Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 9 / Friday, January 12, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 1577 

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. 

89. The Commission considered 

feedback from the Advanced Methods 

NPRM and NOI in crafting the final 

order. The Commission evaluated the 

comments in light of balancing the goal 

of removing regulatory roadblocks and 

giving industry the flexibility to block 

illegal calls with its commitment to 

protect the reliability of the nation’s 

communications network. Small 

businesses supported the proposal to 

make the call blocking rules permissive 

rather than mandatory. While the 

Commission considered mandatory 

rules, it both proposed and 

implemented permissive rules to 

address the concerns of voice service 

providers, including small businesses, 

that the cost and burden of complying 

with mandatory rules could be 

significant and might require 

implementation of new technology. The 

Commission also took small business 

concerns into consideration in its 

determination to not require a database 

of unused numbers. While the 

Commission considered mandating the 

use of a database for providers that 

choose to block unused numbers, such 

a database could impose 

disproportionate costs on small 

businesses and would be challenging to 

create and maintain. Similarly, the 

Commission considered the needs of 

small businesses in its guidance 

regarding removing blocks from valid 

numbers. While the Commission 

considered requiring specific processes 

or dedicated resources, it does not 

mandate them at this time to allow 

small providers to scale their efforts in 

accordance with their businesses and to 

develop a more robust record on the 

issue before the Commission addresses 

this in a future proceeding. 

90. The Commission does not see a 

need to establish a special timetable for 

small entities to reach compliance with 

the modification to the rules. No small 

business has asked for a delay in 

implementing the rules. Small 

businesses may avoid compliance costs 

entirely by declining to block robocalls, 

or may delay implementation of call 

blocking indefinitely to allow for more 

time to come into compliance with the 

rules. Similarly, there are no design 

standards or performance standards to 

consider in this rulemaking. 

Report to Congress 

91. The Commission sent a copy of 

the Report and Order, including the 

FRFA, in a report to be sent to Congress 

and the Government Accountability 

Office pursuant to the Congressional 

Review Act. 

Ordering Clauses 

92. Pursuant to 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, the Report and 

Order is adopted and that part 64 of the 

Commission’s rules, 47 CFR 64.1200, is 

amended. 

93. The Commission’s Consumer and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference 

Information Center, shall send a copy of 

the Report and Order to Congress and 

the Government Accountability Office 

pursuant to the Congressional Review 

Act, see 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). 

94. The Commission’s Consumer and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference 

Information Center, shall send a copy of 

the Report and Order, including the 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, to the 

Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 

Business Administration. 

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 64 

Telecommunications, Telephone. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Katura Jackson, 

Federal Register Liaison Officer, Office of the 

Secretary. 

Final Rules 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Federal Communications 

Commission amends part 64 as follows: 

PART 64—MISCELLANEOUS RULES 

RELATING TO COMMON CARRIERS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 64 is 

amended to read as follows: 

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 202, 225, 251(e), 

254(k), 403(b)(2)(B), (c), 616, 620, Pub. L. 

104–104, 110 Stat. 56. Interpret or apply 47 

U.S.C. 201, 202, 218, 222, 225, 226, 227, 228, 

251(e), 254(k), 616, 620, and the Middle Class 

Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Pub. 

L. 112–96, unless otherwise noted. 

■ 2. In § 64.1200, add reserved 

paragraphs (i) and (j) and paragraph (k) 

to read as follows: 

§ 64.1200 Delivery restrictions. 

* * * * * 

(i) [Reserved] 

(j) [Reserved] 

(k) Voice service providers may block 

calls so that they do not reach a called 

party as follows: 

(1) A provider may block a voice call 

when the subscriber to which the 

originating number is assigned has 

requested that calls purporting to 

originate from that number be blocked 

because the number is used for inbound 

calls only. 

(2) A provider may block a voice call 

purporting to originate from any of the 

following: 

(i) A North American Numbering Plan 

number that is not valid; 

(ii) A valid North American 

Numbering Plan number that is not 

allocated to a provider by the North 

American Numbering Plan 

Administrator or the Pooling 

Administrator; and 

(iii) A valid North American 

Numbering Plan number that is 

allocated to a provider by the North 

American Numbering Plan 

Administrator or Pooling Administrator, 

but is unused, so long as the provider 

blocking the calls is the allocatee of the 

number and confirms that the number is 

unused or has obtained verification 

from the allocatee that the number is 

unused at the time of the blocking. 

(3) A provider may not block a voice 

call under paragraph (k)(1) or (2) of this 

section if the call is an emergency call 

placed to 911. 

(4) For purposes of this subsection, a 

provider may rely on Caller ID 

information to determine the purported 

originating number without regard to 

whether the call in fact originated from 

that number. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00457 Filed 1–11–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 90 

[PS Docket No. 13–87; PS Docket No. 06– 

229, WT Docket No. 96–86, RM–11433 and 

RM–11577, FCC 14–172] 

Service Rules Governing Narrowband 

Operations in the 769–775/799–805 

MHz Bands 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of 

effective date. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the 

Commission announces that the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) has 

approved, for a period of three years, the 

information collection associated with 

the Service Rules Governing 

Narrowband Operations in the 769–775/ 

799–805 MHz Bands, FCC 14–172. This 

document is consistent with the Report 

and Order, which stated that the 

Commission would publish a document 

in the Federal Register announcing the 

effective date of the rules. 


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1578 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 9 / Friday, January 12, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

DATES: Amendments to 47 CFR 

90.531(b)(2) and (7), published at 79 FR 

71321, December 2, 2014, are effective 

January 12, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

A. Evanoff, Policy and Licensing 

Division, Public Safety and Homeland 

Security Bureau at (202) 418–0848 or 

john.evanoff@fcc.gov. For additional 

information concerning the Paperwork 

Reduction Act information collection 

requirements, contact Nicole Ongele at 

(202) 418–2991. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A 

summary of the 700 MHz Report and 

Order was published in the Federal 

Register on December 2, 2014, 79 FR 

71321. The 700 MHz Report and Order 

adopted technical rules for the 700 MHz 

narrowband. The summary stated that 

with the exception of certain rules 

requiring OMB approval, the rules 

adopted in the 700 MHz Report and 

Order would become effective January 

2, 2015. With regard to rules requiring 

OMB approval, the Commission stated it 

will publish a document in the Federal 

Register announcing the effective date 

of these rules. The information 

collection requirements in 

§§ 90.531(b)(2) and (b)(7) were 

approved by OMB under OMB Control 

No. 3060–1198. With publication of the 

instant document in the Federal 

Register, the rule changes to 47 CFR 

90.531(b)(2) and (b)(7) adopted in the 

700 MHz Report and Order are now 

effective. 

If you have any comments on the 

burden estimates listed below, or how 

the Commission can improve the 

collections and reduce any burdens 

caused thereby, please contact Nicole 

Ongele, Federal Communications 

Commission, Room 1–A620, 445 12th 

Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554. 

Please include the OMB Control 

Number, 3060–1198, in your 

correspondence. The Commission will 

also accept your comments via email at 

PRA@fcc.gov. 

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 and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 

418–0530 (voice), (202) 418–0432 

(TTY). 

Synopsis 

As required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), 

the FCC is notifying the public that it 

received final OMB approval on April 

20, 2015, for the information collection 

requirements contained in the 

modifications to 47 CFR 90.531(b)(2) 

and (b)(7). 

Under 5 CFR 1320, an agency may not 

conduct or sponsor a collection of 

information unless it displays a current, 

valid OMB 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 that does not 

display a current, valid OMB Control 

Number. The OMB Control Number is 

3060–1198. 

The foregoing notice is required by 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13, October 1, 1995, 

and 44 U.S.C. 3507. 

The total annual reporting burdens 

and costs for the respondents are as 

follows: 

OMB Control Number: 3060–1198. 

OMB Approval Date: April 20, 2015. 

OMB Expiration Date: April 30, 2018. 

Title: Section 90.525, Administration 

of Interoperability Channels; Section 

90.529, State Licenses; and Section 

90.531, Band Plan. 

Form Number: N/A. 

Respondents: Business or other forprofit entities, and state, local, or tribal 

government. 

Number of Respondents and 

Responses: 2,283 respondents; 2,283 

responses. 

Estimated Time per Response: 1—2 

hours. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion 

reporting and one-time reporting 

requirements; third party disclosure. 

Obligation to Respond: Required to 

obtain or retain benefits. Statutory 

authority for these collections are 

contained in sections 4(i), 11, 303(g), 

303(r), and 332(c) (7) of the 

Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 161, 303(g), 

303(r), 332(c)(7), unless otherwise 

noted. 

Total Annual Burden: 2,336 hours. 

Total Annual Cost: No Cost. 

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: 

There is no need for confidentiality with 

this collection of information. 

Privacy Act: No impact(s). 

Needs and Uses: Section 90.531(b)(2) 

of the Commission’s rules provides that 

narrowband reserve channels are 

designated for General Use subject to 

Commission approved regional 

planning committee regional plans and 

technical rules applicable to General 

Use channels. T-Band incumbents shall 

enjoy priority access to these channels 

in certain markets provided that such 

incumbent commits to return to the 

Commission an equal amount of T-Band 

spectrum and obtains concurrence from 

the relevant regional planning 

committee(s). Section 90.531(b)(7) of the 

Commission’s rules reserves certain 

narrowband channels for air-ground 

communications to be used by low 

altitude aircraft and ground based 

stations subject to state administration 

(e.g. letter of concurrence). 

Commission staff will use the 

information to assign licenses for 

narrowband public safety channels. The 

information will also be used to 

determine whether prospective 

licensees operate in compliance with 

the Commission’s rules. Without such 

information, the Commission could not 

accommodate State interoperability or 

regional planning requirements or 

provide for the efficient use of 

narrowband public safety frequencies. 

This information collection includes 

rules to govern the operation and 

licensing of 700 MHz band systems to 

ensure that licensees continue to fulfill 

their statutory responsibilities in 

accordance with the Communications 

Act of 1934, as amended. Such 

information will continue to be used to 

verify that applicants are legally and 

technically qualified to hold licenses, 

and to determine compliance with 

Commission rules. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Katura Jackson, 

Federal Register Liaison Officer, Office of the 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00454 Filed 1–11–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 


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