Federal Register: April 12, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 71)
DOCID: FR Doc 02-8844
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Federal Communications Commission
NOTICE: NOTICES
ACTION: Agency information collection activities:
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Public Information Collections Approved by Office of Management and Budget
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
April 5, 2002.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has received Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the following public
information collections pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, Public Law 10413. An agency may not conduct or sponsor and a
person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless
it displays a currently valid control number. For further information
contact Shoko B. Hair, Federal Communications Commission, (202) 418 1379.
Federal Communications Commission
OMB Control No.: 30600855.
Expiration Date: 09/30/2002.
Title: Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet and Associated Requirements, CC Docket No. 9645.
Form No.: FCC Form 499 (FCC Forms 499A and 499Q).
Respondents: Business or other forprofit; Not for profit institutions.
Estimated Annual Burden: 5500 respondents; 15 hours per response (avg.).; 82,487 total annual burden hours.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $14,000. [[Page 17997]]
Frequency of Response: On occasion; Annually; Quarterly.
Description: Pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended, telecommunications carriers (and certain other providers of
telecommunications services) must contribute to the support and cost
recovery mechanisms for telecommunications relay services, numbering
administration, number portability, and universal service. Respondents
file their grossbilled enduser telecommunications revenues on a
quarterly basis in FCC Form 499Q, and on an annual basis in FCC Form
499A. FCC Form 499A is filed on annually on April 1. (No. of
respondents: 3500; hours per response: 9.5, total annual burden: 33,250
hours). The FCC Form 499Q has been revised. The revised form permits
affiliated legal entities to make consolidated filings if they meet ten
conditions. Filers making the election must certify to ten conditions.
See Report and Order issued in CC Docket Nos. 9645, 98171, 90571,
92237, 99200, 95166 and 98170 (FCC 0243) released February 26,
2002. Carriers must file the revised FCC Form 499Q on May 1, 2002.
(No. of respondents; 2000; hours per response: 6 hours x 4 filings = 24
hours; total annual burden: 48,000 hours). Carriers are required to
file FCC Form 499Q reporting their revenues from the prior quarter, by
the beginning of the second month of the current quarter (i.e.,
February 1, May 1, August 1, and November 1). Copies of the
Instructions and FCC Form 499A and the revised FCC Form 499Q may be
obtained from the Commission's Form Web Page (www.fcc.gov/
formpage.html). Copies may also be obtained from the National Exchange
Carrier Association (NECA) at (973) 5604400. Obligation to respond: Mandatory.
OMB Control No.: 30600814.
Expiration Date: 03/31/2005.
Title: Section 54.301, Local Switching Support and Local Switching Support Data Collection Form and Instructions.
Form No.: N/A.
Respondents: Business or other forprofit.
Estimated Annual Burden: 195 respondents; 19.42 hours per response (avg.).; 3787 total annual burden hours.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
Frequency of Response: On occasion; Annually.
Description: Pursuant to Section 54.301, each incumbent local
exchange carrier that is not a member of the NECA common line tariff,
that has been designated an eligible telecommunications carrier, and
that serves a study area with 50,000 or fewer access lines shall, for
each study area, provide the Administrator with the projected total
unseparated dollar amount assigned to each account in Section
54.301(b). (No. of respondents: 157; ours per response; 24 hours; total
annual burden: 3768 hours). Average schedule companies are required to
file information pursuant to Section 54.301(f). (No. of respondents:
38; hours per response: .5 hours; total annual burden: 19 hours). Both
respondents must provide trueup data. The data is necessary to
calculate the average unseparated local switching revenue requirement.
This revenue requirement is necessary to calculate the amount of local
switching support that carriers will receive. Obligation to respond: Mandatory.
OMB Control No.: 30600512.
Expiration Date: 4/30/2005.
Title: ARMIS Annual Summary Report.
Form No.: FCC Report 4301.
Respondents: Business or other forprofit.
Estimated Annual Burden: 121 respondents; 14.36 hours per response (avg.).; 11,737 total annual burden hours.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
Frequency of Response: Annually.
Description: Section 220 of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended, 47 U.S.C. 220, allows the Commission, at its discretion, to
prescribe the forms of any and all accounts, records, and memoranda to
be kept by carriers subject to this Act, including the accounts,
records, and memoranda of the movement of traffic, as well as of the
receipts and expenditures of moneys. Section 219(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 219(b), authorizes
the Commission by a general or special orders to require any carriers
subject to this Act to file annual reports concerning any matters with
respect to which the Commission is authorized or required by law to
act. ARMIS was implemented to facilitate the timely and efficient
analysis of revenue requirements, rates of return and price caps; to
provide an improved basis for audits and other oversight functions; and
to enhance the Commission's ability to quantify the effects of
alternative policy. The ARMIS 4301 Report contains financial and
operating data and is used to monitor the incumbent local exchange
carriers (ILECs) and to perform routine analyses of costs and revenues.
ARMIS 4301 Report facilitates the annual collection of the results of
accounting, rate base, and cost allocation requirements prescribed in
Parts 32, 36, 64, 65, and 69 of the Commission's Rules and Regulations.
The information contained in the ARMIS 4301 Report provides the
necessary detail to enable the Commission to fulfill its regulatory responsibilities. Obligation to respond: Mandatory.
OMB Control No.: 30600763.
Expiration Date: 4/30/2005.
Title: ARMIS Customer Satisfaction Report.
Form No.: FCC Report 4306.
Respondents: Business or other forprofit.
Estimated Annual Burden: 8 respondents; 720 hours per response (avg.).; 5760 total annual burden hours.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
Frequency of Response: Annually.
Description: Section 220 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 220, allows the Commission, at its discretion, to prescribe the forms of any and all accounts, records, and memoranda to be kept by carriers subject to this Act, including the accounts, records, and memoranda of the movement of traffic, as well as of the receipts and expenditures of moneys. Section 219(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 219(b), authorizes the Commission by a general or special orders to require any carriers subject to this Act to file annual reports concerning any matters with respect to which the Commission is authorized or required by law to act. ARMIS was implemented to facilitate the timely and efficient analysis of revenue requirements, rates of return and price caps; to provide an improved basis for audits and other oversight functions; and to enhance the Commission's ability to quantify the effects of alternative policy. The ARMIS 4306 Report reflects the results of customer satisfaction surveys conducted by individual carriers from residential and business customers. The ARMIS 4306 Report captures trends in service quality. The information contained in the ARMIS 4306 Report provides the necessary detail to enable this Commission to capture trends in service quality. Obligation to respond: Mandatory.
OMB Control No.: 30600496.
Expiration Date: 4/30/2005.
Title: ARMIS Operating Data Report.
Form No.: FCC Report 4308.
Respondents: Business or other forprofit.
[[Page 17998]]
Estimated Annual Burden: 50 respondents; 160 hours per response (avg.).; 8000 total annual burden hours.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
Frequency of Response: Annually.
Description: Section 220 of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended, 47 U.S.C. 220, allows the Commission, at its discretion, to
prescribe the forms of any and all accounts, records, and memoranda to
be kept by carriers subject to this Act, including the accounts,
records, and memoranda of the movement of traffic, as well as of the
receipts and expenditures of moneys. Section 219(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 219(b), authorizes
the Commission by a general or special orders to require any carriers
subject to this Act to file annual reports concerning any matters with
respect to which the Commission is authorized or required by law to
act. ARMIS was implemented to facilitate the timely and efficient
analysis of revenue requirements, rates of return and price caps; to
provide an improved basis for audits and other oversight functions; and
to enhance the Commission's ability to quantify the effects of
alternative policy. The ARMIS 4308 Report collects networkoperating
data in a consistent format. The ARMIS 4308 Report monitors network
growth, usage, and reliability. The information contained in the ARMIS
4308 Report provides the necessary detail to enable this Commission to
fulfill its regulatory responsibilities. Obligation to respond: Mandatory.
OMB Control No.: 30600972.
Expiration Date: 09/30/2002.
Title: MultiAssociation Group (MAG) Plan for Regulation of
Interstate Services of NonPrice Cap Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers and Interexchange Carriers.
Form No.: N/A.
Respondents: Business or other forprofit.
Estimated Annual Burden: 5461 respondents; 5.23 hours per response (avg.).; 28,571 total annual burden hours.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $228,000.
Frequency of Response: On occasion; Quarterly; Annually; Onetime; Third Party Disclosure.
Description: In the First Order on Reconsideration in CC Docket No.
00256, Twentyfourth Order on Reconsideration in CC Docket No. 9645
(Order on Reconsideration), released March 22, 2002 (FCC 0289), the
Commission modified on its own motion the data collection and filing
procedures for implementation of the Interstate Common Line Support
Mechanism (ICLS), in order to ensure timely implementation of the ICLS
mechanism on July 1, 2002 as adopted in the Second Report and Order and
Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in CC Docket No. 00256,
Fifteenth Report and Order in CC Docket No. 9645, and Report and Order
in CC Docket Nos. 9877 and 98166 (MAG Order), released November 8,
2001 (FCC 01304). The Commission extends until April 18, 2002 the
original March 31, 2002, deadline set forth in 47 CFR 54.903(a) for the
submission of projected data and line counts to USAC. The Commission
modifies the requirement under 47 CFR 54.903(a) that each carrier file
its data with USAC in order to permit NECA to file the data for each
member of the NECA common line pool for the purpose of this initial
ICLS filing deadline. If a pooling carrier prefers to file its own data
or designate an agent other than NECA to file its data, it may do so at
its option. A carrier that does not participate in NECA's common line
pool must file its own data or designate an agent to do so. In order to
ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data used to calculate
support, the Commission requires certain certifications from parties
filing data with USAC. The Commission specifies the data to be
submitted for the initial ICLS filing under 47 CFR 54.903(a). a.
Projected Revenue Requirements. For the initial April 18, 2002 data
submission, the Commission requires only projected data required
identified in 47 CFR 54.901(a). The initial filing shall therefore
include the following data for each eligible rateofreturn carrier:
(1) Projected common line revenue requirement; (2) projected SLC
revenues; (3) projected revenue from its transitional CCL charge; (4)
projected special access surcharges; (5) projected line port costs in
excess of basic analog service; and (6) projected LTS. See Order on
Reconsideration. (No. of respondents: 37 carriers and NECA; hours per
response: 2 hours for carriers and 90 hours for NECA; total annual
burden: 164 hours). b(1). Line Counts. The Commission clarifies that
the line count data that must be submitted on April 18, 2002, pursuant
to 47 CFR 54.903(a), shall include line count data for each study area
by customer class (singleline business/residential and multiline
business), but need not include line counts by disaggregation zone.
Carriers must file disaggregated line count data on the July 31 annual
line count filing. See Order on Reconsideration. (No. of respondents:
17 carriers and NECA; hours per response: 1 hour for carriers and 30
hours for NECA; total annual burden: 47 hours). The following
collections were not modified by the Commission's recent Order on
Reconsideration. b(2). Line Counts (Support in Competitive Study
Areas): Competitive eligible telecommunications carriers will file
their line counts, by disaggregation zone and customer class on a
quarterly basis, in accordance with the schedule in section 54.307 of
our rules. (No. of respondents: 10; hours per response: 6 hours; total
annual burden: 60 hours). c. True Ups: Beginning July 31, 2003, and
annually thereafter, rateofreturn carriers will be required to submit
actual interstate common line cost data to the Administrator for the
preceding calendar year. The first date for filing actual cost data
shall be July 31, 2003. (No. of respondents: 769; hours per response: 4
hours; total annual burden: 3076 hours). In order to provide rateof
return carriers with opportunities to true up support amounts on a more
frequent basis, carriers will be permitted to file updated cost data
with USAC on a quarterly basis. Carriers wishing to submit cost data on
a quarterly basis will file such data in accordance with the schedule
provided in section 36.612 of the rules. (No. of respondents: 100;
hours per response: 2 hours; total annual burden: 200 hours). d.
Disaggregation Plans: Consistent with section 254 of the Act, the
Commission concluded in the MAG Order that the plan for the geographic
disaggregation and targeting of portable highcost universal service
support below the study area level recently adopted in the Rural Task
Force Order will also apply to Interstate Common Line Support. To
ensure the portability and predictability of support, rateofreturn
carriers that elect to disaggregate and target support will be required
to submit maps to the Administrator in which the boundaries of the
designated disaggregation zones are clearly specified. The
Administrator will make such maps available for public inspection by
competitors and other interested parties. When submitting information
in support of Path Three selfcertification, incumbent carriers must
provide the Administrator with publicly available information that
allows competitors to verify and reproduce the algorithm used to
determine zone support levels (SelfCertification of Disaggregation
Plan). Similarly, carriers electing Path One must submit to the
Administrator a copy of certifications to a state commission or appropriate regulatory authority that
[[Page 17999]]
they will not disaggregate and target support (Notification to State of
Change in Disaggregation Methodology). Carriers selecting Path Two must
submit a copy to the Administrator of the order by the state commission
or appropriate regulatory authority approving the disaggregation plan
submitted, along with a copy of the disaggregation plan itself
(Targeting Plan to State). In the MAG Order, the Commission extended
until May 15, 2002, the date by which carriers will be required to
select a disaggregation path for highcost loop, LTS, LSS, and
Interstate Common Line Support mechanisms. (No. of respondents: 100;
hours per response: 1 hour; total annual burden 100 hours) e. Section
254(e) Certifications: Section 254(e) provides that a carrier receiving
universal service support must use that support ``only for the
provision, maintenance, and upgrading of facilities and service for
which the support is intended.'' To ensure that carriers receiving
Interstate Common Line Support and LTS will use that support in a
manner consistent with section 254(e), the Commission shall require
carriers seeking such support to file a certification with the
Commission and the Administrator. This certification requirement will be applicable to rateofreturn carriers and eligible
telecommunications carriers seeking support from our Interstate Common
Line Support mechanism. The certification shall be filed with the
Commission and the Administrator on March 31, 2002. Such certification
shall be filed in CC Docket No. 9645 annually thereafter on June 30th.
The certification may be filed in the form of a letter and must state
that the carrier will use its Interstate Common Line Support and LTS
only for the provision, maintenance, and upgrading of facilities and
service for which support is intended. (No. of respondents: 1300; hours
per response: 2 hours; total annual burden: 2600 hours). f. Required
tariff filings: All rateofreturn carriers are required to modify
their access tariffs to comply with the new Subscriber Line Charge
(SLC) caps, to become effective on January 1, 2002, and on July 1,
2002, and July 1, 2003 subject to a cost review study for price cap
carriers. Rateofreturn carriers also must file tariffs to recover
through a separate enduser charge the costs of ISDN line ports and
line ports associated with other services that exceed the costs of a
line port used for basic analog service. (No. of respondents: 116;
hours per response: 69.9 hours (avg.); total annual burden: 8110
hours). g. Optional Line Port Cost Study: Rateofreturn carriers may
use 30 percent of local switching costs as a proxy in shifting line
port costs to the common line category, or may conduct a cost study
based on geographicallyaveraged costs to be submitted in support of
the tariff filing relying on the cost study. A carrier may rely on a
cost study for subsequent tariff filings. (No. of respondents: 12;
hours per response 40 hours; total annual burden: 480 hours). h.
Establishment of TIC Caps: NECA is required to establish for carriers
that participated in the NECA pool during the tariff year ending June
30, 2001, an individual carrier dollar limit based on its traffic
volumes and the TIC rate for the twelvemonth period ending June 30,
2001. Each carrier that was not in the pool during the tariff year
ending on June 30, 2001, must determine its TIC limit and report it to
NECA for purposes of administering future pool membership changes. (No.
of respondents: 1186; hours per response: .13 hours; total annual
burden: 2.6 hours). i. Optional tariff filings: Rateofreturn carriers
may, at their option, establish the following local switching and
transport rate elements: a flat charge for dedicated trunk port costs;
a flat charge for the costs of DS1/voice grade multiplexers associated
with terminating dedicated trunks at analog switches; a perminute
charge for shared trunk ports and any associated DS1/voice grade
multiplexer costs; a flat charge for the costs of trunk ports used to
terminate dedicated trunks on the serving wire center side of the
tandem switch; individual charges for multiplexer costs associated with
tandem switches; and a permessage call setup charge. (No. of
respondents: 12; hours per response: 93 hours; total annual burden:
1116 hours). j. GSF allocation: Beginning July 1, 2002, rateofreturn
carriers that use general purpose computers to provide nonregulated
billing and collection services are required to allocate a portion of
their general purpose computer costs to the billing and collection
category, which will require them to determine general purpose computer
investment. Carriers may use the general purpose computer investment
amount they develop for a period of three years. (No. of respondents:
600; hours per response: 20 hours; total annual burden: 12,000 hours).
The Commission will use the information collected to determine
whether and to what extent nonprice cap or rateofreturn carriers
providing the data are eligible to receive universal service support.
The Commission will use the tariff data to make sure that rates are
just and reasonable, as required by section 201(b) of the Act.
Obligation to respond: Mandatory. Public reporting burdens for the
collections of information are as noted above. Send comments regarding
the burden estimates or any other aspect of the collections of
information, including suggestions for reducing the burden to
Performance Evaluation and Records Management, Washington, DC 20554. Federal Communications Commission.
William F. Caton,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 028844 Filed 41102; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 671201P
SUMMARY:
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements,
DOCUMENT BODY 2:
April 5, 2002.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has received Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the following public
information collections pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, Public Law 10413. An agency may not conduct or sponsor and a
person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless
it displays a currently valid control number. For further information
contact Shoko B. Hair, Federal Communications Commission, (202) 418 1379.
Federal Communications Commission
OMB Control No.: 30600855.
Expiration Date: 09/30/2002.
Title: Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet and Associated Requirements, CC Docket No. 9645.
Form No.: FCC Form 499 (FCC Forms 499A and 499Q).
Respondents: Business or other forprofit; Not for profit institutions.
Estimated Annual Burden: 5500 respondents; 15 hours per response (avg.).; 82,487 total annual burden hours.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $14,000. [[Page 17997]]
Frequency of Response: On occasion; Annually; Quarterly.
Description: Pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended, telecommunications carriers (and certain other providers of
telecommunications services) must contribute to the support and cost
recovery mechanisms for telecommunications relay services, numbering
administration, number portability, and universal service. Respondents
file their grossbilled enduser telecommunications revenues on a
quarterly basis in FCC Form 499Q, and on an annual basis in FCC Form
499A. FCC Form 499A is filed on annually on April 1. (No. of
respondents: 3500; hours per response: 9.5, total annual burden: 33,250
hours). The FCC Form 499Q has been revised. The revised form permits
affiliated legal entities to make consolidated filings if they meet ten
conditions. Filers making the election must certify to ten conditions.
See Report and Order issued in CC Docket Nos. 9645, 98171, 90571,
92237, 99200, 95166 and 98170 (FCC 0243) released February 26,
2002. Carriers must file the revised FCC Form 499Q on May 1, 2002.
(No. of respondents; 2000; hours per response: 6 hours x 4 filings = 24
hours; total annual burden: 48,000 hours). Carriers are required to
file FCC Form 499Q reporting their revenues from the prior quarter, by
the beginning of the second month of the current quarter (i.e.,
February 1, May 1, August 1, and November 1). Copies of the
Instructions and FCC Form 499A and the revised FCC Form 499Q may be
obtained from the Commission's Form Web Page (www.fcc.gov/
formpage.html). Copies may also be obtained from the National Exchange
Carrier Association (NECA) at (973) 5604400. Obligation to respond: Mandatory.
OMB Control No.: 30600814.
Expiration Date: 03/31/2005.
Title: Section 54.301, Local Switching Support and Local Switching Support Data Collection Form and Instructions.
Form No.: N/A.
Respondents: Business or other forprofit.
Estimated Annual Burden: 195 respondents; 19.42 hours per response (avg.).; 3787 total annual burden hours.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
Frequency of Response: On occasion; Annually.
Description: Pursuant to Section 54.301, each incumbent local
exchange carrier that is not a member of the NECA common line tariff,
that has been designated an eligible telecommunications carrier, and
that serves a study area with 50,000 or fewer access lines shall, for
each study area, provide the Administrator with the projected total
unseparated dollar amount assigned to each account in Section
54.301(b). (No. of respondents: 157; ours per response; 24 hours; total
annual burden: 3768 hours). Average schedule companies are required to
file information pursuant to Section 54.301(f). (No. of respondents:
38; hours per response: .5 hours; total annual burden: 19 hours). Both
respondents must provide trueup data. The data is necessary to
calculate the average unseparated local switching revenue requirement.
This revenue requirement is necessary to calculate the amount of local
switching support that carriers will receive. Obligation to respond: Mandatory.
OMB Control No.: 30600512.
Expiration Date: 4/30/2005.
Title: ARMIS Annual Summary Report.
Form No.: FCC Report 4301.
Respondents: Business or other forprofit.
Estimated Annual Burden: 121 respondents; 14.36 hours per response (avg.).; 11,737 total annual burden hours.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
Frequency of Response: Annually.
Description: Section 220 of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended, 47 U.S.C. 220, allows the Commission, at its discretion, to
prescribe the forms of any and all accounts, records, and memoranda to
be kept by carriers subject to this Act, including the accounts,
records, and memoranda of the movement of traffic, as well as of the
receipts and expenditures of moneys. Section 219(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 219(b), authorizes
the Commission by a general or special orders to require any carriers
subject to this Act to file annual reports concerning any matters with
respect to which the Commission is authorized or required by law to
act. ARMIS was implemented to facilitate the timely and efficient
analysis of revenue requirements, rates of return and price caps; to
provide an improved basis for audits and other oversight functions; and
to enhance the Commission's ability to quantify the effects of
alternative policy. The ARMIS 4301 Report contains financial and
operating data and is used to monitor the incumbent local exchange
carriers (ILECs) and to perform routine analyses of costs and revenues.
ARMIS 4301 Report facilitates the annual collection of the results of
accounting, rate base, and cost allocation requirements prescribed in
Parts 32, 36, 64, 65, and 69 of the Commission's Rules and Regulations.
The information contained in the ARMIS 4301 Report provides the
necessary detail to enable the Commission to fulfill its regulatory responsibilities. Obligation to respond: Mandatory.
OMB Control No.: 30600763.
Expiration Date: 4/30/2005.
Title: ARMIS Customer Satisfaction Report.
Form No.: FCC Report 4306.
Respondents: Business or other forprofit.
Estimated Annual Burden: 8 respondents; 720 hours per response (avg.).; 5760 total annual burden hours.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
Frequency of Response: Annually.
Description: Section 220 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 220, allows the Commission, at its discretion, to prescribe the forms of any and all accounts, records, and memoranda to be kept by carriers subject to this Act, including the accounts, records, and memoranda of the movement of traffic, as well as of the receipts and expenditures of moneys. Section 219(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 219(b), authorizes the Commission by a general or special orders to require any carriers subject to this Act to file annual reports concerning any matters with respect to which the Commission is authorized or required by law to act. ARMIS was implemented to facilitate the timely and efficient analysis of revenue requirements, rates of return and price caps; to provide an improved basis for audits and other oversight functions; and to enhance the Commission's ability to quantify the effects of alternative policy. The ARMIS 4306 Report reflects the results of customer satisfaction surveys conducted by individual carriers from residential and business customers. The ARMIS 4306 Report captures trends in service quality. The information contained in the ARMIS 4306 Report provides the necessary detail to enable this Commission to capture trends in service quality. Obligation to respond: Mandatory.
OMB Control No.: 30600496.
Expiration Date: 4/30/2005.
Title: ARMIS Operating Data Report.
Form No.: FCC Report 4308.
Respondents: Business or other forprofit.
[[Page 17998]]
Estimated Annual Burden: 50 respondents; 160 hours per response (avg.).; 8000 total annual burden hours.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
Frequency of Response: Annually.
Description: Section 220 of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended, 47 U.S.C. 220, allows the Commission, at its discretion, to
prescribe the forms of any and all accounts, records, and memoranda to
be kept by carriers subject to this Act, including the accounts,
records, and memoranda of the movement of traffic, as well as of the
receipts and expenditures of moneys. Section 219(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 219(b), authorizes
the Commission by a general or special orders to require any carriers
subject to this Act to file annual reports concerning any matters with
respect to which the Commission is authorized or required by law to
act. ARMIS was implemented to facilitate the timely and efficient
analysis of revenue requirements, rates of return and price caps; to
provide an improved basis for audits and other oversight functions; and
to enhance the Commission's ability to quantify the effects of
alternative policy. The ARMIS 4308 Report collects networkoperating
data in a consistent format. The ARMIS 4308 Report monitors network
growth, usage, and reliability. The information contained in the ARMIS
4308 Report provides the necessary detail to enable this Commission to
fulfill its regulatory responsibilities. Obligation to respond: Mandatory.
OMB Control No.: 30600972.
Expiration Date: 09/30/2002.
Title: MultiAssociation Group (MAG) Plan for Regulation of
Interstate Services of NonPrice Cap Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers and Interexchange Carriers.
Form No.: N/A.
Respondents: Business or other forprofit.
Estimated Annual Burden: 5461 respondents; 5.23 hours per response (avg.).; 28,571 total annual burden hours.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $228,000.
Frequency of Response: On occasion; Quarterly; Annually; Onetime; Third Party Disclosure.
Description: In the First Order on Reconsideration in CC Docket No.
00256, Twentyfourth Order on Reconsideration in CC Docket No. 9645
(Order on Reconsideration), released March 22, 2002 (FCC 0289), the
Commission modified on its own motion the data collection and filing
procedures for implementation of the Interstate Common Line Support
Mechanism (ICLS), in order to ensure timely implementation of the ICLS
mechanism on July 1, 2002 as adopted in the Second Report and Order and
Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in CC Docket No. 00256,
Fifteenth Report and Order in CC Docket No. 9645, and Report and Order
in CC Docket Nos. 9877 and 98166 (MAG Order), released November 8,
2001 (FCC 01304). The Commission extends until April 18, 2002 the
original March 31, 2002, deadline set forth in 47 CFR 54.903(a) for the
submission of projected data and line counts to USAC. The Commission
modifies the requirement under 47 CFR 54.903(a) that each carrier file
its data with USAC in order to permit NECA to file the data for each
member of the NECA common line pool for the purpose of this initial
ICLS filing deadline. If a pooling carrier prefers to file its own data
or designate an agent other than NECA to file its data, it may do so at
its option. A carrier that does not participate in NECA's common line
pool must file its own data or designate an agent to do so. In order to
ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data used to calculate
support, the Commission requires certain certifications from parties
filing data with USAC. The Commission specifies the data to be
submitted for the initial ICLS filing under 47 CFR 54.903(a). a.
Projected Revenue Requirements. For the initial April 18, 2002 data
submission, the Commission requires only projected data required
identified in 47 CFR 54.901(a). The initial filing shall therefore
include the following data for each eligible rateofreturn carrier:
(1) Projected common line revenue requirement; (2) projected SLC
revenues; (3) projected revenue from its transitional CCL charge; (4)
projected special access surcharges; (5) projected line port costs in
excess of basic analog service; and (6) projected LTS. See Order on
Reconsideration. (No. of respondents: 37 carriers and NECA; hours per
response: 2 hours for carriers and 90 hours for NECA; total annual
burden: 164 hours). b(1). Line Counts. The Commission clarifies that
the line count data that must be submitted on April 18, 2002, pursuant
to 47 CFR 54.903(a), shall include line count data for each study area
by customer class (singleline business/residential and multiline
business), but need not include line counts by disaggregation zone.
Carriers must file disaggregated line count data on the July 31 annual
line count filing. See Order on Reconsideration. (No. of respondents:
17 carriers and NECA; hours per response: 1 hour for carriers and 30
hours for NECA; total annual burden: 47 hours). The following
collections were not modified by the Commission's recent Order on
Reconsideration. b(2). Line Counts (Support in Competitive Study
Areas): Competitive eligible telecommunications carriers will file
their line counts, by disaggregation zone and customer class on a
quarterly basis, in accordance with the schedule in section 54.307 of
our rules. (No. of respondents: 10; hours per response: 6 hours; total
annual burden: 60 hours). c. True Ups: Beginning July 31, 2003, and
annually thereafter, rateofreturn carriers will be required to submit
actual interstate common line cost data to the Administrator for the
preceding calendar year. The first date for filing actual cost data
shall be July 31, 2003. (No. of respondents: 769; hours per response: 4
hours; total annual burden: 3076 hours). In order to provide rateof
return carriers with opportunities to true up support amounts on a more
frequent basis, carriers will be permitted to file updated cost data
with USAC on a quarterly basis. Carriers wishing to submit cost data on
a quarterly basis will file such data in accordance with the schedule
provided in section 36.612 of the rules. (No. of respondents: 100;
hours per response: 2 hours; total annual burden: 200 hours). d.
Disaggregation Plans: Consistent with section 254 of the Act, the
Commission concluded in the MAG Order that the plan for the geographic
disaggregation and targeting of portable highcost universal service
support below the study area level recently adopted in the Rural Task
Force Order will also apply to Interstate Common Line Support. To
ensure the portability and predictability of support, rateofreturn
carriers that elect to disaggregate and target support will be required
to submit maps to the Administrator in which the boundaries of the
designated disaggregation zones are clearly specified. The
Administrator will make such maps available for public inspection by
competitors and other interested parties. When submitting information
in support of Path Three selfcertification, incumbent carriers must
provide the Administrator with publicly available information that
allows competitors to verify and reproduce the algorithm used to
determine zone support levels (SelfCertification of Disaggregation
Plan). Similarly, carriers electing Path One must submit to the
Administrator a copy of certifications to a state commission or appropriate regulatory authority that
[[Page 17999]]
they will not disaggregate and target support (Notification to State of
Change in Disaggregation Methodology). Carriers selecting Path Two must
submit a copy to the Administrator of the order by the state commission
or appropriate regulatory authority approving the disaggregation plan
submitted, along with a copy of the disaggregation plan itself
(Targeting Plan to State). In the MAG Order, the Commission extended
until May 15, 2002, the date by which carriers will be required to
select a disaggregation path for highcost loop, LTS, LSS, and
Interstate Common Line Support mechanisms. (No. of respondents: 100;
hours per response: 1 hour; total annual burden 100 hours) e. Section
254(e) Certifications: Section 254(e) provides that a carrier receiving
universal service support must use that support ``only for the
provision, maintenance, and upgrading of facilities and service for
which the support is intended.'' To ensure that carriers receiving
Interstate Common Line Support and LTS will use that support in a
manner consistent with section 254(e), the Commission shall require
carriers seeking such support to file a certification with the
Commission and the Administrator. This certification requirement will be applicable to rateofreturn carriers and eligible
telecommunications carriers seeking support from our Interstate Common
Line Support mechanism. The certification shall be filed with the
Commission and the Administrator on March 31, 2002. Such certification
shall be filed in CC Docket No. 9645 annually thereafter on June 30th.
The certification may be filed in the form of a letter and must state
that the carrier will use its Interstate Common Line Support and LTS
only for the provision, maintenance, and upgrading of facilities and
service for which support is intended. (No. of respondents: 1300; hours
per response: 2 hours; total annual burden: 2600 hours). f. Required
tariff filings: All rateofreturn carriers are required to modify
their access tariffs to comply with the new Subscriber Line Charge
(SLC) caps, to become effective on January 1, 2002, and on July 1,
2002, and July 1, 2003 subject to a cost review study for price cap
carriers. Rateofreturn carriers also must file tariffs to recover
through a separate enduser charge the costs of ISDN line ports and
line ports associated with other services that exceed the costs of a
line port used for basic analog service. (No. of respondents: 116;
hours per response: 69.9 hours (avg.); total annual burden: 8110
hours). g. Optional Line Port Cost Study: Rateofreturn carriers may
use 30 percent of local switching costs as a proxy in shifting line
port costs to the common line category, or may conduct a cost study
based on geographicallyaveraged costs to be submitted in support of
the tariff filing relying on the cost study. A carrier may rely on a
cost study for subsequent tariff filings. (No. of respondents: 12;
hours per response 40 hours; total annual burden: 480 hours). h.
Establishment of TIC Caps: NECA is required to establish for carriers
that participated in the NECA pool during the tariff year ending June
30, 2001, an individual carrier dollar limit based on its traffic
volumes and the TIC rate for the twelvemonth period ending June 30,
2001. Each carrier that was not in the pool during the tariff year
ending on June 30, 2001, must determine its TIC limit and report it to
NECA for purposes of administering future pool membership changes. (No.
of respondents: 1186; hours per response: .13 hours; total annual
burden: 2.6 hours). i. Optional tariff filings: Rateofreturn carriers
may, at their option, establish the following local switching and
transport rate elements: a flat charge for dedicated trunk port costs;
a flat charge for the costs of DS1/voice grade multiplexers associated
with terminating dedicated trunks at analog switches; a perminute
charge for shared trunk ports and any associated DS1/voice grade
multiplexer costs; a flat charge for the costs of trunk ports used to
terminate dedicated trunks on the serving wire center side of the
tandem switch; individual charges for multiplexer costs associated with
tandem switches; and a permessage call setup charge. (No. of
respondents: 12; hours per response: 93 hours; total annual burden:
1116 hours). j. GSF allocation: Beginning July 1, 2002, rateofreturn
carriers that use general purpose computers to provide nonregulated
billing and collection services are required to allocate a portion of
their general purpose computer costs to the billing and collection
category, which will require them to determine general purpose computer
investment. Carriers may use the general purpose computer investment
amount they develop for a period of three years. (No. of respondents:
600; hours per response: 20 hours; total annual burden: 12,000 hours).
The Commission will use the information collected to determine
whether and to what extent nonprice cap or rateofreturn carriers
providing the data are eligible to receive universal service support.
The Commission will use the tariff data to make sure that rates are
just and reasonable, as required by section 201(b) of the Act.
Obligation to respond: Mandatory. Public reporting burdens for the
collections of information are as noted above. Send comments regarding
the burden estimates or any other aspect of the collections of
information, including suggestions for reducing the burden to
Performance Evaluation and Records Management, Washington, DC 20554. Federal Communications Commission.
William F. Caton,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 028844 Filed 41102; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 671201P