Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and Approval to Office of Management and Budget

AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) invites the general public and other Federal Agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection. Pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, the FCC seeks specific comment on how it might “further reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.” The Commission may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (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 comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted on or before January 20, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

Comments should be sent to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain . Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function. Your comment must be submitted into www.reginfo.gov per the above instructions for it to be considered. In addition to submitting in www.reginfo.gov also send a copy of your comment on the proposed information collection to Nicole Ongele, FCC, via email to PRA@fcc.gov and to Nicole.Ongele@fcc.gov . Include in the comments the OMB control number as shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For additional information or copies of the information collection, contact Nicole Ongele at (202) 418-2991. To view a copy of this information collection request (ICR) submitted to OMB: (1) Go to the web page http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain,, (2) look for the section of the web page called “Currently Under Review,” (3) click on the downward-pointing arrow in the “Select Agency” box below the “Currently Under Review” heading, (4) select “Federal Communications Commission” from the list of agencies presented in the “Select Agency” box, (5) click the “Submit” button to the right of the “Select Agency” box, (6) when the list of FCC ICRs currently under review appears, look for the Title of this ICR and then click on the ICR Reference Number. A copy of the FCC submission to OMB will be displayed.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the FCC invited the general public and other Federal Agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection. Comments are requested concerning: (a) 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; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimates; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) 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. Pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), the FCC seeks specific comment on how it might “further reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.”

OMB Control Number: 3060-1222.

Title: Inmate Calling Services Annual Reporting, Certification, Consumer Disclosure, and Waiver Request Requirements.

Form Number(s): FCC Form 2301(a) and FCC Form 2301(b).

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for profit.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 20 respondents; 23 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 5 hours-80 hours.

Frequency of Response: Annual reporting; on occasion; and third party disclosure requirements.

Obligation to Respond: Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in sections 1, 4(i)-4(j), 201(b), 218, 220, 225, 255, 276, 403, and 716 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i)-(j), 201(b), 218, 220, 225, 255, 276, 403 and 617.

Total Annual Burden: 2,940 hours.

Total Annual Cost: No cost.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission anticipates treating as presumptively confidential any particular information identified as proprietary by providers of inmate calling services (ICS).

Needs and Uses: Section 201 of the Communications Act of 1934 Act, as amended (Act), 47 U.S.C. 201, requires that ICS providers' interstate and international rates and practices be just and reasonable. Section 276 of the Act, 47 U.S.C. 276, requires that payphone service providers (including ICS providers) be fairly compensated for completed calls.

On May 24, 2021, the Commission released the Third Report and Order, Order on Reconsideration, and Fifth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, WC Docket No. 12-375, FCC 21-60 ( 2021 ICS Order ), in which it continued its reform of the ICS marketplace. In that Order, the Commission, among other things, lowered the interstate interim rate caps; reformed the current treatment of site commission payments; eliminated the separate interstate collect calling rate caps; reformed the ancillary service rules for third-party financial fees; capped, for the first time, international calling rates; adopted a new mandatory data collection to gather data to set permanent rates; and reaffirmed providers' obligations regarding access for incarcerated people with disabilities.

The reforms also included expanded consumer disclosure requirements, as well as new reporting requirements for ICS providers seeking waiver of the Commission's interstate and international rate caps. In connection with international rates, the Commission required that providers must separately disclose the rate component for terminating calls to each country where that provider terminates international calls.