[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 153 (Thursday, August 8, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64832-64833]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17346]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 52

[WC Docket Nos. 13-97, 07-243, 20-67; IB Docket No. 16-155; FCC 23-75; 
FR ID 236587]


Numbering Policies for Modern Communications

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) 
announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, 
for a period of three years, the information collection associated with 
the Commission's revised Numbering Authorization Application rules. 
This document is consistent with Numbering Policies for Modern 
Communications, Second Report and Order, FCC 23-75, which stated that 
the rules subject to OMB approval would become effective upon an 
announcement in the Federal Register announcing their effective date.

DATES: The amendments to 47 CFR 52.15(g)(3)(ii)(B) through (F), (I), 
(K), (L), and (N) and (g)(3)(x)(A) (amendatory instruction 3), 
published at 88 FR 80617, November 20, 2023, are effective on August 8, 
2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jordan Reth, Competition Policy 
Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, at (202) 418-1418, or email: 
[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: On September 21, 2023, the Commission 
adopted Numbering Policies for Modern Communications, Second Report and 
Order, FCC 23-75, published at 88 FR 80617, November 20, 2023. In the 
Second Report and Order, the Commission adopted revisions to 47 CFR 
52.15(g). Section 52.15(g) allows interconnected Voice over internet 
Protocol (VoIP) providers to apply for a blanket authorization from the 
Commission that, once granted, will allow them to demonstrate that they 
have the authority to provide service in specific areas, thus enabling 
them to request numbers directly from the Numbering Administrators. 
This information collection covers the information and certifications 
that applicants must submit in order to comply with the Numbering 
Authorization Application process. The data, information, and documents 
acquired through this collection will allow interconnected VoIP 
providers to obtain numbers with minimal burden or delay while also 
preventing providers from obtaining numbers without first demonstrating 
that they can deploy and properly utilize such resources. The revisions 
the Second Report and Order to this information collection are 
necessary to further stem the tide of illegal robocalls perpetrated by 
interconnected VoIP providers, to protect the nation's numbering 
resources from abuse by foreign bad actors, and to advance other 
important public policy objectives tied to the use of our nation's 
limited numbering resources. The Commission stated that these rule 
changes may contain new or modified information collection requirements 
that the Bureau determined is required under the Paperwork Reduction 
Act.
    On April 19, 2024, OMB approved, for a period of three years, the 
information collection requirements relating to the Numbering 
Authorization Application rules contained in the Second Report and 
Order. The OMB Control Number is 3060-1214. The Bureau publishes this 
document as an announcement of the effective date of the direct access 
authorization rules adopted in the Second Report and Order. 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. Please include the 
OMB Control Number 3060-1214 in your correspondence. The Commission 
also will 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

[[Page 64833]]

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 Bureau is notifying the public that it received final OMB 
approval on April 19, 2024, for the information collection requirements 
contained in the modifications to the Commission's direct access 
authorization rules in 47 CFR part 52.
    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 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 affected 
respondents are as follows:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1214.
    OMB Approval Date: April 19, 2024.
    OMB Expiration Date: April 30, 2027.
    Title: Direct Access to Numbers Order, FCC 15-70, Conditions.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently-approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.z
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 20 respondents; 20 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 10-35 hours.
    Frequency of Response: One-time, ongoing and biannual reporting 
requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Voluntary. Statutory authority for these 
collections are contained in 47 U.S.C. 251(e)(1) and section 6(a) of 
the TRACED Act.
    Total Annual Burden: 1,100 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No Cost.
    Needs and Uses: On June 18, 2015, the Commission adopted a Report 
and Order establishing the Numbering Authorization Application, which 
allows interconnected VoIP providers to apply for a blanket 
authorization from the FCC that, once granted, will allow them to 
demonstrate that they have the authority to provide service in specific 
areas, thus enabling them to request numbers directly from the 
Numbering Administrators. The collection covers the information and 
certifications that applicants must submit in order to comply with the 
Numbering Authorization Application process. On September 21, 2023, the 
Commission adopted a Second Report and Order that strengthens this 
application process by revising this information collection to ensure 
the Commission receives sufficient detail from interconnected VoIP 
applicants to make informed, public-interest-driven decisions about 
their direct access applications and thereby protect the public from 
bad actors. This information will continue help the Commission stem the 
tide of illegal robocalls, protect national security and law 
enforcement, safeguard the nation's finite numbering resources, reduce 
the opportunity for regulatory arbitrage, and further promote public 
safety.

Federal Communications Commission.
Katura Jackson,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-17346 Filed 8-7-24; 8:45 am]
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