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.
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.
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
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.
$0
No
No
No
No
No
Uncollected
Cheryl Callahan 202
418-2320
No
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:
(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;
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.
Form Form 481 Instructi Connect America Fund - Broadband Loop Support
3060-0986_SS_ August 2016 (Revision HC_Final).docx
3060-0986 Emergency Letter (2016).pdf
Connect America Fund - Broadband Loop Support