29216 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 102 /Thursday, May 28, 1998 / Notices

Channel positions programming carried

on the system; and, (6) Billing and

complaint procedures, including the

address and telephone number of the

local franchise authority’s cable office.

Section 76.309(c)(3)(i)(B) states that

customers will be notified of any

changes in rates, programming services

or channel positions as soon as possible

in writing. Notice must be given to

subscribers a minimum of thirty (30)

days in advance of such changes if the

change is within the control of the cable

operator. In addition, the cable operator

shall notify subscribers 30 days in

advance of any significant changes in

the other information required by

Section 76.309(c)(3)(i)(A).

Section 76.964 states that in addition

to the requirement set forth in Section

76.309(c)(3)(i)(B) regarding advance

notification to customers of any changes

in rates, programming services or

channel positions, cable systems shall

give 30 days written notice to both

subscribers and local franchising

authorities before implementing any

rate or service change. Such notice shall

state the precise amount of any rate

change and briefly explain in readily

understandable fashion the cause of the

rate change (e.g. inflation, changes in

external costs or the addition/deletion

of channels). When the change involves

the addition or deletion of channels,

each channel added or deleted must be

separately identified. Notices to

subscribers shall inform them of their

right to file complaints about changes in

cable programming service tier rates and

services, shall state that the subscriber

may file the complaint within 90 days

of the effective date of the rate change,

and shall provide the address and

phone number of the local franchising

authority.

Section 76.309(c)(3)(ii)(B) states that

in case of a billing dispute, the cable

operator must respond to a written

complaint from a subscriber within 30

days.

Since the last OMB clearance for this

collection, it has been revised in two

ways. First, the Section 76.309(a)

requirement that franchise authorities

must provide affected cable operators 90

days written notice of intent to enforce

customer services standards was not

previously accounted for in this

collection. We now seek clearance for it

as part of this collection. Second, a

revision to Section 76.309(c)(3)(i)(B) no

longer requires cable operators to

provide notice of any rate change that is

the result of a regulatory fee, franchise

fee, or any other fee, tax, assessment, or

charge of any kind imposed by any

Federal agency, State, or franchising

authority on the transaction between

operators and their subscribers. We

revise this collection accordingly.The

Commission requires the various

disclosure and notifications contained

in this collection as a means of

consumer protection to ensure that

subscribers and franchising authorities

are knowledgeable of cable operators’

business practices, current rates, rate

changes for programming, service and

equipment, and channel line-up

changes.

Federal Communications Commission.

Magalie Roman Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–14092 Filed 5–27–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–F

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

Notice of Public Information

Collections Being Reviewed by the

Federal Communications Commission,

Comments Requested

May 20, 1998.

SUMMARY: The Federal Communications

Commission, as part of its continuing

effort to reduce paperwork burden

invites the general public and other

Federal agencies to take this

opportunity to comment on the

following information collection(s), as

required by the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995, Public Law 104–13. An

agency 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

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) that

does not display a valid control number.

Comments are requested concerning (a)

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;

(b) the accuracy of the Commission’s

burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance

the quality, utility, and clarity of the

information collected; and (d) 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.

DATES: Written comments should be

submitted on or before July 27, 1998. 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 comments to Les

Smith, Federal Communications

Commission, Room 234, 1919 M St.,

NW., Washington, DC 20554 or via

internet to lesmith@fcc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

additional information or copies of the

information collection(s), contact Les

Smith at 202–418–0217 or via internet

at lesmith@fcc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Approval Number: 3060–0287.

Title: Section 78.69 Station records.

Form No.: N/A

Type of Review: Extension of a

currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business and other forprofit entities; State, local and tribal

governments.

Number of Respondents: 1,800.

Estimated Time Per Response: 26

hours.

Frequency of Response: On Occasion.

Cost to Respondents: $0.

Total Annual Burden: 46,800 hours.

Needs and Uses: Section 78.69

requires that licensees of cable CARS

stations maintain various records,

including but not limited to records

pertaining to transmissions,

unscheduled interruptions to

transmissions, maintenance,

observations, inspections and repairs.

Station records are required to be

maintained for a period of not less than

two years. The records kept pursuant to

Section 78.69 provide for a history of

station operations and are reviewed by

Commission staff during field

investigations to ensure that proper

operation of the stations is being

conducted.

OMB Approval Number: 3060–0667.

Title: Section 76.630 Compatibility

with consumer electronic equipment.

Form No.: N/A

Type of Review: Extension of a

currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business and other forprofit entities.

Number of Respondents: 11,000.

Estimated Time Per Response: 1 - 3

hours.

Frequency of Response: On Occasion.

Cost To Respondents: $19,300 ($960

filing fee, plus stationery and postage

costs).

Total Annual Burden: 11,160 hours.

Needs and Uses: Section 76.630(a)

states that cable system operators shall

not scramble or otherwise encrypt

signals carried on the basic service tier,

though operators may file requests for

waivers of this prohibition with the

Commission. When filing requests for

waivers of this prohibition, operators

must notify subscribers by mail of

waiver requests. Section 76.630(c) states
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 102 /Thursday, May 28, 1998 / Notices 29217

that cable system operators that use

scrambling, encryption or similar

techniques shall offer to supply each

subscriber with special equipment that

will enable the simultaneous reception

of multiple signals. This offer of special

equipment must be made to new

subscribers at the time they subscribe, to

all subscribers at least once each year,

and to subscribers that make such

requests at any time. Section 76.630(d)

states that cable system operators shall

provide a consumer education program

on compatibility matters to their

subscribers in writing. The information

shall be provided to subscribers at the

time that they first subscribe and at least

once a year thereafter, and may be

included in one of the cable system’s

regular subscriber billings. The

Commission has set forth these

disclosure requirements for consumer

protection purposes, to inform

subscribers of compatibility matters,

and notify subscribers of cable

operators’ requests to waive the

prohibition on signal encryption.

Federal Communications Commission.

Magalie Roman Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–14094 Filed 5–27–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–F

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

Notice of Public Information

Collection(s) being Reviewed by the

Federal Communications Commission

May 21, 1998.

SUMMARY: The Federal Communications

Commission, as part of its continuing

effort to reduce paperwork burden

invites the general public and other

Federal agencies to take this

opportunity to comment on the

following information collection(s), as

required by the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995, Public Law 104–13. An

agency 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

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) that

does not display a valid control number.

Comments are requested concerning (a)

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;

(b) the accuracy of the Commission’s

burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance

the quality, utility, and clarity of the

information collected; and (d) 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.

DATES: Written comments should be

submitted on or before July 27, 1998. 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 comments to Judy

Boley, Federal Communications

Commission, Room 234, 1919 M St.,

NW., Washington, DC 20554 or via

internet to jboley@fcc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

additional information or copies of the

information collection(s), contact Judy

Boley at 202–418–0214 or via internet at

jboley@fcc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Approval No.: 3060–0425.

Title: Section 74.913, Selection

procedure for mutually exclusive ITFS

applications.

Form No.: n/a.

Type of Review: Extension of

currently approved collection.

Respondents: Not-for-profit

institutions.

Number of Respondents: 150.

Estimated Time Per Response: 53

hours for settlement agreements (3

hours respondent, 30 hours contract

attorney, 20 hours consulting engineer)

and 1 hour statements of number of

students.

Frequency of Response: On occasion

reporting requirement.

Cost to Respondents: $425,000.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 250

hours.

Needs and Uses: Section 74.913(c)

requires qualified ITFS applicants, with

the same point accumulation, to submit

any agreement to divide the use of the

channels within thirty days from the

date of Commission decision. If no

agreement is reached and submitted to

the Commission within thirty days, the

selectee will be determined through the

tie-breaker mechanism of Section

74.913(d).

Section 74.913(d) requires each

applicant tied in a comparative

selection proceeding to submit a

statement of the number of students at

its proposed receive locations who are

formally enrolled in classes for credit

toward an academic degree or diploma,

or a legally required certification or

license. This claim of students, who

would benefit from the proposed

system, must correlate to and be

supported by the educational programs

proposed in its application. This

statement must be served on the other

tied competing applicant(s).

Applicants will not be required to

submit their agreements or statements

unless and until it is determined that

they are tied in a comparative selection

proceeding.

The data will be used by FCC staff to

determine the most qualified applicant

to provide ITFS service to the public.

The statement served on other tied

competing applicant(s) will provide an

opportunity for competing applicants to

respond to any apsect of the enrollment

submissions.

Federal Communications Commission.

Magalie Roman Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–14095 Filed 5–27–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–F

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

Notice of Public Information Collection

Submitted to OMB for Review and

Approval

May 19, 1998.

SUMMARY: The Federal Communications

Commission, as part of its continuing

effort to reduce paperwork burden

invites the general public and other

Federal agencies to take this

opportunity to comment on the

following information collections, as

required by the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104–13. An agency

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 Paperwork

Reduction Act (PRA) that does not

display a valid control number.

Comments are requested concerning: (a)

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;

(b) the accuracy of the Commission’s

burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance

the quality, and utility, clarity of the

information collected; and (d) ways to

minimize the burden of the collection of

information on the respondents,

including the use of automated

information techniques or other forms of

information technology.

DATES: Written comments should be

submitted on or before June 29, 1998. If