1056_ss_020607

3060-1056

February 2007

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

A. Justification:

1. The Federal Communications Commission ("Commission") is requesting that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve a three-year extension of OMB Control No. 3060-1056 (delegated authority collection) titled, "Application for an International Broadcast Station License (FCC Form 421-IB)." There are no changes in reporting requirements, respondents, burden hours or costs.

The FCC Form 421-IB will be used by applicants to request licenses to operate international broadcast stations. The FCC Form 421-IB has not been developed yet due to a lack of budget resources and technical staff. After the form has been developed, it will be completed by international broadcasters in lieu of the "Application for an International, Experimental Television, Experimental Facsimile, or a Developmental Broadcast Station," (FCC Form 310).

(Note: The Commission received approval from the OMB for the FCC Form 310 under OMB Control No 3060-1035).

Currently, the FCC Form 310 is shared between the International Bureau and the Media Bureau. The International Bureau and Media Bureau have different information collection requirements and automation goals. The FCC Form 310 is used by the Media Bureau to request experimental and developmental broadcast licenses and it is used by the International Bureau to request licenses to operate international broadcast stations. The International Bureau plans to automate the FCC Form 421-IB on its Internet-based, user-friendly International Bureau Filing System (“MyIBFS”). International broadcasters will utilize the MyIBFS to file FCC Form 421-IB electronically with the Commission. However, experimental and developmental licensees will not use MyIBFS to file their applications since the computer system was designed to process applications for licenses related to international services only. Therefore, the Commission put the FCC Form 421-IB under a separate OMB control number to facilitate the automation of the form in MyIBFS and any changes to the form in the future. The FCC Form 310 will continue to be used by the Media Bureau in connection with the authority to construct or make changes to an experimental broadcast license.

The FCC Form 421-IB does not affect individuals and, therefore, is not subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended.

The Commission has authority for this collection pursuant to the rules set forth in 47 C.F.R.

Part 73, Subpart F.

2. The information collected pursuant to the rules set forth in 47 CFR Part 73, Subpart F, is used

by the Commission to assign frequencies for use by international broadcast stations, to grant authority to operate such stations and to determine if interference or adverse propagation conditions exist that may impact the operation of such stations. If the Commission did not collect this information, it would not be in a position to effectively coordinate spectrum for international broadcasters or to act for entities in times of frequency interference or adverse propagation conditions. The orderly nature of the provision of international broadcast service would be in jeopardy without the Commission's involvement.

3. The FCC Form 421-IB has not been developed yet due to a lack of budget resources and technical staff. After it has been developed, it will be available to applicants on the International Bureau Filing System (“MyIBFS”). The development of this new application is contingent upon the availability of budget funds. At present, zero (0) percent of this collection is automated.

4. These information collection requirements are not duplicated elsewhere in the Commission’s rules.

5. These information collection requirements do not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. The total number of entities subject to the Commission’s international broadcast rules is approximately 10 and only a small percentage, if any, of the 10 could be categorized as a small entity. Also, the paperwork burdens accounted for in this collection are minimal.

6. If the Commission did not collect this information, it would not be in a position to effectively coordinate spectrum for international broadcasters or to act for entities in times of frequency interference or adverse propagation conditions. The orderly nature of the provision of international broadcast service would be in jeopardy without the Commission’s involvement.

7. This information collection is conducted in a manner inconsistent with the guidelines in

5 C.F.R 1320.6 in the following ways:

The report filed pursuant to Section 73.702(e) is to be filed by entities within 14 days after the end of each broadcast season. Section 73.759(g) states that changes or modifications of transmission systems not specified in that rule section can be made at any time without the authority of the Commission provided that the Commission shall be immediately notified thereof. Section 73.761(b) requires that entities immediately notify the Commission in writing of limitations and discontinuances of operation and that the Commission shall subsequently be notified when the station resumes regular operation. Finally, Section 73.782 requires that logs involving communications incident to a disaster or which include communications incident to or involved in an investigation by the Commission and concerning which the licensee has been notified, shall be retained by the licensee until he/she is specifically authorized in writing by the Commission to destroy them.

8. A 60-day notice was published in the Federal Register on November 1, 2006 (71 FR 64276) to solicit comments from the public on the extension of this collection. No comments were received from the public. A copy of the notice is included in this submission to the OMB.

9. The Commission does not provide any payment or gift to respondents.

10. There is no need for confidentiality pertaining to the information collection requirements in this collection.

11. This collection does not contain questions of a sensitive nature.

12. An estimate of the annual hour burden of respondents is as follows:

FCC Form 421-IB	Respondents	Frequency of Response & Hours	Respondents X Hours = Burden Hours
Complete Application	10	6 One-time filing	60
Outside Legal and Engineering Assistance	10	6	60
Total:	10 Respondents Average	12 Hours Average	120 Annual Burden Hours Average

13. The estimated costs of $36,000 are summarized in the chart below.

FCC Form 420-IB	Respondents	Hours	Costs	Total
Application Fees	10	N/A	$2,400 per application	$24,000
Outside Legal/Engineering Assistance	10	6 Hours per submission	$200 per hour X 6 hours = $1,200 per submission	$12,000
Total:	10 Average	6 Hours Average	$3,600 Cost Per Submission	$36,000 Total estimated costs

14. The estimated annualized costs to the Federal government is $183,000 and is calculated

as follows:

10 international broadcast license applications X 360 annual hours = 3,600 annual hours

GS-855-14/Step 10 Electronics Engineer @ $50.83 per hour X 3,600 annual

hours = $182,988 (rounded to $183,000)

15. There are no program changes or adjustments.

16. The results of this information collection requirement will not be published for statistical use.

17. We are seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of this information collection. The Commission will use an edition date in lieu of the OMB expiration date. Additionally, the OMB expiration date and OMB control number are “displayed” in

47 CFR 0.408.

18. There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods:

Not applicable. This information collection does not employ statistical methods.

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