[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 248 (Friday, December 27, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71410-71411]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27925]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[OMB 3060-1222; FRS 16292]
Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and Approval to
the 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,
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 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.
DATES: Written comments should be submitted on or before January 27,
2020. 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 contacts listed below as soon as possible.
ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, OMB, via
email [email protected]; and to Nicole Ongele, FCC, via
email [email protected] and to [email protected]. 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 Nicole Ongele at (202) 418-2991.
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 OMB control number of
this ICR and then click on the ICR Reference Number. A copy of the FCC
submission to OMB will be displayed.
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 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.
OMB Control Number: 3060-1222.
Title: Inmate Calling Services Annual Reporting, Certification, and
Consumer Disclosure Requirements.
Form Number(s): FCC Form 2301(a) and FCC Form 2301(b).
Type of Review: Revision of a currently-approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other for profit.
Number of Respondents and Responses: 20 respondents; 20 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 5 hours-80 hours.
Frequency of Response: Annual reporting and certification
requirements; third party disclosure requirement.
Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. Statutory authority for this
information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 1, 4(i), 4(j), 201,
225, 276, and 303(r) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47
U.S.C. 151, 154(i)-(j), 201, 225, 276, and 303(r).
Total Annual Burden: 2,000 hours.
Total Annual Cost: No cost.
Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission anticipates
treating as presumptively confidential any particular information
identified as proprietary by providers of inmate calling services
(ICS).
Needs and Uses: Section 201 of the Communications Act of 1934 Act,
as amended (Act), 47 U.S.C. 201, requires that ICS providers'
interstate and international rates and practices be just and
reasonable. Section 276 of the Act, 47 U.S.C. 276, requires that
payphone service providers (including ICS providers) be fairly
compensated for completed calls.
In the Second Report and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (Second Report and Order), WC Docket No. 12-375, FCC 15-136,
the Commission undertook comprehensive reform of the ICS rules. The
Commission, among other things, established new rate caps for
interstate and intrastate ICS calls and limited and capped ancillary
service charges. To enable the Commission to ensure compliance with the
rules adopted in the Second Report and Order and
[[Page 71411]]
monitor the effectiveness of the ICS reforms, the Commission required
all ICS providers to file annual reports providing data and other
information on their ICS operations.
In particular, the Commission required each ICS provider to file a
report annually specifying, for the prior calendar year: Interstate,
international, and intrastate minutes of use by facility; and the name,
size, and type of facility being served; fees for any ancillary
services, the amount of these fees, and the number of times each fee
was imposed; monthly site commission payments; rates and minutes of use
for video calling services by facility, as well as ancillary fee
charges for such services; the number of disability-related calls,
problems associated with such calls, and ancillary fees charged in
connection with such calls; and the number of complaints received
related to, for example, dropped calls and poor call quality and the
number of instances of each by TTY and TRS users. The annual reports
ensure that the Commission has access to the information it needs to
fulfill its regulatory duties, while minimizing the burden on ICS
providers.
The Commission required that an ICS provider certify annually the
accuracy of the data and other information submitted in the provider's
annual report and the provider's compliance with the Commission's ICS
rates. Pursuant to the authority delegated to it by the Commission in
the Second Report and Order, the Commission's Wireline Competition
Bureau (Bureau) created standardized templates for the annual reports
(FCC Form 2301(a)) and certifications (FCC Form 2301(b)). The Bureau
provided instructions that explain the reporting and certification
requirements and reduce the burden of the data collection. The
Commission also required ICS providers to disclose to consumers their
interstate, intrastate, and international rates and ancillary service
charges.
On June 13, 2017, the D.C. Circuit vacated the video visitation
requirements in the annual report. Pursuant to the D.C. Circuit's
mandate, the Commission has removed the video visitation reporting
requirements in the annual report and amended the instructions to
reflect the removal of this requirement. As part of the Commission's
continued administration of the ICS data collection, the Commission has
modified the instructions for FCC Form 2301(a) and FCC Form 2301(b) in
several additional respects. These changes make the instructions
clearer and will make the annual reports easier to understand and
analyze. The amended instructions require ICS providers to: Submit all
reports using the electronic Excel template provided by the Commission,
and to provide the data in a machine-readable, manipulatable format;
provide city and state information for each facility served; group the
facilities served by underlying contracts in the section for ICS Rates;
separately report and explain their rates for debit/prepaid calls and
collect calls; report fixed site commission payments by facility as
well as by contract; and explain certain entries, including any entry
that omits requested information. These changes will impose only a
minimal additional burden on providers because they address only
information that providers usually and customarily compile in the
normal course of their business activities. The information will help
the Commission continue to analyze changes in the ICS industry, to
monitor compliance with the ICS rules, and to enforce these rules.
Federal Communications Commission.
Cecilia Sigmund,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-27925 Filed 12-26-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P