[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 92 (Wednesday, May 13, 2026)] [Notices] [Pages 27045-27047] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2026-09568] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION [OMB 3060-0149, OMB 3060-0741; FR ID 345583] Information Collections Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission. ACTION: Notice; request for comments. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection. 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. DATES: Written PRA comments should be submitted on or before July 13, 2026. 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 contact listed below as soon as possible. ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicole Ongele, FCC, via email [email protected] and to [email protected]. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the information collection, contact Nicole Ongele, (202) 418-2991. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid 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 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. OMB Control Number: 3060-0149. Title: Part 63, Reducing Barriers to Network Improvements and Service Changes, Accelerating Network Modernization, WC Docket Nos. 25- 208, 25-209, FCC 26-19. Form Number(s): N/A. Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection. Respondents: Business or other for profit. Number of Respondents and Responses: 78 respondents; 90 responses. Estimated Time per Response: 6-10 hours per response. Frequency of Response: One-time reporting requirement and third- party disclosure requirements. Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. Statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in 47 U.S.C. 214 and 402 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. Total Annual Burden: 648 hours. Total Annual Cost: No Cost. Needs and Uses: The Commission is seeking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for a revision of a currently approved collection to OMB. The Commission will submit this information collection to OMB after this 60-day comment period. Section 214 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, requires that a carrier must first obtain FCC authorization either to (1) construct, operate, or engage in transmission over a line of communications; or (2) discontinue, reduce or impair service over a line of communications. Part 63 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) implements Section 214. Part 63 also implements provisions of the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 pertaining to video which was approved under this OMB Control Number 3060-0149. In 2009, the Commission modified Part 63 to extend to providers of interconnected Voice of Internet Protocol (VoIP) service the discontinuance obligations that apply to domestic non-dominant telecommunications carriers under Section 214 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. In 2014, the Commission adopted improved administrative filing procedures for domestic transfers of control, domestic discontinuances and notices of network changes, and among other adjustments, modified Part 63 to require electronic filing for applications for authorization to discontinue, reduce, or impair service under Section 214(a) of the Act. [[Page 27046]] In July 2016, the Commission concluded that applicants seeking to discontinue a legacy time division multiplexing (TDM)-based voice service as part of a transition to a new technology, whether Internet Protocol (IP), wireless, or another type (technology transition discontinuance application) must demonstrate that an adequate replacement for the legacy service exists in order to be eligible for streamlined treatment and revised part 63 accordingly. The Commission concluded that an applicant for a technology transition discontinuance may demonstrate that a service is an adequate replacement for a legacy voice service by certifying or showing that one or more replacement service(s) offers all of the following: (i) Substantially similar levels of network infrastructure and service quality as the applicant service; (ii) compliance with existing federal and/or industry standards required to ensure that critical applications such as 911, network security, and applications for individuals with disabilities remain available; and (iii) interoperability and compatibility with an enumerated list of applications and functionalities determined to be key to consumers and competitors (the ``adequate replacement test''). In November 2017, the Commission further modified the rules applicable to Section 214(a) discontinuance applications by (1) expediting applications that ``grandfather'' low speed legacy services for existing customers; (2) expediting applications to discontinue previously grandfathered legacy data services; and (3) expediting applications to discontinue legacy voice or data services below 1.544 Mbps for which the carrier has had no customers and no request for service for at least a 30-day period immediately preceding submission of the application. In June 2018, the Commission again modified the rules applicable to Section 214(a) discontinuance applications. First, all carriers, whether dominant or non-dominant, that seek approval to grandfather data services below speeds of 25 Mbps download speed and 3 Mbps upload speed are subject to a uniform reduced public comment period of 10 days and an automatic grant period of 25 days. Second, all carriers, whether dominant or nondominant, seeking authorization to discontinue data services below speeds of 25 Mbps download speed and 3 Mbps upload speed that have previously been grandfathered for a period of at least 180 days are subject to a uniform reduced public comment period of 10 days and an automatic grant period of 31 days, provided they submit a statement as part of their discontinuance application that they have received Commission authority to grandfather the services at issue at least 180 days prior to the filing of the discontinuance application. The statement must reference the file number of the prior Commission authorization to grandfather the services the carrier then seeks to permanently discontinue. Third, carriers are no longer required to file an application to discontinue, reduce, or impair any service for which it has had no customers and no request for service for at least a 30- day period immediately preceding the discontinuance. Fourth, all carriers, whether dominant or nondominant, that seek approval to discontinue legacy voice service can obtain further streamlined processing with a public comment period of 15 days and an automatic grant period of 31 days, provided (1) they offer a standalone interconnected VoIP service throughout the service area, and (2) at least one alternative stand-alone, facilities-based voice service is available from an unaffiliated provider throughout the affected service area (the ``alternative options test''). Finally, all carriers, whether dominant or nondominant, that seek approval to grandfather legacy voice service are subject to a uniform reduced public comment period of 10 days and an automatic grant period of 25 days. Certain rules are now modified as described below. In March 2026, the Commission further modified the rules applicable to Section 214(a) discontinuance applications by: (1) adopting one consolidated rule applicable to all technology transitions discontinuance applications, whereby an application to discontinue a currently offered retail voice service as part of a technology transition is eligible for streamlined processing if the applicant certifies that one or more of five specified categories of replacement services is available in every location throughout the affected service area; (2) granting blanket section 214(a) authority for carriers to grandfather legacy voices services, lower-speed data telecommunications services (defined as those operating at speeds below 25/3 Mbps), and interconnected Voice over internet Protocol (VoIP) service provisioned over copper wire, thus eliminating the need for carriers to file a section 214(a) application when grandfathering these services; (3) adopting requirements providing that carriers seeking authority to discontinue a service supporting interconnection trunks or the exchange of traffic must specifically identify the service to be discontinued, not just the branded name of the service being discontinued, and that they must include in such discontinuance applications a statement that at least 90 days prior to the planned discontinuance filing, the carrier provided a designated point of contact with authority to facilitate the orderly transition from legacy facilities that support 911 to the 911 Authorities, 911 service providers, and directly interconnecting local exchange service providers that support essential functions within 911 networks, including delivering 911 traffic to selective routers for transmission to public safety answering points (PSAPs) in the affected service area for coordination of the transition to ensure continued 911 connectivity, and a list of providers that received notice in the affected service area with which the carrier has coordinated and the date(s) of that coordination; (4) granting conditional forbearance relief from section 214(a) discontinuance requirements for resellers discontinuing resold services where the reseller's wholesale provider is engaging in a technology transitions discontinuance, with the condition that the discontinuing resellers provide reasonable notice to their customers; (5) applying the 31-day automatic grant period to all discontinuance applications; (6) setting forth content requirements for discontinuance applications; and (6) providing that a carrier may permanently discontinue a service after a showing that it has previously obtained emergency discontinuance authority for the service in question, that the service is one for which the requesting carrier has had no customers or reasonable requests for service during the 60-day period immediately preceding the permanent discontinuance, and that an adequate replacement service is available throughout the affected service area. The Commission also eliminated 47 CFR 63.66, 63.90, 63.100, 63.504, 63.601, and 63.602, and revised 47 CFR 63.60, 63.62, and 63.63 to account for any references or cross-references in those sections caused by the elimination of the previously enumerated rule provisions. OMB Control Number: 3060-0741. Title: Reducing Barriers to Network Improvements and Service Changes, Accelerating Network Modernization, WC Docket Nos. 25-209, 25- 208. Form Number(s): N/A. Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection. Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities. [[Page 27047]] Number of Respondents and Responses: 4,452 respondents; 450,838 responses. Estimated Time per Response: 0.5-4.5 hours. Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirements; recordkeeping and third-party disclosure requirements. Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 222 and 251. Total Annual Burden: 452,623 hours. Total Annual Cost: No cost. Needs and Uses: Section 251 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 251, is designed to accelerate private sector development and deployment of telecommunications technologies and services by spurring competition. Section 222(e) is also designed to spur competition by prescribing requirements for the sharing of subscriber list information. These information collection requirements are designed to help implement certain provisions of sections 222(e) and 251, and to eliminate operational barriers to competition in the telecommunications services market. Specifically, these information collection requirements will be used to implement (1) local exchange carriers' (LECs) obligations to provide their competitors with dialing parity and non-discriminatory access to certain services and functionalities; (2) incumbent local exchange carriers' (ILECs) duty to make network information disclosures; and (3) numbering administration. In November 2017, the Commission adopted new rules concerning certain information collection requirements implemented under section 251(c)(5) of the Act, pertaining to network change disclosures. Most of the changes to those rules applied specifically to a certain subset of network change disclosures, namely notices of planned copper retirements. In addition, the changes removed a rule that prohibits incumbent LECs from engaging in useful advanced coordination with entities affected by network changes. In June 2018, the Commission revised its network change disclosure rules to (1) revise the types of network changes that trigger an incumbent LEC's public notice obligation, and (2) extend the force majeure provisions applicable to copper retirements to all types of network changes. On March 26, 2026, the Commission adopted a Report and Order that modified certain recordkeeping or reporting requirements that relate to the obligations of ILECs planning to retire copper communications facilities or make other changes to their networks that might impact interoperability. Specifically, the Commission: (1) eliminated all filing requirements in the Commission's network change disclosure rules and the Commission's process of issuing public notices for short-term network changes and copper retirements and the associated objection process for interconnected service providers, (2) required that the method of notice the incumbent LEC uses be publicly accessible, and (3) expanded the direct notice requirement for copper retirements and short-term network changes to include 911 service providers and directly interconnecting LECs that support essential functions within 911 networks, including providers delivering 911 traffic to selective routers for transmission to public safety answering points. The changes were aimed at removing unnecessary regulatory barriers to the deployment of high-speed broadband networks while providing reasonable public notice of planned network changes to impacted stakeholders and ensuring continued 911 connectivity. Federal Communications Commission. Marlene Dortch, Secretary. Office of the Secretary. [FR Doc. 2026-09568 Filed 5-12-26; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6712-01-P