Information Collections 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 can further reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.

DATES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted on or before June 1, 2021.

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 Cathy Williams, FCC, via email to PRA@fcc.gov and to Cathy.Williams@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 Cathy Williams at (202) 418-2918. 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:

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.

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-XXXX.

Title: FCC Authorization for Radio Service Authorization; Wireless Telecommunications Bureau; Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, FCC Form 601-2.0.

Form Number: FCC Form 601-2.0.

Type of Review: New collection.

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

Number of Respondents: 24 respondents; 176 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 0.5 hours.

Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirement; third party disclosure requirement, on occasion reporting requirement and periodic reporting requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. Statutory authority for these collections are contained in 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 155(c), 158, 201, 202, 208, 214, 301, 302a, 303, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 314, 316, 319, 324, 332, and 333 of the Communications Act of 1934.

Total Annual Burden: 88 hours.

Total Annual Cost: $18,150.

Privacy Impact Assessment: Yes.

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: In general, there is no need for confidentiality with this collection of information.

Needs and Uses: The Commission is submitting a request to the Office of Budget and Management (OMB) for approval of the FCC Form 601-2.0, a new data collection that will gradually replace the FCC Form 601 (3060-0798). The Commission is implementing a new electronic licensing system called Universal Licensing System 2.0 (ULS 2.0) to replace the current Universal Licensing System (ULS). Services will gradually be moved to the new ULS 2.0, beginning with market-based Special Temporary Authority (STA) applications.

The burden hours and costs associated with market-based STAs will now be a part of the ULS 2.0 system and FCC Form 601-2.0. The FCC Form 601-2.0 will be a consolidated electronic data collection for market-based and site-based licensing for wireless telecommunications services, including public safety, which will be filed through the Commission's modernized Universal Licensing System 2.0 (ULS-2.0).

This form will gradually replace the FCC Form 601 (3060-0798) as services are moved from legacy ULS to ULS 2.0. The substance of and wording of the FCC Form 601 data collection will remain the same in the new system. The data collected in ULS 2.0 consists of administrative, technical, and other information needed for licensing if wireless radio services. Once fully implemented, this system will be used to submit all Wireless Services applications along with any supporting documentation. The application purposes include: Applying for a new license (including STA's) modifying or renewing an existing license, cancelling a license, submitting required notifications, requesting an extension of time to satisfy construction requirements, and requesting an administrative update to an existing license (such as mailing address change). Applicants can also amend or withdraw applications while they are pending in ULS.2.0. The data collected in ULS 2.0 includes the FCC Registration Number (FRN), which serves as a “common link” for all filings an entity has with the FCC. The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 requires entities filing with the Commission to use an FRN. ULS 2.0 data records may include information about individuals or households, e.g., personally identifiable information or PII, and the use(s) and disclosure of this information are governed by the requirements of a system of records notice or “SORN”, FCC/WTB-1, “Wireless Services Licensing Records.” There are no additional impacts under the Privacy Act.

OMB Control Number: 3060-XXXX.

Title: Legacy Support Usage Flexibility Certification.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: New information collection.

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

Number of Respondents and Responses: Up to 110 respondents and 110 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 1.75 hours.

Frequency of Response: One-time reporting requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 154, 254 and 303(r).

Total Annual Burden: 193 hours.

Total Annual Cost: $16,500.

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The information collected under this collection will be made publicly available. However, to the extent that a respondent seeks to have certain information collected in response to this information collection withheld from public inspection, the respondent may request confidential treatment pursuant to 47 CFR 0.459 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR Section 0.459.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Needs and Uses: A request for approval of this new information collection will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) after this 60-day comment period in order to obtain the full three-year clearance from OMB.

On November 18, 2011, the Commission released the USF/ICC Transformation Order (FCC 11-161) in which it comprehensively reformed and modernized the universal service and intercarrier compensation systems to ensure that robust, affordable voice and broadband service, both fixed and mobile, are available to Americans throughout the nation. In the USF/ICC Transformation Order, the Commission, among other things, adopted a requirement that all ETCs offer broadband service in their supported area that meets certain basic performance requirements and report regularly on associated performance measures as a condition of receiving federal high-cost universal service support.

On October 27, 2020, the Commission adopted the 5G Fund Report and Order (FCC 20-150) in which it, among other things, helped to complete the reform of the high-cost program begun in the USF/ICC Transformation Order by adopting additional public interest obligations and performance requirements for legacy high-cost support recipients, whose broadband-specific public interest obligations for mobile wireless services were not previously detailed.

The public interest obligations adopted in the 5G Fund Report and Order for each competitive eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) receiving legacy high-cost support for mobile wireless services require that such a carrier (1) use an increasing percentage of its legacy support toward the deployment, maintenance, and operation of voice and broadband networks that support 5G meeting the adopted performance requirements within its subsidized service area(s), and (2) meet specific 5G broadband service deployment coverage requirements and service deployment milestone deadlines that take into consideration the amount of legacy support the carrier receives. With respect to the requirement to use an increasing percentage of its legacy support toward the deployment, maintenance, and operation of voice and broadband networks that support5G, the rules adopted in the 5G Fund Report and Order specify that each legacy support recipient must use at least one-third of the legacy support it receives in 2021, at least two-thirds of the legacy support it receives in 2022, and all of the legacy support in 2023 and beyond for these purposes.

To address a concern that budgets and deployment plans for 2021 are largely complete, which could make it difficult for some competitive ETCs to achieve the 2021 support usage requirement, the Commission adopted a rule that affords such competitive ETCs the flexibility to use less than one-third of their legacy support in 2021 and make up for any shortfall in 2021 by proportionally increasing the requirement in 2022 (above the two-thirds of its support the competitive ETC is required to spend on 5G in that year). See 47 CFR 54.322(c)(4).

In order to take advantage of this flexibility, a competitive ETC receiving legacy support for mobile wireless services must submit a certification in which it (1) provides information regarding the service area(s) for which it and any affiliated mobile competitive ETC(s) receive legacy supportand the annual amount of support they receive in each area; (2) indicates the total amount of legacy high-cost support to be spent on the deployment, maintenance, and operation of mobile networks that provide 5G service in calendar year 2021 across the identified service areas; and (3) certifies that any 2021 spending shortfall will be made up in 2022. Only those competitive ETCs receiving legacy high-cost support for mobile wireless services that wish to avail themselves of the flexibility concerning their 2021 and 2022 legacy high-cost support usage requirements will be required to respond to this information collection.

The certification will be used by the Commission to identify how much a competitive ETC that chooses to avail itself of the flexibility concerning its 2021 and 2022 legacy high-cost support usage requirements will spend on 5G in 2021 and the spending shortfall it must make up in 2022, and to confirm the competitive ETC's commitment to make up its 2021 spending shortfall in 2022 in accordance with its certification and the Commission's rules.