Connect America Fund - Broadband Loop Support (CAF-BLS)

Forms and Documents

Forms and supporting documents for this ICR

Document	Type	Status	Availability
Form FCC Form 508 Projected Connect America Fund - Broadband Loop Suppprt	Form	Modified	Available
Form FCC 507 Line Count Data Collection	Form	Modified	Available
Form FCC 509 Actual Cost and Revenue Date	Form	Modified	Available
Form Form 481 Instructi Carrier Annual Reporting Data Collection instructions	Form	Modified	Available
Form FCC 525 Unbundled Network Elements Reporting	Form	Modified	Available
3060-0986_SS_ August 2016 (Revision HC_Final).docx	Supporting Statement A	Uploaded 2016-08-18	Available
3060-0986 Emergency Letter (2016).pdf	Supplementary Document	Uploaded 2016-08-17	Available

IC Document Collections

Information collection document groups

IC ID	Collection	Type	Status	Form
31529	Connect America Fund - Broadband Loop Support	Form	Modified	Projected Connect America Fund - Broadband Loop Suppprt
31529	Connect America Fund - Broadband Loop Support	Form	Modified	Line Count Data Collection
31529	Connect America Fund - Broadband Loop Support	Form	Modified	Actual Cost and Revenue Date
31529	Connect America Fund - Broadband Loop Support	Form	Modified	Carrier Annual Reporting Data Collection instructions
31529	Connect America Fund - Broadband Loop Support	Other-Form 481 Template	Modified
185391	Connect America Fund - Broadband Loop Support	Form	Modified	Unbundled Network Elements Reporting
185391	Connect America Fund - Broadband Loop Support	Instruction	Modified

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 3060-0986	ICR Reference No: 201608-3060-006
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 201606-3060-026
Agency/Subagency: FCC	Agency Tracking No: WCB
Title: Connect America Fund - Broadband Loop Support (CAF-BLS)
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Emergency	Approval Requested By: 09/20/2016
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 09/21/2016
Retrieve Notice of Action (NOA)	Date Received in OIRA: 08/18/2016
Terms of Clearance:

table that charts list comparision

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	03/31/2017	6 Months From Approved	05/31/2019
Responses	14,109	0	15,333
Time Burden (Hours)	274,455	0	277,089
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

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Abstract: The subject information collection is used to determine the amount of, and eligibility for, high-cost universal service support received by incumbent and competitive eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs). The Commission is proposing edits to currently approved FCC Forms 507, 508 and 509 and its instructions to reflect newly adopted information collections.

Emergency Justfication: The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) requests OMB approval to submit the information collection described herein under the “emergency processing” provision of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (5 C.F.R. § 1320.13). The Commission is requesting clearance for a revised information collection entitled: 3060-0986, Competitive Carrier Line Count Report and Self-Certification as a Rural Carrier, which will include three revised FCC Forms 507, 508 and 509. This information collection also includes FCC Forms, 481, 505 and 525, which are not being revised in this submission. We respectfully request OMB approval for this collection by 30 days from submission. On March 30, 2016, the Commission released an Order et al., WC Docket No. 10-90 et al., FCC 16-33 (Rate-of-Return Reform Order and Further Notice) that, among other things, adopted reforms to high-cost universal service mechanisms for rate-of-return carriers to extend support to consumer broadband-only loops. Specifically, the Commission added consumer broadband-only loop costs and revenues to the Interstate Common Line Support (ICLS) mechanism, which previously was calculated based only common line costs and revenues, and renamed the mechanism Connect America Fund-Broadband Loop Support (CAF-BLS) to reflect the expanded scope. In order to implement CAF-BLS, the Commission must revise FCC Forms 507 (to be renamed CAF-BLS Line Count Report), 508 (to be renamed CAF-BLS Projected Annual Cost and Revenue), and 509 (to be renamed CAF-BLS Actual Cost and Revenue). The revisions narrowly expand the scope of the line count, cost and revenue data that is currently collected for ICLS to include the equivalent consumer broadband-only loop data. This information collection requires emergency approval to enable the implementation of CAF-BLS on January 1, 2017. The collection of this information is merely one step in the process toward that goal. After the Commission’s appointed universal service administrator collects the data, it must calculate and publish the amount of support that will be available for each carrier. Carriers that use tariffs to provide the supported consumer broadband-only service must then, either on their own or through their tariff agent, prepare and file revised tariffs incorporating the support amounts in time to be effective on January 1. In the event that these steps cannot be completed in time for January 1, implementation would need to be delayed. Because the cost and revenue data and the related tariffs are not easily developed for periods that are not consistent with the carriers’ existing accounting practices, the Commission would need to choose between a significant delay in implementation to July 1 (and thereby delay the benefits of support for consumer broadband-only loops), or significantly higher administrative burdens for carriers due to the need to track costs and revenue in a manner inconsistent with their normal account calendar. For these reasons, if the Commission were to wait 120 days to begin collecting this information, the distribution of such CAF-BLS would be significantly delayed, resulting in harm to the program and the public. Thus, compliance with the normal clearance procedures set forth in 5 C.F.R. § 1320 would delay the implementation of these provisions of Section 254, which might result in unnecessary implementation costs and delays. Therefore, the Commission is requesting OMB emergency approval by [[30 days after submission]] to avoid any public harm that will result from applying the normal clearance procedures to these provisions of Section 254.

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Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 47 USC 214 Name of Law: Communications Act of 1934, as amended
   US Code: 47 USC 218 - 220 Name of Law: Communications Act of 1934, as amended
   US Code: 47 USC 254 Name of Law: Communications Act of 1934, as amended
   US Code: 47 USC 303(r) Name of Law: Communications Act of 1934, as amended
   US Code: 47 USC 151 - 154 Name of Law: Communications Act of 1934, as amended
   US Code: 47 USC 201 - 205 Name of Law: Communications Act of 1934, as amended
   US Code: 47 USC 403 Name of Law: Communications Act of 1934, as amended
   US Code: 47 USC 405 Name of Law: Communications Act of 1934, as amended
   US Code: 47 USC 410 Name of Law: Communications Act of 1934, as amended
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
3060-AF85	Final or interim final rulemaking	81 FR 24281	04/25/2016

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Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	81 FR 55200	08/18/2016
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	81 FR 55200	08/18/2016
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 2

table that charts list of burden

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Connect America Fund - Broadband Loop Support	FCC 525	Unbundled Network Elements Reporting
Connect America Fund - Broadband Loop Support	FCC Form 508, FCC 507, Form 481 Instructions , FCC 509	Carrier Annual Reporting Data Collection instructions ,   Actual Cost and Revenue Date ,   Line Count Data Collection ,   Projected Connect America Fund - Broadband Loop Suppprt

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ICR Summary of Burden

table that charts list of burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	14,109	15,333	0	-1,224	0	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	274,455	277,089	0	-2,634	0	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Reduction Due to: Changing Regulations

Short Statement: The Commission is reporting a program change/decreases to this information collection. Since this collection was last approved by OMB, the total number of respondents stayed the same, the total annual responses decrease from 15,333 to 14,109 (-1,224), and the total burden hours decreases from 277,089 to 274,455 (-2,634). These program changes are due to the elimination of the requirement to file lines by disaggregation zone and the inclusion of additional line count, forecasted cost and revenue, and actual cost and revenue data associated with consumer broadband-only loops necessary for the calculation of CAF-BLS.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $0

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Is the Supporting Statement intended to be a Privacy Impact Assessment required by the E-Government Act of 2002? No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? Uncollected

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Common Form ICR:  No

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On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(i) Why the information is being collected;

(ii) Use of information;

(iii) Burden estimate;

(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);

(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and

(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.

Certification Date: 08/18/2016

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