Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission Under Delegated Authority

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 of 1995 (PRA), 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 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 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 PRA comments should be submitted on or before September 23, 2024. 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 Cathy Williams, FCC, via email to PRA@fcc.gov and to Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For additional information about the information collection, contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-2918.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Control Number: 3060-0950.

Title: Bidding Credits for Tribal Lands.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities, not-for-profit institutions, and State, local or Tribal government.

Number of Respondents: 5 respondents; 5 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 10 hours.

Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement and recordkeeping requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 303(r), and 303(j)(3) and (4) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.

Total Annual Burden: 100 hours.

Total Annual Cost: $270,000.

Needs and Uses: The Commission will be submitting this expiring information collection after this comment period to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval of an extension request.

From June 2000 to August 2004, the Commission adopted various rulemakings in which a winning bidder seeking a bidding credit to serve a qualifying Tribal land within a particular market must:

• Indicate on the long-form application (FCC Form 601) that it intends to serve a qualifying Tribal land within that market;
• Within 180 days after the filing deadline for the long-form application, amend its long-form application to identify the Tribal land it intends to serve and attach a certification from the Tribal government stating that:

(a) The Tribal government authorizes the winning bidder to site facilities and provide service on its Tribal land;

(b) The Tribal area to be served by the winning bidder constitutes qualifying Tribal land;

(c) The Tribal government has not and will not enter into an exclusive contract with the applicant precluding entry by other carriers, and will not unreasonably discriminate among wireless carriers seeking to provide service on the qualifying Tribal land; and

(d) Provide certification of the telephone penetration rates demonstrating that the Tribal land has a penetration level at or below 85 percent.

The rulemakings also require what each winning bidder must do.

In addition, it also requires that a winning bidder seeking a credit in excess of the amount calculated under the Commission's bidding credit must submit certain information; and a final winning bidder receiving a higher credit must provide within 15 days of the third anniversary of the initial grant of its license, file a certification that the credit amount was spent on infrastructure to provide wireless coverage to qualifying Tribal lands, which also includes a final report prepared by an independent auditor verifying that the infrastructure costs are reasonable to comply with our build-out requirements.