96246 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 233 / Wednesday, December 4, 2024 / Notices 

entities may pay the full amount for 

eligible services directly to the service 

providers and then, once services have 

been received, seek reimbursement from 

USAC to cover the amounts of the 

discounts for which they have qualified. 

The FCC Form 472 is used by the billed 

entity to request such reimbursement 

from USAC. USAC disburses payments 

directly to the billed entity to cover 

services that have been properly 

invoiced. The information on FCC Form 

472 enables this direct reimbursement 

process. This information includes the 

amount paid for approved services 

delivered on or after the actual services 

start date, as reported on the FCC Form 

486 (approved under OMB Control No. 

3060–0853). 

FCC Form 473 ‘‘Service Provider 

Annual Certification Form.’’ The FCC 

Form 473 must be filed by service 

providers to attest that the invoices 

submitted under the E-Rate program 

comply with the FCC’s rules. The 

service provider must annually submit 

an FCC Form 473 for each service 

provider identification number (SPIN). 

FCC Form 474 ‘‘Service Provider 

Invoice (SPI) FCC Form 474.’’ As an 

alternative to paying in full for eligible 

services, the billed entity can pay only 

the amounts for eligible services that 

have been discounted already by the 

service provider. Under this alternative, 

once services have been received, 

service providers seek payment from 

USAC to cover the amounts of the 

discounts for which the billed entity 

qualifies. Service providers use the FCC 

Form 474 to request direct payment for 

invoices submitted for services that 

comply with the rules of the E-Rate 

program. The information on the FCC 

Form 474 must be received by USAC 

before a participating service provider 

can receive payment for the discounted 

portion of its bill for eligible services to 

eligible entities. Subsequent to receipt 

and review of the FCC Form 474, USAC 

will authorize payment based on the 

invoices. 

All of the requirements contained in 

this information collection are necessary 

to implement the Congressional 

mandate for the E-Rate program and 

reimbursement process. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary, Office of the Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–28383 Filed 12–3–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

[OMB 3060–1228; FR ID 265194] 

Information Collection Being 

Submitted for Review and Approval to 

Office of Management and Budget 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort 

to reduce paperwork burdens, 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. 

Pursuant to the Small Business 

Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, the FCC 

seeks specific comment on how it might 

‘‘further reduce the information 

collection burden for small business 

concerns with fewer than 25 

employees.’’ The Commission may not 

conduct or sponsor a collection of 

information unless it displays a 

currently valid Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) 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 OMB control 

number. 

DATES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be 

submitted on or before January 3, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to 

www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 

Find this particular information 

collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under 

30-day Review—Open for Public 

Comments’’ or by using the search 

function. Your comment must be 

submitted into www.reginfo.gov per the 

above instructions for it to be 

considered. In addition to submitting in 

www.reginfo.gov also send a copy of 

your comment on the proposed 

information collection to Nicole Ongele, 

FCC, via email to PRA@fcc.gov and to 

Nicole.Ongele@fcc.gov. Include in the 

comments the OMB control number as 

shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

additional information or copies of the 

information collection, contact Nicole 

Ongele at (202) 418–2991. To view a 

copy of this information collection 

request (ICR) submitted to OMB: (1) go 

to the web page https://

www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, 

(2) look for the section of the web page 

called ‘‘Currently Under Review,’’ (3) 

click on the downward-pointing arrow 

in the ‘‘Select Agency’’ box below the 

‘‘Currently Under Review’’ heading, (4) 

select ‘‘Federal Communications 

Commission’’ from the list of agencies 

presented in the ‘‘Select Agency’’ box, 

(5) click the ‘‘Submit’’ button to the 

right of the ‘‘Select Agency’’ box, (6) 

when the list of FCC ICRs currently 

under review appears, look for the Title 

of this ICR and then click on the ICR 

Reference Number. A copy of the FCC 

submission to OMB will be displayed. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As part of 

its continuing effort to reduce 

paperwork burdens, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), the FCC invited 

the general public and other Federal 

Agencies to take this opportunity to 

comment on the following information 

collection. 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 estimates; (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. 

Pursuant to the Small Business 

Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public 

Law 107–198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), 

the FCC seeks specific comment on how 

it might ‘‘further reduce the information 

collection burden for small business 

concerns with fewer than 25 

employees.’’ 

OMB Control Number: 3060–1228. 

Title: Connect America Fund—High 

Cost Portal Filing. 

Form Number: N/A. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Respondents: Business or other forprofit, not-for-profit institutions. 

Number of Respondents and 

Responses: 2,015 unique respondents; 

4,590 responses. 

Estimated Time per Response: 8 

hours–60 hours. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion, 

quarterly reporting requirements, 

annual reporting requirements, 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. 151–154, 155, 

201–206, 214, 218–220, 251, 252, 254, 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 233 / Wednesday, December 4, 2024 / Notices 96247 

256, 303(r), 332, 403, 405, 410, and 

1302. 

Total Annual Burden: 86,263 hours. 

Total Annual Cost: No Cost. 

Needs and Uses: Through several 

orders, the Federal Communications 

Commission (the Commission) has 

recently changed or modified reporting 

obligations for high-cost support. 

Pursuant to the following orders, this 

collection includes location reporting 

and related certification requirements of 

high-cost support recipients: Connect 

America Fund et al., Report and Order, 

Order and Order on Reconsideration, 

and Further Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking, 31 FCC Rcd 3087 (2016) 

(2016 Rate-of-Return Order); Connect 

America Fund et al., Report and Order 

and Further Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking, 31 FCC Rcd 5949 (2016) 

(Phase II Auction Order); Connect 

America Fund et al., Order, 31 FCC Rcd 

12086 (2016) (ACS Phase II Order); 

Connect America Fund et al., Report 

and Order and Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking, 29 FCC Rcd 876 (2014) 

(Rural Broadband Experiments Order); 

Connect America Fund et al., Report 

and Order, 29 FCC Rcd 15644 (2014) 

(Price Cap Order); Technology 

Transitions et al., Order et al., 29 FCC 

Rcd 1433 (2014) (Tech Transitions 

Order); Connect America Fund et al., 

Report and Order and Further Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking, 31 FCC Rcd 

10139 (2016) (Alaska Plan Order); 

Connect America Fund et al., Order, 32 

FCC Rcd 968 (2017) (New York Auction 

Order); Connect America Fund et al., 

Report and Order, Further Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking, and Order on 

Reconsideration, 33 FCC Rcd 11–893 

(2018) (2018 Rate-of-Return Order); The 

Uniendo a Puerto Rico and the Connect 

USVI Fund et al., Report and Order and 

Order on Reconsideration, 34 FCC Rcd 

9109 (2019) (PR–USVI Stage 2 Order); 

Rural Digital Opportunity Fund et al., 

Report and Order, 35 FCC Rcd 686 

(2020) (2020 Rural Digital Opportunity 

Fund Order); Enhanced A–CAM Report 

and Order, FCC 23–60; Connect 

America Fund et al., WC Docket No. 10– 

90 et al. WT Docket No. 10–208, Notice 

of Proposed Rulemaking and Report and 

Order, FCC 23–87 (Oct. 20, 2023) 

(Administrative Order). 

This information collection addresses 

the requirement that certain carriers 

with high-cost reporting obligations file 

information about the locations to 

which they have deployed broadband 

service meeting applicable public 

interest requirements (location 

information). The HUBB, a web-based 

portal, is used to accept this 

information. The Commission and the 

Universal Service Administrative 

Company (USAC) will use this 

information to monitor the deployment 

progress of reporting carriers, to verify 

the reporting carriers’ claims of service 

at the reported locations, and to 

conform broadband deployment data 

between the HUBB and BDC. Such 

activities help the Commission ensure 

that support is being used as intended. 

In addition, because data filed in the 

HUBB is publicly accessible, the 

reporting helps ensure public 

accountability and transparency. 

This information collection further 

addresses the Commission’s efforts to 

develop and establish a uniform 

national dataset of locations where 

broadband could be deployed and upon 

which new coverage data could be 

overlaid using a single methodology to 

harmonize fixed broadband reporting 

nationwide with granular location data 

as part of the BDC and required by the 

Broadband Deployment Accuracy and 

Technology Availability Act, Public 

Law 116–130, 134 Stat. 228 (2020) 

(Broadband DATA Act). In furtherance 

of its obligations, the Commission 

established the Broadband Serviceable 

Location Fabric (Fabric), which consists 

of a single, nationwide fabric that will 

contain geocoded information for all 

locations where a broadband connection 

can be installed in the United States and 

territories (Broadband Serviceable 

Location or BSL). Each BSL contained 

in the Fabric is provided a unique 

identification number. The HUBB portal 

will be updated in order to have support 

recipients include the unique Fabric 

identification number when reporting or 

revising high-cost broadband 

deployment location data. Including the 

BSL Fabric Identification Number in 

HUBB reporting will improve the 

accuracy and reliability of the 

broadband data used to monitor 

progress and ensure accountability with 

Commission programs. All BSL Fabric 

Identification Numbers are associated 

with the latitude, longitude, address, 

and number of units at the location. 

Accordingly, reporting the BSL Fabric 

Identification Number associated with a 

location encompasses the latitude, 

longitude, address, and number of units 

at the location. 

This information collection addresses 

the location reporting and related 

certification requirements of high-cost 

support recipients electing to receive 

support through the Enhanced A–CAM 

program, see generally Enhanced A– 

CAM Order, and other programs. On 

October 30, 2023, the Wireline 

Competition Bureau (WCB) authorized 

368 rate-or-return carriers to receive 

Enhanced A–CAM support in various 

states. Of this number, 100 electing 

carriers had been receiving cost-based 

CAF BLS support in 118 unique study 

areas, and 216 electing carriers had been 

receiving model-based support (A– 

CAM). The interim and final 

deployment milestones required for the 

Enhanced A–CAM program will 

supersede the existing interim and final 

deployment milestones for the carriers 

participating in eligible programs. 

However, Enhanced A–CAM carriers 

were required to still report in the 

HUBB their deployments for calendar 

year 2023 prior to the start of the 

support term for Enhanced A–CAM 

program (January 1, 2024) to ensure 

carriers continue in good faith to deploy 

broadband pursuant to existing 

commitments. 

Carriers receiving high-cost support to 

serve locations are subject to specific 

public interest obligations related to 

speed, usage, latency, and price as well 

as certain deployment milestones. 

Specifically, the Commission imposed 

defined deployment obligations and 

associated HUBB reporting 

requirements (annual location reporting 

and build-out certifications) for all fixed 

support recipients as well as annual 

reporting and certification requirements 

for Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and 

Connect USVI Fund Stage 2 mobile 

support recipients. 

We therefore propose to revise this 

information collection. Finally, we 

propose to modify the burdens 

associated with existing and new 

reporting requirements to account for 

additional carriers that will be subject to 

these requirements. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary, Office of the Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–28386 Filed 12–3–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

[OMB 3060–0466; FR ID 265496] 

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), the Federal Communications 

Commission (FCC or Commission) 

invites the general public and other 

Federal agencies to take this 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1