Section 214 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, requires that the FCC review the establishment, acquisition, operation, and extension of lines, and the discontinuance of service by interstate common carriers. This OMB collection pertains primarily to section 63.71 and other related sections of the Commission's rules, which govern the application process for receiving authority for discontinuance, impairment or reduction in service. The discontinuance obligations that apply to domestic non-dominant telecommunications carriers have been extended to providers of interconnected VoIP service. In July, 2016, the Commission revised its discontinuance procedures to require that technology transition discontinuance applicants seeking streamlined treatment meet the "adequate replacement test." In June 2018, the Commission further modified the rules applicable to section 214(a) discontinuance applications. First, all carriers, whether dominant or non-dominant, that seek approval to grandfather data services below speeds of 25 Mbps download speed and 3 Mbps upload speed are now subject to a uniform reduced public comment period of 10 days and an automatic grant period of 25 days. Second, all carriers, whether dominant or non-dominant, seeking authorization to discontinue data services below speeds of 25 Mbps download speed and 3 Mbps upload speed that have previously been grandfathered for a period of at least 180 days are subject to a uniform reduced public comment period of 10 days and an automatic grant period of 31 days, provided they submit a statement as part of their discontinuance application that they have received Commission authority to grandfather the services at issue at least 180 days prior to the filing of the discontinuance application. This statement must reference the file number of the prior Commission authorization to grandfather the services the carrier now seeks to permanently discontinue. Third, carriers are no longer required to file an application to discontinue, reduce, or impair any service for which it has had no customers and no request for service for at least a 30-day period immediately preceding the discontinuance. Fourth, all carriers, whether dominant or non-dominant, that seek approval to discontinue legacy voice service can obtain further streamlined processing with a public comment period of 15 days and an automatic grant period of 31 days, provided (1) they offer a stand-alone interconnected VoIP service throughout the service area, and (2) at least one alternative stand-alone, facilities-based voice service is available from an unaffiliated provider throughout the affected service area (the âalternative options testâ). Finally, all carriers, whether dominant or non-dominant, that seek approval to grandfather legacy voice service are now subject to a uniform reduced public comment period of 10 days and an automatic grant period of 25 days.
US Code:
47 USC 214
Name of Law: Communications Act of 1934, as amended
US Code:
47 USC 402
Name of Law: Communications Act of 1934, as amended
The Commission is reporting program changes/decreases to the total number of respondents, total annual responses, and total annual burden hours with this revised collection. The total number of respondents increased from 63 to 80 (+17), the total annual responses increased from 83 to 88 (+5), and the total annual burden hours decreased from 1,923 to 1,086 (-837). These program changes/increases/decreases are due to (a) an increase in the average number of section 214(a) applications filed annually; (2) Commission expectation that it will receive three fewer section 214(a) discontinuance applications annually in light of the Commissionâs forbearance from applying its section 214(a) discontinuance requirements to services for which the carrier has had no customers and no reasonable requests for service during the preceding 30-day period; and (3) Commission expectation that fewer carriers will use the adequate replacement test in connection with technology transition discontinuance applications in light of the availability of the newly-adopted alternative options test.
No adjustments are being reported to this information collection.
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.
3060-0149 SS (102018).docx
Part 63, Accelerating Wireline Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure Investment, WC Docket No. 17-84, FCC 18-74