187323]


Updating the Intercarrier Compensation Regime To Eliminate Access 
Arbitrage

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective and compliance dates.

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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, the information collection 
associated with rules for notifications related to access stimulation 
adopted in the Second Report and Order, FCC 23-31 (April 21, 2023) 
(Access Arbitrage Second Report and Order), which was summarized in a 
document published on June 1, 2023. This document is consistent with 
the Access Arbitrage Second Report and Order and its summary.

DATES: The additions of 47 CFR 51.914(d) and (g) (instruction 3), 
published at 88 FR 35743, on June 1, 2023, and delayed indefinitely, 
are effective January 2, 2024. This rule is effective January 2, 2024. 
Compliance with this rule and the additions of Sec.  51.914(d) and (g) 
is required by February 16, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Bahr, Attorney Advisor, Pricing 
Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, at (202) 418-0573, 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 August 30, 2023, and the 
information collections were approved by OMB on November 7, 2023. The 
information collection requirements are found in the Commission's 
Updating the Intercarrier Compensation Regime to Eliminate Access 
Arbitrage, WC Docket No. 18-155, Second Report and Order, FCC 23-31 
(April 21, 2023), which was summarized in 88 FR 35743, on June 1, 2023. 
The OMB Control Number is 3060-0298. The Commission publishes this 
document as an announcement of the effective and compliance dates of 
the rules published on June 1, 2023. If you have any comments on the 
burden estimates listed below, 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, regarding OMB Control Number 3060-0298. Please 
include the applicable OMB Control Number 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), or (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 November 7, 2023, for the information collection 
requirements contained in 47 CFR 51.914(d) and (g), published at 88 FR 
35743, on June 1, 2023. Those sections have been delayed indefinitely, 
but are now added to 47 CFR 51.914 and will be effective January 2, 
2024. In addition, the text in the delayed Sec.  51.914(d) which states 
``[the effective date of this paragraph (d)--which will be 30 days 
after the Commission publishes the notification of OMB approval in the 
Federal Register]'' is replaced with January 2, 2024.
    This document also revises Sec.  51.914(e) and (f) to add a 
reference to Sec.  51.914(d). The references to Sec.  51.914(d) in 
Sec.  51.914(e) and (f) in the Access Arbitrage Second Report and Order 
were not added to CFR pending the receipt of OMB approval for Sec.  
51.914(d). These revisions to Sec.  51.914(e) and (f) are effective on 
January 2, 2024.
    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 3060-0298.
    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.

[[Page 83829]]

    The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents 
are as follows:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0298.
    OMB Approval Date: November 7, 2023.
    OMB Expiration Date: November 30, 2026.
    Title: Part 61, Tariffs (Other than the Tariff Review Plan).
    Form Number: N/A.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 3,834 respondents; 4,659 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour-50 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion, annual, biennial and one-time 
reporting requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 
sections 151-155, 201-205, 208, 251-271, 403, 502 and 503 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the Act), 47 U.S.C. 151-155, 
201-205, 208, 251-271, 403, 502 and 503.
    Total Annual Burden: 171,378 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $604,000.
    Needs and Uses: On April 21, 2023, the Commission released the 
Access Arbitrage Second Report and Order, WC Docket No. 18-155, FCC 23-
31, 88 FR 35743, which added rules applicable to internet Protocol 
Enabled Service (IPES) Providers engaged in Access Stimulation. In the 
Access Arbitrage Second Report and Order, the Commission adopted rules 
requiring that access-stimulating IPES Providers provide notice of 
their status to the Commission by filing a record of their access-
stimulating status in the Commission's Access Arbitrage docket, and to 
provide notice to any affected Interexchange Carriers (IXCs) and 
Intermediate Access Providers of the same, within 45 days of the 
effective date of that requirement after approval of that information 
collection by OMB (or for an entity that later engages in access 
stimulation, 45 days from the date it commences access stimulation). 
If, after the effective date of this requirement, an access-stimulating 
IPES Provider is no longer engaged in Access Stimulation, the IPES 
Provider must file notice of that change in status with the Commission 
and with any affected IXCs and Intermediate Access Providers.
    The revisions to this collection reflect the notice and reporting 
requirements adopted by the Commission in the Access Arbitrage Second 
Report and Order. The information provided by IPES Providers pursuant 
to rules adopted in the Access Arbitrage Second Report and Order 
informs interested parties of an entity's engagement in Access 
Stimulation.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 51

    Communications; Communications common carriers, Telecommunications; 
Telephones.

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 51 as follows:

PART 51--INTERCONNECTION

0
1. The authority citation for part 51 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151-55, 201-05, 207-09, 218, 225-27, 251-
52, 271, 332 unless otherwise noted.


0
2. Amend Sec.  51.914 by revising paragraphs (d) through (f) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  51.914  Additional provisions applicable to Access Stimulation 
traffic.

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    (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, if an 
internet Protocol Enabled Service (IPES) Provider, as defined in Sec.  
61.3(eee) of this chapter, is engaged in Access Stimulation, as defined 
in Sec.  61.3(bbb) of this chapter, it shall, within 45 days of 
commencing Access Stimulation, or within 45 days after January 2, 2024, 
whichever is later, notify in writing the Commission, all Intermediate 
Access Providers that it subtends, and Interexchange Carriers with 
which it does business of the following:
    (1) That it is an IPES Provider engaged in Access Stimulation; and
    (2) That it shall designate the Intermediate Access Provider(s), if 
any, that will provide the terminating switched access tandem switching 
or terminating switched access tandem transport services directly, or 
indirectly through a local exchange carrier, to the IPES Provider 
engaged in Access Stimulation; and
    (3) Whether the IPES Provider will pay for those services as of 
that date.
    (e) In the event that an Intermediate Access Provider receives 
notice under paragraph (b) or (d) of this section that it has been 
designated to provide terminating switched access tandem switching or 
terminating switched access tandem transport services to a local 
exchange carrier engaged in Access Stimulation, as defined in Sec.  
61.3(bbb) of this chapter, or to an IPES Provider engaged in Access 
Stimulation, directly, or indirectly through a local exchange carrier, 
and that local exchange carrier engaged in Access Stimulation shall pay 
or the IPES Provider engaged in Access Stimulation may pay for such 
terminating access service from such Intermediate Access Provider, the 
Intermediate Access Provider shall not bill Interexchange Carriers for 
interstate or intrastate terminating switched access tandem switching 
or terminating switched access tandem transport service for traffic 
bound for such local exchange carrier or IPES Provider but, instead, 
shall bill such local exchange carrier or may bill such IPES Provider 
for such services.
    (f) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section, any 
local exchange carrier that is not itself engaged in Access 
Stimulation, as that term is defined in Sec.  61.3(bbb) of this 
chapter, but serves as an Intermediate Access Provider with respect to 
traffic bound for a local exchange carrier engaged in Access 
Stimulation or bound for an IPES Provider engaged in Access 
Stimulation, shall not itself be deemed a local exchange carrier 
engaged in Access Stimulation or be affected by paragraphs (a) and (b) 
of this section.
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[FR Doc. 2023-26349 Filed 11-30-23; 8:45 am]
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