Information Collection 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 might “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 August 14, 2024.

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: 3060-1294.

Title: FCC Authorization for Radio Service License—3.45 GHz Band Service.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

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

Number of Respondents and Responses: 52 respondents, 8,197 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 5-20 hours.

Frequency of Response: 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, 154, 154(i), 155(c), 157, 201, 202, 208, 214, 301, 302a, 303, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 314, 316, 319, 324, 331, 332, 333, 336, 534, 535, and 554 of the Communications Act of 1934.

Total Annual Burden: 9,198 hours.

Total Annual Cost: $10,353,000.

Needs and Uses: On March 17, 2021, the Federal Communications Commission (“Commission” or “FCC”) adopted a Second Report and Order, FCC 21-32, GN Docket No. WT-19-348 (Second Report and Order) that establishes rules for flexible-use wireless access to the 100 megahertz in the 3450-3550 MHz (3.45 GHz) band, creating the new 3.45 GHz Service. The rules will create additional capacity for wireless broadband allowing full-power operations across the band in the entire contiguous United States, while also ensuring full protection of incumbent Federal operations remaining in particular locations. As part of this process, the Commission also adopted rules related to the relocation of incumbent non-Federal radiolocation operations, and reimbursement of expenses related to such relocation.

Sections 2.016 and 27.1603 require a 3.45 GHz Service licensee whose license area overlaps with a Cooperative Planning Area or Periodic Use Area, as defined in those sections, to coordinate deployments pursuant to those licenses in those areas with relevant Federal agencies. This coordination may take the form of a mutually acceptable operator-to-operator coordination agreement between the licensee and the relevant Federal agency. In the absence of such an agreement, this coordination will include a formal request for access through a Department of Defense online portal, which will include the submission of information related to the technical characteristics of the base stations and associated mobile units to be used in the covered area. It does not require a revision to the FCC Form 601.

Section 27.1605 requires non-Federal, secondary radiolocation operations which are relocating from the 3.45 GHz band to alternate spectrum to clear the band for new flexible-use wireless operations to submit certain information to a clearinghouse in order to ensure their relocation costs are fairly reimbursed. It does not require a revision to the FCC Form 601.

Section 27.1607 requires 3.45 GHz Service licensees to share certain information about their network operations in that band with operators in the adjacent Citizens Broadband Radio Service in order to enable the latter to synchronize their operations to reduce the risk of harmful interference. In response to a request by a Citizens Broadband Radio Service operator, a 3.45 GHz Service licensee must provide information to enable Time Division Duplex synchronization. The exact nature of the information to be provided will be determined by a negotiation between the two entities, conducted on a good faith basis. The 3.45 GHz Service licensee must keep the information current as its network operations change.

Section 27.14(w) requires 3.45 GHz Service licensees to provide information on the extent to which they provide service in their license areas. Licensees are required to file two such reports: The first four (4) years after its initial license grant and the second eight (8) years after such grant, unless they failed to meet the first set of performance requirements, in which case the second report is due seven (7) years after the initial grant. These reports are filed alongside the Form 601 and require no revisions to it.