Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission

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, 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. 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 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 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.

DATES:

Written PRA comments should be submitted on or before October 2, 2017. 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 contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES:

Direct all PRA comments to Nicole Ongele, FCC, via email PRA@fcc.gov and to Nicole.Ongele@fcc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For additional information about the information collection, contact Nicole Ongele at (202) 418-2991.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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.

OMB Control Number: 3060-XXXX.

Title: Procedures for Commission Review of State Opt-Out Request from the FirstNet Radio Access Network.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: New collection.

Respondents: State, Local or Tribal Government.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 55 respondents: 110 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 0.25 hours for the initial notification.

Frequency of Response: One-time reporting requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. Statutory authority for requiring licensees to submit this information enter into the written agreements is contained in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Public Law 112-96, 126 Stat. 156 §§ 6001-6303, 6413 (codified at 47 U.S.C. 1401-1443, 1457).

Total Annual Burden: 26,414 hours.

Total Annual Cost: No cost.

Privacy Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Alternative state plans are very likely to contain proprietary information as well as information whose disclosure could compromise network security. Parties may therefore seek confidential treatment of any filing under our Part 0 rules, including the use of a protective order process to allow other those granted party status to the restricted proceeding access to the information on a confidential basis.

Needs and Uses: This collection will be submitted as a new collection after this 60-day comment period to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in order to obtain the full three-year clearance. The purpose of requiring this collection is to comply with Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 provides that “the Governor shall choose whether to participate in the deployment of the nationwide, interoperable broadband network as proposed by [FirstNet,] or conduct its own deployment of a radio access network in such State.” If a Governor chooses not to participate in the NPSBN, Section 6302(e)(3)(A) of the Act requires the Governor to “notify [FirstNet], the NTIA, and the Commission of such decision.” The Act also states that an opt-out state “shall submit” to the Commission an “alternative plan” for “the construction, maintenance, operation, and improvements” of the RAN within the state. Section 3(C)(ii) of the Act mandates that “upon submission of this plan, the Commission shall approve or disapprove of the plan.”

We require that either the Governor or the Governor's his duly authorized designee may provide notification of the Governor's decision. The opt-out notification to the Commission must also include a certification that the state is providing simultaneous notice of its opt-out decision to both to NTIA and FirstNet. To facilitate the electronic filing of opt-out notifications, we will establish the email address opt-out@fcc.gov as the address for this purpose.

Each opt-out state will have 60 days from the completion of its Request For Proposal (240 days from the date of its opt-out notification to the Commission) to file an alternative state plan via the secure email address opt-out@fcc.gov or via certified mail to the Secretary's office.