82 FR 16036 - Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 61 (March 31, 2017)

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. 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.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 61 (Friday, March 31, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16036-16037]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-06363]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-1046]


Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal 
Communications Commission

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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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. 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.

DATES: Written PRA comments should be submitted on or before May 30, 
2017. 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 at (202) 418-2991.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and 
as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501-3520), 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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1046.
    Title: Part 64, Pay Telephone Reclassification and Compensation 
Provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 469 respondents; 3,725 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.50 hours-200 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion, one-time, annual, and quarterly 
reporting requirements; third party disclosure requirements; 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. 151, 154 and 276.
    Total Annual Burden: 73,494 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission is not 
requesting respondents to submit confidential information. Respondents 
may request confidential treatment of their information that they 
believe to be confidential pursuant to 47 CFR 0.459 of the Commission's 
rules.
    Needs and Uses: In the Order on Reconsideration (FCC 04-251), the 
Commission considered four petitions for reconsideration of our Report 
and Order. The Report and Order (FCC 03-235) established detailed rules 
(Payphone Compensation Rules) ensuring that payphone service providers 
or PSPs are ``fairly compensated'' for each and every completed 
payphone-originated call pursuant to section 276 of the Communications 
Act, as amended (the Act). The Payphone Compensation Rules satisfy 
section 276 by identifying the party liable for compensation and 
establishing a mechanism for PSPs to be paid. The Payphone Compensation 
Rules: (1) Place liability to compensate PSPs for payphone-originated 
calls on the facilities-based long distance carriers or switch-based 
resellers (SBRs) from whose switches such calls are completed; (2) 
define these responsible carriers as ``Completing Carriers'' and 
require them to develop their own system of tracking calls to 
completion, the accuracy of which must be confirmed and attested to by 
a third-party auditor; (3) require Completing Carriers to file with 
PSPs a quarterly report and also submit an attestation by the chief 
financial officer (CFO) that the payment amount for that quarter is 
accurate and is based on 100% of all completed calls; (4) require 
quarterly reporting obligations for other facilities-based long 
distance carriers in the call path, if any, and define these carriers 
as ``Intermediate Carriers;'' (5) give parties

[[Page 16037]]

flexibility to agree to alternative compensation arrangements (ACA) so 
that small Completing Carriers may avoid the expense of instituting a 
tracking system and undergoing an audit. The Order on Reconsideration 
did not change this compensation framework, but rather refined and 
built upon its approach. While the Commission increased the time 
carriers must retain certain data and added burden in that regard, the 
Commission also removed potentially burdensome paperwork requirements 
by encouraging carriers to comply with the reporting requirements 
through electronic means. We believe that the clarifications adopted in 
the Order on Reconsideration significantly decrease the paperwork 
burden on carriers. Specifically, the Commission did the following: (1) 
Clarified alternative arrangements for small businesses requiring a 
Completing Carrier to give the PSP adequate notice of an ACA prior to 
its effective date with sufficient time for the PSP to object to an 
ACA, and also prior to the termination of an ACA; (2) clarified any 
paperwork burdens imposed on carriers allowing Completing Carriers the 
ability to give PSPs adequate notice of payphone compensation 
requirements by placing notice on a clearinghouse Web site or through 
electronic methods; (3) required Completing Carriers and Intermediate 
Carriers to report only completed calls in their quarterly reports; and 
(4) extended the time period from 18 to 27 months for Completing 
Carriers and Intermediate Carriers to retain certain payphone records.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-06363 Filed 3-30-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P