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 July 7, 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: 3060-1013.

Title: Mitigation of Orbital Debris.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Revision of an existing collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities, not-for-profit institutions.

Number of Respondents: 46 respondents; 46 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 8 hours.

Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 301, 303, 307, 308, 309, and 310.

Total Annual Burden: 368 hours.

Annual Cost Burden: $88,550.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

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

Needs and Uses: On April 24, 2020, the Commission released a Report and Order, FCC 20-54, IB Docket No. 18-313, titled “Mitigation of Orbital Debris in the New Space Age” (Orbital Debris Report and Order). In this Orbital Debris Report and Order, the Commission updated its rules related to orbital debris mitigation, including application requirements. The new rules are designed to ensure that the Commission's actions concerning radio communications, including licensing U.S. spacecraft and granting access to the U.S. market for non-U.S. spacecraft, mitigate the growth of orbital debris, while at the same time not creating undue regulatory obstacles to new satellite ventures. The action will help to ensure that Commission decisions are consistent with the public interest in space remaining viable for future satellites and systems and the many services that those systems provide to the public. The rule revisions also provide additional detail to applicants on what information is expected under the Commission's rules, which can help to increase certainty in the application filing process. While this information collection represents an overall increase in the burden hours, the information collection serves the public interest by ensuring that the Commission and public have necessary information about satellite applicants' plans for mitigation of orbital debris.

Specifically, FCC 20-54 contains the new or modified information collection requirements listed below, applicable to applicants seeking experimental licenses for satellite operations under part 5 of the Commission's rules, as well as to license grantees under part 97 submitting notifications to the Commission prior to launch of a satellite amateur station:

(1) Existing disclosure requirements have been revised to include specific metrics in several areas, including: Probability that the space stations will become a source of debris by collision with small debris and meteoroids that would cause loss of control and prevent disposal; probability of collision between any non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) space station and other large objects; and casualty risk associated with any individual spacecraft that will be disposed by atmospheric re-entry.

(2) Where relevant, the disclosures must include the following: Use of separate deployment devices, distinct from the space station launch vehicle, that may become a source of orbital debris; potential release of liquids that will persist in droplet form; and any planned proximity operations and debris generation that will or may result from the proposed operations, including any planned release of debris, the risk of accidental explosions, the risk of accidental collision, and measures taken to mitigate those risks.

(3) The existing disclosure requirement to analyze potential collision risk associated with space station(s) orbits has been modified to specify that the disclosure identify characteristics of the space station(s)' orbits that may present a collision risk, including any planned and/or operational space stations in those orbits, and indicate what steps, if any, have been taken to coordinate with the other spacecraft or system, or what other measures the operator plans to use to avoid collision.

(4) For NGSO space stations that will transit through the orbits used by any inhabitable spacecraft, including the International Space Station, the disclosure must include the design and operational strategies, if any, that will be used to minimize the risk of collision and avoid posing any operational constraints to the inhabitable spacecraft.

(5) The disclosure must include a certification that upon receipt of a space situational awareness conjunction warning, the operator will review and take all possible steps to assess the collision risk, and will mitigate the collision risk if necessary. As appropriate, steps to assess and mitigate the collision risk should include, but are not limited to: Contacting the operator of any active spacecraft involved in such a warning; sharing ephemeris data and other appropriate operational information with any such operator; and modifying space station attitude and/or operations.

(6) For NGSO space stations the disclosure must describe the extent of satellite maneuverability.

(7) The disclosure must address trackability of the space station(s). For NGSO space stations the disclosure must also include: (a) How the operator plans to identify the space station(s) following deployment and whether the space station tracking will be active or passive; (b) whether, prior to deployment the space station(s) will be registered with the 18th Space Control Squadron or successor entity; and (c) the extent to which the space station operator plans to share information regarding initial deployment, ephemeris, and/or planned maneuvers with the 18th Space Control Squadron or successor entity, other entities that engage in space situational awareness or space traffic management functions, and/or other operators.

(8) For NGSO space stations, additional disclosures must be provided regarding spacecraft disposal, including, for some space stations, a demonstration that the probability of success of the chosen disposal method is 0.9 or greater for any individual space station, and for multi-satellite systems, a demonstration including additional information regarding efforts to achieve a higher probability of success.

These information collection requirements are contained in 47 CFR 5.64 and 47 CFR 97.207.

OMB Control Number: 3060-XXXX.

Title: Legacy High-Cost Support Recipient Initial Report of Current Service Offerings.

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: 16 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: 1,760 hours.

Total Annual Cost: No cost.

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Most of the information collected under this collection will be made publicly available. However, in recognition of the fact that a carrier may consider the infrastructure information required to be submitted as part of its initial report to be sensitive, such infrastructure information will be treated as presumptively confidential by the Commission and the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) and withheld from public inspection, although USAC will provide these data to the Commission and the relevant state, territory, and Tribal governmental entities that have jurisdiction over a particular service area, as applicable. To the extent that a respondent seeks to have other 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.

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 eligible telecommunications carriers (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 ETC receiving legacy high-cost support for mobile wireless services require that such competitive ETC (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.

In order to gain a complete understanding of the current service offerings of each competitive ETC receiving legacy high-cost support for mobile wireless services, the Commission adopted rules that require each such competitive ETC to file an initial report containing information and certifications about (1) its current mobile service offerings in each of its subsidized service areas and how it is using legacy support, (2) whether it is offering mobile services in its subsidized service areas at rates that are reasonably comparable to those charged in urban areas, and (3) whether it has availed itself of the geographic flexibility granted by the Commission concerning its use of support within any other designated service area(s) for which it or an affiliated competitive ETC receives legacy support. See 47 CFR 54.313(p), 54.322(g), (h). The information and certifications provided in these initial reports will be used by the Commission to ensure that competitive ETCs receiving legacy high-cost support for mobile wireless services deploy 5G service by in their subsidized service areas consistent with the rules adopted by the Commission in the 5G Fund Report and Order.