Supporting Statement OMB 3060-0686 January 2009

International Section 214 Process and Tariff OMB Control No. 3060-0686 Requirements – 47 CFR Sections 63.10, 63.11, 63.13, February 2009

63.18, 63.19, 63.21, 63.24, 63.25 and 1.1311

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

A. Justification:

1. The Federal Communications Commission (“Commission”) is requesting that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve the revision of OMB Control No. 3060-0686¹ titled, “International Section 214 Authorization Process and Tariff Requirements – 47 CFR Sections 63.10, 63.11, 63.13, 63.18, 63.19, 63.21, 63.24, 63.25 and 1.1311.” This information collection is being revised to receive OMB approval for information collection requirements that were not previously included in this collection and should have been included, and to clearly state and clarify the existing rule sections and information collection requirements, including all Section 214-related applications, which are contained in this information collection.

Section 214-Related Applications

We are requesting continued approval of the following Section 214-related applications:

1. International Section 214 Application (FCC Form 214) (Reference: 47 CFR 63.18)

2. International Section 214 Authorizations for Assignment and Transfer of Control

(FCC Form 214TC) (Reference: 47 CFR 63.24(e))

3. International Section 214 – Request for Special Temporary Authority (FCC Form 214STA) (Reference: 47 CFR 63.25(b))

Additionally, in November 2005, the Commission received blanket approval from OMB for four new Section 214 applications that are pending development by the Commission: (1) International Telecommunications Certificate (ITC) Amendment, (2) ITC Modification, (3) ITC Other Filings and (4) Foreign Carrier Notification. Development of the forms is contingent upon the availability of budget funds and contract staff. We would like to maintain OMB approval of these applications.

The Commission’s plan to develop these four new applications resulted from the adoption and release of the Report and Order, “In the Matter of Mandatory Electronic Filing For International Telecommunications Services and Other International Filings,” IB Docket No. 04-226, FCC 05-91. The Report and Order was adopted by the Commission on April 29, 2005 and released on May 11, 2005. (Note: This rulemaking is referred to as the International E-Filing R&O).

Terms of Clearance: On February 21, 2006, the OMB approved OMB Control No. 3060-0686 with the following Terms of Clearance: FCC shall submit the forms associated with the four (4) applications contained within the collection before associated development occurs on the IBFS. These forms should be submitted as part of a change worksheet (either together or separately for each application). In addition, the forms should be submitted to OMB at least 60 days prior to deployment to allow sufficient review time. Change worksheets should include the specific information collection elements requested, as well as the associated burden hours.

The four applications referenced in OMB’s Terms of Clearance are as follows: (1) International Telecommunications Certificate (ITC) Amendment, (2) ITC Modification, (3) ITS – Other Filings and (4) Foreign Carrier Notification. To date, the Commission has not developed the four applications due to a lack of budget funds. The timing for development of the applications is unknown and is contingent upon the availability of budget funds and work priorities of management staff in the Commission.

As noted on the OMB Form 83-I, this information collection does not affect individuals or households; thus, there are no impacts under the Privacy Act.

The statutory authority for this information collection is as follows: Sections 1, 4(i), 4(j) 11, 201-205, 211, 214, 219, 220, 303(r), 309, 310 and 403 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 151, 154(i), 154(j), 161, 201-205, 21, 214, 219, 220, 303(r), 309 and 403, and sections 34-39.

2. The information is used by the Commission staff in carrying out its duties under the Communications Act. The information collections pertaining to Part 63 are necessary largely to determine the qualifications of applicants to provide common carrier international telecommunications service, including applicants that are affiliated with foreign carriers, and to determine whether and under what conditions the authorizations are in the public interest, convenience, and necessity. The information collections contained in Part 63 are necessary for the Commission to maintain effective oversight of U.S. carriers that are affiliated with, or involved in certain co-marketing or similar arrangements with, foreign carriers that have market power. Furthermore, the information collections are necessary to maintain effective general oversight of U.S. international carriers.

3. In December 2006, the Commission received OMB approval of mandatory electronic filing of all Section 214-related applications and notifications under OMB Control No. 3060-0686.²

A total of 100 percent of Section 214 authorizations are filed electronically in the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS).

4. To the extent that information collection requirements contained in Section 310(b)(4) are similar to those in Section 214, the Commission eliminated duplicative collections of information. Applicants filing under both Sections 310 and 214 are not required to duplicate their information requirements. Similarly, Section 214 applicants filing information under Section 63.18 need not file duplicative information. Regarding all other aspects of this collection, the information that is collected is not available elsewhere.

5. In developing this collection, the Commission considered the impact of our information collection requirements on small businesses and other small entities, and believes that the public interest requires the Commission not to adopt an exemption for these entities. In order to fulfill its statutory obligations under Sections 214 and 310(b)(4) of the Communications Act, the Commission must analyze the impact of foreign carrier investment in and by U.S. common carriers regardless of the size of the U.S. carrier. The Commission made every effort to simplify and clarify the purpose and application of Section 63.11 without compromising the integrity of our policies and the interest of the public. Therefore, the Commission does not believe this information collection will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

6. The frequency of filing applications pursuant to Sections 214, 310(b)(4) as well as initial international tariffs, will be determined largely by the applicant seeking to provide international common carrier service and to exceed the statutory 25 percent indirect investment threshold for common carrier radio licensees. Carriers will also determine largely when to notify the Commission to seek additional foreign investors under Section 310(b)(4). They will also determine largely the frequency of filing under Sections 63.14(c), 63.18(e)(3) and 63.21(e), (f), (i), and (j). If the collections are not conducted or are conducted less frequently, applicants will not obtain the authorizations necessary to provide telecommunications services, and the Commission will be unable to carry out its mandate under the Communications Act of 1934.

In addition, without the information collections, the United States would jeopardize its ability to fulfill the U.S. obligations as negotiated under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Basic Telecom Agreement because these collections are imperative to detecting and deterring anticompetitive conduct. They are also necessary to preserve the Executive Branch agencies’ and the Commission's ability to review foreign investments for national security, law enforcement, foreign policy, and trade concerns.

Regarding Section 63.11, carriers determine largely when to notify the Commission of planned investments by or in foreign carriers. If the information is not collected by the Commission, we will not be able to prevent carriers that control bottleneck facilities in foreign countries from using those bottlenecks to discriminate against unaffiliated U.S. carriers.

7. To the extent that a carrier considers the material submitted to be of a commercially sensitive nature, it may request confidential treatment. Under OMB 3060-0686, carriers are permitted to request confidential treatment for materials that may be of a commercially sensitive nature. In Section 63.11, carriers are able to request in an accompanying cover letter that the Commission maintain confidential treatment of the prior notification information for 20 days, after which date the carrier agrees to public treatment of such information. There are no other circumstances that would require the information to be collected in a manner inconsistent with the general information collection guidelines in 5 CFR § 1320.

8. 60-Day Notice: On November 3, 2008, the Commission published a 60-day notice in the Federal Register (Cite: 73 FR 65309) to solicit comments from the public. The comment period ended on January 2, 2009. No comments were received from the public in response to the notice.

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

10. The Commission has not granted assurances of confidentiality to those parties submitting the information. In those cases where a respondent believes information requires confidentiality, the respondent can request confidential treatment and the Commission will afford such confidentiality for 20 days, after which the information will be available to the public

11. This collection does not include any questions of a sensitive nature.

12. The information collection requirements are summarized in the chart below.³ The total number of respondents for this information collection is 1,650.

Rule Section
and Explanation	Number	Frequency	Time	Total
of Burden Estimate	of Responses	of Response	Per Response	Annual Burden Hours
Section 310(b) of the Communications	75	1	1	75
Act of 1934, as amended		(On occasion)
ALL PETITIONS FOR DECLARATORY
RULING
47 CFR 63.10(a)(3)	352	1	4	1408
Non-dominant U.S. carriers		(On occasion)
must submit information to the
Commission to demonstrate that
its foreign affiliate lacks sufficient
market power on the foreign end
of the route to affect competition
adversely in the U.S. market
47 CFR 63.10(a)(4)	352	1	2	704
Non-dominant carriers must notify		(On occasion)
the Commission at any time that
it begins to provide international
switched service through the
resale of an affiliated U.S.
facilities-based carrier's
international switched services
47 CFR 63.11(b)(2)	352	1	4	1408
Authorized carriers that become		(On occasion)
affiliated with foreign carriers
must provide certifications to the
Commission that meet either of
the following criteria:
(1) demonstrates that it is
entitled to retain non-dominant
classification on its newly
affiliated route pursuant to
63.10; or (2) agrees to comply
with the dominant carrier
safeguards contained in 63.10
effective upon the acquisition
of the affiliation
47 CFR 63.11(c)	352	1	4	1408
Any authorized carrier that		(On occasion)
becomes affiliated with a foreign
carrier and has not previously
notified the Commission pursuant
to this section shall notify the
Commission within 30 days
after consummation of the
acquisition
47 CFR 63.11(e)(1) through (9)	352	1	2	704
The foreign carrier notification		(On occasion)
shall certify the name of the newly
affiliated foreign carrier; which,
if any, of those countries is a
Member of the World Trade
Organization (WTO)
and other requirements.
47 CFR 63.11(f)	352	1	4	1408
In order to retain non-dominant		(On occasion)
status on each newly affiliated
route, the authorized carrier
should demonstrate that it
qualifies for non-dominant
classification pursuant to
63.10
47 CFR 63.11(g)(2)	352	1	4	1408
In the case of a prior notification		(On occasion)
filed pursuant to paragraph
47 CFR 63.11(a) in which the
foreign carrier is authorized to
operate in a non-WTO member,
the authorized carrier must
demonstrate that it continues
to serve the public interest for it
to operate on the route for which
it proposes to acquire an
affiliation with the non-WTO
foreign carrier by making the
required showing in 63.18(k)(2)
or (3) to the Commission
47 CFR 63.11(h)	352	1	2	704
Within a period of 45 days after		(On occasion)
filing information with the FCC
pursuant to Sections 63.10
and 63.11, any corrected
notification referencing the FCC
file numbers under which
the original notification was
provided, must be filed with the
FCC; except, that the carrier
shall immediately inform
the FCC if at any time, the
representations in the "special
concessions" certification
under Section 63.11(e)(6)
or 63.18(n) are no longer true
47 CFR 63.13	352	1	1	352
Any party that desires to modify		(On occasion)
its regulatory status from
dominant to non-dominant
for the provision of particular
international communications
services on a particular route
should provide information
in its application to demonstrate
that it qualifies for non-dominant
classification pursuant to 63.10
47 CFR 63.18 and Section 214	352	1	2.5	880
of the Communications Act of 1934		(On occasion)
INTERNATIONAL SECTION 214
APPLICATION (FCC FORM 214)
International Section 214
applications must demonstrate
how the grant of the application
will serve the public interest,
convenience, and necessity
and include other information
described in 63.18(a) - (e)
47 CFR 63.18(e)(2)	176	1	3	528
Global Resale Authority - If		(On occasion)
applying for authority to resell
the international services of
authorized carriers subject to
63.23, the applicant must
state that it is requesting Section
214 authority to operate as a
resale carrier pursuant to
63.18(e)(2), etc.
47 CFR 63.18(e)(3)	176	1	3	528
If applying for authority to acquire		(On occasion)
facilities or to provide services
not covered by paragraphs
63.18(e)(1) and (e)(2), the
applicant shall provide a
description of the facilities
and services for which it seeks
authorization and certify that
it will comply with the terms and
conditions contained in 63.21,
63.22, and 63.23 as appropriate
47 CFR 63.18(f)	352	1	8	2816
Applicants must file separate		(On occasion)
applications for services that are
not subject to streamlined
processing under 63.12
47 CFR 1.1311	352	1	8	2816
Environmental assessment		(On occasion)
required by international carriers
47 CFR 63.18(h)	352	1	2	704
Other authorizations -		(On occasion)
Applicant must provide name,
address, citizenship and principal
businesses of any person or entity
that directly or indirectly owns
at least 10 percent of the equity
owned by each of those entities;
identify any interlocking direc-
torates with a foreign carrier
47 CFR 63.18(i)	352	1	2	704
Other authorizations -		(On occasion)
A certification as to whether or not
the applicants is, or is affiliated
with, a foreign carrier.
The certification shall state
with specificity each foreign
country in which the applicant is,
or is affiliated with, a foreign carrier
47 CFR 63.18(j) and (k)	352	1	2	704
Other authorizations -		(On occasion)
A certification as to whether or not
the applicant seeks to provide
international telecommunications
services to any destination
country for which any of the
following is true. The certification
shall state the foreign carriers
and destination countries
and provide additional information
stated in 63.18(j) and (k)
47 CFR 63.18(l)	176	1	2	352
Any applicant that proposes		(On occasion)
to resell the international switched
services of an unaffiliated U.S.
carrier for the purpose of
providing international tele-
communications services
to a country where it is a foreign
carrier shall either provide a
showing that would satisfy
63.10(a)(3) of state that it will
file the quarterly traffic reports
required by 43.61(c)
47 CFR 63.18(m)	176	1	2	352
Carrier must provide information		(On occasion)
in its application to demonstrate
that it qualifies for non-dominant
classification pursuant to 63.10
47 CFR 63.18(n)	352	1	2	704
A certification that the applicant		(On occasion)
has not agreed to accept
special concessions directly
or indirectly from a foreign carrier
with respect to any U.S.
international route where
the foreign carrier possesses
market power on the foreign end
of the route and will not enter
into such agreements in the
future
47 CFR 63.18(o)	352	1	1	352
A certification pursuant to		(On occasion)
1.2001 through 1.2003
that no party ot the application
is subject to a denial of
Federal benefits pursuant to
Section 5301 of the Anti-Drug
Abuse Act of 1988
47 CFR 63.18(p)	352	1	1	352
If the applicant desires stream-		(On occasion)
lined processing pursuant to
63.12, a statement of how the
application qualifies for stream-
lined processing.
47 CFR 63.19(a)(1) and (a)(2)	352	1	2	704
Any international carrier that		(On occasion)
seeks to discontinue, reduce
or impair service, including the
retiring of international facilities,
dismantling or removing of
international trunk lines shall
notify all affected customers
of the planned discontinuance,
reduction or impairment at least
30 days prior to its planned action
and will file a copy of the notifica-
tion with the Commission on the
date on which notice has been
given to all affected customers
47 CFR 63.19(b)	352	1	2	704
If a carrier discontinues, reduces		(On occasion)
or impairs the dominant service,
or retires facilities that impair
or reduce the service, the carrier
shall file an application pursuant
to 63.62 and 63.500
47 CFR 63.21(a)	176	1	2	352
Whenever the substance of any		(On occasion)
such certification is no longer
accurate, the carrier shall as
promptly as possible and, in any
event, within 30 days, file with the
Commission a corrected certification
referencing the FCC file number
under which the original certification
was provided. The information may
be used by the Commission to
determine whether a change in
regulatory status may be warranted
under Section 63.10. See also
63.11.
47 CFR 63.21(b)	352	1	2	704
Carriers must file copies of		(On occasion)
operating agreements entered into
with their foreign correspondents
as specified in Section 43.51
and shall otherwise comply with
the filing requirements contained
in that section
47 CFR 63.21(c)	352	1	16	5632
Dominant carriers must file		(On occasion)
tariffs pursuant to Section 203
of the Communications Act
and must comply with all
applicable public disclosure and
maintenance of information require-
ments in 42.10 and 42.11
47 CFR 63.21(e)	352	1	2	704
Third party disclosure requirement		(On occasion)
In seeking to obtain approval, the
carrier must notify the U.S. customer
that the customer may require the
carrier to disclose the information to
unaffiliated third parties upon written
request by the customer
47 CFR 63.21(h)	352	1	2	704
Within 30 days after the subsidiary		(On occasion)
begins providing service, the carrier
must file with the Commission
a notification referencing the authorized
carrier's name and the FCC file
numbers under which the carrier's
authorizations were granted and
identifying the subsidiary's name
and place of legal organization
47 CFR 63.21(i)4	35	1	1	35
An authorized carrier that changes its		(On occasion)
name must notify the Commission
within 30 days of the name change
47 CFR 63.24(e)	150	1	8	1200
Substantial transactions		(On occasion)
INTERNATIONAL SECTION 214
AUTHORIZATIONS FOR ASSIGNMENT
OR TRANSFER OF CONTROL
(FCC FORM 214TC)
Applicants must file Section 214
Applications for Assignments and/or
Transfer of Control in order to
assign or transfer control of an
authorization whether voluntarily
or involuntarily or directly or indirectly;
Prior approval is required by the FCC
47 CFR 63.24(f)	176	1	2	352
Notifications for non-substantial		(On occasion)
or pro forma transactions
A pro forma assignee or carrier that is
subject to a pro forma transfer of control
must file a notification with the
Commission no later than 30 days
after the assignment or transfer
is completed and must include the
information stated in 63.24(2),
through 63.24(h)
47 CFR 63.25(b)	64	1	8	512
REQUEST FOR SPECIAL TEMPORARY
AUTHORITY (FCC FORM 214STA)
Applicants may request Special		(On occasion)
Temporary Authorizations (STA)
under emergencies that include
reason why immediate authority
is required, nature of the emergency,
type of facilities to be used, and
other information under 63.25(b)
47 CFR 63.25(c)	64	1	8	512
A carrier must requesting continuing		(On occasion)
authority by filing a statement with
the Commission making reference
to this paragraph and setting forth
the construction, lease, installation
and other details related to each
project, costs and other details
Totals:	9,892		1-16 hours	33,486
	Number	On	Time	Total
	of Responses	Occasion	Per Response	Annual Burden Hours

In-House Cost to Respondents: We estimate that in-house staff is paid at an estimated rate of $40 per hour.

33,486 hours X $40 per hour = $1,339,440 Total In-House

Costs to Respondents

13. Annual Burden Cost:

(a). Capital and Start-Up Costs: 0

(b). Operations and Maintenance Costs

Outside Legal Assistance: We estimate that the respondent will require outside legal assistance for 50% (4,941) of the responses.⁵ The cost of outside legal assistance is estimated at $200 per hour. This figure is based on a small survey of local firms in the D.C. area and is considered a conservative estimate.

4,941 responses X $200 per hour X 2 hours per submission = $1,976,400 Total Outside Legal/Engineering Costs

Application Filing Fees: Part 214-related application fees are approximately $965. The 352 responses (Section 214 applications) + 150 responses (assignments and transfers of control applications) + 64 responses (request for special temporary authority applications) = 566 applicants.

A total of 566 responses/applications X $965 average fee = $546,190 Total Application Fees

(c). Total Annual Cost Burden:

Description of Estimated Costs to Respondents	Total Costs
Outside Legal/Engineering Assistance	$1,976,400
Application Filing Fees	$546,190
Total Cost to Respondents	$2,522,590

14. Estimates of Annualized Cost to the Federal Government:

The estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government are summarized in the chart below. As shown in the chart, the annualized costs to the Federal government are $677,540.

			Annual
Federal Government	Number	Salary	Burden	Annualized
Staff	of Staff	Per Hour	Hours	Costs
GS-15/Step 5 Attorney	6	$65.62	1000	$393,720
GS-14/Step 5 Attorney	4	$55.78	1000	$223,120
GS-15/Step 5 Engineers	1	$65.62	500	$32,810
GS-14/Step 5 Engineers	1	$55.78	500	$27,890
	12			$677,540

15. This Supporting Statement reflects a program changes of +12,115 to the annual burden hours and + $485,200 to the annual cost burden. These program changes are the result of information collection requirements not being included in this collection that should have been included when the collection was previously approved by OMB.

Also, the Commission grossly over estimated the total annual burden hours and miscalculated the total annual cost burden in this previous submission to OMB. Therefore, there are adjustments of -126,682 to the annual burden hours and -$14,124,610 to the annual cost burden. With this submission, the Commission more accurately calculated the annual burden hours and the annual cost burden.

16. The Commission does not plan to publish the information for statistical use.

17. The Commission will display the OMB control number and expiration date on the Section 43.61 and Section 43.82 manuals used by carriers in submitting the information.

18. On November 3, 2008, the Commission published a 60-day notice in the Federal Register (Cite: 73 FR 65309) to solicit comments from the public. The Commission published in the notice the following items in error: the number of responses as 3,603; estimated time per response as 1 - 6,056 hours; total annual burden hours as 148,053; total annual cost burden as $16,162,000. These numbers were corrected in the Commission’s 30-day Federal Register Notice to read as follows: the number of responses as 9,892; estimated time per response as 1 – 16 hours; total annual burden hours as 33,486 hours and the total annual cost burden as $2,522,590.⁶ There are no other exceptions to the Certification Statement.

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods:

This information collection does not employ statistical sampling.

1 This information collection accounts for a portion of the information collection requirements contained under Part 64. OMB has approved other information collections for Part 64 apart from collection 3060-0686.

2 The International E-Filing R&O (FCC 05-91) eliminated paper filings by requiring applicants to file electronically all applications and other filings related to international telecommunications services via the user-friendly, Internet-based electronic filing system called the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS). We would like to maintain OMB approval for mandatory electronic filing of all Section 214-related applications and filings pursuant to 47 CFR Sections 1.1000 through 1.0018, 63.11(j), 63.18(q), 63.19(d), 63.20, 63.21(j) and 63.53, including currently existing applications and applications pending development by the Commission.

3 All certifications contained in the chart have true burden attached to them.

4 This notification requirement has true burden attached to it.

5 The respondent will require outside legal assistance for 50% of the responses after the respondent has completed his/her part with the responses as accounted for under question number 12. The respondent will also complete 50% of the responses without outside assistance as stated under question 12.

6 The Commission inadvertently published the annual cost burden as $1,976,400 in the 30-day notice (74 FR 6034). The actual cost burden is $2,522,590.

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