[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 185 (Tuesday, September 24, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 77784-77785]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-21645]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 54

[WC Docket No. 17-310; FCC No. 23-110; FR ID 245909]


Promoting Telehealth in Rural America

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, a revision to an information 
collection associated with the rules for the Rural Health Care Program 
contained in the final rule published January 11, 2024, as the 
Commission's Order, FCC 23-110. This document announces the effective 
dates of the new information collection requirements contained in that 
final rule.

DATES: The amendments to Sec. Sec.  54.601(b) and (c) (amendatory 
instruction 2) and 54.622(e)(1)(i) through (ii) and (i)(3)(iv) 
(amendatory instruction 4), published at 89 FR 1834, January 11, 2024, 
are effective September 24, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bryan P. Boyle, Telecommunications 
Access Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau at (202) 418-7400 
or TTY: (202) 418-0484 or via email: [email protected]. For 
additional information concerning the Paperwork Reduction Act 
information collection requirements, contact Nicole Ongele at (202) 
418-2991 or via email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission submitted new information 
collection requirements for review and approval by OMB, as required by 
the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, on July 8, 2024, which were 
approved by the OMB on September 16, 2024. The information collection 
requirements are contained in the Commission's Third Report and Order 
(FCC 23-110), published at 89 FR 1834, January 11, 2024. The OMB 
Control Number is 3060-0804. The Commission publishes this document as 
an announcement of the effective date of the rules that required PRA 
approval. If you have any comments on the burden estimates listed 
herein, 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, 3060-0804, 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), (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 September 16, 2024, for the information collection 
requirements contained in 47 CFR 54.601 and 47 CFR 54.622.
    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 3060-0804.
    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: 3060-0804.
    OMB Approval Date: September 16, 2024.
    OMB Expiration Date: September 30, 2027.
    Title: Universal Service--Rural Health Care Program.
    Form Nos.: FCC Form 460, 461, 462, 463, 465, 466, 467, and 469.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions; Federal Government; and State, Local, or Tribal 
Government.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 12,854 unique respondents; 
117,071 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.30-17 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion, One-time, Annual, and Monthly 
reporting requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in 
sections 1-4, 201-205, 214, 254, 303(r), and 403 of the Communications 
Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151-154, 201-205, 214, 254, 303(r), 
and 403, unless otherwise noted.
    Total Annual Burden: 442,389 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No Cost.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission provides revisions to information 
collection 3060-0804 as a result of the 2023 Promoting Telehealth Third 
Report and Order, FCC 23-110, released December 14, 2023 (89 FR 1834, 
January 11, 2024). This collection is utilized for the RHC support 
mechanism of the Commission's universal service fund (USF). The 
collection of this information is necessary so that the Commission and 
the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) will have 
sufficient information to determine if entities are eligible for 
funding pursuant to the RHC universal service support mechanism, to 
determine if entities are complying with the Commission's rules, and to 
promote program integrity. This information is also necessary in order 
to allow the Commission to evaluate the extent to which the RHC Program 
is meeting the statutory objectives specified in section 254(h) of the 
1996 Act, and the Commission's performance goals for the RHC Program.
    This information collection updates: (1) extend and revise some of 
the existing information collection requirements for the Healthcare 
Connect Fund and Telecom Programs; and (2) add a new information 
collection requirement for the Healthcare Connect Fund and Telecom 
Programs. As part of this information collection, the

[[Page 77785]]

Commission is also revising the FCC Form 460 Template, the FCC Form 461 
Template, the FCC Form 465 Template, the FCC Form 466 Template 
effective funding year 2025, and the Post-Commitment Template effective 
funding year 2024. The FCC Form 467 and Telecom Invoice Form will not 
be used after funding year 2023.
    As part of this information collection, the Commission is 
harmonizing the RHC Program eligibility determination process by using 
the FCC Form 460 for eligibility determinations in both the Telecom 
Program and the HCF Program, eliminating the eligibility determination 
portion from FCC Form 465, which was previously used for eligibility 
determinations in the Telecom Program. The FCC Form 460 also seeks 
information applicable to conditional approvals of eligibility, which 
will enable health care providers to engage in competitive bidding and 
request funding (but not receive disbursements) before they become 
eligible. Additionally, the FCC Form 466 is revised to reflect a 
streamlined process for calculating urban rates. Finally, the 
information collection allows health care providers to update the time 
period covered by evergreen contract designations.
    The Healthcare Connect Fund Program currently includes FCC Forms 
460, 461, 462, and 463. Effective funding year 2024, the Telecom 
Program includes FCC Forms 465, 466, and 469 and will include the FCC 
Form 460 starting in funding year 2025. The information on the FCC Form 
templates is a representative description of the information to be 
collected via an online portal and is not intended to be a visual 
representation of what each applicant or service provider will see, the 
order in which they will see information, or the exact wording or 
directions used to collect the information. Where possible, information 
already provided by applicants from previous filing years or that was 
pre-filed in the system portal will be carried forward and auto-
generated into the form to simplify the information collection for 
applicants.

Federal Communications Commission
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary. Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-21645 Filed 9-23-24; 8:45 am]
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