Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission

AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:

Notice; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

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 Communication 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 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 PRA comments should be submitted on or before January 7, 2014. 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 Cathy Williams, FCC, via email PRA@fcc.gov <mailto:PRA@fcc.gov>, and to Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov< mailto:Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov>.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For additional information, contact Cathy Williams at 202-418-2918.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Control Number: 3060-xxxx.

Title: Structure and Practices of the Video Relay Service Program; Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CG Docket No. 10-51 and 03-123; FCC 13-82.

Form No.: N/A.

Type of Review: New collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; Individuals or households; Not-for-profit institution; Federal Government.

Number of Respondents: 39 respondents; 9,876,603 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: .005 hours to 80 hours.

Frequency of Response: Annual, on-occasion, on-going, one-time, and quarterly reporting requirements; Recordkeeping requirement, Third party disclosure requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The statutory authority for this information collection is Sec. 225 of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. 225. The law was enacted on July 26, 1990, as Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), Public Law 101-336, 104 Stat. 327, 366-69.

Total Annual Burden: 486,417 hours.

Total Annual Cost: None.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: This information collection affects individuals or households. However, personally identifiable information (PII) is not being collected by, made available to, or made accessible by the Commission. Although TRS users are required to provide their personal information to register for using TRS service, such information is available only to a third-party independent vendor selected by the Commission's Managing Director. The third party vendor is required to maintain all registered information, including personal information, in the registration database confidential in accordance to the directives under contract with the Commission's Managing Director.

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Assurance of confidentiality is not offered because no personally identifying information (PII) will be transmitted to the Commission from the third party vendor.

Needs and Uses: On June 10, 2013, the Commission released the VRS Reform Order, FCC 13-82, published at 78 FR 40582, July 5, 2013, adopting further measures to improve the structure, efficiency, and quality of the VRS program, reducing the noted inefficiencies in the program, as well as reducing the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse, and ensuring that the program makes full use of advances in commercially-available technology. In this Order, the Commission takes the following actions by: (1) Setting up an arrangement with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to enable research designed to further the Commission's multiple goals of ensuring that TRS is functionally equivalent to voice telephone services and improving the efficiency and availability of TRS; (2) establishing a pilot iTRS National Outreach Program (iTRS-NOP) by selecting one or more independent iTRS Outreach Coordinators to conduct and coordinate IP Relay and VRS outreach nationwide under the Commission's (or the TRS Fund administrator's) supervision; (3) promoting the development and adoption of voluntary, consensus interoperability and portability standards, and facilitate compliance with those standards by directing the Managing Director to contract for the development and deployment of a VRS access technology reference platform; (4) establishing a central TRS user registration database (TRS-URD) which incorporates a centralized eligibility verification requirement to ensure accurate registration and verification of users, to achieve more effective fraud and abuse prevention; and (5) selecting a neutral party to build, operate, and maintain a neutral video communication service platform, which will allow eligible relay interpretation service providers to compete without having to build their own video communication service platforms.