Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission

AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:

Notice and 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 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 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 April 11, 2016. 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 and to Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For additional information about the information collection, contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-2918.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Control Number: 3060-1084.

Title: Rules and Regulations Implementing Minimum Customer Account Record Exchange Obligations on All Local and Interexchange Carriers (CARE).

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 2,621 respondents; 574,468 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 1 minute (.017 hours) to 20 minutes (.33 hours).

Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping and annual reporting requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The statutory authority for these information requirements are found in sections 1-4, 201, 202, 222, 258, and 303(r) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended; 47 U.S.C. 151-154, 201, 202, 222, 258, and 303(r).

Total Annual Burden: 47,693 hours.

Total Annual Cost: None.

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Confidentiality is not an issue as individuals and/or households are not required to provide personally identifiable information.

Privacy Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Needs and Uses: In the 2005 Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, In the Matter of Rules and Regulations Implementing Minimum Customer Account Record Exchange Obligations on All Local and Interexchange Carriers (2005 Report and Order), CG Docket No. 02-386, FCC 05-29, which was released on February 25, 2005, the Commission adopted rules governing the exchange of customer account information between local exchange carriers (LECs) and interexchange carriers (IXCs). The Commission concluded that mandatory, minimum standards are needed in light of record evidence demonstrating that information needed by carriers to execute customer requests and properly bill customers is not being consistently provided by all LECs and IXCs. Specifically, the 2005 Report and Order requires LECs to supply customer account information to IXCs when: (1) The LEC places an end user on, or removes an end user from, an IXC's network; (2) an end user presubscribed to an IXC makes certain changes to her account information via her LEC; (3) an IXC requests billing name and address information for an end user who has usage on an IXC's network but for whom the IXC does not have an existing account; and (4) a LEC rejects an IXC-initiated PIC order. The 2005 Report and Order required IXCs to notify LECs when an IXC customer informs an IXC directly of the customer's desire to change IXCs. In the accompanying Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission sought comment on whether to require the exchange of customer account information between LECs. In December 2007, the Commission declined to adopt mandatory LEC-to-LEC data exchange requirements.