770 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 5 / Monday, January 8, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

Dated: January 2, 2018. 

Douglas H. Benevento, 

Regional Administrator, Region 8. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00115 Filed 1–5–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 64 

[CG Docket No. 17–59; FCC 17–151] 

Advanced Methods To Target and 

Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the 

Commission invites comment on 

proposed changes to its rules. The 

Commission proposes rules regarding 

mechanisms to ensure that erroneously 

blocked calls can be unblocked as 

quickly as possible and without undue 

harm to callers and consumers. It also 

seeks comment on ways to measure the 

effectiveness of the Commission’s 

robocalling efforts, as well as those of 

industry. 

DATES: Comments are due on January 

23, 2018. Reply Comments are due on 

February 22, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by CG Docket No. 17–59 

and/or FCC Number 17–151, by any of 

the following methods: 

• Electronic Filers: Comments may be 

filed electronically using the internet by 

accessing the Commission’s Electronic 

Comment Filing System (ECFS), through 

the Commission’s website: http://

apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/. Filers should follow 

the instructions provided on the website 

for submitting comments. For ECFS 

filers, in completing the transmittal 

screen, filers should include their full 

name, U.S. Postal service mailing 

address, and CG Docket No. 17–59. 

• Mail: Parties who choose to file by 

paper must file an original and one copy 

of each filing. Filings can be sent by 

hand or messenger delivery, by 

commercial overnight courier, or by 

first-class or overnight U.S. Postal 

Service mail (although the Commission 

continues to experience delays in 

receiving U.S. Postal Service mail). All 

filings must be addressed to the 

Commission’s Secretary, Office of the 

Secretary, Federal Communications 

Commission. 

For detailed instructions for 

submitting comments and additional 

information on the rulemaking process, 

see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section of this document. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jerusha Burnett, Consumer Policy 

Division, Consumer and Governmental 

Affairs Bureau (CGB), at (202) 418- 

0526, email: Jerusha.Burnett@fcc.gov, or 

Karen A Schroeder, Consumer Policy 

Division, Consumer and Governmental 

Affairs Bureau (CGB), at (202) 418–0654, 

email: Karen.Schroeder@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Commission’s Further 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

(FNPRM), document FCC 17–151, 

adopted on November 16, 2017, and 

released on November 17, 2017. The full 

text of document FCC 17–151 will be 

available for public inspection and 

copying via ECFS, and during regular 

business hours at the FCC Reference 

Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th 

Street SW, Room CY–A257, 

Washington, DC 20554. A copy of 

document FCC 17–151 and any 

subsequently filed documents in this 

matter may also be found by searching 

ECFS at: http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/ (insert 

CG Docket No. 17–59 into the 

Proceeding block). The Report and 

Order that was adopted concurrently 

with the FNPRM is published elsewhere 

in the Federal Register. Pursuant to 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 ECFS. See Electronic 

Filing of Documents in Rulemaking 

Proceedings, 63 FR 24121 (1998). 

• All hand-delivered or messengerdelivered paper filings for the 

Commission’s Secretary must be 

delivered to FCC Headquarters at 445 

12th Street SW, Room TW–A325, 

Washington, DC 20554. All hand 

deliveries must be held together with 

rubber bands or fasteners. Any 

envelopes must be disposed of before 

entering the building. 

• Commercial Mail sent by overnight 

mail (other than U.S. Postal Service 

Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be 

sent to 9050 Junction Drive, Annapolis 

Junction, MD 20701. 

• U.S. Postal Service first-class, 

Express, and Priority mail should be 

addressed to 445 12th Street SW, 

Washington, DC 20554. 

Pursuant to § 1.1200 of the 

Commission’s rules, 47 CFR 1.1200, this 

matter shall be treated as a ‘‘permit-butdisclose’’ proceeding in accordance 

with the Commission’s ex parte rules. 

Persons making oral ex parte 

presentations are reminded that 

memoranda summarizing the 

presentations must contain summaries 

of the substances of the presentations 

and not merely a listing of the subjects 

discussed. More than a one or two 

sentence description of the views and 

arguments presented is generally 

required. See 47 CFR 1.1206(b). Other 

rules pertaining to oral and written ex 

parte presentations in permit-butdisclose proceedings are set forth in 

§ 1.1206(b) of the Commission’s rules, 

47 CFR 1.1206(b). 

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 CGB at: (202) 418–0530 

(voice), or (202) 418–0432 (TTY). The 

FNPRM can also be downloaded in 

Word or Portable Document Format 

(PDF) at: https://www.fcc.gov/ 

document/fcc-adopts-rules-help-blockillegal-robocalls-0. 

Initial Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 Analysis 

The FNPRM seeks comment on 

proposed rule amendments that may 

result in modified information 

collection requirements. If the 

Commission adopts any modified 

information collection requirements, the 

Commission will publish another notice 

in the Federal Register inviting the 

public to comment on the requirements, 

as required by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act. Public Law 104–13; 44 U.S.C. 

3501–3520. In addition, pursuant to the 

Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 

2002, the Commission seeks comment 

on how it might further reduce the 

information collection burden for small 

business concerns with fewer than 25 

employees. Public Law 107–198, 116 

Stat. 729; 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4). 

Synopsis 

1. The Commission takes another 

important step in combatting illegal 

robocalls by enabling voice service 

providers to block certain calls before 

they reach consumers’ phones. In the 

Report and Order portion of the 

document, the Commission adopts rules 

allowing voice service providers to 

block calls from phone numbers on a 

Do-Not-Originate (DNO) list and those 

that purport to be from invalid, 

unallocated, or unused numbers. Voice 

service providers have been active in 

identifying these calls and there is broad 

support for these rules. In the FNPRM 

portion of the document, the 

Commission seeks comment on two 

discrete issues related to the rules. 

2. The Commission seeks comment on 

two discrete issues related to the rules 

adopted in the Report and Order portion 

of document FCC 17–151. First, the 

Commission seeks comment on 


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potential mechanisms to ensure that 

erroneously blocked calls can be 

unblocked as quickly as possible and 

without undue harm to callers and 

consumers. The Commission encourages 

voice service providers who block calls 

under certain stated criteria to identify 

and quickly rectify any erroneous 

blocking. The Commission now seeks 

comment on whether it should require 

providers who block calls to provide a 

formal challenge mechanism. Should 

the Commission require blocking 

providers to establish a challenge 

mechanism by which callers can inform 

them of erroneous blocking and such 

blocking can quickly be fixed? What is 

the quickest way for callers to be 

informed of blocking, e.g., should 

providers send an intercept message to 

callers to notify them of the block with 

contact information by which a caller 

may report and rectify the situation? 

Should challenge mechanisms be 

different based on the scale of the 

blocking provider? What challenge 

mechanisms are blocking providers 

considering adopting, even absent a 

requirement? Is such a requirement 

necessary? Alternatively, does the 

Commission’s informal complaint 

process provide a mechanism to surface 

erroneous blocking to providers and 

correct it? Are there ways the 

Commission could modify its informal 

complaint process to address the timesensitive nature of erroneous call 

blocking? Are there other Commission 

processes that would provide an 

appropriate mechanism for rectifying 

erroneous blocking? 

3. Once a caller is aware of erroneous 

blocking, how can the Commission best 

ensure their calls are unblocked? 

Should providers cease blocking calls as 

soon as is practicable upon a credible 

claim by the caller that its calls are 

being blocked in error? Should the 

Commission establish specific 

timeframes and requirements for making 

a credible claim of erroneous blocking? 

How can the Commission mitigate the 

risk that makers of illegal robocalls will 

exploit such a process? Commenters 

should address the balance between 

quickly identifying and rectifying 

erroneous blocking against imposing 

unduly onerous burdens on providers 

that might disincent helpful call 

blocking. In this light, the Commission 

seeks comment on call blocking models 

voice providers or third parties may 

have developed to address erroneous 

call blocking. 

4. Second, the Commission seeks 

comment on ways it can measure the 

effectiveness of the robocalling efforts as 

well as those of industry. If the 

Commission were to adopt a reporting 

obligation on all voice service providers, 

what information should be collected? 

Should providers be required to report 

the quantity of false positives? Should 

this be a quarterly requirement or an 

annual requirement? In what ways 

could the information collected help the 

Commission evaluate the effectiveness 

of its efforts as well as those of industry 

and/or support additional measures to 

combat illegal robocalls? What 

consumer benefits would come from 

requiring all voice service providers to 

publicly report the number of illegal 

robocalls blocked each day/month/year? 

What are the costs of requiring voice 

service providers to report this 

information? Should the Commission 

consider different requirements for 

smaller providers? Alternatively, should 

the Commission use data from the FCC’s 

Consumer Complaint Data Center as a 

benchmark for determining the 

effectiveness of FCC and industry 

efforts? Are there other Commission or 

third-party data sources that the 

Commission could use to assess the 

effectiveness of its efforts as well as 

industry’s at targeting illegal robocalls? 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

5. As required by the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended, 

(RFA) the Commission has prepared this 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

(IRFA) of the possible significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities by the policies 

and rules proposed in the FNPRM. 

Written public comments are requested 

on this IRFA. Comments must be 

identified as responses to the IRFA and 

must be filed by the deadlines for 

comments on the FNPRM indicated 

above in the DATES portion of this 

document. The Commission will send a 

copy of the FNPRM, including this 

IRFA, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy 

of the Small Business Administration. 

Need for, and Objectives of, the 

Proposed Rules 

6. The FNPRM builds on the Report 

and Order portion of document FCC 17– 

151 by inquiring about two related 

matters: How to effectively implement a 

challenge mechanism to allow 

erroneously blocked calls to be 

unblocked as quickly as possible and 

how to measure the effectiveness of the 

rules adopted in the Report and Order. 

7. First, the FNPRM seeks comment 

on how to best ensure that a challenge 

mechanism unblocks erroneously 

blocked calls as quickly as possible 

without undue harm to callers and 

consumers. It seeks comment about 

what mechanism to use to allow 

consumers to complain about 

erroneously blocked numbers. It also 

asks if the Commission should require 

blocking carriers to establish a formal 

challenge mechanism and how callers 

will be informed that their calls have 

been blocked. In addition, the FNPRM 

seeks comment on how to best ensure 

calls are unblocked once providers are 

aware they are blocking them in error. 

It asks whether the Commission should 

establish timeframes and requirements 

for making a credible claim of erroneous 

blocking and how to mitigate the risk 

that makers of illegal calls will exploit 

the process. In addition, the FNPRM 

seeks comment on models that have 

already been developed to accomplish 

these tasks. 

8. Second, the FNPRM seeks comment 

on ways to measure the effectiveness of 

the call blocking rules adopted in the 

concurrent Report and Order. The 

FNPRM asks about requiring reporting 

by providers, including what 

information should be collected, the 

frequency of information collection, 

how the information should be used, 

and how to use various data sources as 

benchmarks for the effectiveness of the 

rules. In addition, the FNPRM seeks 

comment on the consumer benefits such 

information would provide. 

Legal Basis 

9. The proposed and anticipated rules 

are authorized under sections 201, 202, 

222, 251(e) and 403 of the 

Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended, 47 U.S.C. 201, 202, 222, 

251(e), 403. 

Description and Estimate of the Number 

of Small Entities to Which the Proposed 

Rules Will Apply 

10. The RFA directs agencies to 

provide a description of, and where 

feasible, an estimate of the number of 

small entities that may be affected by 

the rules adopted herein. 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 ‘‘smallbusiness 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. 

Wireline Carriers 

11. Wired Telecommunications 

Carriers. The U.S. Census Bureau 

defines this industry as ‘‘establishments 

primarily engaged in operating and/or 

providing access to transmission 


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facilities and infrastructure that they 

own and/or lease for the transmission of 

voice, data, text, sound, and video using 

wired communications networks. 

Transmission facilities may be based on 

a single technology or a combination of 

technologies. Establishments in this 

industry use the wired 

telecommunications network facilities 

that they operate to provide a variety of 

services, such as wired telephony 

services, including VoIP services, wired 

(cable) audio and video programming 

distribution, and wired broadband 

internet services. By exception, 

establishments providing satellite 

television distribution services using 

facilities and infrastructure that they 

operate are included in this industry.’’ 

The SBA has developed a small 

business size standard for Wired 

Telecommunications Carriers, which 

consists of all such companies having 

1,500 or fewer employees. Census data 

for 2012 shows that there were 3,117 

firms that operated that year. Of this 

total, 3,083 operated with fewer than 

1,000 employees. Thus, under this size 

standard, the majority of firms in this 

industry can be considered small. 

12. Local Exchange Carriers (LECs). 

Neither the Commission nor the SBA 

has developed a small business size 

standard specifically for local exchange 

services. The closest applicable size 

standard under SBA rules is for the 

category Wired Telecommunications 

Carriers. The U.S. Census Bureau 

defines this industry as ‘‘establishments 

primarily engaged in operating and/or 

providing access to transmission 

facilities and infrastructure that they 

own and/or lease for the transmission of 

voice, data, text, sound, and video using 

wired communications networks. 

Transmission facilities may be based on 

a single technology or a combination of 

technologies. Establishments in this 

industry use the wired 

telecommunications network facilities 

that they operate to provide a variety of 

services, such as wired telephony 

services, including VoIP services, wired 

(cable) audio and video programming 

distribution, and wired broadband 

internet services. By exception, 

establishments providing satellite 

television distribution services using 

facilities and infrastructure that they 

operate are included in this industry.’’ 

Under that size standard, such a 

business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer 

employees. Census data for 2012 show 

that there were 3,117 firms that operated 

that year. Of this total, 3,083 operated 

with fewer than 1,000 employees. 

Consequently, the Commission 

estimates that most providers of local 

exchange service are small businesses. 

13. Incumbent Local Exchange 

Carriers (Incumbent LECs). Neither the 

Commission nor the SBA has developed 

a small business size standard 

specifically for incumbent local 

exchange services. The closest 

applicable size standard under SBA 

rules is for the category Wired 

Telecommunications Carriers. The U.S. 

Census Bureau defines this industry as 

‘‘establishments primarily engaged in 

operating and/or providing access to 

transmission facilities and infrastructure 

that they own and/or lease for the 

transmission of voice, data, text, sound, 

and video using wired communications 

networks. Transmission facilities may 

be based on a single technology or a 

combination of technologies. 

Establishments in this industry use the 

wired telecommunications network 

facilities that they operate to provide a 

variety of services, such as wired 

telephony services, including VoIP 

services, wired (cable) audio and video 

programming distribution, and wired 

broadband internet services. By 

exception, establishments providing 

satellite television distribution services 

using facilities and infrastructure that 

they operate are included in this 

industry.’’ Under that size standard, 

such a business is small if it has 1,500 

or fewer employees. Census data for 

2012 show that there were 3,117 firms 

that operated that year. Of this total, 

3,083 operated with fewer than 1,000 

employees. Consequently, the 

Commission estimates that most 

providers of incumbent local exchange 

service are small businesses. 

14. Competitive Local Exchange 

Carriers (Competitive LECs), 

Competitive Access Providers (CAPs), 

Shared-Tenant Service Providers, and 

Other Local Service Providers. Neither 

the Commission nor the SBA has 

developed a small business size 

standard specifically for these service 

providers. The appropriate size standard 

under SBA rules is for the category 

Wired Telecommunications Carriers. 

The U.S. Census Bureau defines this 

industry as ‘‘establishments primarily 

engaged in operating and/or providing 

access to transmission facilities and 

infrastructure that they own and/or 

lease for the transmission of voice, data, 

text, sound, and video using wired 

communications networks. 

Transmission facilities may be based on 

a single technology or a combination of 

technologies. Establishments in this 

industry use the wired 

telecommunications network facilities 

that they operate to provide a variety of 

services, such as wired telephony 

services, including VoIP services, wired 

(cable) audio and video programming 

distribution, and wired broadband 

internet services. By exception, 

establishments providing satellite 

television distribution services using 

facilities and infrastructure that they 

operate are included in this industry.’’ 

Under that size standard, such a 

business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer 

employees. Census data for 2012 show 

that there were 3,117 firms that operated 

that year. Of this total, 3,083 operated 

with fewer than 1,000 employees. 

Consequently, the Commission 

estimates that most providers of 

competitive local exchange service, 

competitive access providers, sharedtenant service providers, and other local 

service providers are small entities. 

15. The Commission has included 

small incumbent LECs in this present 

RFA analysis. As noted above, a ‘‘small 

business’’ under the RFA is one that, 

inter alia, meets the pertinent small 

business size standard (e.g., a telephone 

communications business having 1,500 

or fewer employees), and ‘‘is not 

dominant in its field of operation.’’ The 

SBA’s Office of Advocacy contends that, 

for RFA purposes, small incumbent 

LECs are not dominant in their field of 

operation because any such dominance 

is not ‘‘national’’ in scope. The 

Commission has therefore included 

small incumbent LECs in this RFA 

analysis, although it emphasizes that 

this RFA action has no effect on 

Commission analyses and 

determinations in other, non-RFA 

contexts. 

16. Interexchange Carriers. Neither 

the Commission nor the SBA has 

developed a small business size 

standard specifically for providers of 

interexchange services. The appropriate 

size standard under SBA rules is for the 

category Wired Telecommunications 

Carriers. The U.S. Census Bureau 

defines this industry as ‘‘establishments 

primarily engaged in operating and/or 

providing access to transmission 

facilities and infrastructure that they 

own and/or lease for the transmission of 

voice, data, text, sound, and video using 

wired communications networks. 

Transmission facilities may be based on 

a single technology or a combination of 

technologies. Establishments in this 

industry use the wired 

telecommunications network facilities 

that they operate to provide a variety of 

services, such as wired telephony 

services, including VoIP services, wired 

(cable) audio and video programming 

distribution, and wired broadband 

internet services. By exception, 

establishments providing satellite 

television distribution services using 


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facilities and infrastructure that they 

operate are included in this industry.’’ 

Under that size standard, such a 

business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer 

employees. Census data for 2012 show 

that there were 3,117 firms that operated 

that year. Of this total, 3,083 operated 

with fewer than 1,000 employees. 

Consequently, the Commission 

estimates that the majority of 

interexchange carriers are small entities. 

17. Cable System Operators (Telecom 

Act Standard). The Communications 

Act also contains a size standard for 

small cable system operators, which is 

‘‘a cable operator that, directly or 

through an affiliate, serves in the 

aggregate fewer than 1 percent of all 

subscribers in the United States and is 

not affiliated with any entity or entities 

whose gross annual revenues in the 

aggregate exceed $250,000,000.’’ There 

are approximately 52,403,705 cable 

video subscribers in the United States 

today. Accordingly, an operator serving 

fewer than 524,037 subscribers shall be 

deemed a small operator if its annual 

revenues, when combined with the total 

annual revenues of all its affiliates, do 

not exceed $250 million in the 

aggregate. Based on available data, the 

Commission finds that all but nine 

incumbent cable operators are small 

entities under this size standard. Note 

that the Commission neither requests 

nor collects information on whether 

cable system operators are affiliated 

with entities whose gross annual 

revenues exceed $250 million. Although 

it seems certain that some of these cable 

system operators are affiliated with 

entities whose gross annual revenues 

exceed $250 million, the Commission is 

unable at this time to estimate with 

greater precision the number of cable 

system operators that would qualify as 

small cable operators under the 

definition in the Communications Act. 

18. Other Toll Carriers. Neither the 

Commission nor the SBA has developed 

a size standard for small businesses 

specifically applicable to other toll 

carriers. This category includes toll 

carriers that do not fall within the 

categories of interexchange carriers, 

operator service providers, prepaid 

calling card providers, satellite service 

carriers, or toll resellers. The closest 

applicable size standard under SBA 

rules is for Wired Telecommunications 

Carriers. The U.S. Census Bureau 

defines this industry as ‘‘establishments 

primarily engaged in operating and/or 

providing access to transmission 

facilities and infrastructure that they 

own and/or lease for the transmission of 

voice, data, text, sound, and video using 

wired communications networks. 

Transmission facilities may be based on 

a single technology or a combination of 

technologies. Establishments in this 

industry use the wired 

telecommunications network facilities 

that they operate to provide a variety of 

services, such as wired telephony 

services, including VoIP services, wired 

(cable) audio and video programming 

distribution, and wired broadband 

internet services. By exception, 

establishments providing satellite 

television distribution services using 

facilities and infrastructure that they 

operate are included in this industry.’’ 

Under that size standard, such a 

business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer 

employees. Census data for 2012 show 

that there were 3,117 firms that operated 

that year. Of this total, 3,083 operated 

with fewer than 1,000 employees. Thus, 

under this category and the associated 

small business size standard, the 

majority of other toll carriers can be 

considered small. 

Wireless Carriers 

19. Wireless Telecommunications 

Carriers (except Satellite). Since 2007, 

the Census Bureau has placed wireless 

firms within this new, broad, economic 

census category. Under the present and 

prior categories, the SBA has deemed a 

wireless business to be small if it has 

1,500 or fewer employees. For the 

category of Wireless 

Telecommunications Carriers (except 

Satellite), Census data for 2012 show 

that there were 967 firms that operated 

for the entire year. Of this total, 955 

firms had fewer than 1,000 employees. 

Thus, under this category and the 

associated size standard, the 

Commission estimates that the majority 

of wireless telecommunications carriers 

(except satellite) are small entities. 

Similarly, according to internally 

developed Commission data, 413 

carriers reported that they were engaged 

in the provision of wireless telephony, 

including cellular service, Personal 

Communications Service (PCS), and 

Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) 

services. Of this total, an estimated 261 

have 1,500 or fewer employees. Thus, 

using available data, the Commission 

estimates that the majority of wireless 

firms can be considered small. 

20. Satellite Telecommunications 

Providers. The category of Satellite 

Telecommunications ‘‘comprises 

establishments primarily engaged in 

providing telecommunications services 

to other establishments in the 

telecommunications and broadcasting 

industries by forwarding and receiving 

communications signals via a system of 

satellites or reselling satellite 

telecommunications.’’ This category has 

a small business size standard of $32.5 

million or less in average annual 

receipts, under SBA rules. For this 

category, Census Bureau data for 2012 

show that there were a total of 333 firms 

that operated for the entire year. Of this 

total, 299 firms had annual receipts of 

under $25 million. Consequently, the 

Commission estimates that the majority 

of satellite telecommunications firms 

are small entities. 

21. All Other Telecommunications. 

All other telecommunications 

comprises, inter alia, ‘‘establishments 

primarily engaged in providing 

specialized telecommunications 

services, such as satellite tracking, 

communications telemetry, and radar 

station operation. This industry also 

includes establishments primarily 

engaged in providing satellite terminal 

stations and associated facilities 

connected with one or more terrestrial 

systems and capable of transmitting 

telecommunications to, and receiving 

telecommunications from, satellite 

systems. Establishments providing 

internet services or voice over internet 

protocol (VoIP) services via clientsupplied telecommunications 

connections are also included in this 

industry.’’ The SBA has developed a 

small business size standard for the 

category of All Other 

Telecommunications. Under that size 

standard, such a business is small if it 

has $32.5 million in annual receipts. For 

this category, Census Bureau data for 

2012 show that there were a total of 

1,442 firms that operated for the entire 

year. Of this total, 1,400 had annual 

receipts below $25 million per year. 

Consequently, the Commission 

estimates that the majority of all other 

telecommunications firms are small 

entities. 

Resellers 

22. Toll Resellers. The Commission 

has not developed a definition for toll 

resellers. The closest NAICS Code 

Category is Telecommunications 

Resellers. The Telecommunications 

Resellers industry comprises 

establishments engaged in purchasing 

access and network capacity from 

owners and operators of 

telecommunications networks and 

reselling wired and wireless 

telecommunications services (except 

satellite) to businesses and households. 

Establishments in this industry resell 

telecommunications; they do not 

operate transmission facilities and 

infrastructure. Mobile virtual network 

operators (MVNOs) are included in this 

industry. The SBA has developed a 

small business size standard for the 

category of Telecommunications 

Resellers. Under that size standard, such 


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a business is small if it has 1,500 or 

fewer employees. Census data for 2012 

show that 1,341 firms provided resale 

services during that year. Of that 

number, all operated with fewer than 

1,000 employees. Thus, under this 

category and the associated small 

business size standard, the majority of 

these resellers can be considered small 

entities. According to Commission data, 

881 carriers have reported that they are 

engaged in the provision of toll resale 

services. Of this total, an estimated 857 

have 1,500 or fewer employees. 

Consequently, the Commission 

estimates that the majority of toll 

resellers are small entities. 

23. Local Resellers. The SBA has 

developed a small business size 

standard for the category of 

Telecommunications Resellers. The 

Telecommunications Resellers industry 

comprises establishments engaged in 

purchasing access and network capacity 

from owners and operators of 

telecommunications networks and 

reselling wired and wireless 

telecommunications services (except 

satellite) to businesses and households. 

Establishments in this industry resell 

telecommunications; they do not 

operate transmission facilities and 

infrastructure. Mobile virtual network 

operators (MVNOs) are included in this 

industry. Under that size standard, such 

a business is small if it has 1,500 or 

fewer employees. Census data for 2012 

show that 1,341 firms provided resale 

services during that year. Of that 

number, all operated with fewer than 

1,000 employees. Thus, under this 

category and the associated small 

business size standard, the majority of 

these local resellers can be considered 

small entities. 

24. Prepaid Calling Card Providers. 

The SBA has developed a small 

business size standard for the category 

of Telecommunications Resellers. The 

Telecommunications Resellers industry 

comprises establishments engaged in 

purchasing access and network capacity 

from owners and operators of 

telecommunications networks and 

reselling wired and wireless 

telecommunications services (except 

satellite) to businesses and households. 

Establishments in this industry resell 

telecommunications; they do not 

operate transmission facilities and 

infrastructure. Mobile virtual network 

operators (MVNOs) are included in this 

industry. Under that size standard, such 

a business is small if it has 1,500 or 

fewer employees. Census data for 2012 

show that 1,341 firms provided resale 

services during that year. Of that 

number, all operated with fewer than 

1,000 employees. Thus, under this 

category and the associated small 

business size standard, the majority of 

these prepaid calling card providers can 

be considered small entities. 

Description of Projected Reporting, 

Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 

Requirements 

25. As indicated above, the FNPRM 

builds on the Report and Order portion 

of document FCC 17–151 by inquiring 

about how to effectively implement a 

challenge mechanism to allow 

erroneously blocked calls to be 

unblocked as quickly as possible and 

seeking comment on how to measure 

the effectiveness of the rules adopted in 

the Report and Order. The Commission 

seeks to minimize the burden associated 

with reporting, recordkeeping, and other 

compliance requirements for the 

proposed rules. 

26. Under the proposed rules, 

providers may need to establish 

procedures to respond to and evaluate 

complaints of erroneous call blocking, 

and quickly cease blocking that it 

determined to have been initiated in 

error. In addition, providers may need 

to retain records of calls blocked and 

report that information on a periodic 

basis. 

Steps Taken To Minimize Significant 

Economic Impact on Small Entities, and 

Significant Alternatives Considered 

27. The RFA requires an agency to 

describe any significant alternatives that 

it has considered in reaching its 

proposed approach, which may include 

the following four alternatives (among 

others): (1) The establishment of 

differing compliance or reporting 

requirements or timetables that take into 

account the resources available to small 

entities; (2) the clarification, 

consolidation, or simplification of 

compliance or reporting requirements 

under the rule for small entities; (3) the 

use of performance, rather than design, 

standards; and (4) an exemption from 

coverage of the rule, or any part thereof, 

for small entities. 

28. The challenge mechanism and 

reporting on which the Commission 

seeks comment could apply to all 

providers that block calls under the 

permissive rules in the Report and 

Order. In the Report and Order, the 

Commission encourages all carriers, 

including small businesses, to block 

illegal calls, and the Commission 

therefore seeks comment from small 

businesses on how to minimize costs 

associated with the challenge 

mechanism and the reporting. The 

FNPRM poses specific requests for 

comment from small businesses 

regarding how the proposed rules affect 

them and what could be done to 

minimize any disproportionate impact 

on small businesses. 

29. The Commission will consider 

ways to reduce the impact on small 

businesses, such as establishment of 

different compliance or reporting 

requirements or timetables that take into 

account the resources available to small 

entities based on the record in response 

to the FNPRM. The Commission has 

requested feedback from small 

businesses in the FNPRM and seeks 

comment on ways to make a challenge 

mechanism and reporting less costly. 

The Commission seeks comment on 

how to minimize the economic impact 

of these potential requirements. 

30. The Commission expects to 

consider the economic impact on small 

entities, as identified in comments filed 

in response to the FNPRM, in reaching 

its final conclusions and taking action 

in this proceeding. 

Federal Rules That May Duplicate, 

Overlap, or Conflict With the Proposed 

Rules 

31. None. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Katura Jackson, 

Federal Register Liaison Officer, Office of the 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00100 Filed 1–5–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 73 

[MB Docket No. 17–289; FCC 17–156] 

Rules and Policies To Promote New 

Entry and Ownership Diversity in the 

Broadcasting Services 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This document solicits 

comment on how to design and 

implement an incubator program to 

support the entry of new and diverse 

voices in the broadcast industry. It seeks 

comment on the structure, review, and 

oversight of such a program in order to 

help create new sources of financial, 

technical, operational, and managerial 

support for eligible broadcasters, 

thereby creating ownership 

opportunities for new entrants and 

small businesses and promoting 

competition and new voices in the 

broadcast industry. 

DATES: Comments are due on or before 

March 9, 2018 and reply comments are 


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