0757_ss_021810

3060-0757

February 2010

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

A. Justification:

The Commission seeks to revise this information collection in order to obtain the full three year clearance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The FCC Auctions Customer Survey is being revised to reflect updates to modify some of the questions and to update the different services being auctioned. There are no changes to the reporting requirements, recordkeeping, and/or third party disclosure requirements

1. Since enactment of § 6002 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, the Commission has conducted a series of spectrum auctions. Approximately 3,700 bidders have participated in these auctions, including individuals, businesses (both large and small) and other entities. By seeking input from auction participants, through use of the FCC Auctions Customer Survey, the Commission expects to gather information to evaluate the competitive bidding methodologies and other operational processes used to date and to improve these techniques for use in future auctions.

Section 309(j) gives the Commission express authority to employ competitive bidding procedures to choose among mutually exclusive applications for initial licenses. In order to improve our auctions participation, the commission developed a FCC Auctions Customer survey to obtain the view of auction participants and future auction participants.

Statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in 47 U.S.C. §§ 154(i), 309(j)(3) and 309(j)(12), as amended.

2. The FCC Auctions Customer Survey is an important step in meeting Congressional requirements related to the Commission’s auction authority. By seeking input from auction participants, the Commission expects to gather information to evaluate the effectiveness of competitive bidding methodologies used to date, and to improve the competitive bidding methodologies used in future auctions. Finally, the FCC Auctions Customer Survey will provide useful feedback in determining the extent to which the Commission is meeting its goal of providing participants in competitive bidding with the highest level of customer satisfaction through information dissemination and the responsiveness of the Commission staff to customer inquiries.

3. The information requested in the FCC Auctions Customer Survey is voluntary. The customer survey will be conducted by mail, e-mail, and/or telephone and will include all participants in a completed auction. Respondents may return the survey information by mail, fax, telephone, e-mail, etc. The survey will be conducted periodically by federal or contracted staff and will occur at the end of an auction. Staff will also maintain a record of the responses received on the FCC Auctions Customer Survey.

In the alternative, customer surveys may be conducted by posting the survey either on the

Commission’s electronic computer auction system or on the Internet. Responses will be received electronically, either via the Commission’s electronic computer auction system or via the Internet. Those bidders who do not participate in the Commission’s auctions by computer will be polled by mail. Over the past three years, no surveys were received electronically.

The decision on which alternative to employ in each information collection will be based on an analysis of maximizing convenience and minimizing burden for participants. Information technology will be used to the maximum extent consistent with this standard.

4. The Commission currently does not impose a similar information collection on respondents. There is likewise no similar data available.

5. In conformance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Commission is making an effort to minimize the burden on all respondents regardless of size. The Commission has limited the information requirement to that which is absolutely necessary to evaluate the competitive bidding methodologies and other operational processes used and to improve these techniques for use in future auctions.

6. Participation in the survey is purely voluntary, therefore, the respondents will determine whether they respond or not. Based upon the knowledge and experience of the staff, the Commission anticipates that most, if not all, participants in the auctions will participate in the survey.

7. This collection of information is consistent with the guidelines in 5 C.F.R. Section 1320.6.

8. The Commission initiated a 60 day comment period which appeared in the Federal Register on November 19, 2009 (74 FR 59977), in compliance with 5 CFR Section 1320.8(d). No comments were received.

9. Respondents will not receive any payments.

10. Any individuals, corporations or businesses contacted in the customer survey during the course of an ongoing auction have agreed, by virtue of their participation in the auction, to identify themselves in the auction and have waived their right to confidentiality under the Privacy Act. Any individuals responding to the survey are acting in an entrepreneurial capacity, as they did when they filed the application to participate in the auction (FCC Form 175). Individuals, corporations and other businesses will not be identified by name on the FCC Auctions Customer Survey or in any data compilation produced thereby.

11. This form does not address any private matters of a sensitive nature.

12. Respondent Burden:

Respondents may complete this information collection by responding to a telephone survey or completing the enclosed survey. Respondents may return the survey information by mail, fax, telephone, e-mail, etc.

The Commission estimates that approximately 1000 auction participants will respond to this survey x .25 hrs. per response = 250 hours

Total Annual Burden Hours: 1000 respondent x .25 hrs per response= 250 hours.

13. Cost to Respondent: There are no costs to the respondent $0.

14. Cost to the Federal Government: There are no costs to the Federal Government $0.

The Commission anticipates using current federal or contract employees to conduct the survey during idle time.

15. There is no change in burden.

16. The Commission anticipates the results of the study will be prepared quickly after the close of the study. The results will be tabulated arithmetically in straight narrative form. Percentage figures will be tabulated in connection with each question. The brevity of the time for responses is necessary in order to rapidly implement any changes mandated by the results of the study for future auctions. As noted above, the Commission does not plan to do a statistical sample, but instead plans to survey all participants in future auctions.

17. The Commission is requesting continued approval to not display the OMB expiration date. By requesting approval to not display the OMB expiration date, this will alleviate the need to update surveys with a current expiration date, update the electronic versions on the Internet and the Commission’s electronic computer auction system. The Commission will use an edition date in lieu of an OMB expiration date. Finally, the Commission publishes a list of all OMB-approved information collections by title, OMB expiration date and OMB Control Number in 47 CFR 0.408.

18. There are no exceptions to the certification statement identified in Item 19, “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions,” of OMB Form 83-I.

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods:

No statistical methods were employed.