Supporting Statement OMB 3060-0718 (2015)(correct)

Part 101 Rule Sections Governing the Terrestrial 3060-0718 Microwave Fixed Radio Service November 2015

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

1. Justification:

1. The Commission is submitting this information collection to the Office of Management and Budget as a revision to a currently approved information collection under OMB Control Number 3060-0718, Part 101 Rule Sections Governing the Terrestrial Microwave Fixed Radio Service.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is in compliant with the reporting requirements of Part 101 Rule Sections Governing the Terrestrial Microwave Fixed Radio Service, Backhaul Second Report and Order, FCC 12-87, WT Docket No. 10-153, RM-11602, adopted and released on August 3, 2012. In November 2012, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (Bureau) amended the burden hours of 3060-0718 to incorporate the reporting requirements. The Commission is now seeking a three year extension for the information collection requirements that are contained in this information collection from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Part 101 rule sections require various information to be reported to the Commission; coordinated with third parties; posting requirements; notification requirements to the public; and recordkeeping requirements maintained by the respondent to determine the technical, legal and other qualifications of applications to operate a station in the public and private operational fixed services. See the Appendix at the end of this Supporting Statement to see the individual rule sections, their associated Paperwork Reduction collection requirements and burden calculations.

This information collection does not affect individuals or households; thus, there are no impacts under the Privacy Act.

Statutory authority for this collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. §§ 151, 154(i), 301, 303(f), 303(g), 303(r), 307, 308, 309, 310, and 316.

2. Part 101 rule sections require respondents to report or disclose information to the Commission or third parties, respectively, and to maintain records. These requirements are necessary for the Commission staff to carry out its duties to determine technical, legal and other qualifications of applicants to operate and remain licensed to operate a station(s) in the common carrier and/or private fixed microwave services. In addition, the information is used to determine whether the public interest, convenience, and necessity are being served as required by 47 U.S.C. § 309 and to ensure that applicants and licensees comply with ownership and transfer restrictions imposed by 47 U.S.C. § 310. Without this information, the Commission would not be able to carry out its statutory responsibilities.

3. The Commission’s rules provide for electronic filing and it is the Commission’s goal to eliminate, to the greatest extent possible, the filing of paper applications.

4. No similar data is available elsewhere.

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 requirements to that absolutely necessary for evaluating and processing applications and to deter against possible abuses.

6. The information collected is generally required when the applicant seeks Commission approval for new or modified facilities, or for an assignment or transfer of control. Therefore, the frequency of the filing is generally determined by the applicant. Renewal applications must be filed once every ten years.

7. Current data collection is consistent with 5 CFR § 1320.5.

8. A 60-day notice was published in the Federal Register on September 25, 2015 (80 FR 57816). No PRA comments were received as a result of the notice.

9. There are no payments or gifts to respondents in connection with this collection of information.

10. No questions of a confidential nature are asked of respondents or parties associated with this collection of information.

11. There are no questions of a sensitive nature for this information collection.

12. The Annual Burden is all inclusive of Sections 101 and Rural Microwave Flexibility Policy. See the Appendix at the end of this Supporting Statement for each individual rule section covered under this OMB control number along with their requirements imposed on the public along with a breakdown of their burden calculations.

Annual Burden:

A total of approximately 9,500 unique licensees file multiple responses for this collection.

Reporting.  The annual reporting burden is 433 hours (the sum of the reporting requirements detailed in the Appendix for rule sections 101.31, 101.51, 101.55, 101.209, 101.301, 101.305, 101.309, 101.407, 101.411, and 101.413.). We estimate that generally 25% of the respondents will contract consultants; the remaining 75% of respondents will employ in-house staff to respond.  

Recordkeeping.  The annual recordkeeping requirement burden in Part 101 is approximately 27,953 hours (rounded) (the sum of the recordkeeping requirements detailed in the Appendix for rule sections 101.135, 101.217, and 101.817).

Third Party Disclosure. The annual third party disclosure burden in Part 101 is approximately 7,837 hours (rounded) (the sum of the third party disclosure requirements detailed in the Appendix for rule sections 101.103, 101.215, and 101.519). We estimate that generally 25% of the respondents will contract consultants to handle the burden of reporting; the remaining 75% of respondents will employ in-house staff to respond.   Except for the burden for section 101.103 for which approximately 75% of the respondents will contract the burden of reporting to a commercial coordinator; and the remaining 25% would employ in-house staff to respond.  

Rural Microwave Flexibility Policy (reporting requirement). Approximately 50 respondents will file 50 responses per year. We estimate that respondents will contract out the burden of reporting. However, respondents will incur 2 hours of burden that is noted under Reporting for each for this requirement before contracting out the requirement to contractors.

TOTAL ANNUAL BURDEN HOURS = 36,223

Recordkeeping 27,953 hours

Reporting 433 hours¹

Third Party Disclosure 7,837 hours

Total 36,223 hours

13. The Annual Cost represents the Commission’s estimate of the annual burden to respondents, record keepers or third party respondents resulting from the collection of information Rural Microwave Flexibility Policy and sections 101.31, 101.55, 101.103, 101.305, 101.309, and 101.817. See the Appendix at the end of this Supporting Statement for each individual rule section covered under this OMB control number along with their requirements imposed on respondents.

Annual Costs:

(a) Total capital and start-up cost component (annualized over its useful life): $0.

(b) Sections 101.31, 101.55, 101.103, 101.305, 101.309, and 101.817: Total operation and maintenance and purchase of services component: $1,484,725.

We estimate that generally 25% of the respondents will contract consultants to handle the burden of reporting; the remaining 75% of respondents will employ in-house staff to respond. We assume that the respondents using consultants would use an attorney ($300/hour) or engineer ($250/hour) to consult and prepare information. We are assuming that attorneys and engineers each represent half of the outside hires, which makes $275 the average hourly cost. Generally, the estimated costs are calculated by multiplying the estimated number of responses for which the applicant will use an attorney or engineer, times the estimated burden hours for that requirement, times the cost of $275/hour.

To obtain the $1,484,725, we multiplied $275 by 5,399 which is the number of responses which outside consultants will complete for sections 101.31, 101.55, 101.103, 101.305, 101.309, and 101.817. We estimate that each response will take outside consultants 1 hour per response to complete the requirement.

5,399 responses x 1 hour/response x $275/hour = $1,484,725.

(c) Rural Microwave Flexibility Policy: We assume that there will be 50 filings a year under the Rural Microwave Flexibility Policy, and that each filing would take 4 hours.  We also assume that everyone would hire an engineer (at $250/hour) to prepare the showing, example:

50 responses x 4 hours/response x $250/hour = $50,000.

TOTAL ANNUAL COSTS = $1,534,725

Sections 101: $1,484,725

Rural Microwave …: $ 50,000

Total Annual Cost (external/consulting cost): $1,534,725

14. The cost to the Federal government processing costs are as follows (the hourly pay rate for the employee is a GS-15 step 5, $68.56/hour). See Reporting under Question 12 for Part 101 and Rural Microwave Flexibility Policy sections reported:

Attorney approximately $68.56/hour x 1 hour x 399 filings = $27,355.44

Engineer approximately $68.56/hour x 1 hour x 399filings = $27,355.44

Total: $54,710.88

Total Government Costs: $54,710.88

15. The Commission adjusted some of its figures with this submission. As a result, the following adjustments/increases are made to this collection: 781 to the annual burden hours and $724,725 to the annual burden cost.

There are no program changes to this collection.

16. The data will not be published for statistical use.

17. We do not seek approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection. The Commission publishes a list of all-OMB approved information collections in 47 CFR 0.408.
    
    

18. There are no exceptions to the Certification Statement.

2. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods:

No statistical methods are employed.

APPENDIX

Key

^† Burden hours estimate for the approx. 25% of respondents who hire consultants (but still incur some in-house time per response). Therefore, these respondents have some dealings with the consultant before the task is completely turned over to the consultants.

These interactions with the consultants impose burdens on respondents because their time is being taken up. Section 101.103 requires 75% of respondents to hire consultants (but still occur some in-hose time per response).

^†† Burden hours estimate for the approx. 75% of respondents who complete the response in-house without hiring consultants = no external cost. In-house staff attorneys are paid an hourly rate of $66.88 per hour. This figure is based on an in-house staff attorney pay rate according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Section 101.103 requires 25% of respondents to complete the response in-house without hiring consultants.

Rule	Brief Description	Annual Respondents (#)	Annual Responses (#)	Time per Response (Hours)	Annual Burden (Hours)	In-House Annual Cost	Type of Burden & Comments
Subpart B	Applications and Licenses
§ 101.31	Temporary and conditional authorizations § 101.31(a)(2): Sufficient data must be submitted to show the need for the proposed area of operation.	8† (25%) 22†† (75%) = 30	8† 22†† = 30	0.25† 0.5††	2† 11†† = 13 hrs	$133.76 $735.68 = $869.44	Reporting Requirement
§ 101.51	Comparative evaluation of mutually exclusive applications § 101.51(b)(1), (2): waiver of hearing and request.	1	1	1 hr	1 hr	$66,.88	Reporting Requirement
§ 101.55	Considerations involving transfer or assignment applications §§ 101.55(c), (d) (anti-trafficking generally and in case of certain mergers).	28† (25%) 85†† (75%) = 113	28† 85†† = 113	0.5† 1.5††	14† 127.5†† = 141.5 hrs	$936.32 $8,527.20 = $9,463.52	Reporting Requirement
Subpart C	Technical Standards
§ 101.103	Frequency coordination procedures Note: MVDDS frequency coordination, which involves different procedures under 47 C.F.R. § 101.103(f), is approved under OMB Control No. 3060-1022.	125 (25% in-house) 375 (75% consultant) = 500	1,762 5,288 = 7,050	0.25 0.5	441 2,644 = 3,085 hrs	$29,494.08 $176,830.72 = $206,324.80	Third Party Disclosure
§ 101.135	Shared use of radio stations & the offering of private carrier service § 101.135(c): All sharing and private carrier arrangements must be conducted pursuant to a written agreement to be kept as part of the station records § 101.135(d): The licensee must keep an up-to-date list of system sharers and private carrier subscribers and the basis of their eligibility under this part. Such records must be kept current and must be made available to FCC.	790	790	1 hr	790 hrs	$52,835.20	Recordkeeping Requirement
Subpart D	Operational Requirements
§ 101.209	Operation of stations at temporary fixed locations for communication between the U.S. and Canada or Mexico - Stations authorized to operate at temporary fixed locations for transmissions between U.S. & Canada or U.S. & Mexico must receive specific notification by providing a detailed showing of the operation proposed, nature of communications, parties involved, terms & conditions of operations, & a showing of how the public interest, convenience, & necessity would be served.	1	1	2 hrs	2 hrs	$133.76	Reporting Requirement
§ 101.215	Posting of station authorization and transmitter identification cards, plates, or signs - Licensee shall post info. of custodian of station license if not maintained at the station.	9,500	9,500	0.5 hrs	4,750 hrs	$317,680	Third Party Disclosure
§ 101.217	Station records - Licensee must maintain records & kept in an orderly manner & retained by the licensee for 1 yr.	9,500	9,500	2.85 hrs	27,075 hrs	$1,810,776	Recordkeeping Requirement
Subpart E	Miscellaneous Common Carrier Provisions
§ 101.301	National defense; free service - Every common carrier rendering free service to any Gov’t agency in connection & preparation for national defense must make & file reports during a 6-mo. period showing the names of the agencies to which free service was rendered, general character of the communications handled, & any tariff charges accrued.	1	1	1 hr	1 hr	$66.88	Reporting Requirement
§ 101.305	Discontinuance, reduction or impairment of service	19† (25%) 56†† (75%) = 75	25† 75†† = 100	.25† .5††	6.25† 37.5†† = 43.75 hrs	$418 $2,508 = $2,926	Reporting Requirement
§ 101.309	Requirement that licensees respond to official communications	25† (25%) 75†† (75%) = 100	25† 75†† = 100	.5† 1.5††	12.5† 112.5†† = 125 hrs	$836 $7,524 = $8,360	Reporting Requirement
Subpart F	Developmental Authorizations
§ 101.407	Special procedure for the development of a new service or for the use of frequencies not in accordance with provisions of the rules in this part § 101.407(b) - Applications for stations that are intended to be used in the development of a proposed service must be accompanied by a petition to amend the Commission's rules . . . . )	1	1	3 hrs	3 hrs	$200.64	Reporting Requirement
§ 101.411	Supplementary showing required § 101.411(a) - authorizations for development of a proposed radio service are issued upon a showing that an app. has provided a definite program of research, development, & the extent of engineering facilities; § 101.411(b) - expiring developmental authorizations may be renewed if app. is in compliance with applicable rules and app. provides a factual showing of progress.)	1	1	0.75	.75 hrs	$50.16	Reporting Requirement
§ 101.413	Developmental report required § 101.413(a) - upon completion of the program of research & development or an evaluation of such a program, the licensee must submit a detailed comprehensive report; § 101.413(b) - including comprehensive information; and § 101.413(c) - developmental reports will be made part of the FCC’s public records, except for confidentiality.	1	1	2	2 hrs	$133.76	Reporting Requirement
Subpart G	24 GHz Service and Digital Electronic Message Service
§ 101.519	Interconnection § 101.519(a) – DEMS licensees must make available to the public all info. necessary to allow the manufacture of user equipment that will be compatible with the licensee’s network; § 101.519(b) - DEMS licensees must make available to the public all information necessary to allow interconnection of DEMS networks.	3	3	0.75	2.25 hrs	$150.48	Third Party Disclosure
Subpart J	Local Television Transmission Service
§ 101.817	Notification of station operation at temporary locations § 101.817(a) - licensees must notify the FCC prior to period of operation including detailed info.; § 101.817(b) – licensees must keep a copy of the notification in station’s license file	17.5† (25%) 52.5†† (75%) = 70	25† 75†† = 100	0.5† 1.0††	12.5† 75†† = 87.5 hrs	$836.00 $5,016.00 = $5,852.00	Recordkeeping Requirement p
Rural Microwave Flexibility Policy	Payload Capacity of Equipment Efficiency Standards Waivers	50	50	2	100	$6,688	Reporting Requirement
	TOTALS:	9,500 Licensees	27,342 Responses		36,223 hrs (rounded)	$2,422,578 (rounded)

1 The 100 hours for the reporting requirement for the Rural Microwave Flexibility Policy requirement is accounted for under this reporting calculation.

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