SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On March 26, 2026, the Commission adopted a Report and Order, FCC 26-19, published at 91 FR 20913, April 20, 2026. In the Report and Order, the Commission adopted rules to reduce regulatory barriers and costs that hinder the transition from outdated legacy networks and services to next-generation, internet Protocol (IP)-based infrastructure. The Commission stated that these rule changes may contain new or modified information collection requirements and would not become effective until OMB completes its review of any information collection requirements that the Bureau determined is required under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Commission also directed the Bureau to announce the effective date for the revisions to §§ 51.329, 51.333, 63.60, 63.62, 63.63, 63.71, and 63.602 by subsequent public notice.

On September 21, 2026, OMB approved the information collection requirements related to the discontinuance rules contained in the Report and Order. The OMB Control Number is 3060-0149. The Bureau publishes this document as an announcement of the effective date of § 63.62 of the service discontinuance rules adopted in the Report and Order. If you have any comments on the burden estimates listed below, or how the Commission can improve the collections and reduce any burdens caused thereby, please contact Nicole Ongele, Federal Communications Commission, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554. Please include the OMB Control Numbers 3060-0741 and 3060-0149 in your correspondence. The Commission also will accept your comments via email at PRA@fcc.gov. To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice).

On October 1, 2026, the Bureau published a document in the Federal Register (FR Doc. 2026-20192) announcing the effective dates of amendments to its network change disclosure and discontinuance rules. That document inadvertently included amendatory instructions. This document withdraws all such amendatory instructions included in the effective date notice published at 91 FR 62334, October 1, 2026.

Synopsis

As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), the Bureau is notifying the public that it received final OMB approval on September 21, 2026, for the information collection requirements contained in the changes to the Commission's service discontinuance rules in 47 CFR part 63.

Under 5 CFR part 1320, an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a current, valid 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 that does not display a current, valid OMB Control Number.

The foregoing notification is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.

The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the affected respondents are as follows:

OMB Control Number: 3060-0149.

OMB Approval Date: September 21, 2026.

OMB Expiration Date: September 30, 2029.

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: N/A.

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 received OMB approval for revisions to an existing information collection, OMB Collection 3060-0149. 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 ( printed page 68891) to providers of interconnected Voice over 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. 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 ( printed page 68892) 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.

Corrections

91 FR 68890