81558 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 248 / Tuesday, December 28, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

safe harbor regulations and new Special 

Fraud Alerts beyond those summarized 

in an appendix to the OIG Semiannual 

Report referenced above. 

A. Criteria for Modifying and 

Establishing Safe Harbor Provisions 

In accordance with section 205 of 

HIPAA, we will consider a number of 

factors in reviewing proposals for new 

or modified safe harbor provisions, such 

as the extent to which the proposals 

would affect an increase or decrease in: 

• Access to health care services, 

• The quality of services, 

• Patient freedom of choice among 

health care providers, 

• Competition among health care 

providers, 

• The cost to Federal health care 

programs, 

• The potential overutilization of the 

health care services, and 

• The ability of health care facilities 

to provide services in medically 

underserved areas or to medically 

underserved populations. 

In addition, we will also take into 

consideration other factors, including, 

for example, the existence (or 

nonexistence) of any potential financial 

benefit to health care professionals or 

providers that may take into account 

their decisions whether to (1) order a 

health care item or service or (2) arrange 

for a referral of health care items or 

services to a particular practitioner or 

provider. 

B. Criteria for Developing Special Fraud 

Alerts 

In determining whether to issue 

additional Special Fraud Alerts, we will 

also consider whether, and to what 

extent, the practices that would be 

identified in a new Special Fraud Alert 

may result in any of the consequences 

set forth above, as well as the volume 

and frequency of the conduct that 

would be identified in the Special Fraud 

Alert. 

A detailed explanation of 

justifications for, or empirical data 

supporting, a suggestion for a safe 

harbor or Special Fraud Alert would be 

helpful and should, if possible, be 

included in any response to this 

solicitation. 

Dated: December 22, 2010. 

Daniel R. Levinson, 

Inspector General. 

[FR Doc. 2010–32705 Filed 12–27–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4152–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 5 

[ET Docket No. 10–237; FCC 10–198] 

Promoting More Efficient Use of 

Spectrum Through Dynamic Spectrum 

Use Technologies 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the 

Commission seeks to promote and 

facilitate wireless innovation to ensure 

that the promise of dynamic spectrum 

access technologies can be fully realized 

and applied across more of the radio 

spectrum. A dynamic sharing approach 

would, for example, allow devices to 

identify and use slices of spectrum that 

are available in a particular location for 

a limited time—from as little as few 

seconds to as much as several days. 

Specifically, the Commission seeks 

comment on the variety of ways in 

which dynamic spectrum access radios 

and techniques can promote more 

intensive and efficient use of the radio 

spectrum, and the potential that these 

technological innovations have for 

enabling more effective management of 

spectrum. 

DATES: Comments must be filed on or 

before February 28, 2011, and reply 

comments must be filed on or before 

March 28, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rodney Small, Office of Engineering 

and Technology, (202) 418–2452, email: Rodney.Small@fcc.gov, TTY (202) 

418–2989. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by ET Docket No. 10–237, by 

any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Federal Communications 

Commission’s Web Site: http:// 

www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• E-mail: [Optional: Include the Email address only if you plan to accept 

comments from the general public]. 

Include the docket number(s) in the 

subject line of the message. 

• Mail: [Optional: Include the mailing 

address for paper, disk or CD–ROM 

submissions needed/requested by your 

Bureau or Office. Do not include the 

Office of the Secretary’s mailing address 

here.] 

• People with Disabilities: Contact the 

FCC to request reasonable 

accommodations (accessible format 

documents, sign language interpreters, 

CART, etc.) by e-mail: FCC504@fcc.gov 

or phone: 202–418–0530 or TTY: 202– 

418–0432. 

For detailed instructions for 

submitting comments and additional 

information on the rulemaking process, 

see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION of 

this document. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Commission’s Notice of 

Inquiry, ET Docket No. 10–237, FCC 10– 

198, adopted and released on November 

30, 2010. The full text of this document 

is available for inspection and copying 

during normal business hours in the 

FCC Reference Center (Room CY–A257), 

445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 

20554. The complete text of this 

document also may be purchased from 

the Commission’s copy contractor, Best 

Copy and Printing, Inc., 445 12th Street, 

SW., Room, CY–B402, Washington, DC 

20554. The full text may also be 

downloaded at: http://www.fcc.gov. 

Pursuant to §§ 1.415, 1.419, and 1.430 

of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR 

1.415, 1.419, and 1.430, interested 

parties may file comments and reply 

comments on or before the dates 

indicated on the first page of this 

document. Comments may be filed 

using: (1) The Commission’s Electronic 

Comment Filing System (ECFS), (2) the 

Federal Government’s eRulemaking 

Portal, or (3) by filing paper copies. See 

Electronic Filing of Documents in 

Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 FR 24121 

(1998). 

• Electronic Filers: Comments may be 

filed electronically using the Internet by 

accessing the ECFS: http:// 

fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/ or the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Paper Filers: Parties who choose to 

file by paper must file an original and 

four copies of each filing. If more than 

one docket or rulemaking number 

appears in the caption of this 

proceeding, filers must submit two 

additional copies for each additional 

docket or rulemaking number. 

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, Office of the 

Secretary, Federal Communications 

Commission. 

• All hand-delivered or messengerdelivered paper filings for the 

Commission’s Secretary must be 

delivered to FCC Headquarters at 445 

12th St., SW., Room TW–A325, 

Washington, DC 20554. The filing hours 

are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. All hand deliveries 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 248 / Tuesday, December 28, 2010 / Proposed Rules 81559 

must be held together with rubber bands 

or fasteners. Any 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, 

Express, and Priority mail must be 

addressed to 445 12th Street, SW., 

Washington DC 20554. 

People with Disabilities: To request 

materials in accessible formats for 

people with disabilities (braille, large 

print, electronic files, audio format), 

send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call 

the Consumer & Governmental Affairs 

Bureau at 202–418–0530 (voice), 202– 

418–0432 (tty). 

Summary of Notice of Inquiry 

1. In the Notice of Inquiry (NOI), the 

Commission explores the current state 

of development of dynamic spectrum 

access technologies, including the 

technical developments that affect the 

design and operation of dynamic radios. 

In particular, it examines the 

development of spectrum sensing and 

other dynamic spectrum sharing 

capabilities and techniques. Next it 

explores ways in which it can help 

promote the development of these 

technologies for use on both a licensed 

and an unlicensed basis. The 

Commission inquires whether there are 

additional steps it should take to 

improve its ‘‘Spectrum Dashboard,’’ a 

Web-based access tool that enables users 

to determine how spectrum is being 

used, who holds spectrum licenses 

around the country, and what spectrum 

is available in a particular geographic 

area. In addition, the Commission seeks 

comment on how spectrum used 

through secondary market arrangements 

could employ dynamic spectrum access 

radios and techniques. It also seeks 

comment on establishment of dynamic 

access radio test beds and on spectrum 

bands that might be suitable for 

dynamic spectrum access. Finally, the 

Commission examines whether the 

database access model applicable to 

unlicensed Television Band Devices 

might be deployed in other spectrum 

bands. 

2. As a general matter, dynamic 

spectrum access radios, as well as the 

new spectrum management techniques 

that they can enable, hold great promise 

to increase productive use of spectrum 

as the Commission seeks to use the 

nation’s available spectrum resources 

more intensively and efficiently. With 

data traffic on mobile wireless networks 

estimated to grow by a factor of thirtyfive between 2009 and 2014, there is a 

critical need for increased efficiency in 

use of spectrum, as well as the need for 

additional spectrum, not only for mobile 

wireless networks, but also for a wide 

variety of RF-based applications and 

services. Ensuring that the Commission 

can take advantage of these improved 

efficiencies will be critical as it 

addresses this spectrum challenge, and 

can lead to increased spectrum value 

that spurs additional investment and 

innovation that can benefit American 

consumers. The Commission seeks to 

expand the environment in which these 

advanced technologies and techniques 

can be developed and improved, and 

then can be applied across more radio 

spectrum. Thus, it seeks information on 

these dynamic technologies and on 

what additional steps the Commission 

can and should take to encourage, 

promote, and incentivize their 

development and use in both 

unlicensed and licensed spectrum. 

3. The Commission believes that there 

are opportunities for use of dynamic 

spectrum access techniques under both 

licensed and unlicensed regulatory 

approaches. Each approach has its 

benefits and limitations in the context of 

dynamic spectrum access techniques. It 

also observes that, as spectrum users 

seek to make the best and most efficient 

use of the available spectrum resource, 

they are increasingly using a 

combination of unlicensed networks 

and dedicated licensed networks 

employing advanced radio devices to 

meet their spectrum needs. The 

Commission’s objective is to identify 

how to make the most efficient use of 

spectrum to help meet the demand for 

wireless broadband services, as well as 

many other applications, under both 

licensed and unlicensed regulatory 

approaches. 

4. Much work is being done to 

advance dynamic radio technologies, 

and the Commission believes that this 

work has already enabled more efficient 

use of the spectrum resource. However, 

this work is still in its early stages, and 

far more efficient spectrum use may be 

possible in the future. For this to 

happen, not only must advances 

continue to be made in the areas of 

sensing technology, usage algorithms, 

and cognitive abilities, but regulatory 

models may need to change. The 

Commission therefore inquires as to 

what it can do to best facilitate the use 

of dynamic radio technology, both from 

a technical and non-technical 

perspective. 

5. Pursuant to sections 4(i), 301, and 

303 of the Communications Act of 1934, 

as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 301, and 

303, this Notice of Inquiry is adopted. 

Marlene H. Dortch, 

Secretary, Federal Communications 

Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2010–32491 Filed 12–27–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS