[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 21, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12274-12275]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05741]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 73
[MB Docket No. 13-249; FCC 17-119]
Revitalization of the AM Radio Service
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, for a period of three years, information collection
requirements adopted in the Commission's Third Report and Order, FCC
17-119. This document is consistent with the Third Report and Order,
which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the
Federal Register announcing OMB approval and the effective date of the
rules.
DATES: The rule amendments to 47 CFR 73.151(c)(1)(ix) and (x) and
(c)(3), 47 CFR 73.154(a), and 47 CFR 73.155, published at 82 FR 51161,
November 3, 2017, are effective on March 21, 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cathy Williams by email at
[email protected] and telephone at (202) 418-2918.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that, on March 8,
2018, OMB approved information collection requirements contained in the
Commission's Report and Order, FCC 17-119, published at 82 FR 51161.
The OMB Control Number is 3060-0991. The Commission publishes this
notice as an announcement of the effective date of those information
collection requirements.
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
March 8, 2018, for the information collection requirements contained in
47 CFR 73.151(c)(1)(ix) and (x) and (c)(3), 47 CFR 73.154(a), and 47
CFR 73.155, as amended, in the Commission's Report and Order, FCC 17-
119. 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 3060-0991. 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: 3060-0991.
OMB Approval Date: March 8, 2018.
OMB Expiration Date: March 31, 2021.
Title: AM Measurement Data.
Form Number: N/A.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
Number of Respondents and Responses: 1,800 respondents; 3,135
responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 0.50 hours-25 hours.
Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirement, Third Party
disclosure requirement, On occasion reporting requirement.
Obligation To Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The
statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in
Sections 151, 152, 154(i), 303, and 307 of the Communications Act of
1934, as amended.
Total Annual Burden: 20,200 hours.
Total Annual Cost: $1,131,500.
Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for
confidentiality treatment with this collection of information.
Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
Needs and Uses: The Commission revised this information collection
to reflect the September 22, 2017, adoption of the Third Report and
Order in MB Docket No. 13-249, FCC 17-119, In the Matter of
Revitalization of AM Radio
[[Page 12275]]
Service (AMR Third R&O). Specifically, the AMR Third R&O removed
certain requirements and associated burdens contained in 47 CFR 73.151,
73.154, and 73.155. To the extent the revisions affect reporting or
record-keeping requirements, they reduce those burdens for AM
broadcasters operating with directional antenna arrays. The Commission
received approval for the revised information collection requirements
contained under this collection from the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB).
In the 2015 AM revitalization proceeding, the FCC proposed
streamlining certain technical requirements to assist AM broadcasters
in providing radio service to consumers. For example, almost 40 percent
of all AM broadcast stations must employ directional antenna arrays
during some or all of the broadcast day in order to avoid interference
with other AM stations. Maintaining a directional signal pattern can be
technically complex, time-consuming, and expensive. Such stations are
subject to a variety of rules requiring signal strength measurements
and other engineering analyses to ensure compliance with their
authorizations.
In the AMR Third R&O, the FCC eliminated, clarified, or eased
several of the rules governing AM stations using directional antenna
arrays. First, the FCC revises 47 CFR 73.154(a) to relax the rule on
submission of partial proofs of performance of directional AM antenna
arrays by eliminating the requirement to take measurements on non-
monitored radials adjacent to monitored radials. Next, the FCC modified
several rules pertaining to AM stations that use Method of Moments
(MoM) models of directional array performance. MoM modeling allows
broadcasters to verify antenna system performance through computer
modeling, as opposed to sending engineers into the field to take field
strength measurements. Thus, a proof using a MoM model is less
expensive than taking field strength measurements of an AM station's
directional pattern. Specifically, the FCC: (1) Revised 47 CFR
73.151(c)(1)(ix) to eliminate the requirement of obtaining a registered
surveyor's certification, provided that no new towers are being added
to an existing AM array and the tower geometry is not changed; (2)
added 47 CFR 73.151(c)(1)(x) to extend the exemption from having to
file a new proof with the FCC to any AM tower modification that does
not affect the modeled values used in the previously submitted license
proof; (3) revised 47 CFR 73.151(c)(3) to retain the current
requirement for submission of reference field strength measurements in
the initial license application, but to eliminate the requirement to
submit additional reference field strength measurements in subsequent
license applications; and (4) revised 47 CFR 73.155 to eliminate the
requirement for biennial recertification of the performance of a
directional pattern licensed pursuant to a MoM proof, except when
system components have been repaired or replaced.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-05741 Filed 3-20-18; 8:45 am]
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