Federal Register: November 26, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 227)
DOCID: FR Doc 04-26161
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Federal Communications Commission
CFR Citation: 47 CFR Part 4
Docket ID: [ET Docket No. 04-35; FCC 04-188]
NOTICE: PROPOSED RULES
ACTION: Common carrier services:
DOCUMENT ACTION: Proposed rule.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Disruptions to Communications
DATES: Comments must be filed on or before January 25, 2005, and reply comments February 24, 2005.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
This document expands the record in this proceeding to focus
specifically on the unique communications needs of airports, including
wireless and satellite communications. In this regard, we request
comment on the additional types of airport communications (e.g., [[Page 68860]]
wireless, satellite) that should be required to file service disruption
reportsparticularly from a homeland security and defense perspective.
These types of airport communications may include, for example,
communications that are provided by ARINC as well as commercial
communications (e.g., airtoground and groundtoair telephone
communications) as well as intraairline commercial links. We also seek
comment on whether the outagereporting requirements for special
facilities should be extended to cover general aviation airports (GA)
and, if so, what the applicable threshold criteria should be.
SUMMARY:
Communications disruptions; airport communications,
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
This is a summary of the Commission's Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, portion of the Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed, ET Docket No. 0435, FCC 04188, adopted August 4, 2004, and released August 19, 2004. The full text of this document is available for inspection and copying during normal business hours in the FCC Reference Center (Room CYA257), 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554. The complete text of this document may also be purchased from the Commission's copy contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc., 445 12th Street, SW., Room, CYB402, Washington, DC 20554. The full text may also be downloaded from the Commission's Web site: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocspublic/attachmatch/FCC0430A1.doc. Alternate formats are available to persons with disabilities by contacting Brian Millin at (202) 4187426 or TTY (202) 4187365.
Pursuant to Sec. Sec. 1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission's rules,
47 CFR 1.415, 1.419, interested parties may file comments on or before
January 25, 2005, and reply comments on or before February 24, 2005.
Comments may be filed using the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing
System (ECFS) or by filing paper copies. See Electronic Filing of
Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 FR 24121, May 1, 1998. Comments
filed through the ECFS can be sent as an electronic file via the
Internet to http://www.fcc.gov/efile/ecfs.html. Generally, only one
copy of an electronic submission must be filed. In completing the
transmittal screen, commenters should include their full name, U.S.
Postal Service mailing address, and the applicable docket or rulemaking
number. Parties may also submit an electronic comment by Internet e
mail. To get filing instructions for email comments, commenters should
send an email to ecfs@fcc.gov, and should include the following words
in the body of the message, ``get form
1. The Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) was initiated to expand the record in this proceeding to focus specifically on the unique communications needs of airports. In this regard, we request comment on the additional types of airport communications (e.g., wireless, satellite) that should be subject to service disruption reports, particularly from the perspective of homeland security and national defense. These communications may include, for example, communications that are provided by ARINC as well as commercial communications (e.g., airtoground and groundtoair telephone communications) as well as intraairline commercial links. We also seek comment on whether the outagereporting requirements for special facilities should be extended to cover general aviation airports and, if so, what the applicable threshold criteria should be. Based on the comments that the Commission receives in this proceeding and on its analysis of the information that is before it, the Commission may make such additional modifications to its communications outagereporting requirements for special offices and facilities, with respect to airports, as may be necessary or desirable to fulfill, more fully, the objectives that are set forth in the Communications Act.
2. Airports that Qualify as Special Offices and Facilities, Pertinent OutageReporting Criteria, and Proposed Revisions. Section 4.5(b) of the Commission's rules (adopted by the Report and Order in this proceeding, but not yet in effect) includes as ``special offices and facilities'' those airports that are listed as current primary (PR), commercial service (CM), and reliever (RL) airports in the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airports Systems (NPIAS) (as issued at least one calendar year prior to the outage). Section 4.9 of the Commission's rules (also not yet in effect) requires communications providers to report outages of at least 30 minutes duration that potentially affect special offices and facilities. Satellite communications providers and wireless communications providers, however, are exempt from this requirement to the extent that it applies to airports. This Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is initiated to expand the record in this proceeding to focus specifically on the unique communications needs of airports, particularly from the perspective of homeland security and national defense. In this regard, we request comment on the additional types of airport communications (e.g., wireless, satellite) that should be subject to service disruption reports. These communications may include, for example, communications that are provided by ARINC as well as commercial communications (e.g., airtoground and groundtoair telephone communications) as well as intraairline commercial links. We also seek comment on whether the outagereporting requirements for special facilities should be extended to cover general aviation airports (GA) and, if so, what the applicable threshold criteria should be. Initial Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis
3. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (``RFA''),\1\ the Commission has prepared this Initial
[[Page 68861]]
Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis (``IRFA'') of the possible
significant economic impact on small entities by the policies and rules
proposed in this Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (``FNPRM'').
Written public comments are requested on this IRFA and must be filed by
the January 25, 2005. The Commission will send a copy of the FNPRM,
including this IRFA, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small
Business Administration.\2\ In addition, the FNPRM including the IRFA
(or summaries thereof) will be published in the Federal Register.\3\
\1\ See 5 U.S.C. 603. The RFA, see 5 U.S.C. 601612, has been
amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1966 (SBREFA), Public Law 104121, 110 Stat. 847 (1996).
\2\ 5 U.S.C. 603(a).
\3\ Id.
A. Need for and Objectives of the Proposed Rules. The Commission seeks to expand the record in this proceeding in order to focus specifically on the unique communications needs of airports. In this regard, the Commission requests comment on the additional types of airport communications (e.g., wireless, satellite) that should be subject to service disruption reports, particularly from the perspective of homeland security and national defense. These communications may include, for example, communications that are provided by ARINC as well as commercial communications (e.g., airto ground and groundtoair telephone communications) as well as intra airline commercial links. The Commission also seeks comment on whether the outagereporting requirements for special facilities should be extended to cover general aviation airports and, if so, what the applicable threshold criteria should be. Potentially, all of the airports in the United States may need to be used by aircraft for emergency landings. The potential loss life or property through commercial aircraft crashes can be catastrophic. The need, however, for communications among noncommercial (as well as commercial) airports and the rest of the United States becomes more apparent in the contexts of general aviation and government aviation in which many non commercial planes carry, for example, personnel who are essential to national defense and homeland security, as well as government officials from Federal, State, local, and foreign governments. Moreover, all of the airports in the United States are potential launching pads for terrorist activities. As a consequence, it is essential that all personnel at airports throughout the United States be able to access appropriate government and civilian personnel to avert acts of terrorism. Finally, commercial communications links are used by airports to support navigation, traffic control, maintenance, and restoration. Those commercial communications links need to be functioning continuously. The requirements for which we seek comment would be in addition to those adopted in the Report and Order in this proceeding. Those requirements apply to wireline and cable circuit switched telecommunications with airports that are listed as current primary (PR), commercial service (CM), and reliever (RL) airports in the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) (as issued at least one calendar year prior to the outage). Outages affecting any of these airports for 30 minutes or more must be reported.
B. Legal Basis. The legal basis for the rule changes proposed in the FNPRM are contained in sections 1, 4(i), 4(k), 4(o), 218, 219, 230, 256, 301, 302(a), 303(f), 303(g), 303(j), 303(r), 303(v), 403, 621(b)(3), and 621(d) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 154(k), 154(o), 218, 219, 230, 256, 301, 302(a), 303(f), 303(g), 303(j), 303(r), 303(v), 403, 621(b)(3), and 621(d), and in Sec. 1704 of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1998, 44 U.S.C. 1704.
C. Description and Estimates of the Number of Small Entities to
Which the Rules Adopted in This Further Notice May Apply. The RFA
directs agencies to provide a description of and, where feasible, an
estimate of the number of small entities that will be affected by the
proposed rules.\4\ The RFA generally defines the term ``small entity''
as having the same meaning as the terms ``small business,'' ``small
organization,'' and ``small governmental jurisdiction.''\5\ In
addition, the term ``small business'' has the same meaning as the term
``small business concern'' under the Small Business Act.\6\ A small
business concern is one which: (1) Is independently owned and operated;
(2) is not dominant in its field of operation; and (3) satisfies any
additional criteria established by the Small Business Administration (SBA).\7\
\4\ 5 U.S.C. 603(b) (3), 604(a) (3).
\5\ Id. at 601(6).
\6\ 5 U.S.C. 601(3) (incorporating by reference the definition
of ``small business concern'' in the Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C.
632). Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 601(3), the statutory definition of a
small business applies ``unless an agency, after consultation with
the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration and
after opportunity for public comment, establishes one or more
definitions of such terms which are appropriate to the activities of
the agency and publishes such definitions(s) in the Federal Register.''
\7\ 15 U.S.C. 632.
The Commission further describes and estimates the number of small
entity licensees and regulatees that may be affected by rules adopted
pursuant to this Report and Order. The most reliable source of
information regarding the total numbers of certain common carrier and
related providers nationwide, as well as the number of commercial
wireless entities, appears to be the data that the Commission publishes
in its Trends in Telephone Service report.\8\ The SBA has developed
small business size standards for wireline and wireless small
businesses within the three commercial census categories of Wired
Telecommunications Carriers,\9\ Paging,\10\ and Cellular and Other
Wireless Telecommunications.\11\ Under these categories, a business is
small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees. Below, using the above size
standards and others, we discuss the total estimated numbers of small businesses that might be affected by our actions.
\8\ FCC, Wireline Competition Bureau, Industry Analysis and
Technology Division, ``Trends in Telephone Service'' at Table 5.3,
Page 55 (Aug. 2003) (hereinafter ``Trends in Telephone Service'').
This source uses data that are current as of December 31, 2001.
\9\ 13 CFR 121.201, North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 517110.
\10\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517211.
\11\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517212.
We have included small incumbent local exchange carriers in this
present RFA analysis. As noted, a ``small business'' under the RFA is
one that, inter alia, meets the pertinent small business size standard
(e.g., a telephone communications business having 1,500 or fewer
employees), and ``is not dominant in its field of operation.'' \12\ The
SBA's Office of Advocacy contends that, for RFA purposes, small
incumbent local exchange carriers are not dominant in their field of
operation because any such dominance is not ``national'' in scope.\13\
We have therefore included small incumbent local exchange carriers in
this RFA analysis, although we emphasize that this RFA action has no
effect on Commission analyses and determinations in other, nonRFA contexts.
\12\ 15 U.S.C. 632.
\13\ Letter from Jere W. Glover, Chief Counsel for Advocacy,
SBA, to William E. Kennard, Chairman, FCC (May 27, 1999). The Small
Business Act contains a definition of ``smallbusiness concern,''
which the RFA incorporates into its own definition of ``small
business.'' See 15 U.S.C. 632(a) (Small Business Act); 5 U.S.C.
601(3) (RFA). SBA regulations interpret ``small business concern''
to include the concept of dominance on a national basis. 13 CFR 121.102(b).
Wired Telecommunications Carriers. The SBA has developed a small
business size standard for Wired Telecommunications Carriers, which [[Page 68862]]
consists of all such companies having 1,500 or fewer employees.\14\
According to Census Bureau data for 1997, there were 2,225 firms in
this category, total, that operated for the entire year.\15\ Of this
total, 2,201 firms had employment of 999 or fewer employees, and an
additional 24 firms had employment of 1,000 employees or more.\16\
Thus, under this size standard, the majority of firms can be considered small.
\14\ 13 CFR 121.201 (1997), NAICS code 513310 (changed to 517110 in October 2002).
\15\ U.S. Census Bureau, 1997 Economic Census, Subject Series:
Information, ``Establishment and Firm Size (Including Legal Form of
Organization),'' Table 5, NAICS code 513310 (issued October 2000).
\16\ Id. The census data do not provide a more precise estimate
of the number of firms that have employment of 1,500 or fewer
employees; the largest category provided is ``Firms with 1,000 employees or more.''
Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (LECs). Neither the Commission
nor the SBA has developed a small business size standard specifically
for incumbent local exchange services. The appropriate size standard
under SBA rules is for the category Wired Telecommunications Carriers.
Under that size standard, such a business is small if it has 1,500 or
fewer employees.\17\ According to Commission data,\18\ 1,337 carriers
have reported that they are engaged in the provision of incumbent local
exchange services. Of these 1,337 carriers, an estimated 1,032 have
1,500 or fewer employees and 305 have more than 1,500 employees.
Consequently, the Commission estimates that most providers of incumbent
local exchange service are small businesses that may be affected by our action.
\17\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110 (changed from 513310 in Oct. 2002).
\18\ ``Trends in Telephone Service'' at Table 5.3.
Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs), Competitive Access Providers (CAPs), ``SharedTenant Service Providers,'' and ``Other Local Service Providers.'' Neither the Commission nor the SBA has developed a small business size standard specifically for these service providers. The appropriate size standard under SBA rules is for the category Wired Telecommunications Carriers. Under that size standard, such a business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees.\19\ According to Commission data,\20\ 609 carriers have reported that they are engaged in the provision of either competitive access provider services or competitive local exchange carrier services. Of these 609 carriers, an estimated 458 have 1,500 or fewer employees and 151 have more than 1,500 employees. In addition, 16 carriers have reported that they are ``SharedTenant Service Providers,'' and all 16 are estimated to have 1,500 or fewer employees. In addition, 35 carriers have reported that they are ``Other Local Service Providers.'' Of the 35, an estimated 34 have 1,500 or fewer employees and one has more than 1,500 employees. Consequently, the Commission estimates that most providers of competitive local exchange service, competitive access providers, ``SharedTenant Service Providers,'' and ``Other Local Service Providers'' are small entities that may be affected by our action. \19\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110 (changed from 513310 in Oct. 2002).
\20\ ``Trends in Telephone Service'' at Table 5.3.
Interexchange Carriers (IXCs). Neither the Commission nor the SBA
has developed a small business size standard specifically for providers
of interexchange services. The appropriate size standard under SBA
rules is for the category Wired Telecommunications Carriers. Under that
size standard, such a business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer
employees.\21\ According to Commission data,\22\ 261 carriers have
reported that they are engaged in the provision of interexchange
service. Of these, an estimated 223 have 1,500 or fewer employees and
38 have more than 1,500 employees. Consequently, the Commission
estimates that the majority of IXCs are small entities that may be affected by our action.
\21\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110 (changed from 513310 in Oct. 2002).
\22\ ``Trends in Telephone Service'' at Table 5.3.
Wireless Service Providers. The SBA has developed a small business
size standard for wireless small businesses within the two separate categories of Paging \23\ and Cellular and Other Wireless
Telecommunications.\24\ Under both SBA categories, a wireless business
is small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees. According to the
Commission's most recent data,\25\ 1,387 companies reported that they
were engaged in the provision of wireless service. Of these 1,387
companies, an estimated 945 have 1,500 or fewer employees and 442 have
more than 1,500 employees.\26\ Consequently, the Commission estimates
that most wireless service providers are small entities that may be affected by the rules and policies adopted.
\23\ 13 CFR 121.201, North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 517211.
\24\ 13 CFR 121.201, North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 517212.
\25\ FCC, Wireline Competition Bureau, Industry Analysis and
Technology Division, Trends in Telephone Service, Table 5.3, (August 2002).
\26\ Id.
Broadband Personal Communications Service. The broadband Personal
Communications Service (PCS) spectrum is divided into six frequency
blocks designated A through F, and the Commission has held auctions for
each block. The Commission defined ``small entity'' for Blocks C and F
as an entity that has average gross revenues of $40 million or less in
the three previous calendar years.\27\ For Block F, an additional
classification for ``very small business'' was added and is defined as
an entity that, together with its affiliates, has average gross
revenues of not more than $15 million for the preceding three calendar
years.'' \28\ These standards defining ``small entity'' in the context
of broadband PCS auctions have been approved by the SBA.\29\ No small
businesses, within the SBAapproved small business size standards bid
successfully for licenses in Blocks A and B. There were 90 winning
bidders that qualified as small entities in the Block C auctions. A
total of 93 small and very small business bidders won approximately 40
percent of the 1,479 licenses for Blocks D, E, and F.\30\ On March 23,
1999, the Commission reauctioned 347 C, D, E, and F Block licenses.
There were 48 small business winning bidders. On January 26, 2001, the
Commission completed the auction of 422 C and F Broadband PCS licenses
in Auction No. 35. Of the 35 winning bidders in this auction, 29
qualified as ``small'' or ``very small'' businesses. Based on this
information, the Commission concludes that the number of small
broadband PCS licenses would have included the 90 winning C Block
bidders, the 93 qualifying bidders in the D, E, and F Block auctions,
the 48 winning bidders in the 1999 reauction, and the 29 winning
bidders in the 2001 reauction, for a total of 260 small entity
broadband PCS providers, as defined by the SBA small business size
standards and the Commission's auction rules. Consequently, the
Commission estimates that 260 broadband PCS providers would have been small
[[Page 68863]]
entities that could be affected by the rules and policies adopted
herein. The results of Auction No. 35, however, were set aside and the
licenses previously awarded to NextWave, which had qualified as a small
entity, were reinstated. In addition, we note that, as a general
matter, the number of winning bidders that qualify as small businesses
at the close of an auction does not necessarily represent the number of
small businesses currently in service. Also, the Commission does not
generally track subsequent business size unless, in the context of
assignments or transfers, unjust enrichment issues are implicated.
\27\ See Amendment of Parts 20 and 24 of the Commission's
RulesBroadband PCS Competitive Bidding and the Commercial Mobile
Radio Service Spectrum Cap, WT Docket No. 9659, Report and Order, 61 FR 33859 (July 1, 1996); see also 47 CFR 24.720(b).
\28\ See Amendment of Parts 20 and 24 of the Commission's
RulesBroadband PCS Competitive Bidding and the Commercial Mobile
Radio Service Spectrum Cap, WT Docket No. 9659, Report and Order, 61 FR 33859 (July 1, 1996).
\29\ See, e.g., Implementation of Section 309(j) of the
Communications ActCompetitive Bidding, PP Docket No. 93253, Fifth Report and Order, 59 FR 37566 (July 22, 1994).
\30\ FCC News, Broadband PCS, D, E and F Block Auction Closes,
No. 71744 (released January 14, 1997). See also Amendment of the
Commission's Rules Regarding Installment Payment Financing for
Personal Communications Services (PCS) Licenses, WT Docket No. 97 82, Second Report and Order, 62 FR 55348 (Oct. 24, 1997).
Narrowband Personal Communications Services. To date, two auctions
of narrowband personal communications services (PCS) licenses have been
conducted. For purposes of the two auctions that have already been
held, ``small businesses'' were entities with average gross revenues
for the prior three calendar years of $40 million or less. Through
these auctions, the Commission has awarded a total of 41 licenses, out
of which 11 were obtained by small businesses. To ensure meaningful
participation of small business entities in future auctions, the
Commission has adopted a twotiered small business size standard in the
Narrowband PCS Second Report and Order.\31\ A ``small business'' is an
entity that, together with affiliates and controlling interests, has
average gross revenues for the three preceding years of not more than
$40 million. A ``very small business'' is an entity that, together with
affiliates and controlling interests, has average gross revenues for
the three preceding years of not more than $15 million. The SBA has
approved these small business size standards.\32\ In the future, the
Commission will auction 459 licenses to serve Metropolitan Trading
Areas (MTAs) and 408 response channel licenses. There is also one
megahertz of narrowband PCS spectrum that has been held in reserve and
that the Commission has not yet decided to release for licensing. The
Commission cannot predict accurately the number of licenses that will
be awarded to small entities in future auctions. However, four of the
16 winning bidders in the two previous narrowband PCS auctions were
small businesses, as that term was defined under the Commission's
Rules. The Commission assumes, for purposes of this analysis that a
large portion of the remaining narrowband PCS licenses will be awarded
to small entities. The Commission also assumes that at least some small
businesses will acquire narrowband PCS licenses by means of the Commission's partitioning and disaggregation rules.
\31\ In the Matter of Amendment of the Commission's Rules to
Establish New Personal Communications Services, Narrowband PCS, ET
Docket No. 92100, PP Docket No. 93253, Second Report and Order and
Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 65 FR 35875 (June 6, 2000).
\32\ See Letter to Amy Zoslov, Chief, Auctions and Industry
Analysis Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, FCC, from Aida Alvarez, Administrator, SBA (Dec. 2, 1998).
800 MHz and 900 MHz Specialized Mobile Radio Licenses. The Commission awards ``small entity'' and ``very small entity'' bidding credits in auctions for SpecializedMobile Radio (SMR) geographic area licenses in the 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands to firms that had revenues of no more than $15 million in each of the three previous calendar years, or that had revenues of no more than $3 million in each of the previous calendar years, respectively.\33\ These bidding credits apply to SMR providers in the 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands that either hold geographic area licenses or have obtained extended implementation authorizations. The Commission does not know how many firms provide 800 MHz or 900 MHz geographic area SMR service pursuant to extended implementation authorizations, nor how many of these providers have annual revenues of no more than $15 million. One firm has over $15 million in revenues. The Commission assumes, for purposes here, that all of the remaining existing extended implementation authorizations are held by small entities, as that term is defined by the SBA. The Commission has held auctions for geographic area licenses in the 800 MHz and 900 MHz SMR bands. There were 60 winning bidders that qualified as small or very small entities in the 900 MHz SMR auctions. Of the 1,020 licenses won in the 900 MHz auction, bidders qualifying as small or very small entities won 263 licenses. In the 800 MHz auction, 38 of the 524 licenses won were won by small and very small entities. In addition, we note that, as a general matter, the number of winning bidders that qualify as small businesses at the close of an auction does not necessarily represent the number of small businesses currently in service. Also, the Commission does not generally track subsequent business size unless, in the context of assignments or transfers, unjust enrichment issues are implicated.
\33\ 47 CFR 90.814(b)(1).
Paging. The SBA has developed a small business size standard for
Paging, which consists of all such firms having 1,500 or fewer
employees.\34\ According to Census Bureau data for 1997, in this
category there was a total of 1,320 firms that operated for the entire
year.\35\ Of this total, 1,303 firms had employment of 999 or fewer
employees, and an additional seventeen firms had employment of 1,000
employees or more.\36\ Thus, under this size standard, the majority of firms can be considered small.
\34\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517211 (changed from 513321 in October 2002).
\35\ U.S. Census Bureau, 1997 Economic Census, Subject Series:
Information, ``Establishment and Firm Size (Including Legal Form of
Organization),'' Table 5, NAICS code 513321 (issued October 2000).
\36\ Id. The census data do not provide a more precise estimate
of the number of firms that have employment of 1,500 or fewer
employees; the largest category provided is ``Firms with 1,000 employees or more.''
Rural Radiotelephone Service. The Commission has not adopted a size
standard for small businesses specific to the Rural Radiotelephone
Service.\37\ A significant subset of the Rural Radiotelephone Service
is the Basic Exchange Telephone Radio System (BETRS).\38\ The
Commission uses the SBA's small business size standard applicable to
``Cellular and Other Wireless Telecommunications,'' i.e., an entity
employing no more than 1,500 persons.\39\ There are approximately 1,000
licensees in the Rural Radiotelephone Service, and the Commission
estimates that there are 1,000 or fewer small entity licensees in the
Rural Radiotelephone Service that may be affected by the rules and policies adopted in the Report and Order.
\37\ The service is defined in 22.99 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 22.99.
\38\ BETRS is defined in 22.757 and 22.759 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 22.757 and 22.759.
\39\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517212.
Cable and Other Program Distribution.\40\ This category includes
cable systems operators, closed circuit television services, direct
broadcast satellite services, multipoint distribution systems,
satellite master antenna systems, and subscription television services.
According to Census Bureau data for 1997, there were a total of 1,311
firms in this category, total, that had operated for the entire
year.\41\ Of this total, 1,180 firms had annual receipts of under $10
million and an additional 52 firms had receipts of $10 million or more but less than $25 million. Consequently, the Commission
[[Page 68864]]
estimates that the majority of providers in this service category are
small businesses that may be affected by the rules and policies adopted herein.
\40\ 13 CFR 121.201, North American Industry Classification
System (NAICS) code 513220 (changed to 517510 in October 2002).
\41\ U.S. Census Bureau, 1997 Economic Census, Subject Series:
Information, ``Establishment and Firm Size (Including Legal Form of
Organization)'', Table 4, NAICS code 513220 (issued October 2000).
Cable System Operators (Rate Regulation Standard). The Commission
has developed a size standard for small cable system operators for the
purposes of rate regulation. Under the Commission's rules, a ``small
cable company'' is one serving fewer than 400,000 subscribers
nationwide.\42\ Based on our most recent information, we estimate that
there were 1439 cable operators that qualified as small cable companies
at the end of 1995.\43\ Since then, some of those companies may have
grown to serve over 400,000 subscribers, and others may have been
involved in transactions that caused them to be combined with other
cable operators. The Commission's rules define a ``small system,'' for
the purposes of rate regulation, as a cable system with 15,000 or fewer
subscribers.\44\ The Commission does not request nor does the
Commission collect information concerning cable systems serving 15,000
or fewer subscribers and thus is unable to estimate, at this time, the number of small cable systems nationwide.
\42\ 47 CFR 76.901(e). The Commission developed this definition
based on its determination that a small cable system operator is one
with annual revenues of $100 million or less. Implementation of
Sections of the 1992 Cable Act: Rate Regulation, Sixth Report and
Order and Eleventh Order on Reconsideration, MM Docket No. 92266
and 93215, 10 FCC Rcd 7393 (1995), 60 FR 10534 (February 27, 1995).
\43\ Paul Kagan Associates, Inc., Cable TV Investor, Feb. 29, 1996 (based on figures for Dec. 30, 1995).
\44\ 47 CFR 76.901(c).
Cable System Operators (Telecom Act Standard). The Communications
Act of 1934, as amended, also contains a definition of a small cable
system operator, which is ``a cable operator that, directly or through
an affiliate, serves in the aggregate fewer than 1% of all subscribers
in the United States and is not affiliated with any entity or entities
whose gross annual revenues in the aggregate exceed $250,000,000.''
\45\ The Commission has determined that there are 61,700,000
subscribers in the United States. Therefore, a cable operator serving
fewer than 617,000 subscribers shall be deemed a small operator, if its
annual revenues, when combined with the total annual revenues of all of
its affiliates, do not exceed $250 million in the aggregate.\46\ Based
on available data, we find that the number of cable operators serving
617,000 subscribers or less totals approximately 1450.\47\ Although it
seems certain that some of these cable system operators are affiliated
with entities whose gross annual revenues exceed $250,000,000, we are
unable at this time to estimate with greater precision the number of
cable system operators that would qualify as small cable operators as defined in the Communications Act of 1934.
\45\ 47 U.S.C. 543(m)(2).
\46\ 47 CFR 76.1403(b).
\47\ Cable TV Investor, supra note 43.
Satellite Telecommunications Providers. The appropriate size
standards under SBA rules are for the two broad categories of Satellite
Telecommunications and Other Telecommunications. Under both categories,
such a business is small if it has $12.5 or less in average annual
receipts.\48\ For the first category of Satellite Telecommunications,
Census Bureau data for 1997 show that there were a total of 324 firms
that operated for the entire year.\49\ Of this total, 273 firms had
annual receipts of under $10 million, and an additional twentyfour
firms had receipts of $10 million to $24,999,999. Thus, the majority of
Satellite Telecommunications firms can be considered small.
\48\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS codes 517410 and 517910 (changed from 513340 and 513390 in Oct. 2002).
\49\ U.S. Census Bureau, 1997 Economic Census, Subject Series:
Information, ``Establishment and Firm Size (Including Legal Form of
Organization),'' Table 4, NAICS code 513340 (issued Oct. 2000).
Signaling System 7 (SS7) Providers. The Commission has not developed a definition of small entities applicable to Signaling System 7 providers. We shall apply the SBA's small business size standard for Other Telecommunications, which identifies as small all such companies having $12.5 million or less in annual receipts.\50\ We believe that there are no more than halfadozen SS7 providers and doubt that any of them have annual receipts less then $12.5 million. In the IRFA to the original Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in this proceeding, we had assumed that there may be several SS7 providers that are small businesses which could be affected by the proposed rules and had requested comment on how many SS7 providers exist and on how many of these are small businesses that may be affected by our proposed rules. No comments provided this information. Therefore, we conclude that none of these providers were small businesses.Nonetheless, the Commission shall assume that there may now be several SS7 providers that are small businesses that could be affected by the proposed rules. The Commission requests comment on how many SS7 providers exist and on how many of these are small businesses that may be affected by our proposed rules. \50\ 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517910.
D. Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping and Other
Compliance Requirements. The rule revisions considered in this FNPRM
could expand the number of airports included as ``special offices and
facilities'' within the Commission's requirements that communications
providers report those outages of at least 30 minutes duration that
potentially affect special offices and facilities. The FNPRM also seeks
comment, if the rules are expanded to cover general aviation airports,
on what the pertinent threshold reporting criteria should be. Satellite
communications and wireless communications are currently exempt from
the requirement to report outages potentially affecting those airports
that are special offices and facilities. The FNPRM therefore seeks
comment on what additional types of airport communications (e.g.,
wireless, satellite) should be subject to service disruption reports,
particularly from the perspective of homeland security and national
defense. The Commission anticipates that more than 200 outage reports
will be filed annually, but estimates that the total number of reports
from all reporting sources combined will be substantially less than
1,000 annually. The Commission notes that, occasionally, the proposed
outage reporting requirements could require the use of professional
skills, including legal and engineering expertise. Without more data,
it cannot accurately estimate the cost of compliance by small
telecommunications providers. But irrespective of any of the reporting
requirements that are proposed here, the Commission expects that
telecommunications providers will track, investigate, and correct all
of their service disruptions as an ordinary part of conducting their
business operationsand will do so for all service disruptions that
potentially affect special offices and facilities. As a consequence,
the Commission believes that in the usual case, the only burden
associated with the reporting requirements contained in this FNPRM will
be the time required to notify the Commission and complete the initial
and final reports. The Commission anticipates that electronic filing,
as adopted in the Report and Order in this proceeding, should minimize
the amount of time and effort that will be required to comply with the
rules that are proposed in this proceeding. In this IFRA, the Commission therefore seeks comment on the types of burdens
[[Page 68865]]
telecommunications providers will face in complying with the proposed
requirements. Entities, especially small businesses and small entities,
more generally, are encouraged to quantify the costs and benefits of the proposed reporting requirements.
E. Steps Taken to Minimize Significant Economic Impact on Small Entities, and Significant Alternatives Considered. Since the inception of the outagereporting requirements in 1992, the average number of outages reported each year has remained relatively constant at about 200. Since 1992, the substitutability of telecommunications through different media has increased substantially, and our Nation increasingly relies on these substitutes for Homeland Defense and National Security. The Commission believes that the proposed telecommunications outage reporting requirements are minimally necessary to assure that it receives adequate information to perform its statutory responsibilities with respect to the reliability of telecommunications and their infrastructures. Finally, the Commission believes that the proposed requirement that outage reports be filed electronically would significantly reduce the burdens and costs currently associated with manual filing processes.
F. Federal Rules That Might Duplicate, Overlap, or Conflict With the Proposed Rules. None.
Ordering Clauses
4. Pursuant to the authority contained in sections 1, 4(i)(j), 4(k), 4(o), 218, 219, 230, 256, 301, 302(a), 303(f), 303(g), 303(j), 303(r), 403, 621(b)(3), and 621(d) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i)(j), 154(k), 154(o), 218, 219, 230, 256, 301, 302(a), 303(f), 303(g), 303(j), 303(r), 403, 621(b)(3), and 621(d), and in Section 1704 of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1998, 44 U.S.C. 3504, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is adopted.
5. The Commission's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference Information Center, shall send a copy of this Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, including the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration.
List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 4
Airports, Communications common carrier, Disruption reports,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Special Offices and Facilities, Telecommunication.
Federal Communications Commission.
William F. Caton,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 0426161 Filed 112404; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 671201P
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Charles Iseman at (202) 418-2444, charles.iseman@fcc.gov, Office of Engineering and Technology, TTY (202) 4182989.