[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 169 (Thursday, August 30, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 44254-44256]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-18806]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 54

[WC Docket No. 10-90, WT Docket No. 10-208; FCC 18-124]


Connect America Fund; Universal Service Reform--Mobility Fund

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This document proposes modifying the timeframe for collecting 
acceptable speed test data in support of Mobility Fund II eligibility 
challenges, such that acceptable data may be collected at any time on 
or after February 27, 2018, until November 26, 2018.

DATES: Comments are due September 10, 2018, and reply comments are due 
by September 14, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by WC Docket No. 10-90 
and WT Docket No. 10-208, by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    <bullet> Federal Communications Commission's Website: https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    <bullet> People with Disabilities: Contact the FCC to request 
reasonable accommodations (accessible format documents, sign language 
interpreters, CART, etc.) by email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b3f5f0f0868387f3d5d0d09dd4dcc5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="72343131474246321411115c151d04">[email protected]</span></a>, phone: 202-418-0530 
or TTY: 202-418-0432.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, 
Auctions and Spectrum Access Division, Audra Hale-Maddox, at (202) 418-
0660.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Notice 
of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), WC Docket No. 10-90 and WT Docket No. 
10-208, FCC 18-124, adopted on August 14, 2018, and released on August 
21, 2018. The complete text of this document is available for public 
inspection and copying from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) 
Monday through Thursday or from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET on Fridays in 
the FCC Reference Information Center, 445 12th Street SW, Room CY-A257, 
Washington, DC 20554. The complete text is also available on the 
Commission's website at http://wireless.fcc.gov, or by using the search 
function on the ECFS web page at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/.

[[Page 44255]]

Alternative formats are available to persons with disabilities by 
sending an email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="03656060363337436560602d646c75">[email protected]</a> or by calling the Consumer & 
Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 
(TTY).

Comment Filing Procedures

    Pursuant to Sec. Sec.  1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission's rules, 
47 CFR 1.415, 1.419, 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 the Commission's Electronic 
Comment Filing System (ECFS). See Electronic Filing of Documents in 
Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 FR 24121 (1998).
    <bullet> Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically 
using the internet by accessing the ECFS: https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings. Filers should follow the instructions provided on the website 
for submitting comments. In completing the transmittal screen, filers 
should include their full name, U.S. Postal Service mailing address, 
and the applicable docket numbers WC Docket No. 10-90 and WT Docket No. 
10-208.
    <bullet> Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must 
file an original and three 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.
    <bullet> All hand-delivered or messenger-delivered 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 must be held together with 
rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes and boxes must be disposed of 
before entering the building.
    <bullet> Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service 
Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9050 Junction Dr., 
Annapolis Junction, Annapolis, MD 20701.
    <bullet> 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 email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0d6b6e6e383d394d6b6e6e236a627b">[email protected]</a> or call the 
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-
418-0432 (TTY).

Ex Parte Presentations

    Pursuant to Sec.  1.1200(a) of the Commission's rules, this NPRM 
shall be treated 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 such data or arguments in his or her prior comments, 
memoranda, or other filings (specifying the relevant page and/or 
paragraph numbers where such 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). 
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 thereto, 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.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The NPRM does not contain any new, modified, or proposed 
information collections subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA). In addition, therefore, it does not contain any new, modified, 
or proposed information collection burden for business concerns with 
fewer than 25 employees, pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork 
Relief Act of 2002.

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Certification

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended (RFA), requires 
that a regulatory flexibility analysis be prepared for a notice-and-
comment rulemaking proceeding, unless the agency certifies that ``the 
rule will not, if promulgated, have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities.'' The RFA generally defines the 
term ``small entity'' as having the same meaning as the terms ``small 
business,'' ``small organization,'' and ``small governmental 
jurisdiction.'' In addition, the term ``small business'' has the same 
meaning as the term ``small business concern'' under the Small Business 
Act. A small business concern is one which: (1) Is independently owned 
and operated; (2) is not dominant in its field of operation; and (3) 
satisfies any additional criteria established by the SBA.
    As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended 
(RFA), the Commission prepared Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analyses 
(IRFAs) in connection with the USF/ICC Transformation FNPRM, 76 FR 
78384, December 16, 2011, the 2014 CAF FNPRM, 79 FR 39195, July 9, 
2014, and the MF-II FNPRM, 82 FR 13413, March 13, 2017, (collectively, 
MF-II FNPRMs). The Commission sought written public comment on the 
proposals in the MF-II FNPRMs and comments on the IRFAs and 
Supplemental IRFA. The Commission included Final Regulatory Flexibility 
Analyses (FRFAs) in connection with the CAF Report & Order and Further 
Notice, 79 FR 39163, July 9, 2014, the MF-II Report & Order, 82 FR 
15422, March 28, 2017, the MF-II Challenge Process Order, 82 FR 42473, 
September 8, 2017, and the MF-II Second Order on Reconsideration, 83 FR 
17934, April 25, 2018 (collectively, the MF-II Orders). Therefore, the 
Commission certifies that the requirements of the Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities.

I. Synopsis

    On August 21, 2018, the Federal Communications Commission 
(``Commission'') released an Order, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and 
Memorandum Opinion and Order, FCC 18-124. A summary of the final 
actions from that document is published elsewhere in this issue of the 
Federal Register. In that document, the Commission extended the 
previously

[[Page 44256]]

announced deadline for the close of the Mobility Fund Phase II (MF-II) 
challenge window by an additional 90 days until November 26, 2018, 
during which period challengers may submit speed test data in support 
of a challenge. The Commission adopted this extension to ensure that 
interested parties can initiate and submit speed test data for areas 
they wish to challenge. Given this extension, the Commission proposed 
to make modifications to the speed test data specifications regarding 
the relevant timeframes for valid speed tests.

II. Notice of Proposed Rulemaking To Modify the Data Timing 
Requirements

    1. In the MF-II Challenge Process Order, the Commission stated that 
speed test measurements taken before the submission of updated coverage 
maps might not accurately reflect current network deployment and 
accordingly adopted a requirement that speed test measurements from 
challengers must be taken after the publication of the initial eligible 
areas map and within six months of the scheduled close of the challenge 
window. Similarly, the Commission stated it would only accept 
measurements from challenged parties that were collected after the 
publication of the initial eligibility map and within six months of the 
scheduled close of the response window.
    2. To ensure that the extension of the challenge filing deadline 
does not inadvertently create hardships for those challengers that have 
already conducted speed tests, and to provide similar testing 
parameters for both the challengers and the challenged parties, the 
Commission tentatively concludes that it would be in the public 
interest to modify the initially-adopted requirements that speed test 
data be collected within six months of the scheduled close of the 
relevant challenge or response window. Accordingly, the Commission 
proposes to accept speed test data in support of challenges collected 
at any time on or after February 27, 2018, the date of the publication 
of the map of presumptively eligible areas, through the new close of 
the challenge window, November 26, 2018. This would provide challengers 
with an additional three months (for a total of nine months) to conduct 
speed tests. Consistent with the MF-II Challenge Process Order's 
generally parallel standards for challengers and respondents, the 
Commission proposes to make a corresponding change to afford 
respondents at least the same amount of time as challengers to collect 
data. Accordingly, a respondent would have at least nine months to 
collect speed test data of their own network, and respondent speed 
tests collected on or after April 29, 2018, would be considered valid.
    3. The Commission tentatively concludes that the extension of the 
filing deadline warrants a modification of the current data timing 
requirements for challengers and respondents. The Commission 
tentatively concludes that modifying these requirements will serve the 
public interest by preventing challengers from having to repeat speed 
tests, and it should permit more effective implementation of Commission 
policy. In contrast, the Commission tentatively concludes that failing 
to modify this timing requirement would prohibit challengers from using 
the speed tests conducted between February 27 and May 28 (i.e., tests 
conducted more than six months before the new November 26 deadline), 
thereby forcing such challengers to engage in more testing than they 
would otherwise have had to conduct. Further, the Commission believes 
that providing respondents (i.e., the ``challenged parties'') with a 
similar data timing requirement appropriately balances the interests of 
respondents with the Commission's interest in receiving data collected 
recently, after the one-time 4G LTE data collection that initiated the 
challenge process. The Commission seeks comment on its tentative 
conclusions and these proposed modifications of the timing 
requirements.

Federal Communications Commission.

Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-18806 Filed 8-28-18; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P


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