Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission

AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

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 collections. 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 PRA comments should be submitted on or before March 31, 2023. 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 Cathy Williams, FCC, via email to PRA@fcc.gov and to Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For additional information about the information collection, contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-2918.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Control Number: 3060-0896.

Title: Broadcast Auction Form Exhibits.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other-for profit entities, not-for-profit institutions, State, local or tribal government.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 2,000 respondents and 5,350 responses.

Estimated Hours per Response: 0.5 hours-2 hours.

Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The statutory authority for this collection of Information is contained in Sections 154(i) and 309 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.

Annual Hour Burden: 6,663 hours.

Annual Cost Burden: $12,332,500.

Needs and Uses: The Commission's rules require that broadcast auction participants submit exhibits disclosing ownership, bidding agreements, bidding credit eligibility and engineering data. These data are used by Commission staff to ensure that applicants are qualified to participate in Commission auctions and to ensure that license winners are entitled to receive the new entrant bidding credit, if applicable. Exhibits regarding joint bidding agreements are designed to prevent collusion. Submission of engineering exhibits for non-table services enables the Commission to determine which applications are mutually exclusive.

OMB Control Number: 3060-1273.

Title: Advanced Methods to Target and Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls, CG Docket No. 17-59.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Businesses or other for-profit entities; not-for-profit institutions; Federal Government; State, Local or Tribal Government.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 1,258 respondents; 14,931 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 0.5 hours to 25 hours.

Frequency of Response: Monthly, one time, and on occasion reporting requirements; recordkeeping requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to maintain or retain benefits. Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in sections 227 and 251(e)(1) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Total Annual Burden: 14,738 hours.

Total Annual Cost: None.

Needs and Uses: On December 12, 2018, the Commission adopted rules in FCC 18-177, Second Report and Order, published at 84 FR 11226, March 26, 2019. Specifically, the Commission concluded that the obligation to provide permanent disconnect information will apply to all reporting carriers as defined in the Commission's numbering rules, which include wireless, wireline, and interconnected Voice over internet Protocol providers that obtain numbers from the North American Numbering Plan Administrator. As part of the Commission reporting requirements, reporting carriers must provide, among other things, the most recent date each North American Numbering Plan telephone number allocated or ported to the reporting carrier was permanently disconnected. The telephone number and date of permanent disconnection will allow voluntary users of the database to determine whether a number has been permanently disconnected prior to calling that number, thereby protecting against unwanted calls to consumers and potential Telephone Consumer Protection Act liability for callers. Reporting carriers and voluntary users of the reassigned numbers database may also need to provide contact information, including names, address, and telephone number, to enable the database administrator to contact the reporting carrier in case there are any issues with their submission.

The Commission has referred to the North American Numbering Council the development of a technical requirements document for the reassigned numbers database for review by the Commission. The technical requirements document will contain a single, unified set of functional and interface requirements for: technical interoperability and operational standards; the user interface specifications and data format for service providers to report to the Administrator; the user interfaces and other means by which callers may submit queries, including providing callers the abilities for high-volume and batch processing or to submit individual queries; appropriate safeguards to protect the privacy and security of subscribers, protect the database from unauthorized access, and ensure the security and integrity of the data; and keeping records of service providers' reporting and accounting.