Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission

AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection(s), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995. Comments are requested concerning: (a) Whether the proposed collection(s) of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection(s) of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and (e) ways to further reduce the information burden for 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 Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) that does not display a valid OMB Control Number.

DATES:

Written Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments should be submitted on or before April 25, 2014. 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 FCC contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES:

Direct all PRA comments to Leslie F. Smith, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), via email PRA@fcc.gov or to Leslie.Smith@fcc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For additional information the information collection, contact Leslie F. Smith at (202) 418-0217.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Commission received OMB reinstatement of two information collections, 3060-0370 and 3060-0741, under the emergency processing provisions of the PRA, 5 CFR 1320.5, 1320.8(d), and 1320.13 on February 12, 2014.

OMB Control Number: 3060-0370.

Title: Part 32, Uniform System of Accounts for Telecommunications Companies.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Reinstatement without change of a previously approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit, not-for-profit institutions, and state, local or tribal government.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 859 respondents; 859 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour.

Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement and recordkeeping requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 11, 151, 154, 161, 201-205, 215, and 218-220.

Total Annual Burden: 859 hours.

Total Annual Cost: No cost(s).

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission is not requesting that the respondents submit confidential information to the Commission. If the Commission requests applicants to submit information that the respondents believe is confidential, respondents may request confidential treatment of such information under 47 CFR 0.459 of the Commission's rules.

Needs and Uses: The Commission, in 2004, adopted the Joint Conference's recommendations to reinstate the following Part 32 accounts:

Account 5230, Directory revenue;

Account 6621, Call completion services;

Account 6622, Number services;

Account 6623, Customer services;

Account 6561, Depreciation expense-telecommunications plant in service;

Account 6562, Depreciation expense-property held for future telecommunications use;

Account 6563, Amortization expense-tangible;

Account 6564, Amortization expense-intangible; and

Account 6565, Amortization expense-other.

These accounting changes are mandatory only for Class A Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (ILECs). The reinstatement of these accounts imposed a minor increase in burden only Class A ILECs only. The Commission also established a recordkeeping requirement that Class A ILECs maintain subsidiary record categories for unbundled network element revenues, resale revenues, reciprocal compensation revenues, and other interconnection revenues in the accounts in which these revenues are currently recorded. The use of subsidiary record categories allows carriers to use whatever mechanisms they choose, including those currently in place, to identify the relevant amounts as long as the information can be made available to state and federal regulators upon request. The use of subsidiary record categories for interconnection revenue does not require massive changes to the ILECs' accounting systems and is a far less burdensome alternative than the creation of new accounts and/or subaccounts. The information submitted to the Commission by carriers provides the necessary detail to enable the Commission to fulfill its regulatory responsibilities.

OMB Control Number: 3060-0741.

Title: Implementation of the Local Competition Provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, CC Docket No. 96-98, Second Report and Order and Memorandum Opinion and Order; Second Order on Reconsideration; CC Docket No. 99-273, First Report and Order.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Reinstatement without change of a previously approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 5,907 respondents; 573,767 responses.

(The respondents are now more likely to be using advanced IT software, automation, and standardized business practices to respond to a request for the sharing of directory listings, which accounts for their ability to provide a greater number of responses each year with a reduced incremental burden.)

Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour to 547,500 hours.

Frequency of Response: Annual, on occasion, and one time reporting requirements, recordkeeping requirement and third party disclosure requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151, 153, 154, 201, 222 and 251.

Total Annual Burden: 575,448 hours.

Total Annual Cost: No cost(s).

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission is not requesting respondents to submit confidential information to the Commission. If the Commission requests that carriers or providers submit information which they believe is confidential, the carriers or providers may request confidential treatment of their information under 47 CFR 0.459 of the Commission's rules.

Needs and Uses: In April 1996, the Commission issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) concerning certain provisions in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (“the Act”), including section 251. Section 251 is designed to accelerate private sector development and deployment of telecommunications technologies and services by spurring competition. The Commission adopted rules and regulations designed to implement certain provisions of section 251, and to eliminate operational barriers to competition in the telecommunications services markets.