82 FR 47735 - Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission Under Delegated Authority

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 197 (October 13, 2017)

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (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.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 197 (Friday, October 13, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47735-47736]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-22185]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-1242]


Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal 
Communications Commission Under Delegated Authority

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), 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 comments should be submitted on or before December 12, 
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 contacts below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Cathy Williams, FCC, via email 
[email protected] and to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the 
information collection, contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-2918.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As part of its continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork burdens, and as required by the PRA of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520), the FCC 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.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1242.
    Title: Qualified 4G LTE Coverage Data Collection for Mobility Fund 
Phase II.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities, not-for-profit 
institutions, and state, local or tribal governments.
    Estimated Number of Respondents and Responses: 50 respondents and 
50 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 64 hours.
    Frequency of Response: One-time reporting requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 
sections 154, 254, and 303(r) of the Communications Act, as amended, 47 
U.S.C. 4, 254, 303(r).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 3,200 hours.
    Total Annual Costs: None.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: To information collected 
under this collection is confidential and will not be made publicly 
available.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Needs and Uses: A request for approval of this new information 
collection will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) after this 60-day comment period in order to obtain the full 
three-year clearance from OMB. In its November 2011 USF/ICC 
Transformation Order (FCC 11-161), the Commission established the 
Mobility Fund, which consists of two phases. Mobility Fund Phase I (MF-
I) provided one-time universal service support payments to immediately 
accelerate deployment of mobile broadband services. MF-II will use a 
reverse auction to provide ongoing universal service support payments 
to continue to advance deployment of such services. The Commission 
adopted the rules and framework for MF-I in the USF/ICC Transformation 
Order, and sought comment in an accompanying further notice of proposed 
rulemaking on the proposed framework for MF-II. In its February 2017 
Mobility Fund II Report and Order (MF-II Report and Order) (FCC 17-11), 
the FCC adopted the rules and framework for moving forward 
expeditiously with the MF-II auction. Among other things, the 
Commission stated in the MF-II Report

[[Page 47736]]

and Order that, prior to the auction, it would establish a map of areas 
presumptively eligible for MF-II support based on the most recently 
available FCC Form 477 mobile wireless coverage data, and provide a 
limited timeframe for parties to challenge those initial determinations 
during the pre-auction process.
    The Commission received serval petitions for reconsideration of the 
MF-II Report and Order, including one asking it to reconsider the 
decision to use existing FCC Form 477 data as the basis for determining 
the map of areas presumptively eligible for MF-II support, and offering 
an industry consensus proposal asking the Commission to undertake a 
new, one-time data collection with specified data parameters tailored 
to MF-II to determine the areas in which there is deployment of 
qualified Long Term Evolution (LTE). On August 4, 2017, the Commission 
released an Order on Reconsideration and Second Report and Order (FCC 
17-102) in which it, among other things, reconsidered its earlier 
decision to use FCC Form 477 data to compile the map of areas 
presumptively eligible for MF-II support. The Commission decided it 
would instead conduct a new, one-time data collection of 4G LTE 
coverage data that will be used for this purpose, concluding that for 
purposes of implementing MF-II expeditiously, this approach will 
provide the Commission and interested parties with the best available 
starting point for the challenge process and should result in fewer and 
more narrowly-focused challenges regarding representations of coverage.
    Only those providers that have previously reported 4G LTE coverage 
in FCC Form 477 and have qualified 4G LTE coverage (defined by download 
speeds of 5 Mbps at the cell edge with 80 percent probability and a 30 
percent loading factor) will be required to submit data under this new, 
one-time information collection. Such providers will be required to 
file propagation maps and model details with the Commission indicating 
their current 4G LTE coverage in accordance with a public notice that 
will be issued in advance of the start of period within which providers 
must make their filings that provides instructions for how to file the 
data submission, including a data specification, formatting 
information, and any other technical parameters that may be necessary 
for such filings. The Commission will use the new coverage data, in 
conjunction with subsidy data available from the Universal Service 
Administrative Company (USAC), to create the map of areas presumptively 
eligible for MF-II support.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-22185 Filed 10-12-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P