[Federal Register: December 4, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 234)]
[Notices]               
[Page 73931-73932]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04de08-33]                         

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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

 
Notice of Public Information Collection(s) Being Submitted for 
Review to the Office of Management and Budget

November 25, 2008.

SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden, invites the general 
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on the following information collection(s), as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520. An agency 
may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it 
displays a currently valid control number. No person shall be subject 
to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information 
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) that does not display a 
valid control number. 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 estimate; (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.

DATES: Written Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments should be 
submitted on or before January 5, 2009. If you anticipate that you will 
be submitting PRA comments, but find it difficult to do so within the 
period of time allowed by this notice, you should advise the FCC 
contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of 
Management and Budget, (202) 395-5887, or via fax at 202-395-5167 or 
via the Internet at Nicholas_A._Fraser@omb.eop.gov and to Judith-B. 
Herman@fcc.gov, Federal Communications Commission, or an e-mail to 
PRA@fcc.gov. To view a copy of this information collection request 
(ICR) submitted to OMB: (1) Go to the Web page http://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, and (6) 
when the list of FCC ICRs currently under review appears, look for the 
title of this ICR (or its OMB Control Number, if there is one) and then 
click on the ICR Reference Number to view detailed information about 
this ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies 
of the information collection(s), contact Judith B. Herman at 202-418-
0214 or via the Internet at Judith-B.Herman@fcc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0816.
    Title: Local Telephone Competition and Broadband Reporting (Report 
and Order, WC Docket No. 07-38, FCC 08-89; Order on Reconsideration, WC 
Docket No. 07-38, FC 08-148).
    Form No.: FCC Form 477.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit, not-for-profit 
institutions, and state, local or tribal government.
    Number of Respondents: 1,610 respondents; 3,220 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 337 hours (average).
    Frequency of Response: Semi-annual reporting requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. Statutory authority for this 
information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. Sections 4(i), 201, 
218-220, 251-252, 271, 303(r), 332 and 403 of the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended; as well as Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act 
of 1996, 47 U.S.C. Section 157nt.
    Total Annual Burden: 1,085,140 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: N/A.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: N/A.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission will continue 
to allow respondents to certify, on the first page of each submission, 
that some data contained in that submission are privileged or 
confidential, commercial or financial information and that disclosure 
of such information would likely cause substantial harm to the 
competitive position of the entity making the submission. If the 
Commission receives a request for, or proposes to disclose the 
information, the respondent would be required to make a full showing 
pursuant to the Commission's rules for withholding from public 
inspection information submitted to the Commission. The Commission will 
retain its current policies and procedures regarding the

[[Page 73932]]

confidential treatment of submitted FCC Form 477 data, including use 
only of aggregated, non-company specific data in its published reports. 
The Commission will, however, continue its current practice of 
publishing most of the local telephone information reported by the Bell 
Operating Companies (BOCs) after consultation with the individual 
companies.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission will submit this information 
collection (IC) to the OMB as a revision during this comment period to 
obtain the full three-year clearance from them. The Commission is 
reporting an increase of 956,340 hours to the total annual burden. This 
program change increase is due to an increase in the estimated number 
of respondents and responses since this IC was last submitted to the 
OMB in June 2008.
    The Commission is submitting two rulemakings to the OMB for 
approval. The first is a Report and Order and Further Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking in WC Docket No. 07-38, FCC 08-89 and the second is 
an Order on Reconsideration in WC Docket No. 07-38, FCC 08-148.
    With these two Orders, the Commission revises the FCC Form 477 data 
collection to improve the Commission's understanding of the extent of 
broadband deployment, facilitating the development of appropriate 
broadband policies. In particular, these amendments will improve the 
Commission's ability to carry out its obligation under section 706 of 
the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to ``determine whether advanced 
telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a 
reasonable and timely fashion.''
    The Report and Order revises the FCC Form 477 to require all 
broadband providers to report the number of broadband connections in 
service in individual Census Tracts. The Report and Order adopts three 
additional changes to FCC Form 477. First, it requires providers to 
report broadband service speed data in conjunction with subscriber 
counts according to new categories for download and upload speeds. 
These new speed tiers will better identify services that support 
advanced applications. Second, it amends reporting requirements for 
mobile wireless broadband providers to require them to report the 
number of subscribers whose data plans allow them to browse the 
Internet and access the lawful Internet content of their choice. Third, 
it requires providers of interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol 
(interconnected VoIP) service to report subscribership information on 
FCC Form 477.
    The Order on Reconsideration amends FCC Form 477 to require filers 
to report the percentage of broadband connections that are residential 
at the Census Tract level.
    The Telecommunications Act of 1996 directs the Commission to take 
actions to open all telecommunications markets to competition and to 
seek to promote innovation and investment by all participants, 
including new entrants. A central task in creating this framework is 
the opening of previously monopolized local telecommunications markets. 
By collecting timely and reliable information about the pace and extent 
of competition for local telephony service in different geographic 
areas--including rural areas--the Commission significantly improves the 
ability to evaluate the effectiveness of actions the Commission and the 
states are taking to facilitate economic competition in those markets. 
The Report and Order provides for additional methods to supplement the 
data reported by FCC Form 477 filers, including a voluntary self-
reporting system, and a recommendation to the Census Bureau that the 
American Community Survey questionnaire be modified to gather 
information about broadband availability and subscription in 
households.
    The information is used by the Commission to prepare reports that 
help inform consumers and policy makers at the federal and state level 
of the development of competition in the local telephone service market 
and the deployment of broadband services. The Commission will continue 
to use the information to better inform its understanding of broadband 
deployment in conjunction with its congressionally mandated section 706 
reports. The Commission also uses the data to support its analyses in a 
variety of rulemaking proceedings under the Communications Act of 1934, 
as amended. Absent this information collection, the Commission would 
lack essential data for assisting it in determining the effectiveness 
of its policies and fulfilling its statutory responsibilities in 
accordance with the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8-28755 Filed 12-3-08; 8:45 am]

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