[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 209 (Wednesday, October 29, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64383-64387]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-25749]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[WT Docket No. 14-161; DA 14-1478]
Enhancements to the Commission's Universal Licensing System and
Antenna Structure Registration System for Providing Access to Official
Electronic Authorizations and Seeks Comment on Final Procedures
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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[[Page 64384]]
SUMMARY: In this document, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau
(Bureau) seeks comment on certain procedures for implementing access to
official authorizations electronically in the Commission's Universal
Licensing System or Antenna Structure Registration System, while
providing options for receiving authorizations on paper through the
U.S. Postal Service.
DATES: Comments are due on or before November 10, 2014.
ADDRESSES: All filings in response to the Notice must refer to WT
Docket No. 14-161. The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau strongly
encourages parties to file comments electronically. Comment may be
submitted electronically by the following methods:
Federal Communications Commission's Web site: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
By email. To obtain instructions for filing by email,
filers should send an email to [email protected], and include the following
words in the body of the message, ``get form.'' A sample form and
directions will be sent in response.
Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must
file an original and one copy of each filing. Filings can be sent by
hand or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight courier, or by
first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All filings must be
addressed to the Commission's Secretary, Attn: WTB/MD, Office of the
Secretary, Federal Communications Commission. All hand-delivered or
messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission's Secretary must
be delivered to FCC Headquarters at 445 12th Street SW., Room TW-A325,
Washington, DC 20554. All hand deliveries must be held together with
rubber bands or fasteners. All envelopes must be disposed of before
entering the building. Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S.
Postal Service Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300
East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743. U.S. Postal Service
first-class mail, Express Mail, and Priority Mail should be addressed
to 445 12th Street SW., Washington, DC 20554.
In addition, Parties are requested to send one copy of
their comments to Best Copy and Printing, Inc., Portals II, 445 12th
Street SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554, (800) 378-3160, email
[email protected].
People with Disabilities: Contact the FCC to request reasonable
accommodations (accessible format documents, sign language
interpreters, CART, etc.) by email: [email protected] or phone: (202) 418-
0530 or TTY: (202) 418-0432.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Bucher at (202) 418-2656 or via
email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of Public Notice (DA 14-
1478) released on October 10, 2014. The complete text of the Public
Notice is available for viewing via the Commission's ECFS Web site by
entering the docket number, WT Docket No. 14-161. The complete text of
the Public Notice is also available for public inspection and copying
from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) Monday through Thursday
or from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET on Fridays in the FCC Reference
Information Center, 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC
20554, telephone 202-488-5300, fax 202-488-5563, or you may contact
BCPI at its Web site: http://www.BCPIWEB.com. When ordering documents
from BCPI, please provide the appropriate FCC document number, for
example, DA 14-1478.
In the Notice, the Bureau announces enhancements to the
Commission's Universal Licensing System (ULS) and Antenna Structure
Registration (ASR) System to allow all commercial, private and public
safety wireless service licensees and ASR registrants electronic access
to their current official authorizations in ``Active'' status. For
purposes of the Notice, the term ``authorization'' includes all current
commercial, private, and public safety wireless service licenses,
commercial radio operator permits, vessel exemptions, and spectrum
leases in ``Active'' status and authorized in parts 1, 13, 20, 22, 24,
26, 27, 74, 80, 87, 90, 95, 97 and 101 of the Commission's rules. The
term also includes all current FCC Forms 854R, Antenna Structure
Registrations, in ``Active'' status, including ``Granted'' or
``Constructed,'' and authorized under part 17 of the Commission's
rules. The term does not include current authorizations in any status
other than ``Active,'' including, for example, current authorizations
in ``Expired,'' ``Cancelled,'' or ``Terminated'' status in ULS, or
``Cancelled,'' ``Dismantled,'' or ``Terminated'' status in the ASR
System. In addition, the term does not include spectrum subleases or
private commons arrangements, which the Commission will continue to
process on a manual basis, nor does the term include authorizations
archived in ULS. Antenna Structure Registrations are not archived in
the ASR System. Finally, while other Commission Bureaus manage other
licensing systems, the enhancements in the Notice apply only to ULS and
the ASR System. As of September 1 of this year, 2,153,265 current
authorizations in Active status were stored in ULS and the ASR System,
and paper copies of official authorizations were mailed to licensees
and registrants. The Commission's ``Report on FCC Process Reform''
released earlier this year recommended that, ``to the extent permitted
by Federal records retention requirements,'' licensing Bureaus ``should
eliminate paper copies of licenses.'' The Report further stated that
``[c]onsideration should be given whether to have a transition period
during which certain classes of licensees (such as small, rural
providers or amateur radio operators) are excluded or permitted to opt-
out of an electronic-only approach.''
To implement this recommendation, upon adoption of final
procedures, the Commission will stop providing paper copies of current
authorizations to licensees and registrants unless it is notified that
the licensee or registrant wishes to continue receiving official
authorizations on paper. In the interim, the Commission will continue
to print and mail out official authorizations unless it is notified
that licensees or registrants wish to stop receiving official
authorizations on paper. The Bureau takes the following actions:
The Bureau deems the electronic version of an
authorization stored in ULS or the ASR System as the official
Commission document. All licensees and registrants can access, through
License Manager in ULS or ASR Dashboard (formerly ASR Manager) in the
ASR System, the official electronic versions of their current
authorizations in Active status, whether granted prior to or after
release of the Notice. Only Commission licensees and registrants are
afforded access to their official electronic authorizations through
License Manager or ASR Dashboard.
The Bureau seeks comment on certain aspects of its
proposed modernized procedures for implementing access to official
authorizations electronically through License Manager, through ASR
Dashboard, and by email, while providing options for continuing to
receive authorizations on paper through the U.S. Postal Service.
The Bureau initiates an ``interim test period,'' which
will continue until final procedures become effective. During the
interim test period, licensees and registrants may elect to stop
receiving authorizations on paper through the U.S. Postal Service. If
no such election is made, the Commission will continue to print and
mail out
[[Page 64385]]
paper authorizations upon grant of applications to licensees and
registrants. Regardless of their election, all licensees and
registrants may access official electronic authorizations online and
provide feedback to the Bureau through the public comment process.
The general public will continue to be able to access
unofficial reference copies of authorizations through ULS or the ASR
System.
The Notice provides for a 30-day comment period on the procedures
proposed below. For promulgating ``rules of agency organization,
procedure, or practice''--so-called ``procedural rules''--section 4 of
the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) exempts agencies like the
Federal Communications Commission from the general APA requirements to
provide the public with advance notice and opportunity for comment.
While the enhancements to ULS and the ASR System that the Bureau is
planning to implement fall within this exemption, the Bureau has
nevertheless decided to solicit public comment, which the Bureau
believes will better inform its decision-making in this particular
proceeding. The Bureau anticipates issuing a further public notice
announcing the adoption and implementation of final procedures in the
near term. Thus, interested parties are encouraged to take advantage of
the interim test period and provide detailed comments to the Bureau.
Authorizations--Official Electronic Authorizations, Electronic Access,
Duplicate Copies, and Unofficial Reference Copies
Currently, once an application is granted, ULS or the ASR System
generates an authorization from information provided in the granted
application. The authorization is then printed on paper, placed in a
postage-paid envelope, and mailed out through the U.S. Postal Service
to the licensee or registrant. The Bureau finds that an electronic,
online authorization can be considered the official Commission
authorization under both the Federal Records Act of 1950 and the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended. The Bureau therefore deems the
electronic version of an authorization generated from the grant of an
application and stored in ULS or the ASR System to be the Commission's
official document. The Bureau notes that while it is deeming the
electronic version of an authorization stored in ULS to be the
Commission's official document, lifetime commercial radio operator
licenses issued prior to implementation of ULS remain valid even though
the license itself is not stored in ULS. The Commission currently mails
the official copy of a paper authorization only to the licensee or
registrant. In keeping with this practice, under the modernized
process, a licensee or registrant may access its official electronic
authorizations by securely logging into License Manager in ULS or ASR
Dashboard in the ASR System, after which the licensee or registrant can
download, save, and print copies of its authorizations, to the extent
needed.
Making the official electronic authorization available to a
licensee through License Manager in ULS or to a registrant through its
ASR Dashboard in the ASR System allows the licensee or registrant to
obtain an additional copy of an official authorization without
Commission action in the event its existing copy is lost or destroyed.
While under this enhanced process the need to request a duplicate paper
license or registration will be virtually eliminated, the Commission
will retain the capability in ULS and the ASR System that allows
licensees and registrants to file applications requesting duplicate
paper copies of official authorizations. The Bureau notes that if a
licensee elects to submit an application for a duplicate paper license,
the licensee would file its application along with any application fee
required under Commission rules.
The Commission will continue providing unofficial reference copies
of authorizations online through ULS and the ASR System. The reference
copy includes the most recent information on the authorization, thus
providing the public with current licensing or registration data
without compromising the official status of the official authorization.
Proposed Enhancements
The Bureau seeks comment on certain aspects of the modernization
process, under which it is seeking to eliminate the distribution of
paper authorizations to the greatest extent possible. Under the
proposed procedures, once an application is granted, ULS or the ASR
System will generate an official electronic authorization. The
Commission, however, will no longer print out the authorization on
paper and mail it to the licensee or registrant unless it is notified
that the licensee or registrant wishes to continue receiving its
official authorization(s) on paper.
Official Electronic Authorizations Obtained Through License Manager
or ASR Dashboard. The Commission now provides all licensees and
registrants, through License Manager or ASR Dashboard, access to the
official electronic versions of their current authorizations in Active
status, whether granted prior to or after release of the Notice. As
described in detail below, links to download authorizations in ULS can
be found on the License Manager homepage and a registrant may download
authorizations through its ASR Dashboard. In addition, licensees and
registrants may download more than one authorization at a time. The
Bureau seeks comment on whether this process for providing current
official electronic authorizations in Active status through License
Manager or ASR Dashboard sufficiently meets the needs of licensees or
registrants wishing to use that option.
Official Electronic Authorizations Delivered Through Email. The
Bureau also proposes a second method by which a licensee or registrant
could obtain its authorizations electronically. Under this proposal,
the Commission would send the official electronic authorization via
email to a licensee or registrant upon grant of an application if the
applicant included a valid email address under ``Applicant
Information'' (licensee) in a ULS application form or under ``Antenna
Structure Ownership Information'' (registrant) in an ASR System
application. While in most cases a single authorization would be
attached to a single email, the Bureau also proposes to attach all
authorizations granted on the same day within the same system to a
single email, to the extent capacity allows. The Bureau notes that this
would be a voluntary process and if a licensee or registrant did not
wish to provide an email address in an application, it could instead
obtain official electronic authorizations through License Manager or
ASR Dashboard. While the Commission would email the licensee or
registrant its official authorizations, the Bureau notes that its
proposal does not include sending an official electronic authorization
to a ``contact'' listed on the application. Finally, the Bureau
proposes to send official electronic authorizations to valid licensee
or registrant email addresses regardless of whether a licensee or
registrant obtained its authorization(s) electronically through License
Manager or ASR Dashboard, or elected to continue receiving official
authorizations on paper through the U.S. Postal Service. The Bureau
seeks comment on its proposal for sending official electronic
authorizations, upon grant of an application, to the email address
voluntarily included with
[[Page 64386]]
licensee or registrant information in the application.
Options for Continuing To Receive Official Authorizations on Paper.
While the default process under its proposal is to stop printing and
mailing out official authorizations, the Bureau also proposes options
by which a licensee or registrant could notify the Commission that it
wished to continue receiving its official authorization(s) on paper.
First, both License Manager and ASR Dashboard now include a setting
that allows a licensee or registrant to notify the Commission whether
it wishes to receive official authorization(s) on paper. Once final
procedures become effective designating electronic delivery as the
default, if a licensee or registrant wished to continue receiving
official authorizations on paper, the licensee or registrant could
change the setting so that once an application was granted, the
Commission would print and mail out on paper the resulting official
authorization(s) associated with the licensee's or registrant's FCC
Registration Number (FRN). Licensees or registrants that use more than
one FRN would be required to change the default setting for each FRN in
each applicable system, ULS and ASR, to the extent they wished to
receive official paper authorizations specifically associated with a
particular FRN. The Bureau further notes that, under its proposal,
while the default setting would be set so that the Commission would no
longer print and mail out official paper authorizations, the setting
would have no effect on how the Commission processed other applicant,
licensee or registrant correspondence and notices generated by ULS or
the ASR System. The proposed procedure for changing the setting is
detailed below.
Second, a licensee or registrant could contact the Licensing
Support Center via phone, web or mail to request paper authorizations.
Using any of these methods, which are also detailed below, the licensee
or registrant would be required to provide its FRN(s), and whether its
request applied to ULS or the ASR System, or both. After the Commission
processed the request, once any pending or future application
associated with the FRN(s) that the licensee or registrant provided was
granted, the resulting authorization(s) would be printed on paper and
mailed through the U.S. Postal Service to the licensee or registrant at
the licensee or registrant address specified on the application. The
Bureau notes that if a licensee or registrant elects to receive paper
authorizations using any of these options, the licensee or registrant
would also continue to have access to their authorizations
electronically through License Manager or ASR Dashboard. Finally, the
Bureau notes that the process for obtaining duplicate paper copies of
licenses or registrations by filing an application, along with any
applicable filing fee, through ULS or the ASR System would remain
available under its proposal. The Bureau seeks comment on these options
for licensees and registrants that wish to continue receiving their
official authorizations on paper by mail.
The Bureau's intent is to provide access to official electronic
authorizations and to address associated issues with regard to making
documents available electronically using today's technology, while also
accommodating those who wish or need to continue receiving paper
authorizations through the U.S. Postal Service. The Bureau is also
aware that over time, this enhanced process will continue to change as
technology evolves. That said, the Bureau is also interested in whether
there are other issues that need to be addressed in this transition to
official electronic authorizations, and how those issues may be
resolved.
The Interim Test Period
In conjunction with seeking comment on certain proposed procedures,
the Bureau is initiating an ``interim test period,'' which will
continue until final procedures become effective. In particular, the
Commission has enhanced ULS and the ASR System to make some of the
options included in the Bureau's proposal available for voluntary use
during this interim test period so that licensees and registrants can
evaluate their experience in accessing official electronic
authorizations online and provide feedback to the Bureau through the
public comment process. All licensees and registrants can access
through License Manager or ASR Dashboard the official electronic
versions of their current authorizations in Active status, whether
granted prior to or after release of the Notice.
They may also elect to stop receiving paper copies. During this
interim test period, once a pending application is granted, and ULS or
the ASR System has generated the official authorization, the Commission
will continue to print the authorization on paper, place it in a
postage-paid envelope, and mail it through the U.S. Postal Service to
the licensee or registrant, unless the licensee or registrant elects to
stop receiving paper copies using the setting now included in both
License Manager and ASR Dashboard. If a licensee or registrant wishes
to stop receiving official authorizations on paper during the interim
test period, the licensee or registrant must change the setting so that
the Commission will no longer print and mail out on paper any official
authorizations associated with the licensee's or registrant's FRN. The
procedure for changing the setting is detailed below.
Posting and Record Retention Rules
Finally, some of the Commission's wireless service-specific rules
require licensees to retain current authorizations as part of their
station records, and, for some services, licensees must post paper
copies of their station authorizations at certain locations. In
addition, Commission rules require antenna structure owners to post the
Antenna Structure Registration Number at each facility, and to provide
all tenant licensees (and permittees) on the structure access to a copy
of the FCC Form 854R, Antenna Structure Registration. The Bureau notes
that enhancing the Commission's licensing and Antenna Structure
Registration systems to replace official paper authorizations with
official electronic authorizations does not affect these rules. The
Bureau further notes that the Commission recently adopted revisions to
its part 17 rules, which become effective October 24, 2014, including
modified requirements for posting Antenna Structure Registration
Numbers and mailing registrations to tenant licensees and permittees.
The enhancements described in the Notice are independent of the
proposals adopted in that rulemaking.
Instructions for Downloading Authorizations
ULS. The Commission is currently providing both temporary and
permanent links on the License Manager homepage to download
authorizations in ULS. The temporary link, ``download your official
electronic authorizations now,'' can be found on a green bar across the
top of the License Manager homepage. The permanent link, ``Download
Electronic Authorizations,'' can be found in the navigation bar on the
left side of the License Manager homepage.
ASR. The link to download Antenna Structure Registrations,
``Download Official Registration,'' can be found on the registrant's
ASR Dashboard homepage as well as under the ``My Registrations'' tab on
its ASR Dashboard.
[[Page 64387]]
Instructions for Selecting Electronic or Paper Authorizations During
the Interim Test Period
Instructions for Continuing To Receive Paper Authorizations During the
Interim Test Period
ULS. The Commission is also providing both temporary and permanent
links in ULS on the License Manager homepage to access the new default
setting that allows licensees and registrants to notify the Commission
whether they wish to receive authorizations on paper through the U.S.
Postal Service. The temporary link, ``Change your paper authorization
preferences here,'' can be found on a green bar across the top of the
License Manager homepage. The permanent link, ``Set Paper Authorization
Preferences,'' can be found in the navigation bar on the left side of
the License Manager homepage. Once accessed, the default setting will
look like this during the interim test period:
``Receive Paper Authorizations? x Yes _ No''
ASR. The default setting in the ASR System is located on the home
page of a registrant's ASR Dashboard and will look like this during the
interim test period:
``Receive Paper Registrations? x Yes _ No''
If a licensee or registrant wishes to continue receiving official
authorizations on paper during the interim test period, they do not
need to make any changes to the settings in License Manager or ASR
Dashboard.
Instructions for Selecting Electronic-Only Authorizations During the
Interim Test Period
If a licensee or registrant wishes to stop receiving official
authorizations on paper during the interim test period, the licensee or
registrant must change the setting(s) described above by checking the
``No'' box. If the setting is changed to ``No,'' the Commission will no
longer print and mail out on paper any official authorizations
associated with the licensee's or registrant's FRN(s).
Instructions for Selecting Electronic or Paper Authorizations Upon
Implementation of Final Procedures
Instructions for Continuing To Obtain Electronic-Only Authorizations
Upon Implementation of Final Procedures
ULS. Upon adoption of final procedures, the Commission would
continue to provide, for a period of time, the same temporary and
permanent links described in the interim test period instructions on
the License Manager homepage to access the default setting in ULS. Once
accessed, the default setting would look like this upon implementation
of final procedures:
``Receive Paper Authorizations? _ Yes x No''
ASR. Upon adoption of final procedures, the default setting in the
ASR System would be located on the homepage of the registrant's ASR
Dashboard and would look like this upon implementation of final
procedures:
``Receive Paper Registrations? _ Yes x No''
Upon adoption of final procedures, if a licensee or registrant
wished to only obtain official authorizations electronically through
ULS or the ASR System, they would not need to make any changes to the
settings in License Manager or ASR Dashboard. If the licensee or
registrant did not change the setting, the Commission would no longer
print and mail out on paper official authorizations associated with the
licensee's or registrant's FRN(s).
Instructions for Obtaining Paper Authorizations Upon Implementation of
Final Procedures
Once the Bureau implements final procedures, if a licensee or
registrant wished to receive official authorizations on paper, the
licensee or registrant could change the setting(s) described above by
checking the ``Yes'' box.
OR
The licensee or registrant could contact the Licensing Support
Center via phone, Web or mail. All requests would be required to
include the licensee's or registrant's FRN(s), and whether the request
applied to ULS or the ASR System, or both.
Phone: (877) 480-3201, Option 2; TTY (888) 225-5322, Option 2.
Web: https://esupport.fcc.gov/request.htm.
Mail: Send a letter to the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau,
Technologies, Systems and Innovation Division, 1270 Fairfield Road,
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325-7245.
If a licensee or registrant changed the setting(s) described above
to ``Yes'' or used any of these other options, once an application was
granted, the Commission would print and mail out on paper the resulting
official authorization(s) associated with the licensee's or
registrant's FRN(s). Finally, the Bureau notes that if a licensee or
registrant elected to receive paper authorizations upon implementation
of final procedures, the licensee or registrant would also continue to
have access to their authorizations electronically through License
Manager or ASR Dashboard.
This proceeding has been designated as a ``permit-but-disclose''
proceeding in accordance with the Commission's ex parte rules. Persons
making ex parte presentations must file a copy of any written
presentation or a memorandum summarizing any oral presentation within
two business days after the presentation (unless a different deadline
applicable to the Sunshine period applies). Persons making oral ex
parte presentations are reminded that memoranda summarizing the
presentation must (1) list all persons attending or otherwise
participating in the meeting at which the ex parte presentation was
made, and (2) summarize all data presented and arguments made during
the presentation. If the presentation consisted in whole or in part of
the presentation of data or arguments already reflected in the
presenter's written comments, memoranda or other filings in the
proceeding, the presenter may provide citations to that data or
arguments in his or her prior comments, memoranda, or other filings
(specifying the relevant page and/or paragraph numbers where the data
or arguments can be found) in lieu of summarizing them in the
memorandum. Documents shown or given to Commission staff during ex
parte meetings are deemed to be written ex parte presentations and must
be filed consistent with Sec. 1.1206(b) of the Commission's rules. In
proceedings governed by Sec. 1.49(f) or for which the Commission has
made available a method of electronic filing, written ex parte
presentations and memoranda summarizing oral ex parte presentations and
all attachments to those documents must be filed through the electronic
comment filing system available for that proceeding, and must be filed
in their native format (e.g., .doc, .xml, .ppt, searchable .pdf).
Participants in this proceeding should familiarize themselves with the
Commission's ex parte rules.
Federal Communications Commission.
Jessica Almond,
Chief of Staff, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2014-25749 Filed 10-28-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P