[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 9, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56375-56376]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15060]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-1058; FR ID 230644]


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 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 collection(s). 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 comments should be submitted on or before September 9, 
2024. 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 contacts 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: 3060-1058.
    Title: FCC Application or Notification for Spectrum Leasing 
Arrangement or Private Commons Arrangement: WTB and PSHS Bureaus.
    Form Number: FCC Form 608.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Respondents: Individual and households; Businesses or other for-
profit entities; State, local, or Tribal government, and Not for profit 
institutions.
    Number of Respondents: 1,697 respondents; 1,697 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.05 hours-3 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirement, third party 
disclosure requirement, on occasion reporting requirement, one-time 
reporting requirement and periodic reporting requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 
U.S.C. 1, 4(i), 157, 301, 303, 307, 308, 309, and 310 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
    Total Annual Burden: 2,878 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $1,763,375.
    Needs and Uses: FCC Form 608 is a multi-purpose form. It is used to 
provide notification or request approval for any spectrum leasing 
arrangement (``Lease'') entered into between an existing licensee in 
certain Wireless and/or Public Safety Radio Services and a spectrum 
lessee. This form also is required to notify or request approval for 
any spectrum subleasing arrangement (``Sublease''). The data collected 
on the form is used by the FCC to determine whether the public interest 
would be served by the Lease or Sublease. The form is also used to 
provide notification for any Private Commons Arrangement entered into 
between a licensee, lessee, or sublessee and a class of third-party 
users (as defined in Section 1.9080 of the Commission's Rules).
    The Commission is revising this form to collect information in 
order to confirm that satellite service operators and terrestrial 
service providers who seek to enter lease agreements in order to offer 
supplemental coverage from space (SCS) do so in compliance with the 
rules that govern SCS operations. On March 15, 2024, the Commission 
released a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
in GN Docket No. 23-65 and IB Docket No. 22-271, FCC 24-28, which adds 
new section 1.9047(d)(2) to the Commission's rules requiring the 
spectrum lessee or sublessee seeking to engage in spectrum leasing 
under this section to provide certain information within the Commission 
Form 608 when seeking a leasing agreement to provide SCS. Applicants 
will file Form 608 into the Commission's Universal Licensing System 
(ULS) database.
    The Commission anticipates that SCS will enable consumers in areas 
not covered by terrestrial networks to be connected using their 
existing devices via satellite-based communications. SCS is a crucial 
component of the Commission's vision for a ``single network future,'' 
in which satellite and terrestrial networks work seamlessly together to 
provide coverage that neither network can achieve on its own. In order 
to ensure that prospective SCS operators will be able to comply with 
the applicable rules, that the public interest will be served by 
granting their applications, and that harmful interference will be 
avoided to the greatest extent possible thereafter, the Commission 
seeks approval to collect the following information from prospective 
SCS spectrum lessees.
    The Commission has adopted new requirements in its part 1 rules 
that obligate lessees to provide the following on FCC Form 608: a 
certification that they are entering a leasing agreement in order to 
provide SCS; a description of the type of permitted arrangement the 
parties will enter (e.g., is there a single terrestrial licensee or 
multiple terrestrial licensees that together hold the required

[[Page 56376]]

licenses); and, if there are multiple terrestrial licensees, a further 
description of the leasing arrangement and explanation of how those 
licensees together hold all of the relevant licenses in a particular 
geographically dependent area (GIA). Entities completing FCC Form 608 
for the purposes of providing SCS must also indicate that the 
application is for SCS by checking a box on Form 608.
    This information collection is designed to allow Commission staff 
to carry out its statutory duties to regulate satellite communications 
in the public interest; namely, to ensure that prospective providers of 
SCS will operate in compliance with the applicable regulatory 
framework. This process utilizes an existing Commission form, which 
will remove confusion by employing the procedures that are already in 
place. The modifications for Form 608 covered herein will enable the 
Commission to more accurately track filings related to the provision of 
SCS, a critical component of application review given the interplay 
between part 1 lease filings and part 25 license applications inherent 
in the SCS framework. This is especially crucial where multiple 
entities together hold all co-channel licenses in a particular band 
throughout a geographically independent area (GIA) and wish to deploy a 
leasing agreement with a satellite operator to provide SCS. Such 
arrangements are only permitted in the circumstances described in 
section 1.9047(d)(1)(ii)(A)-(B); specifically, the Commission must be 
able to confirm that the multiple licensees in fact cover the entirety 
of the GIA in question and that, when reviewing related part 25 license 
applications, the entire area of the proposed service is covered by the 
associated leases. This collection will thereby enable the Commission 
to monitor and enforce the entry criteria that SCS providers must 
satisfy, and which are designed to minimize the possibility of harmful 
interference. Finally, the collection will play a critical role in the 
Commission's effort to review and track leasing arrangements that will 
result in entities providing SCS.

Federal Communications Commission.
Aleta Bowers,
Information Management Specialist, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-15060 Filed 7-8-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P