Further Streamlining FCC Rules Governing Satellite Services

AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:

Final rule; announcement of effective date.

SUMMARY:

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved new information collection requirements associated with a new rule adopted in Further Streamlining FCC Rules Governing Satellite Services, FCC 20-159, which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of the new rule.

DATES:

The addition of 47 CFR 25.136(h), published at 86 FR 11880 on March 1, 2021, is effective September 20, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Clay DeCell, Clay.DeCell@fcc.gov, 202-418-0803.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This document announces that OMB approved the information collection requirements in 47 CFR 25.136(h) on August 26, 2021. This rule was adopted in Further Streamlining FCC Rules Governing Satellite Services, FCC 20-159. The Commission publishes this document as an announcement of the effective date for this new rule. The other rule amendments adopted in Further Streamlining FCC Rules Governing Satellite Services did not require OMB approval and became effective on March 31, 2021. See 86 FR 11880 (Mar. 1, 2021).

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 Cathy Williams, Federal Communications Commission, Room 3.317, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554, regarding OMB Control Number 3060-1215. Please include the OMB Control Number in your correspondence. The Commission will also 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), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).

Synopsis

As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), the Commission is notifying the public that it received final OMB approval on August 26, 2021, for the information collection requirements contained in 47 CFR 25.136(h). 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 OMB Control Number for the information collection requirements in 47 CFR 25.136(h) is 3060-1215. The foregoing notice 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 respondents are as follows:

OMB Control Number: 3060-1215.

OMB Approval Date: August 26, 2021.

OMB Expiration Date: August 31, 2024.

Title: Use of Spectrum Bands Above 24 GHz for Mobile Radio Services.

Form Number: N/A.

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

Number of Respondents and Responses: 1,670 respondents; 1,670 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: .5-10 hours.

Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement; third party disclosure requirement; upon commencement of service, or within 3 years of effective date of rules; and at end of license term, or 2024 for incumbent licensees.

Obligation to Respond: Statutory authority for this collection are contained in sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 201, 225, 227, 301, 302, 302a, 303, 304, 307, 309, 310, 316, 319, 332, and 336 of the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 157, 160, 201, 225, 227, 301, 302, 302a, 303, 304, 307, 309, 310, 316, 319, 332, 336, Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 1302.

Total Annual Burden: 790 hours.

Total Annual Cost: $581,250.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for confidentiality with this collection of information.

Needs and Uses: On November 19, 2020, the Commission released a Report and Order, FCC 20-159, in IB Docket No. 18-314, titled, “Further Streamlining Part 25 Rules Governing Satellite Services.” In this Report and Order, among other rule changes, the Commission adopted an optional, extended build-out period for earth station licensees. The optional build-out period increases the allowable time for an earth station to be brought into operation from within one year after licensing, to within: Up to five years and six months for earth stations operating with geostationary satellites; or, up to six years and six months for earth stations operating with non-geostationary satellites. As a companion provision to this new build-out period option, the Commission adopted a requirement for earth station licensees subject to 47 CFR 25.136 to re-coordinate with licensees of Upper Microwave Flexible Use Service (UMFUS) stations if the earth station is brought into operation later than one year after the date of the license grant. The earth station licensee must complete re-coordination within one year before its commencement of operation. The re-coordination should account for any demographic or geographic changes as well as changes to the earth station equipment or configuration. A re-coordination notice must also be filed with the Commission before commencement of earth station operations.

This information collection is used by UMFUS licensees to provide accurate information on the earth station operations notwithstanding the substantially longer earth station build-out period that was adopted. The collection also counterbalances the potential chilling of some UMFUS developments that might otherwise result from the extended earth station build-out periods, and thereby serves as an important check on potential warehousing. Without such information, the Commission would not be able to regulate the shared use of radiofrequencies among earth stations and UMFUS stations in the public interest, in accordance with the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.