[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 30 (Wednesday, February 13, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10100-10102]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-03328]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 54
[WC Docket Nos. 10-90 and 05-337; DA 12-1777]
Data Specifications for Collecting Study Area Boundaries
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.
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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission
(Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
has approved, until July 31, 2013, the information collection
associated with the Commission's Connect America Fund; High-Cost
Universal Service Support, Report and Order, (Order), released on
November 6, 2012. The Commission submitted a request for approval of a
new collection under control number 3060-1181 to the OMB for review and
approval, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501-3520). This notice is consistent with the Order, which
stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal
Register announcing the effective date of those rules once it receives
OMB approval.
DATES: Paragraph 16 and Appendix A of document DA 12-1777, published at
78 FR 5750, January 28, 2013, are effective February 27, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chelsea Fallon, Assistant Division
Chief, Wireline Competition Bureau, at (202) 418-7991.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that, on January 23,
2013, OMB approved, for a period of six months, the information
collection requirements contained in the Commission's Order, FCC 12-
1777, published at 78 FR 5750, January 28, 2013. The OMB Control Number
is 3060-1181. The Commission publishes this notice as an announcement
of the effective date of paragraph 16 and Appendix A of document DA 12-
1777. If you have any comments on the burden estimates listed below, or
how the Commission can improve the collections and reduce any burdens
caused thereby, please contact Judith Boley-Herman, Federal
Communications Commission, Room 1-B441, 445 12th Street SW.,
Washington, DC 20554. Please include the OMB Control Number, 3060-1181,
in your correspondence. The Commission also will accept comments via
email. Please send them to PRA@fcc.gov.
To request materials in accessible formats for people with
disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format),
send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental
Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).
Synopsis
As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
3507), the FCC is notifying the public that it received OMB approval on
January 23, 2013, for the information collection requirements contained
in paragraph 16 and Appendix A of document DA 12-1777.
Under 5 CFR part 1320, an agency may not conduct or sponsor a
collection of information unless it displays a current, valid OMB
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
that does not display a current, valid OMB Control Number. The OMB
Control Number is 3060-1181.
The foregoing notice is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, Public Law 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.
The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents
are as follows:
OMB Control Number: 3060-1181.
OMB Approval Date: January 23, 2013.
OMB Expiration Date: July 31, 2013.
Title: Study Area Boundary Data Reporting in Esri Shapefile Format,
DA 12-1777.
Form Number: N/A.
Respondents: Incumbent local exchange carriers, and state
regulatory entities.
Number of Respondents and Responses: 1,443 respondents; 1,443
responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 26 hours.
Frequency of Response: Annually if changes to study area
boundaries; biannually for recertification or previously submitted
data.
Obligation to Respond: Required. Statutory authority for this
information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 254(b).
Total Annual Burden: 7,924 hours for in-house work for large
incumbent local exchange carriers
Total Annual Cost: $705,935.00 contracting costs for small
incumbent local exchange carriers.
Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission is not
requesting that
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respondents submit confidential information to the Commission. Also,
respondents may request materials or information submitted to the
Commission be withheld from public inspection under 47 CFR 0.459 of the
Commission's rules.
Needs and Uses: In November 2012, the Wireline Competition Bureau
of the Federal Communications Commission adopted a Report and Order
(Order), in WC Docket No. 10-90; WC Docket No. 05-337; DA 12-1777, 78
FR 5750, Connect America Fund; High-Cost Universal Service Support.
The Order adopts data specifications for collecting study area
boundaries for purposes of implementing various reforms adopted as part
of the USF/ICC Transformation Order, 76 FR 73830, November 29, 2011. In
the USF/ICC Transformation FNPRM, 76 FR 78384, December 16, 2011, the
Commission sought comment on a process to reduce support where such an
unsubsidized competitor offers voice and broadband service to a
substantial majority, but not 100 percent of the study area. Study area
boundaries are needed to determine whether unsubsidized competitors
offer service within all or a portion of an incumbent's study area
The Order requires incumbent local exchange carriers (LECs) to
submit esri shapefiles of their study area boundaries, with each
submitted shapefile representing a single study area in each state that
the incumbent LEC serves. The shapefile for each study area must depict
each exchange within the study area as a closed, non-overlapping
polygon. Each exchange-area polygon must constitute one record in the
shapefile and must contain associated data with certain attributes used
to identify the exchange, such as the exchange name and CLLI (Common
Language Location Identifier) code. The Bureau will collect study area
boundary data at the exchange level so that it can distinguish those
exchanges that are subject to ``frozen'' support levels from those that
are not, and so that the data can be updated to reflect any exchanges
that have been transferred from one incumbent LEC to another.
The Order finds that collecting study area boundary data in an esri
shapefile format best balances the need for accurate and timely data
with the goal of minimizing burdens on providers. The Order states that
the esri shapefile is the best among possible data formats. Since its
introduction in the 1990s, the esri shapefile has become the industry
standard for storing, depicting, and analyzing spatial data. As a
result, there are multiple geographic information system (GIS)
platforms capable of creating and managing esri shapefiles, and
multiple software programs can convert spatial data stored in other
formats (such as MapInfo) to an esri shapefile format. Incumbent LECs
that do not already have esri shapefiles of their study area boundaries
may either use software and information technology, and/or rely on the
expertise of consultants, to develop a shapefile based on the
presumably known locations of their physical plant and their customers.
Thus, the benefits gained by requiring incumbent LECs to provide and
verify esri shapefiles warrant the potential burdens imposed. Incumbent
LECs or other entities are not expected to conduct physical surveys in
order to produce the degree of accuracy required by the data
specification. Incumbent LECs reasonably can be expected to know where
they offer services and thus should be able to create and submit an
esri shapefile to the degree of accuracy required based largely on
existing information.
State entities are well situated to assist incumbent LECs with
their responsibilities under this R&O. Involvement of state entities
that undertake or assist with this data collection effort could reduce
the burden on incumbent LECs and on Commission staff, particularly
because some states already have digitized service territory
boundaries. State entities wishing to submit such data should notify
the Commission in writing of their intention to do so and submit that
notice to WC Docket No. 10-90 via the Commission's Electronic Comment
Filing System (ECFS). The Bureau will release a Public Notice
identifying the deadlines for these notices (as well as the deadlines
for the shapefile submissions and incumbent LEC certifications). In
cases where a state entity uploads data to the Commission-sponsored Web
site on behalf of one or more incumbent LECs, each incumbent LEC whose
data are submitted by the state must log into the Web site to review
the shapefile. If the incumbent LEC has a reasonable basis to conclude
the shapefile is correct, the incumbent LEC can certify and submit the
data using the same web interface. The reporting obligation set forth
in the Order ultimately rests with incumbent LECs; state entities may
not certify as to the accuracy of the data on behalf of incumbent LECs.
If the incumbent LEC cannot certify that the data submitted by the
state entities are correct, the incumbent LEC must so notify the Bureau
and upload corrected data, either on its own or in conjunction with the
state entity that filed it. The incumbent LEC can then certify that the
study area boundary data are accurate.
After reviewing and, if necessary, correcting the study area
boundary data submitted by itself or a state entity, each incumbent LEC
must certify the accuracy of the data. An official of the firm, such as
a corporate officer, managing partner, or sole proprietor, must provide
an electronic signature certifying that he or she has examined the
study area boundary shapefile and that, to the best of his or her
knowledge, information, and belief, the data contained in the shapefile
are accurate and correct. The certifying official may be different from
the GIS specialist or other individual who developed the study area
boundary shapefile, and the web interface will allow filers to enter
contact information for both the certifying official and the individual
most knowledgeable about the spatial data.
Once the shapefiles have been submitted and certified, the Bureau
will review the study area boundaries and resolve any voids and
overlaps. Overlap areas would be those shown to be served by more than
one incumbent LEC, while void areas would be those shown to be served
by no incumbent LEC. The Bureau will attempt to distinguish unpopulated
void areas from populated void areas that are likely to be served by
some incumbent LEC, in which case an error in the submitted data may
need to be resolved. The Bureau may also seek help from state
commissions to resolve gaps, voids, and overlap issues. During review,
if boundary overlaps or void areas are found in the submitted boundary
data, the Bureau will contact the filer(s) to resolve such issues. Once
these issues are resolved, the Bureau will ask incumbent LECs to
recertify the new, corrected boundaries. When a complete set of the
reconciled boundaries has been compiled the study area boundary data
will be published.
Incumbent LECs must provide updated data when their study area
boundaries change. Incumbent LECs and/or state entities must submit
updated data by March 15 of each year, beginning the year following the
initial data submissions, showing any changes made by December 31 of
the previous year. The incumbent LEC is responsible for making any
necessary changes and for filing the revised shapefile. The changes
cannot be made using the web interface itself; incumbent LECs will need
to modify the shapefile. However, incumbent LECs can upload a revised
shapefile to the same Web site used for the original filing. In
addition, all incumbent LECs must recertify their
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study area boundary data every two years. Filers will need to examine,
through the web interface described below, the boundary data previously
submitted, and then either certify that they are correct or submit
revised data.
In the near future, the Bureau will issue a Public Notice providing
detailed instructions and announcing the deadline for the submission of
data and providing further filing information. The Commission plans to
submit information required to obtain OMB review and approval to extend
approval of this collection.
Federal Communications Commission.
Lisa Gelb,
Deputy Bureau Chief, Wireline Competition Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2013-03328 Filed 2-12-13; 8:45 am]
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