Supporting Statement OMB 3060-0029 (Sept. 2019)

OMB Control Number: 3060-0029
September 2019
Title: FCC Form 2100, Schedule 340 – Noncommercial Educational Station for Reserved Channel
Construction Permit Application
SUPPORTING STATEMENT
A. Justification:
1. The Commission is submitting this non-substantive change request to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for approval of minor non-substantive changes made to the “Consolidated Data Base
System” (CDBS) based FCC Form 340. 1 FCC Form 340, Application for Construction Permit for
Reserved Channel Noncommercial Educational Broadcast Station (FCC Form 340), is used to apply for
authority to construct a new full-service noncommercial educational (NCE 2) FM or DTV broadcast
station (including a DTS facility3), to make changes in an authorized NCE broadcast station, or to amend a
pending CDBS Form 340 application. FCC Form 340 is used only if the station will operate on a channel
that is reserved exclusively for NCE use or in the situation where applications for NCE stations on nonreserved channels4 are mutually exclusive5 only with one another. Also, FCC Form 340 is used by Native
American Tribes and Alaska Native Villages (Tribes), Tribal consortia, or entities owned or controlled by
Tribes when qualifying for the “Tribal Priority” under 47 CFR §§ 73.7000, 73.7002.6
The Media Bureau is transitioning to a new on-line, electronic licensing database system called the
“Licensing Management System” (LMS) in which all Media Bureau broadcast applications and reporting
forms will eventually be filed. In effect, the database transition requires a corresponding design
conversion of all existing CDBS forms. The Media Bureau is currently developing electronic, LMScompatible versions of various broadcast station application and reporting forms, such as this Form 2100,
1

Pursuant to this non-substantive change, CDBS-based FCC Form 340 will be renamed “Form 2100, Schedule 340
– Noncommercial Educational Station for Reserved Channel Construction Permit Application” and will be
encompassed within the new on-line licensing database system called Licensing Modernization System.
Accordingly, the title of this Information Collection is being changed.
2

These stations are licensed to nonprofit educational organizations for use in the advancement of educational
programs.

3

DTV stations may apply to use distributed transmission system (“DTS”) technology to serve their viewers. See 47
CFR § 73.626. DTS technology employs multiple synchronized transmitters spread around a station’s service area,
rather than the current single-transmitter approach. Each transmitter would broadcast the station’s DTV signal on
the same channel, similar to analog TV booster stations but more efficiently. Due to the synchronization of the
transmitted signals, DTV receivers should be able to treat the multiple signals as reflections or “ghosts” and use
“adaptive equalizer” circuitry to cancel or combine them to produce a single signal.
4

Non-reserved channels are channels that are not reserved exclusively for NCE use and for which commercial
entities could be eligible to operate full-power stations. Non-reserved channels include FM channels 221 and above
appearing without an asterisk in the FM Table of Allotments (47 CFR § 73.202), and DTV channels appearing
without an asterisk in the DTV Table of Allotments (47 CFR § 73.622(i)).

5

Mutually exclusive applications are those that either cause or receive prohibited contour overlap with other
window-filed applications, thus preventing grant of more than one application.

6

See 47 CFR § 73.7000, which defines the terms “Tribe,” Tribal Applicant,” “Tribal Coverage,” and “Tribal
Lands,” and 47 CFR § 73.7002(b), which spells out the relevant Tribal Priority analysis.
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OMB Control Number: 3060-0029
September 2019
Title: FCC Form 2100, Schedule 340 – Noncommercial Educational Station for Reserved Channel
Construction Permit Application
Schedule 340 – Noncommercial Educational Station for Reserved Channel Construction Permit
Application (LMS NCE Construction Permit Application), as part of the database transition.
In general, the new LMS NCE Construction Permit Application will replicate the CDBS-based FCC Form
340. The form sections and substance of the individual questions essentially remain the same. As with
the CDBS-based FCC Form 340, the LMS NCE Construction Permit Application requires applicants to
certify compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements. The application is presented primarily in a
“Yes/No” certification format and contains places for submitting explanatory exhibits where appropriate.
The respondents, burden hours and costs of this Information Collection are not impacted by the minor
non-substantive changes to FCC Form 340, which will now be a part of the LMS NCE Construction
Permit Application. The minor non-substantive change is highlighted below:
Change #1 – To accommodate the Media Bureau’s database transition from CDBS to LMS, Form 340
will be replaced with the LMS-compatible LMS NCE Construction Permit Application. The
certification-based questions and explanatory exhibit format remains the same. The substance,
respondents, burden hours, and costs of Information Collection OMB Control No. 3060-0029 are not
impacted.
This non-substantive change request to (current) FCC Form 340, now contained in the LMS NCE
Construction Permit Application and the new online LMS licensing database system, requires
OMB review and approval. There are no new burdens or costs associated with this non-substantive
change.
Form 340’s Newspaper Notice (third party disclosure) requirement; 47 CFR § 73.3580. Form 340 also
contains a third-party disclosure requirement, pursuant to Section 73.3580. This rule requires a party
applying for a new broadcast station, or making a major change to an existing station, to give local public
notice of this filing in a newspaper of general circulation in the community in which the station is located.
This local public notice must be completed within 30 days of tendering the application. This notice must be
published at least twice a week for two consecutive weeks in a three-week period. In addition, a copy of this
notice must be placed in the station’s public inspection file along with the application, pursuant to Section
73.3527. This recordkeeping information collection requirement is contained in OMB Control No. 30600214, which covers Section 73.3527.
This information collection does not affect individuals or households; thus, there are no impacts under the
Privacy Act.
Statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in Sections 154(i), 303, and 308 of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
2. Agency Use of Information: The data collected by FCC Form 340 is used by FCC staff to determine
whether the applicants meet basic statutory requirements to become a Commission licensee/permittee and to
assure that the public interest would be served by grant of the application. In the case of mutually exclusive
qualified applicants, the information will be used to determine which proposal would best serve the public
interest.
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OMB Control Number: 3060-0029
September 2019
Title: FCC Form 2100, Schedule 340 – Noncommercial Educational Station for Reserved Channel
Construction Permit Application

3. Consideration Given to Information Technology: The Commission requires applicants to file these
forms electronically.
4. Effort to Identify Duplication and Use Similar Information: This agency does not impose a similar
information collection on the respondents. There are no similar data available.
5. Effort to Reduce Small Business Burden: In conformance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
the Commission is making an effort to minimize the burden on all respondents. The Commission has limited
the information requirements to those that are absolutely necessary for evaluating and processing the
applications to determine eligibility for the Tribal Priority and resolving competing applications by applicants
claiming the priority, and to deter possible abuses of the processes. Therefore, the information collection
does not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities/businesses.
6. Less Frequent Data Collection: The frequency for filing is determined by the respondents, as
necessary.
7. Information Collection Circumstances: This collection of information is consistent with the guidelines
in 5 CFR § 1320.5(d)(2).
8. Comments Received from the Public: Opportunity for public comment on this information collection
requirement contained in this supporting statement has been published in a notice in the Federal Register at
82 FR 14364, on March 20, 2017. No comments were received from the public.
9. Payment or Gift: No payment or gift is provided to the respondents.
10. Confidentiality of Information: There is no need for confidentiality with this information collection.
11. Justification for Sensitive Questions: This information collection does not address any private matters
of a sensitive nature.
12. Estimate of Burden and Burden Hour Cost: The following estimates are provided for public burden
for this information collection. These estimates are based on FCC staff's knowledge and familiarity with
the availability of the data required.
We estimate that a total of 1,615 Form 340 construction permit applications will be filed by NCE
full-power FM and DTV stations with the Commission annually. 7 We assume that each respondent
station licensee/permittee will contract with a consulting engineer to complete the engineering section of
the application and will also contract with an attorney to complete the legal section of the application,
review and file the FCC Form 340. We estimate that the respondent will spend approximately 2-6 hours
consulting and reviewing the application with the outside engineering and legal consultants, depending
upon the application type (e.g., New & Major, Tribal New & Major, Minor, DTS). We estimate that the
7

We note that this estimate includes the filing of amendments to these applications.
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OMB Control Number: 3060-0029
September 2019
Title: FCC Form 2100, Schedule 340 – Noncommercial Educational Station for Reserved Channel
Construction Permit Application
respondent will have an average salary of $100,000/year ($48.08/hour).
Newspaper Notices (47 CFR § 73.3580):
Section 73.3580 newspaper notices are required upon submission of construction permit applications
for New & Major Changes. We estimate that it will take the respondent approximately one hour to
fulfill the newspaper notice requirement. We estimate that the respondent will have an average salary
of $100,000/year ($48.08/hour).
Type

# of
Respondents

# of
Responses

Burden
Hours of
Respondents

Annual
Burden
Hours

Hourly
Salary of
Respondents

Annual InHouse Cost

8

NCE Full-Power FM and DTV
FM NCE New &
1,000
Major
FM NCE New &
175 9
Major (Tribal
Applicant)
FM NCE Minor
300

1,000

4 hrs.
consultation
6 hrs.
consultation

4,000 hrs

$48.08

$192,320.00

1,050 hrs

$48.08

$50,484.00

300

2 hrs.
consultation

600 hrs

$48.08

$28,848.00

4 hrs.
consultation
2 hrs.
consultation
3 hrs.
consultation

120 hrs

$48.08

$5,769.60

200 hrs

$48.08

$9,616.00

30 hrs

$48.08

$1,442.40

175

DTV NCE New &
Major
DTV NCE Minor

30

30

100

100

DTS

10

10

Subtotal

1,615

1,615

6,000 hrs

$288,480.00

Newspaper Notices (Third Party Disclosure) Requirement; 47 CFR § 73.3580
Newspaper Notices
1,120
1,120
1 hr.
1,120 hrs $48.08
with FM NCE New
& Major
applications (Form
340)
Newspaper Notices

30

30

1 hr.

30 hrs

$48.08

$53,849.60

$1,442.40

8

The Commission estimates that the average hourly salary for in-house personnel which includes station manager,
engineer and attorney to be $100,000/year or $48.08/hour based on the fact that the Commission is unsure who
exactly will complete and file the applications for the station.

9

This number includes applicants seeking the Tribal Priority based on coverage of Tribal Lands, applicants seeking
waiver of the Tribal Lands coverage provisions of the Tribal Priority, and amendments to such applications.
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OMB Control Number: 3060-0029
September 2019
Title: FCC Form 2100, Schedule 340 – Noncommercial Educational Station for Reserved Channel
Construction Permit Application
Type

# of
Respondents

# of
Responses

Burden
Hours of
Respondents

Annual
Burden
Hours

Hourly
Salary of
Respondents

Annual InHouse Cost

8

with DTV NCE
New applications
(Form 340)
Newspaper Notices
Subtotal

1,150

1,150

1,150 hrs

$55,292.00

TOTAL

2,765

2,765

7,150 hrs

$343,772.00

13. Annual Cost Burden to Respondents: The annual cost burden to the respondents was calculated as
follows:
•

•

•

We assume that each respondent station will contract with a consulting engineer to complete the
engineering section of the application and will also contract with an attorney to complete the legal section
of the application, review the application, and file FCC Form 340. We estimate that the time by outside
engineering and legal consultants spent to complete, review and file the form will vary, depending upon
the application and service type. We estimate that the consulting engineer will have an rate of $250/hour
and the outside attorney will charge approximately $300/hour.
Newspaper Notice Publication Fee: An FM or DTV applicant must give local public notice of the filing
of its Form 340 construction permit application for a new station or for a major change in facilities. This
notice must be published in a local newspaper of general circulation at least twice a week for two
consecutive weeks in a three-week period, for a total of four (4) publications. The cost of this publication
is estimated to be $113.25/publication.
Filing Fee: There is no filing fee for the Form 340, which is only filed by NCE stations.
Type

Number
of Forms

Consultant’s
Burden

Total
Annual
Burden
Hours

Consultant’s
Hourly Fee or
Application
Fee

Cost Burden

FM NCE New &
Major Engineering
Consultant
FM NCE New &
Major Outside

1,000

67 hrs

67,000 hrs

$250.00

$16,750,000.00

1,000

5 hrs

5,000 hrs

$300.00

$1,500,000.00

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OMB Control Number: 3060-0029
September 2019
Title: FCC Form 2100, Schedule 340 – Noncommercial Educational Station for Reserved Channel
Construction Permit Application
Attorney
FM NCE New &
Major Engineering
Consultant (Tribal
Applicant)
FM NCE New &
Major Outside
Attorney (Tribal
Applicant)
Newspaper Notice
Publication Fee
FM NCE Minor
Engineering
Consultant
FM NCE Minor
Outside Attorney

175

70 hrs

12,250 hrs

$250.00

$3,062,500.00

175

7 hrs

1,225 hrs

$250.00

$306,250.00

1,120

4 publications

$113.25/fee

$507,360.00

300

67.5 hrs

20,250 hrs

$250.00

$5,062,500.00

300

5 hrs

1,500 hrs

$300.00

$450,000.00

34 hrs

1,020 hrs

$250.00

$255,000.00

5 hrs

150 hrs

$300.00

$45,000.00

$113.25/fee

$13,590.00

DTV NCE New &
30
Major Engineering
Consultant
DTV NCE New &
30
Major Outside
Attorney
Newspaper Notice
30
Publication Fee
DTV NCE Minor
100
Engineering
Consultant
DTV NCE Minor
100
Outside Attorney
DTS NCE
10
Engineering
Consultant
DTS NCE Outside
10
Attorney
Annual Cost Burden Total

4 publications
34 hrs

3,400 hrs

$250.00

$850,000.00

5 hrs

500 hrs

$300.00

$150,000.00

45 hrs

450 hrs

$250.00

$112,500.00

5 hrs

50 hrs

$300.00

$15,000.00
$29,079,700

14. Cost to Federal Government: The total cost to the Federal Government was calculated as follows:
FM New and Major Applications:
Clerical
1.5 hours x $20.61/hour x 1,000 =
Paraprofessional
7.0 hours x $37.79/hour x 1,000 =
Professional
36.9 hours x $63.64/hour x 1,000 =

6

$ 30,915
$ 264,530
$2,348,316
$2,643,761

OMB Control Number: 3060-0029
September 2019
Title: FCC Form 2100, Schedule 340 – Noncommercial Educational Station for Reserved Channel
Construction Permit Application
FM New and Major Applications (Tribal Applicants):
Clerical
1.6 hours x $20.61/hour x 175 =
Paraprofessional
7.5 hours x $37.79/hour x 175 =
Professional
37.5 hours x $63.64/hour x 175 =

FM Minor Change:
Clerical
Paraprofessional
Professional

2.0 hours x $20.61/hour x 300 =
6 hours x $37.79/hour x 300 =
25 hours x $63.64/hour x 300 =

DTV Applications (New & Major and Minor Change):
Clerical
2 hours x $20.61/hour x 130 =
Paraprofessional
6 hours x $37.79/hour x 130 =
Professional
16 hours x $63.64/hour x 130 =

DTS Applications:
Clerical
Paraprofessional
Professional

2 hours x $20.61/hour x 10 =
6 hours x $37.79/hour x 10 =
20 hours x $63.64/hour x 10 =

TOTAL COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT:

$ 5,771
$ 49,599
$417,638
$473,008

$ 12,366
$ 68,022
$477,300
$557,688

$ 5,359
$ 29,476
$132,371
$167,206

$ 412
$ 2,267
$ 12,728
$ 15,407
$3,857,070

The following data was used to calculate the total cost to the Federal Government:
*The Commission will use professional staff at the GS-14, step 5 level ($63.64/hour), paraprofessional staff
at the GS-11, step 5 level ($37.79/hour) and clerical staff at the GS-5, step 5 level ($20.61/hour) to process
these applications.
15. Reason for Changes in Burden or Cost: There are no program changes or adjustments to this
information collection.
16. Plans for Publication: The data will not be published.
17. Display of OMB Approval Date: We request extension of the waiver not to publish the expiration date
on the form. This will obviate the need for the Commission to update electronic forms upon the expiration of
the clearance. OMB approval of the expiration date of the information collection will be displayed at 47 CFR
§ 0.408.
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OMB Control Number: 3060-0029
September 2019
Title: FCC Form 2100, Schedule 340 – Noncommercial Educational Station for Reserved Channel
Construction Permit Application
18. Exceptions to the Certification Statement: There are no exceptions to the Certification Statement.
B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods
This information collection does not employ any statistical methods.

8