59596 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 192 / Tuesday, October 5, 2004 / Notices 

in June 2001 to 26 million lines in 

December 2003. 

7. Further, the Fourth Report

documents the continuation of a 

positive trend that first emerged in our 

last report: namely, the increasing 

availability of advanced 

telecommunications capability to 

certain groups of consumers—those in 

rural areas, those with low incomes, and 

those with disabilities—who stand in 

particular need of advanced services. 

Consumers in these groups are of 

special concern to the Commission in 

that they are the doubly vulnerable: that 

is, although they are most in need of 

access to advanced telecommunications 

capability to overcome economic, 

educational, and other limitations, they 

are also the most likely to lack access 

precisely because of these limitations. 

The Fourth Report demonstrates that we 

are making substantial progress in 

closing the gaps in access that these 

groups traditionally have experienced. 

8. Broadband-based Internet services 

have also become a critical 

communications tool for the deaf and 

hard-of-hearing, through the use of 

Internet Protocol Relay (IP Relay) and 

Video Relay Service (VRS), two forms of 

telecommunications relay services 

(TRS) that rely on the Internet. This 

report shows that there has been more 

than a 640 percent increase in IP Relay 

usage and more than a 2,000 percent 

increase in VRS in the past two years. 

9. In addition, more than 95 percent 

of public libraries and 92 percent of 

public school classrooms have Internet 

access. Use of broadband connections in 

schools with high minority enrollment 

increased from 81 percent to 95 percent 

between 2000 and 2002. During this 

same period, schools with the highest 

poverty concentration using broadband 

connections to access the Internet 

increased from 75 percent to 95 percent.

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene H. Dortch, 

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 04–22369 Filed 10–4–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE 

CORPORATION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collections; 

Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation (FDIC).

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY: The FDIC, as part of its 

continuing effort to reduce paperwork 

and respondent burden, invites the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies to take this opportunity to 

comment on continuing information 

collections, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. chapter 35). Currently, the FDIC 

is soliciting comments concerning the 

following collections of information 

titled: (1) Interagency Charter and 

Federal Deposit Insurance Application, 

and (2) Notice of Branch Closure.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before December 6, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are 

invited to submit written comments to 

Steven F. Hanft (202–898–3907), 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, Room 

MB–3064, Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation, 550 17th Street NW., 

Washington, DC 20429. All comments 

should refer to the OMB control 

number. Comments may be handdelivered to the guard station at the rear 

of the 17th Street Building (located on 

F Street), on business days between 7 

a.m. and 5 p.m. [FAX number (202) 

898–3838]. 

A copy of the comments may also be 

submitted to the OMB desk officer for 

the FDIC: Mark Menchik, Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, New 

Executive Office Building, Washington, 

DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steven F. Hanft, at the address 

identified above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Proposal 

to renew the following currently 

approved collections of information: 

1. Title: Interagency Charter and 

Federal Deposit Insurance Application. 

OMB Number: 3064–0001. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion. 

Affected Public: Banks or savings 

associations wishing to become FDICinsured depository institutions. 

Estimated Number of Respondents:

200. 

Estimated Time per Response: 125 

hours. 

Total Annual Burden: 25,000 hours. 

General Description of Collection: The 

Interagency Charter and Federal Deposit 

Insurance Application is used by the 

FDIC as a deposit insurance application, 

and by the OCC and OTS as a charter 

application. Applications for deposit 

insurance must provide sufficient 

information to permit the FDIC to 

consider certain factors which are 

listsed in Section 6 of the FDI Act. 

These factors include: the financial 

history and condition of the depository 

institution, the adequacy of its capital 

structure, its future earnings prospects, 

the general character and fitness of its 

management, the risk it presents to the 

relevant insurance fund, the 

convenience and needs of the 

community to be served, and the 

consistency of its corporate powers. All 

depository institutions seeking 

insurance must follow the same 

procedures. 

2. Title: Notice of Branch Closure. 

OMB Number: 3064–0109. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion. 

Affected Public: Insured depository 

institutions. 

Estimated Number of Respondents:

1,364. 

Estimated Time per Response: 2.4 

hours. 

Total Annual Burden: 3,028 hours. 

General Description of Collection: An 

institution proposing to close a branch 

must notify its primary regulator no 

later than 90 days prior to the closing. 

Each FDIC-insured institution must 

adopt policies for branch closings. This 

collection covers the requirements for 

notice, and for policy adoption. 

Request for Comment 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

these two collections of information are 

necessary for the proper performance of 

the FDIC’s functions, including whether 

the information has practical utility; (b) 

the accuracy of the estimates of the 

burden of the information collections, 

including the validity of the 

methodologies and assumptions used; 

(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 

burden of the information collections on 

respondents, including through the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

At the end of the comment period, the 

comments and recommendations 

received will be analyzed to determine 

the extent to which the collections 

should be modified prior to submission 

to OMB for review and approval. 

Comments submitted in response to this 

notice also will be summarized or 

included in the FDIC’s requests to OMB 

for renewal of these collections. All 

comments will become a matter of 

public record.

Dated at Washington, DC, this 30th day of 

September 2004.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. 

Robert E. Feldman, 

Executive Secretary.

[FR Doc. 04–22367 Filed 10–4–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6714–01–P