Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 88 / Friday, May 5, 2000 / Notices 26203

Web Sites or contact the appropriate

FCC office or bureau:

• Wireless Telecommunications

Bureau: www.fcc.gov/wtb; Irene

Griffith: (202) 418–1315.

• Mass Media Bureau: www.fcc.gov/

mmb; FM (Brian Butler): (202) 418–

2700;

• AM (Joseph Szczesny): (202) 418–

2700; TV (John Morgan): (202) 418–

1600.

• International Bureau: www.fcc.gov/

ib; (202) 418–2222.

• Office of Engineering and

Technology: www.fcc.gov/oet; (202)

418–2464.

Federal Communications Commission.

Magalie Roman Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–11237 Filed 5–4–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

[CC Docket No. 96–237; FCC 00–140]

Implementation of Infrastructure

Sharing Provisions in the

Telecommunications Act of 1996

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal

Communications Commission affirms in

part and modifies in part its original

Report and Order implementing section

259 of the Telecommunications Act of

1996 (‘‘1996 Act’’). This action is taken

to respond to Petitions for

Reconsideration that were received by

the Commission following release of its

original Report and Order. By affirming

and clarifying its original Report and

Order, the Commission provides parties

negotiating section 259 arrangements

with a better understanding of their

responsibilities.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gregory Guice, Industry Analysis

Division, Common Carrier Bureau, at

(202) 418–0095.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a

summary of the Order on

Reconsideration released April 27, 2000

(FCC 00–140). The full text of the Order

on Reconsideration 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 also may be purchased

from the Commission’s copy contractor,

International Transcription Service, Inc.

(202) 857–3800, 1231 20th Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20037. Additionally,

the complete item is available on the

Commission’s website at <http://

www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/

CommonlCarrier/Orders/2000>.

Synopsis of the Inquiry

1. In the document summarized here,

the Federal Communications

Commission affirms in part and clarifies

in part its original Report and Order

implementing section 259 of the

Telecommunications Act of 1996 (‘‘1996

Act’’). In the 1996 Act, Congress moved

to restructure the local

telecommunications market by

removing legal, regulatory, and

economic impediments to competition

that sustain a monopoly environment.

As part of this restructuring, Congress

adopted section 259, which requires

incumbent LECs to make available,

under certain conditions, public

switched network infrastructure and

other capabilities to a carrier requesting

access, or a ‘‘qualifying carrier,’’ that is

providing telephone exchange service

outside the incumbent LEC’s area. On

February 7, 1997, the Commission

promulgated general rules and

guidelines to define the obligations

imposed by section 259.

Implementation of Infrastructure

Sharing Provisions in the

Telecommunications Act of 1996, 62 FR

9704 (Mar. 4, 1997) (‘‘Infrastructure

Sharing Order’’). Recognizing that a

qualifying carrier may not use the

facilities or functions of the incumbent

LEC to compete in the incumbent’s

telephone exchange area, as is the case

in other market opening provisions of

the 1996 Act such as sections 251 and

252, the Infrastructure Sharing Order

adopted an approach that depends in

large part on negotiations among the

interested parties.

2. Specifically in this Order on

Reconsideration, the Commission

affirms its decision to implement

section 259 through a negotiation-driven

approach that relies on parties to reach

mutually-satisfactory terms for

infrastructure sharing. It further affirms

its decision to not rely on definitions

that are restrictively based on

perceptions of present network

requirements, and therefore, affirms that

things which might be characterized as

‘‘services’’ by the incumbent LEC are

not per se excluded from section 259

arrangements.

3. The Commission modifies,

however, the Infrastructure Sharing

Order in the following manner. First,

the Commission clarifies that because

259(b)(6) prevents qualifying carriers

from using section 259-requested

infrastructure to compete with the

providing incumbent LEC in its

telephone exchange area, ‘‘resale,’’ as

that term is used in conjunction with

section 251 of the 1996 Act, is not

permitted under section 259

arrangements. Second, the Commission

clarifies that nothing in its rules would

require an incumbent LEC to make

available the intellectual property of

third parties without necessary

licensing or in violation of existing

licensing agreements. Third, the

Commission modifies the Infrastructure

Sharing Order by placing the primary

burden to obtain third-party intellectual

property and licensing rights on the

carrier requesting access to the

incumbent LECs infrastructure.

However, the Commission requires that

incumbent LECs engage in good faith

efforts, whenever requested, to help

resolve intellectual property and

licensing disputes between qualifying

carriers and third-party vendors.

4. Finally, the Commission rejects a

petition by MCI requesting the

Commission exercise pricing authority

and mandate particular prices for shared

infrastructure obtained by qualifying

carriers pursuant to section 259.

Federal Communications Commission.

Magalie Roman Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–11238 Filed 5–4–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

FEDERAL EMERGENCY

MANAGEMENT AGENCY

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Submission for OMB

Review; Comment Request

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency

Management Agency has submitted the

following proposed information

collection to the Office of Management

and Budget for review and clearance in

accordance with the requirements of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. 3507).

Title: Make Your Mark on the

Floodplain—High Water Mark Form.

Type of Information Collection:

Extension of a currently approved

collection.

OMB Number: 3067–0268.

Abstract: The Federal Emergency

Management Agency (FEMA) has

entered into a partnership with the U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers (COE) in the

Portland District to assist the Agency in

providing floodplain management

assistance at the most basic and needed

level, that of local floodplain managers