Information Collection Approved by the Office of Management and Budget

AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) has received Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for a revision to a currently approved public information collection pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number, and no person is required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control number. Comments concerning the accuracy of the burden estimates and any suggestions for reducing the burden should be directed to the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cathy Williams, Office of the Managing Director, at (202) 418-2918, or email: Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Control Number: 3060-0600.

OMB Approval Date: June 28, 2021.

OMB Expiration Date: December 31, 2021.

Title: Application to Participate in an FCC Auction, FCC Form 175.

Form Number: FCC Form 175.

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

Estimated Number of Respondents and Responses: 500 respondents and 500 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 90 minutes.

Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. Statutory authority for the currently approved information collection is contained in sections 154(i) and 309(j)(5) of the Communications Act, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 4(i), 309(j)(5), and sections 1.2105, 1.2110, 1.2112 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.2105, 1.2110, 1.2112.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 750 hours.

Total Annual Costs: None.

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Information collected on FCC Form 175 is made available for public inspection, and the Commission is not requesting that respondents submit confidential information on FCC Form 175. However, to the extent a respondent seeks to have certain information collected on FCC Form 175 withheld from public inspection, the respondent may request confidential treatment of such information pursuant to section 0.459 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 0.459.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Needs and Uses: On March 17, 2021, the Commission adopted the Auction 110 Comment Public Notice (FCC 21-33) in which it announced that an auction for licenses in the 3.45-3.55 GHz band will begin in early October 2021 and requested comment on proposed procedures for the auction. Among other things, the Auction 110 Comment Public Notice proposed that, in addition to making the certifications already required by the Commission's rules in its FCC Form 175 auction application, each Auction 110 applicant also be required to certify that it has read the public notice adopting procedures for the auction and that it has familiarized itself both with the auction procedures and with the requirements for obtaining a license and operating facilities in the 3.45-3.55 GHz band. On May 19, 2021, the Commission's Office of Economics and Analytics and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau released a Public Notice (DA 21-567) adopting the proposed additional certification requirement for applicants seeking to participate in Auction 110. The revised collection will enable the Commission to confirm that an auction applicant has read the public notice adopting procedures for the auction and has familiarized itself both with the auction procedures and with the requirements for obtaining a license and operating facilities in the 3.45-3.55 GHz band through the applicant's certification to that effect in its FCC Form 175 application.

The Commission's auction rules and related requirements are designed to ensure that the competitive bidding process is limited to serious qualified applicants, deter possible abuse of the bidding and licensing processes, and enhance the use of competitive bidding to assign Commission licenses and permits in furtherance of the public interest. The information collected on FCC Form 175 is used by the Commission to determine if an applicant is legally, technically, and financially qualified to participate in an auction for Commission licenses or permits. Additionally, if an applicant applies for status as a particular type of auction participant pursuant to Commission rules, the Commission uses information collected on FCC Form 175 to determine whether the applicant is eligible for the status requested. Commission staff reviews the information collected on FCC Form 175 for a particular auction as part of the pre-auction process, prior to the auction being held. Staff determines whether each applicant satisfies the Commission's requirements to participate in the auction and, if an applicant claims status as a particular type of auction participant, whether that applicant is eligible for the status claimed. The Commission plans to continue to use the Form 175 for its upcoming auctions for Commission licenses and permits, including the forward auction component of any incentive auction, collecting only the information necessary for each particular auction.