86982 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 240 / Friday, December 15, 2023 / Notices 

19 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii). 20 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

impediments to and perfect the 

mechanism of a free and open market 

and a national market system because 

the proposed rule changes will provide 

greater clarity to Members and the 

public regarding the Exchange’s fees. It 

is in the public interest for rules to be 

accurate and transparent so as to 

eliminate the potential for confusion. 

If the Exchange is incorrect in its 

determination that the proposed fees 

reflect the value of the GPS antenna, 

customers will not purchase the product 

or will seek other options at their 

disposal, such as purchasing time 

synchronization services from thirdparty vendors. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

The Exchange does not believe that 

the proposed rule change will impose 

any burden on competition not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. 

In terms of inter-market competition 

(the competition among self-regulatory 

organizations), the Exchange notes that 

it operates in a highly competitive 

market in which market participants can 

readily favor competing venues if they 

deem fee levels at a particular venue to 

be excessive. In such an environment, 

the Exchange must continually adjust its 

fees to remain competitive with other 

exchanges and with alternative trading 

systems that have been exempted from 

compliance with the statutory standards 

applicable to exchanges. Because 

competitors are free to modify their own 

fees in response, the Exchange believes 

that the degree to which fee changes in 

this market may impose any burden on 

competition is extremely limited. 

Approval of the proposal does not 

impose any burden on the ability of 

other exchanges to compete. As noted 

above, time synchronization services are 

offered by other vendors and any 

exchange has the ability to offer such 

services if it so chooses. 

Nothing in the proposal burdens 

intra-market competition (the 

competition among consumers of 

exchange data) because the GPS antenna 

is available to any co-location customer 

under the same fees as any other colocation customer, and any co-location 

customer that wishes to purchase a GPS 

antenna can do so on a nondiscriminatory basis. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

No written comments were either 

solicited or received. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

The foregoing rule change has become 

effective pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act.19 At any time 

within 60 days of the filing of the 

proposed rule change, the Commission 

summarily may temporarily suspend 

such rule change if it appears to the 

Commission that such action is: (i) 

necessary or appropriate in the public 

interest; (ii) for the protection of 

investors; or (iii) otherwise in 

furtherance of the purposes of the Act. 

If the Commission takes such action, the 

Commission shall institute proceedings 

to determine whether the proposed rule 

should be approved or disapproved. 

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Act. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s internet 

comment form (https://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include file number SR– 

ISE–2023–33 on the subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Secretary, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to file 

number SR–ISE–2023–33. This file 

number should be included on the 

subject line if email is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

internet website (https://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed rule 

change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed rule change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for website viewing and 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549, on official 

business days between the hours of 10 

a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing also 

will be available for inspection and 

copying at the principal office of the 

Exchange. Do not include personal 

identifiable information in submissions; 

you should submit only information 

that you wish to make available 

publicly. We may redact in part or 

withhold entirely from publication 

submitted material that is obscene or 

subject to copyright protection. All 

submissions should refer to file number 

SR–ISE–2023–33 and should be 

submitted on or before January 5, 2024. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.20

Sherry R. Haywood, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27527 Filed 12–14–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[SEC File No. 270–177, OMB Control No. 

3235–0177] 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request; Extension: Rule 

6e–2 and Form N–6EI–1 

Upon Written Request, Copies Available 

From: Securities and Exchange 

Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 

100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 

20549–2736 

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant 

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities 

and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) has submitted to the 

Office of Management and Budget a 

request for extension of the previously 

approved collection of information 

discussed below. 

Rule 6e–2 (17 CFR 270.6e–2) under 

the Investment Company Act of 1940 

(‘‘Act’’) 

(15 U.S.C. 80a) is an exemptive rule 

that provides separate accounts formed 

by life insurance companies to fund 

certain variable life insurance products, 

exemptions from certain provisions of 

the Act, subject to conditions set forth 

in the rule. 

Rule 6e–2 provides a separate account 

with an exemption from the registration 

provisions of section 8(a) of the Act if 

the account files with the Commission 

Form N–6EI–1 (17 CFR 274.301), a 

notification of claim of exemption. 

The rule also exempts a separate 

account from a number of other sections 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 240 / Friday, December 15, 2023 / Notices 86983 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3The term ‘‘Member’’ means an individual or 

organization approved to exercise the trading rights 

associated with a Trading Permit. Members are 

deemed ‘‘members’’ under the Exchange Act. See 

Exchange Rule 100. 

4The MIAX Express Interface (‘‘MEI’’) is a 

connection to MIAX systems that enables Market 

Makers to submit simple and complex electronic 

quotes to MIAX. See Fee Schedule, note 26. 

5The term ‘‘Market Makers’’ refers to Lead Market 

Makers (‘‘LMMs’’), Primary Lead Market Makers 

(‘‘PLMMs’’), and Registered Market Makers 

(‘‘RMMs’’) collectively. See Exchange Rule 100. For 

purposes of Limit Service MEI Ports, Market Makers 

also include firms that engage in other types of 

liquidity activity, such as seeking to remove resting 

liquidity from the Exchange’s Book. 

6See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 90980 

(January 25, 2021), 86 FR 7602 (January 29, 2021) 

(SR–MIAX–2021–02). 

7See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 90981 

(January 25, 2021), 86 FR 7582 (January 29, 2021) 

(SR–PEARL–2021–01). 

8See id. 

9See MIAX Options and MIAX Pearl Options— 

Announce planned network changes related to 

shared 10G ULL extranet, issued August 12, 2022, 

available at https://www.miaxglobal.com/alert/ 

2022/08/12/miax-options-and-miax-pearl-optionsannounce-planned-network-changes-0. The 

Exchange will continue to provide access to both 

the Exchange and MIAX Pearl over a single shared 

1Gb connection. See Securities Exchange Act 

Release Nos. 96553 (December 20, 2022), 87 FR 

79379 (December 27, 2022) (SR–PEARL–2022–60); 

96545 (December 20, 2022) 87 FR 79393 (December 

27, 2022) (SR–MIAX–2022–48). 

10For example, the New York Stock Exchange, 

Inc.’s (‘‘NYSE’’) Secure Financial Transaction 

Infrastructure (‘‘SFTI’’) network, which contributes 

to the Exchange’s connectivity cost, increased its 

fees by approximately 9% since 2021. Similarly, 

since 2021, the Exchange, and its affiliates, 

experienced an increase in data center costs of 

approximately 17% and an increase in hardware 

and software costs of approximately 19%. These 

percentages are based on the Exchange’s actual 

2021 and proposed 2023 budgets. 

of the Act, provided that the separate 

account makes certain disclosure in its 

registration statements (in the case of 

those separate accounts that elect to 

register), reports to contract holders, 

proxy solicitations, and submissions to 

state regulatory authorities, as 

prescribed by the rule. 

Since 2008, there have been no filings 

of Form N–6EI–1 by separate accounts. 

Therefore, there has been no cost or 

burden to the industry since that time. 

The Commission requests authorization 

to maintain an inventory of one burden 

hour for administrative purposes. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid 

control number. 

The public may view background 

documentation for this information 

collection at the following website: 

www.reginfo.gov. Find this particular 

information collection by selecting 

‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open 

for Public Comments’’ or by using the 

search function. Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice by January 16, 2024 to (i) 

MBX.OMB.OIRA.SEC_desk_officer@

omb.eop.gov and (ii) David Bottom, 

Director/Chief Information Officer, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, c/ 

o John Pezzullo, 100 F Street, NE, 

Washington, DC 20549, or by sending an 

email to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. 

Dated: December 12, 2023. 

Sherry R. Haywood, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27569 Filed 12–14–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–99137; File No. SR–MIAX– 

2023–48] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Miami 

International Securities Exchange, 

LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate 

Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule 

Change To Amend Its Fee Schedule To 

Modify Certain Connectivity and Port 

Fees 

December 11, 2023. 

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

(‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2

notice is hereby given that on November 

27, 2023, Miami International Securities 

Exchange, LLC (‘‘MIAX’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) 

filed with the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’) a 

proposed rule change as described in 

Items I, II, and III below, which Items 

have been prepared by the Exchange. 

The Commission is publishing this 

notice to solicit comments on the 

proposed rule change from interested 

persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

The Exchange proposes to amend the 

MIAX Options Exchange Fee Schedule 

(the ‘‘Fee Schedule’’) to amend certain 

connectivity and port fees. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s website at 

https://www.miaxglobal.com/markets/ 

us-options/miax-options/rule-filings, at 

MIAX’s principal office, and at the 

Commission’s Public Reference Room. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, the 

Exchange included statements 

concerning the purpose of and basis for 

the proposed rule change and discussed 

any comments it received on the 

proposed rule change. The text of these 

statements may be examined at the 

places specified in Item IV below. The 

Exchange has prepared summaries, set 

forth in sections A, B, and C below, of 

the most significant aspects of such 

statements. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

The Exchange proposes to amend the 

Fee Schedule as follows: (1) increase the 

fees for a 10 gigabit (‘‘Gb’’) ultra-low 

latency (‘‘ULL’’) fiber connection for 

Members 3 and non-Members; and (2) 

amend the monthly port fee for 

additional Limited Service MIAX 

Express Interface (‘‘MEI’’) Ports 4

available to Market Makers.5 The 

Exchange and its affiliate, MIAX 

PEARL, LLC (‘‘MIAX Pearl’’) operated 

10Gb ULL connectivity (for MIAX 

Pearl’s options market) on a single 

shared network that provided access to 

both exchanges via a single 10Gb ULL 

connection. The Exchange last increased 

fees for 10Gb ULL connections from 

$9,300 to $10,000 per month on January 

1, 2021.6 At the same time, MIAX Pearl 

also increased its 10Gb ULL 

connectivity fee from $9,300 to $10,000 

per month.7 The Exchange and MIAX 

Pearl shared a combined cost analysis in 

those filings due to the single shared 

10Gb ULL connectivity network for both 

exchanges. In those filings, the 

Exchange and MIAX Pearl allocated a 

combined total of $17.9 million in 

expenses to providing 10Gb ULL 

connectivity.8

Beginning in late January 2023, the 

Exchange also recently determined a 

substantial operational need to no 

longer operate 10Gb ULL connectivity 

on a single shared network with MIAX 

Pearl. The Exchange bifurcated 10Gb 

ULL connectivity due to ever-increasing 

capacity constraints and to enable it to 

continue to satisfy the anticipated 

access needs for Members and other 

market participants.9 Since the time of 

the 2021 increase discussed above, the 

Exchange experienced ongoing 

increases in expenses, particularly 

internal expenses.10 As discussed more 

fully below, the Exchange recently 

calculated increased annual aggregate 

costs of $12,034,554 for providing 10Gb 

ULL connectivity on a single unshared 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1