Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 48 / Friday, March 11, 2022 / Notices 14005 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

[OMB 3060–1270; FR ID 75543] 

Information Collection Being Reviewed 

by the Federal Communications 

Commission 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort 

to reduce paperwork burdens, and as 

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. 

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. 

DATES: Written PRA comments should 

be submitted on or before May 10, 2022. 

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: 

OMB Control Number: 3060–1270. 

Title: Protecting National Security 

Through FCC Programs. 

Form Number: FCC Form 5640. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently approved information 

collection. 

Respondents: Business or other for 

profit. 

Number of Respondents and 

Responses: 3,500 respondents; 10,325 

responses. 

Estimated Time per Response: 0.5–12 

hours. 

Frequency of Response: Annual, semiannual and recordkeeping requirement. 

Obligation to Respond: Required to 

obtain or retain benefits. Statutory 

authority for this information collection 

is contained in 47 U.S.C. 1603–1604. 

Total Annual Burden: 27,475 hours. 

Total Annual Cost: $1,125,000. 

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No 

impact(s). 

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: 

The Commission is not requesting that 

respondents submit confidential 

information to the FCC. However, 

respondents may request confidential 

treatment of their information under 47 

CFR 0.459 of the Commission’s rules. 

Needs and Uses: The Commission 

will submit this information collection 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) as a revision after this comment 

period to obtain the full three year 

clearance from OMB. Under this 

information collection, the 

Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended, requires the ‘‘preservation 

and advancement of universal service.’’ 

47 U.S.C. 254(b). The information 

collection requirements reported under 

this collection are the result of the 

Federal Communications Commission’s 

(the Commission) actions to promote the 

Act’s universal service goals. 

On November 22, 2019, the 

Commission adopted the Protecting 

Against National Security Threats to the 

Communications Supply Chain Through 

FCC Programs, WC Docket No. 18–89, 

Report and Order, Order, and Further 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 34 FCC 

Rcd 11423 (2019) (Report and Order). 

The Report and Order prohibits future 

use of Universal Service Fund (USF) 

monies to purchase, maintain, improve, 

modify, obtain, or otherwise support 

any equipment or services produced or 

provided by a company that poses a 

national security threat to the integrity 

of communications networks or the 

communications supply chain. 

On March 12, 2020, the President 

signed into law the Secure and Trusted 

Communications Networks Act of 2019 

(Secure Networks Act), Public Law 116– 

124, 133 Stat. 158 (2020) (codified as 

amended at 47 U.S.C. 1601–1609), 

which among other measures, directs 

the FCC to establish the Secure and 

Trusted Communications Networks 

Reimbursement Program 

(Reimbursement Program). This 

program is intended to provide funding 

to providers of advanced 

communications service for the 

removal, replacement and disposal of 

certain communications equipment and 

services that poses an unacceptable 

national security risk (i.e., covered 

equipment and services) from their 

networks. The Commission has 

designated two entities—Huawei 

Technologies Company (Huawei) and 

ZTE Corporation (ZTE), along with their 

affiliates, subsidiaries, and parents—as 

covered companies posing such a 

national security threat. See Protecting 

Against National Security Threats to the 

Communications Supply Chain Through 

FCC Programs—Huawei Designation, PS 

Docket No. 19–351, Memorandum 

Opinion and Order, 35 FCC Rcd 14435 

(2020); Protecting Against National 

Security Threats to the Communications 

Supply Chain Through FCC Programs— 

ZTE Designation, PS Docket No. 19–352, 

Memorandum Opinion and Order, DA 

20–1399 (PSHSB rel. Nov. 24, 2020). 

On December 10, 2020, the 

Commission adopted the Second Report 

and Order implementing the Secure 

Networks Act, which contained certain 

new information collection 

requirements. See Protecting Against 

National Security Threats to the 

Communications Supply Chain Through 

FCC Programs, WC Docket No. 18–89, 

Second Report and Order, 35 FCC Rcd 

14284 (2020) (Second Report and 

Order). These requirements will allow 

the Commission to receive, review and 

make eligibility determinations and 

funding decisions on applications to 

participate in the Reimbursement 

Program that are filed by certain 

providers of advanced communications 

service. These new information 

collection requirements will also assist 

the Commission in processing funding 

disbursement requests and in 

monitoring and furthering compliance 

with applicable program requirements 

to protect against waste, fraud, and 

abuse. 

On December 27, 2020, the President 

signed into law the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), 

appropriating $1.9 billion to ‘‘carry out’’ 

the Reimbursement Program and 

amending the Reimbursement Program 

eligibility requirements to expand 

eligibility to include providers of 

advanced communications service with 

10 million or fewer subscribers and 

making clear that schools, libraries, and 

health care providers are eligible to 

receive Reimbursement Program 

support to the extent they qualify as 


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14006 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 48 / Friday, March 11, 2022 / Notices 

providers of advanced communications 

services. See Public Law 116–260, 

Division N-Additional Coronavirus 

Response and Relief, Title IX-Broadband 

internet Access Service, §§ 901, 906, 134 

Stat. 1182 (2020). The Commission has 

interpreted the term ‘‘provider of 

advanced communications service’’ to 

mean ‘‘facilities-based providers, 

whether fixed or mobile, with a 

broadband connection to end users with 

at least 200 kbps in one direction.’’ 

Second Report and Order, 35 FCC Rcd 

at 14332, para. 111. Participation in the 

Reimbursement Program is voluntary 

but compliance with the new 

information collection requirements is 

required to obtain Reimbursement 

Program support. The Commission 

adopted a Third Report and Order on 

July 13, 2021, implementing the 

amendments to the Secure Networks 

Act by the CAA for the Reimbursement 

Program. See Protecting Against 

National Security Threats to the 

Communications Supply Chain Through 

FCC Programs, WC Docket No. 18–89, 

Third Report and Order, FCC 21–86 (rel. 

July 14, 2021) (Third Report and Order). 

Separate from the Reimbursement 

Program, the Secure Networks Act 

requires all providers of advanced 

communications service to annually 

report, with exception, on whether they 

have purchased, rented, leased or 

otherwise obtained covered 

communications equipment or service 

on or after certain dates. 47 U.S.C. 

1603(d)(2)(B). The Second Report and 

Order adopted a new information 

collection requirement to implement 

this statutory mandate. See Secure 

Networks Act § 5. If the provider 

certifies it does not have any covered 

equipment and services, then the 

provider is not required to subsequently 

file an annual report, unless it later 

obtains covered equipment and services. 

Second Report and Order, 35 FCC Rcd 

at 14370, at para. 215. 

The Commission therefore propose to 

revise this information collection, as 

well as Form 5460, to reflect this new 

requirement contained in the Public 

Notice released by the Bureau on 

August 3, 2021. This Public Notice, 

among other things, requires providers 

participating in the Reimbursement 

Program to notify the Commission of 

ownership changes using the FCC Form 

5640 to ensure the accuracy of 

information on file for program 

participants when there is a change in 

ownership. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary, Office of the Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2022–05120 Filed 3–10–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

[PS Docket No. 22–90, FCC 22–18; FRS 

75229] 

Secure Internet Routing 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Request for comments. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal 

Communications Commission (FCC or 

the Commission) seeks comment on 

vulnerabilities threatening the security 

and integrity of the Border Gateway 

Protocol (BGP), which is central to the 

Internet’s global routing system, its 

impact on the transmission of data from 

email, e-commerce, and bank 

transactions to interconnected Voiceover Internet Protocol (VoIP) and 9–1– 

1 calls, and how best to address them. 

DATES: Comments are due on or before 

April 11, 2022; and reply comments are 

due on or before May 10, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by PS Docket No. 22–90, by 

any of the following methods: 

• Electronic Filers: Comments may be 

filed electronically by accessing ECFS at 

https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs. 

• Paper Filers: Paper filings can be 

sent by hand or messenger delivery, by 

commercial overnight courier, or by 

first-class or overnight U.S. Postal 

Service mail. 

• People with Disabilities: To request 

materials in accessible formats for 

people with disabilities (braille, large 

print, electronic files, audio format), 

send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or call 

the Consumer & Governmental Affairs 

Bureau at 202–418–0530 (voice), 202– 

418–0432 (tty). 

For detailed instructions for 

submitting comments and additional 

information on this proceeding, see the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

additional information on this 

proceeding, contact James Wiley of the 

Cybersecurity and Communications 

Reliability Division, Public Safety and 

Homeland Security Bureau, at 

james.wiley@fcc.gov or (202) 418–1678 

or Minsoo Kim of the Cybersecurity and 

Communications Reliability Division, 

Public Safety and Homeland Security 

Bureau, at minsoo.kim@fcc.gov or (202) 

418–1739. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Commission’s Notice of 

Inquiry, FCC 22–18, released February 

28, 2022. The full text of this document 

is available at https://www.fcc.gov/ 

document/fcc-launches-inquiryinternet-routing-vulnerabilities. 

Ex Parte Rules. This proceeding shall 

be treated as a ‘‘permit-but-disclose’’ 

proceeding in accordance with the 

Commission’s ex parte rules. Although 

the rules do not generally require ex 

parte presentations to be treated as 

‘‘permit but disclose’’ in Notice of 

Inquiry proceedings, the Commission 

exercises its discretion in this instance, 

and finds that the public interest is 

served by making ex parte presentations 

available to the public, in order to 

encourage a robust record. 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 Rule 

1.1206(b), 47 CFR 1.1206(b). 

Participants in this proceeding should 

familiarize themselves with the 

Commission’s ex parte rules. 

Confidentiality. The Commission 

recognizes that some comments could 

contain information that the submitter 

believes should not be made available to 

the general public because of 

commercial or national security reasons. 

Parties may request that such 

information be kept confidential, 

identifying the specific information 

sought to be kept confidential, 

providing the reasons for the request, 

and otherwise following the procedures 

set forth in section 0.459 of the 


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