```

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 233 (Wednesday, December 4, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 96124-96125]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-28424]

[[Page 96124]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 25

[GN Docket No. 23-65; IB Docket No. 22-271; FCC 24-28; FR ID 264973]

Single Network Future: Supplemental Coverage From Space 
Information Collection Approval for Space Station and Earth Station 
Applications

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission 
(Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection 
associated with certain rules adopted in a Report and Order, FCC 24-28, 
in GN Docket No. 23-65 and IB Docket No. 22-271 (SCS Report and Order) 
for space station and earth station applicants wishing to provide 
supplemental coverage from space (SCS). The SCS Report and Order stated 
that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register 
announcing the effective date of rules which were delayed indefinitely. 
With this document, the Commission is announcing the effective date of 
the rules applicable to space station and earth station applicants.

DATES: The amendments to 47 CFR 25.125(b)(1) and (2) and (c), published 
at 89 FR 34148 on April 30, 2024, are effective on December 5, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Neville, Space Bureau, at 
(202) 418-1671 or [email protected]. For information regarding 
the Paperwork Reduction Act information collection requirements, 
contact Cathy Williams, Office of Managing Director, at (202) 418-2918 
or via email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that, on October 16, 
2024, OMB approved the information collection requirements in 47 CFR 
25.125(b)(1) and (2) and (c), as modified in the SCS Report and Order 
(89 FR 34148, April 30, 2024). The SCS Report and Order stated that the 
Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing 
the effective date of those rules. This document announces the 
effective date of those rules. Rules adopted in the SCS Report and 
Order that did not require OMB approval became effective on May 30, 
2024, as identified in the Federal Register publication of the SCS 
Report and Order. Moreover, the effective date of other rule amendments 
adopted in the SCS Report and Order that also required OMB approval 
either already have been announced (89 FR 81013, Oct. 7, 2024) or will 
be announced separately.
    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 Cathy Williams, Federal Communications 
Commission, [email protected], regarding OMB Control Number 3060-
0678. Please include the applicable OMB Control Number(s) in your 
correspondence. The Commission will also accept your comments via email 
at [email protected].
    To request materials in accessible formats for people with 
disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), 
send an email to [email protected] 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 Commission is notifying the public that it received final 
OMB approval on October 16, 2024, for the information collection 
requirements in 47 CFR 25.125(b)(1) and (2) and (c), as modified in the 
SCS Report and Order.
    Under 5 CFR part 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 for the information collection 
requirements in these rules is 3060-0678.
    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: 3060-0678.
    OMB Approval Date: October 16, 2024.
    OMB Expiration Date: October 31, 2027.
    Title: Part 25 of the Federal Communications Commission's Rules 
Governing the Licensing of, and Spectrum Usage By, Commercial Earth 
Stations and Space Stations.
    Form Number: FCC Form 312 (Main Form and Schedules A, B, and S), 
FCC Form 312-R.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit, not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 3,535 respondents and 3,587 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.5-80 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion, one time and annual reporting 
requirements; third-party disclosure requirement; recordkeeping 
requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 
U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 157, 301, 303, 307, 308, 309, and 310.
    Total Annual Burden: 27,620.
    Annual Cost Burden: $4,154,267.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission will use the information collected 
under this revised information collection to effect the policies 
adopted in SCS Report and Order released on March 15, 2024. The SCS 
regulatory framework enables collaborations between satellite service 
providers and terrestrial service providers to offer ubiquitous 
connectivity directly to consumer handsets using spectrum that was 
previously allocated only to terrestrial service. The Commission 
anticipates that SCS will enable consumers in areas not covered by 
terrestrial networks to be connected using their existing devices via 
satellite-based communications. SCS is a crucial component of the 
Commission's vision for a ``single network future,'' in which satellite 
and terrestrial networks work seamlessly together to provide coverage 
that neither network can achieve on its own.
    The SCS Report and Order largely preserves the existing 47 CFR part 
25 service rules governing satellite communications and applies them to 
operators who now seek to provide SCS services. For instance, the rules 
for 47 CFR part 25 license terms and renewals, spectrum milestones, 
surety bond requirements, automatic termination, and orbital debris 
mitigation requirements are unchanged. The SCS Report and Order further 
requires that parties who wish to provide SCS submit, via FCC Form 312, 
either a new application or a modification application to offer 
expanded services. Said applications must include certifications that: 
(1) a lease notification or application pursuant to 47 CFR 1.9047 has 
been filed; (2) the space station licensee or grantee of market access 
that seeks modification of its 47 CFR part 25 authority in order to 
provide SCS will do so in the same

[[Page 96125]]

geographic areas covered by the relevant geographically independent 
area (GIA); and (3) SCS earth stations will qualify as licensed by rule 
earth stations under 47 CFR 25.115(q). Applicants must also describe in 
detail their proposals to provide SCS service on existing FCC Form 312, 
Schedule S.
    The Commission will use this information to assess applicants' 
legal, technical, and other qualifications to provide SCS, and to 
conclude whether, and under what conditions, grant of an authorization 
will serve the public interest. Further, this information collection 
will enable the Commission to monitor and enforce the entry criteria 
for SCS providers that the SCS Report and Order imposed, which are 
designed to minimize the possibility of interference between co-channel 
operators and geographically adjacent markets.

Federal Communications Commission.
Katura Jackson,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-28424 Filed 12-3-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
```