84324 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 232 / Tuesday, December 5, 2023 / Notices 

required by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal 

Communications Commission (FCC or 

the Commission) invites the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

take this opportunity to comment on the 

following information collection. 

Comments are requested concerning: 

whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

Commission, including whether the 

information shall have practical utility; 

the accuracy of the Commission’s 

burden estimate; ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information collected; ways to minimize 

the burden of the collection of 

information on the respondents, 

including the use of automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology; and ways to 

further reduce the information 

collection burden on small business 

concerns with fewer than 25 employees. 

DATES: Written PRA comments should 

be submitted on or before February 5, 

2024. If you anticipate that you will be 

submitting comments, but find it 

difficult to do so within the period of 

time allowed by this notice, you should 

advise the contact listed below as soon 

as possible. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to 

Nicole Ongele, FCC, via email PRA@

fcc.gov and to nicole.ongele@fcc.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

additional information about the 

information collection, contact Nicole 

Ongele, (202) 418–2991. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FCC 

may not conduct or sponsor a collection 

of information unless it displays a 

currently valid control number. No 

person shall be subject to any penalty 

for failing to comply with a collection 

of information subject to the PRA that 

does not display a valid Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) control 

number. 

OMB Control Number: 3060–1283. 

Title: Improving Outage Reporting for 

Submarine Cables and Enhanced 

Submarine Outage Data. 

Form Number: Not applicable. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently information collection. 

Respondents: Business or other forprofit. 

Number of Respondents and 

Responses: 85 respondents; 154 

responses. 

Estimated Time per Response: 2 

hours. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion 

reporting requirement. 

Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. 

Statutory authority for this information 

collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151, 

154(i)–(j) & (o), 405, and the Cable 

Landing License Act of 1921, 47 U.S.C. 

34–39, and 3 U.S.C. 301, and Executive 

Order 10530. 

Total Annual Burden: 308 hours. 

Total Annual Cost: No Cost. 

Needs and Uses: Section 151 of the 

Communications Act of 1934 (Act), as 

amended, requires the Commission to 

promote the safety of life and property 

through the use of wire and radio 

communications. Additionally, the 

Cable Landing License Act, (47 U.S.C. 

34–39), and Executive Order 10530, 

provide the Commission with authority 

to grant, withhold, condition and revoke 

submarine cable landing licenses. 

Further, the Cable Landing License Act 

and Executive Order 10530 provide that 

the Commission may place conditions 

on the grant of a submarine cable 

landing license in order to assure just 

and reasonable rates and service in the 

operation and use of cables so licensed. 

‘‘Just and reasonable service’’ entails 

assurance that the cable infrastructure 

will be reasonably available. 

Availability of submarine cables is also 

critically important for national security 

and the economy because submarine 

cables carry approximately 95 percent of 

international communications traffic 

and are the primary means of 

connectivity for numerous U.S. states 

and territories. 

This collection is part of the 

Commission’s NORS outage reporting 

regime. As with the other information 

collection collected in NORS regarding 

other communications services (under 

OMB Control No. 3060–0484), this 

collection facilitates FCC monitoring, 

analysis, and investigation of the 

reliability and security of submarine 

cable networks, and to identify and act 

on potential threats to our Nation’s 

telecommunications infrastructure. 

Drawing from a decade of experience in 

outage reporting, the Commission will 

seek an ongoing dialogue with 

submarine cable licensees, as well as 

with the industry at large, regarding 

lessons learned from the new 

information collection. These efforts 

will help the Commission develop a 

better understanding of the root causes 

of significant outages, and to explore 

preventive measures to mitigate the 

impact of such outages on the Nation 

and the American public. 

Mandatory submarine cable outage 

data provides the Commission with 

greater visibility into the availability 

and health of these networks, allowing 

the Commission to better track and 

analyze submarine cable resiliency. This 

enhanced visibility into submarine 

cable network outages will allow the 

Commission to take appropriate actions 

to mitigate disruptions, if necessary, and 

to avoid the development of larger, more 

significant problems which could 

impact national security and public 

safety interests. Submarine cable 

outages do not typically occur with the 

same frequency as terrestrial outages, 

but when they do occur have a greater 

impact on the Nation’s 

telecommunications due to the volume 

and nature of communications carried 

over such cables. Damages to submarine 

cables are usually caused by weather or 

inadvertent slicing by underseas 

equipment. However, submarine cables 

are also susceptible to intentional 

damage for nefarious purposes that 

could lead to a severe degradation of 

crucial government, as well as nongovernment, communications. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary, Office of the Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–26696 Filed 12–4–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

[FR ID: 187884] 

Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of a new matching 

program. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Privacy Act of 1974, as amended 

(‘‘Privacy Act’’), this document 

announces a new computer matching 

program the Federal Communications 

Commission (‘‘FCC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’ 

or ‘‘Agency’’) and the Universal Service 

Administrative Company (USAC) will 

conduct with the New Mexico Human 

Services Department. The purpose of 

this matching program is to verify the 

eligibility of applicants to and 

subscribers of Lifeline, and the 

Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), 

both of which are administered by 

USAC under the direction of the FCC. 

More information about these programs 

is provided in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section below. 

DATES: Written comments are due on or 

before January 4, 2024. This computer 

matching program will commence on 

January 4, 2024, and will conclude 18 

months after the effective date. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Elliot S. 

Tarloff, FCC, 45 L Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20554, or to Privacy@

fcc.gov. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 232 / Tuesday, December 5, 2023 / Notices 84325 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elliot S. Tarloff at 202–418–0886 or 

Privacy@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Lifeline program provides support for 

discounted broadband and voice 

services to low-income consumers. 

Lifeline is administered by the 

Universal Service Administrative 

Company (USAC) under FCC direction. 

Consumers qualify for Lifeline through 

proof of income or participation in a 

qualifying program, such as Medicaid, 

the Supplemental Nutritional 

Assistance Program (SNAP), Federal 

Public Housing Assistance, 

Supplemental Security Income (SSI), 

Veterans and Survivors Pension Benefit, 

or various Tribal-specific federal 

assistance programs. In the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, 

Public Law 116–260, 134 Stat. 1182, 

2129–36 (2020), Congress created the 

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, 

and directed use of the National Verifier 

to determine eligibility based on various 

criteria, including the qualifications for 

Lifeline (Medicaid, SNAP, etc.). EBBP 

provided $3.2 billion in monthly 

consumer discounts for broadband 

service and one-time provider 

reimbursement for a connected device 

(laptop, desktop computer or tablet). In 

the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs 

Act, Public Law 117–58, 135 Stat. 429, 

1238–44 (2021) (codified at 47 U.S.C. 

1751–52), Congress modified and 

extended EBBP, provided an additional 

$14.2 billion, and renamed it the 

Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). 

A household may qualify for the ACP 

benefit under various criteria, including 

an individual qualifying for the FCC’s 

Lifeline program. 

In a Report and Order adopted on 

March 31, 2016, (81 FR 33026, May 24, 

2016) (2016 Lifeline Modernization 

Order), the Commission ordered USAC 

to create a National Lifeline Eligibility 

Verifier (‘‘National Verifier’’), including 

the National Lifeline Eligibility Database 

(LED), that would match data about 

Lifeline applicants and subscribers with 

other data sources to verify the 

eligibility of an applicant or subscriber. 

The Commission found that the 

National Verifier would reduce 

compliance costs for Lifeline service 

providers, improve service for Lifeline 

subscribers, and reduce waste, fraud, 

and abuse in the program. 

The Consolidated Appropriations Act 

of 2021 directs the FCC to leverage the 

National Verifier to verify applicants’ 

eligibility for ACP. The purpose of this 

matching program is to verify the 

eligibility of Lifeline and ACP 

applicants and subscribers by 

determining whether they receive SNAP 

and Medicaid benefits administered by 

the New Mexico Human Services 

Department. 

Participating Agencies 

New Mexico Human Services 

Department (source agency); Federal 

Communications Commission (recipient 

agency) and Universal Service 

Administrative Company. 

Authority for Conducting the Matching 

Program 

The authority to conduct the 

matching program for the FCC’s ACP is 

47 U.S.C. 1752(a)–(b). The authority to 

conduct the matching program for the 

FCC’s Lifeline program is 47 U.S.C. 

254(a)–(c), (j). 

Purpose(s) 

The purpose of this new matching 

agreement is to verify the eligibility of 

applicants and subscribers to Lifeline, 

as well as to ACP and other Federal 

programs that use qualification for 

Lifeline as an eligibility criterion. This 

new agreement will permit eligibility 

verification for the Lifeline program and 

ACP by checking an applicant’s/ 

subscriber’s participation in SNAP and 

Medicaid in New Mexico. Under FCC 

rules, consumers receiving these 

benefits qualify for Lifeline discounts 

and also for ACP benefits. 

Categories of Individuals 

The categories of individuals whose 

information is involved in the matching 

program include, but are not limited to, 

those individuals who have applied for 

Lifeline and/or ACP benefits; are 

currently receiving Lifeline and/or ACP 

benefits; are individuals who enable 

another individual in their household to 

qualify for Lifeline and/or ACP benefits; 

are minors whose status qualifies a 

parent or guardian for Lifeline and/or 

ACP benefits; or are individuals who 

have received Lifeline and/or ACP 

benefits. 

Categories of Records 

The categories of records involved in 

the matching program include, but are 

not limited to, the last four digits of the 

applicant’s Social Security Number, 

date of birth, and first or last name. The 

National Verifier will transfer these data 

elements to the New Mexico Human 

Services Department which will 

respond either ‘‘yes’’ or ‘‘no’’ that the 

individual is enrolled in a qualifying 

assistance program: SNAP and Medicaid 

administered by the New Mexico 

Human Services Department. 

System(s) of Records 

The records shared as part of this 

matching program reside in the Lifeline 

system of records, FCC/WCB–1, 

Lifeline, which was published in the 

Federal Register at 86 FR 11526 (Feb. 

25, 2021). 

The records shared as part of this 

matching program reside in the ACP 

system of records, FCC/WCB–3, 

Affordable Connectivity Program, which 

was published in the Federal Register at 

86 FR 71494 (Dec. 16, 2021). 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–26698 Filed 12–4–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

[FR ID: 187883] 

Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of a new matching 

program. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Privacy Act of 1974, as amended 

(‘‘Privacy Act’’), this document 

announces a new computer matching 

program the Federal Communications 

Commission (‘‘FCC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’ 

or ‘‘Agency’’) and the Universal Service 

Administrative Company (USAC) will 

conduct with the Minnesota Department 

of Human Services. The purpose of this 

matching program is to verify the 

eligibility of applicants to and 

subscribers of the Affordable 

Connectivity Program (ACP), which is 

administered by USAC under the 

direction of the FCC. More information 

about this program is provided in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

below. 

DATES: Written comments are due on or 

before January 4, 2024. This computer 

matching program will commence on 

January 4, 2024, and will conclude 18 

months after the effective date. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Elliot S. 

Tarloff, FCC, 45 L Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20554, or to Privacy@

fcc.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elliot S. Tarloff at 202–418–0886 or 

Privacy@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, 

Public Law 116–260, 134 Stat. 1182, 

2129–36 (2020), Congress created the 

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, 


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