[Federal Register: October 22, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 205)]
[Notices]
[Page 62993-62994]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22oc08-62]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Notice of Public Information Collection(s) Being Submitted for
Review to the Office of Management and Budget
October 17, 2008.
SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its
continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden, invites the general
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment
on the following information collection(s), as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520. An agency
may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid control number. No person shall be subject
to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) that does not display a
valid control number. Comments are requested concerning (a) Whether the
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the
information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
Commission's burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including
the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
DATES: Written Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments should be
submitted on or before November 21, 2008. If you anticipate that you
will be submitting PRA comments, but find it difficult to do so within
the period of time allowed by this notice, you should advise the FCC
contact listed below as soon as possible.
ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of
Management and Budget, (202) 395-5887, or via fax at 202-395-5167 or
via internet at Nicholas_A._Fraser@omb.eop.gov and to Judith-B.
Herman@fcc.gov, Federal Communications Commission, or an e-mail to
PRA@fcc.gov. To view a copy of this information collection request
(ICR) submitted to OMB: (1) Go to the Web page http://reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAMain, (2) look for the section of the Web page called
``Currently Under Review'', (3) click on the downward-pointing arrow in
the ``Select Agency'' box below the ``Currently Under Review'' heading,
(4) select ``Federal Communications Commission'' from the list of
agencies presented in the ``Select Agency'' box, (5) click the
``Submit'' button to the right of the ``Select Agency'' box, and (6)
when the list of FCC ICRs currently under review appears, look for the
title of this ICR (or its OMB Control Number, if there is one) and then
click on the ICR Reference Number to view detailed information about
this ICR.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies
of the information collection(s), contact Judith B. Herman at 202-418-
0214 or via the Internet at Judith-B.Herman@fcc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Control Number: 3060-0511.
Title: ARMIS Access Report.
Report No.: FCC Report 43-04.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
Number of Respondents: 76 respondents; 76 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 153 hours.
Frequency of Response: Annual reporting requirement.
Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. Statutory authority for this
information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 161, 219(b) and 220 of
the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
Total Annual Burden: 11,628 hours.
Total Annual Cost: N/A.
Privacy Act Impact Assessment: N/A.
Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Ordinarily, questions of a
sensitive nature are not involved in the ARMIS 43-04 Access Report. The
Commission contends that areas in which detailed information is
required are fully subject to regulation and the issue of data being
regarded as sensitive will arise on special circumstances only. In such
circumstances, the Commission instructs the respondent on the
appropriate procedures to follow to safeguard sensitive data.
Respondents may request confidential treatment of their documents under
47 CFR 0.459 of the Commission's rules.
Needs and Uses: The Federal Communications Commission is submitting
this information collection (IC) to the OMB as an extension during this
comment period to obtain the full three-year clearance from them. The
Commission is reporting a -918 burden hour reduction (adjustment). This
adjustment is due to fewer respondents (from 82 to 76 from the last
time this information collection was submitted to the OMB). Therefore,
the total annual burden hours are now estimated at 11,628 hours.
The Automated Reporting Management Information System (ARMIS),
Report 43-04, Access Report provides jurisdictional separations and
access charge data by Part 36 category of the Commission's rules and
regulations. The ARMIS Report 43-04 monitors revenue requirements,
joint cost allocations, jurisdictional separations and access charges.
Note: The Commission in its Memorandum Opinion and Order, WC
Docket Nos. 07-21 and 05-342, 23 FCC Rcd 7302, released April 24,
2008, granted AT&T's petition for forbearance, finding conditionally
that AT&T, as a price cap carrier generally not subject to rate-of-
return regulation, has demonstrated that forbearance from enforcing
the Cost Assignment Rules satisfies the
[[Page 62994]]
standard for forbearance under section 10 of the Act. Specially, the
Commission concluded that there is no current need to apply the Cost
Assignment Rules to AT&T. In addition, the Commission stated that
LECs similarly situated to AT&T are free to seek comparable
forbearance relief. Among other things, AT&T asked for forbearance
from four of the Commission's reporting requirements, including the
Access Report (ARMIS 43-04.) As a condition of this forbearance, the
Commission required AT&T to file a compliance plan, which must
include, among other things, a description of its imputation
methodology. AT&T must demonstrate that its access charge imputation
methodologies remain consistent with section 272(e)(3) of the
Communications rules and the Section 272 Sunset Order. In
particular, AT&T's compliance plan must describe how it will account
for imputed tariff rates given the grant of the requested
forbearance from section 32.5280(b) and (c) of the Commission's
rules. The Commission required that AT&T describe in detail how it
will continue to fulfill its statutory and regulatory obligations,
including section 254(k), and the conditions of this Order. The
relief granted in this Order will not become effective unless and
until AT&T's plan is approved. The compliance plan must also include
AT&T's first annual certification that it will comply with its
obligations under section 254(k) in the absence of the Cost
Assignment Rules and will provide any requested cost accounting
information necessary to prove such compliance. Also, the Commission
required AT&T to include a proposal for how it will maintain its
accounting procedures and data in a manner that will allow it to
provide useable information on a timely basis if requested by the
Commission to comply with any of the conditions of this relief and
its commitment to the Commission. Finally, the plan must include an
explanation of the transition process that AT&T will undertake,
including an expected schedule, to discontinue compliance with Cost
Assignment Rules and replace them with the procedures outlined in
its compliance plan upon approval of the plan. The Commission
delegated to the Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau)
to prescribe the administrative requirements of the filing and to
approve the plan when the Bureau is satisfied that AT&T will
implement a method of preserving the integrity of its accounting
system in the absence of the Cost Assignment Rules. Upon approval,
the Bureau will release a public notice notifying the public of
approval of the plan.
In the Commission's Memorandum Opinion and Order and Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking WC Docket No. 08-190, et al., FCC 08-203, released
September 6, 2008, it noted that in this proceeding parties have raised
the issue of the overlap between the ARMIS requirements at issue in
this proceeding and certain cost assignment relief previously granted
to AT&T. Because the Commission found that the reasoning of the AT&T
Cost Assignment Forbearance Order applies to Verizon and Qwest, it took
the opportunity, on its own motion, to extend to them the conditional
forbearance granted in the AT&T Cost Assignment Forbearance Order,
subject to approval of their compliance plan.
The Commission uses an indexed revenue threshold to determine which
carriers are required to file the ARMIS reports. The current revenue
threshold between Class A carriers and Class B carriers is $138 million
and the revenue threshold between larger Class A carriers and mid-sized
carriers is $8.181 billion.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8-25191 Filed 10-21-08; 8:45 am]
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