Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and Approval to the 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, 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 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 should be submitted on or before August 31, 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 contacts below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES:

Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, OMB, via email Nicholas_A._Fraser@omb.eop.gov; and to Nicole Ongele, FCC, via email PRA@fcc.gov and to Nicole.Ongele@fcc.gov. Include in the comments the OMB control number as shown in the “Supplementary Information” section 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 OMB control number of this ICR and then click on the ICR Reference Number. A copy of the FCC submission to OMB will be displayed.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Control Number: 3060-0398.

Title: Sections 2.948, 2.949 and 15.117(g)(2)—Equipment Authorization Measurement Standards.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 630 respondents; 371 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 2 hours-30 hours.

Frequency of Response: On occasion, one-time and every two year reporting requirements, recordkeeping requirement and third party disclosure requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 4(i), 302, 303(c), 303(f), 303(g) and 303(r), and 309(a).

Total Annual Burden: 3,612 hours.

Total Annual Cost: No Cost.

Privacy Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is a minimal exemption from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) and 47 CFR 0.459(d) of the Commission's rules that is granted for trade secrets, which may be submitted to the Commission as part of the documentation of the test results. No other assurances of confidentiality are provided to respondents.

Needs and Uses: The Commission will submit this information collection after this 60 day comment period to obtain the full three-year clearance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Description of Measurement Facilities

The Commission established uniform technical standards for various radio-frequency equipment operating under the guidelines established in the FCC rules, which include smartphones, personal computers, garage door openers, baby monitors, etc. In order to ensure that technical standards are applied uniformly, the Commission requires testing facilities and manufacturers to follow the standardized measurement procedures and practices:

(a) 47 CFR part 2 of the Commission's rules requires each Electro-Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) testing facility that performs equipment testing in support of any request for equipment authorization to be accredited by Commission-approved accrediting bodies.

(b) A testing laboratory that is accredited by a Commission-approved accrediting body is required to file a test site description with the accreditation body for review as part of the accreditation assessment. This information will document that the EMC testing facility complies with the testing standards used to make the measurements that support any request for equipment authorization.

(c) The EMC testing facility must provide updated documentation to the accreditation bodies if there are changes in the measurement facility or certify at least every two years that the facility's equipment and test set-up have not changed.

(d) The accreditation body will provide the Commission with specific summary information about each testing laboratory that it has accredited. The Commission will maintain a list of accredited laboratories that it has recognized.

The Commission or a Telecommunications certification body uses the information from the test sites and the supporting documentation, which accompany all requests for equipment authorization:

(a) To ensure that the data are valid and that proper testing procedures are used;

(b) To ensure that potential interference to radio communications is controlled; and

(c) To investigate complaints of harmful interference or to verify the manufacturer's compliance with Section 47 CFR 2.948 of the Commission's rules.

Accreditation Bodies

47 CFR Section 2.949 of the Commission's rules sets forth the requirements for accreditation bodies seeking recognition from the FCC as a laboratory accreditation body. Accreditation bodies seeking such recognition from the Commission must file a report of their qualifications with the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET). They are only required to file this information once.

Other Information

In addition, the referenced 47 CFR part 15 rules (47 CFR 15.117(g)(2)) require that certain equipment manufacturers file information concerning the testing of TV receivers, which tune to UHF channels, to show that the UHF channels provide approximately the same degree of tuning accuracy with approximately the same expenditure of time and effort.