Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 26, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 50201 

not result in significant changes to BLM 

policy and that Tribal Governments will 

not be unduly affected by this rule. This 

rulemaking has no bearing on trust 

lands, or on lands for which title is held 

in fee status by Indian tribes or U.S. 

Government-owned lands managed by 

the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

Information Quality Act 

In developing this rule, the BLM did 

not conduct or use a study, experiment 

or survey requiring peer review under 

the Information Quality Act, 44 U.S.C. 

3516 note. 

Executive Order 13211, Effects on the 

Nation’s Energy Supply 

This rule is a purely administrative 

regulatory action and has no 

implications under Executive Order 

13211. 

Executive Order 13352, Facilitation of 

Cooperative Conservation 

In accordance with Executive Order 

13352, the BLM has determined that 

this rule is administrative in content, 

effecting only procedural change 

affecting issuance of land patents. This 

rule does not impede facilitating 

cooperative conservation; takes 

appropriate account of and considers 

the interests of persons with ownership 

or other legally recognized interests in 

land or other natural resources; properly 

accommodates local participation in the 

Federal decision-making process; and 

provides that the programs, projects, 

and activities are consistent with 

protecting public health and safety. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

The BLM has determined that this 

regulation does not contain information 

collection requirements that the Office 

of Management and Budget must 

approve under the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. 

Executive Order 12866, Clarity of 

Regulations 

Executive Order 12866 requires each 

agency to write regulations that are 

simple and easy to understand. We 

invite your comments on how to make 

this regulation easier to understand, 

including answers to questions such as 

the following: 

1. Are the requirements in the final 

regulation clearly stated? 

2. Does the final regulation contain 

technical language or jargon that 

interferes with its clarity? 

3. Does the format of the final 

regulation (grouping and order of 

sections, use of headings, paragraphing, 

etc.) aid or reduce its clarity? 

4. Would the regulation be easier to 

understand if it was divided into more 

(but shorter) sections? 

5. Is the description of the final 

regulation in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section of this preamble 

helpful in understanding the regulation? 

How could this description be more 

helpful in making the regulation easier 

to understand? 

Please send any comments you have 

on the clarity of the regulation to the 

address specified above in the 

ADDRESSES section. 

Authors 

The principal author of this rule is 

Linda Resseguie of the BLM’s Division 

of Lands and Realty, Washington Office, 

assisted by Jean Sonneman of the BLM’s 

Division of Regulatory Affairs, 

Washington Office. 

List of Subjects in 43 CFR Part 2740 

Intergovernmental relations; Land 

Management Bureau; Public lands—

sale; Recreation and recreation sites; 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Julie Jacobson, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Land and 

Minerals Management. 

■ Accordingly, for the reasons stated in 

the preamble and under the authority of 

the R&PP Act (43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.), the 

BLM amends part 2740 of Title 43 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations as set forth 

below: 

PART 2740—RECREATION AND 

PUBLIC PURPOSES ACT 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 2740 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 43 U.S.C. 869 et seq., 43 U.S.C. 

1701 et seq., and 31 U.S.C. 9701. 

■ 2. Amend § 2743.3 by revising the 

introductory text of paragraph (a) to 

read as follows: 

§ 2743.3 Leased disposal sites. 

(a) Upon request by or with the 

concurrence of the lessee, the 

authorized officer may issue a patent for 

those lands covered by a lease, or 

portion thereof, issued on or before 

November 9, 1988, that have been or 

will be used, as specified in the plan of 

development, for solid waste disposal or 

for any other purpose that the 

authorized officer determines may result 

in or include the disposal, placement, or 

release of any hazardous substance, 

subject to the following provisions: 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. E8–19745 Filed 8–25–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–84–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 1 

[MD Docket No. 08–65; FCC 08–182] 

Assessment and Collection of 

Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2008 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: In this document, we amend 

our Schedule of Regulatory Fees to 

collect $312,000,000 in regulatory fees 

for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008, pursuant to 

section 9 of the Communications Act of 

1934, as amended (the Act). These fees 

are mandated by Congress and are 

collected to recover the regulatory costs 

associated with the Commission’s 

enforcement, policy and rulemaking, 

user information, and international 

activities. 

DATES: Effective September 25, 2008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

CORES Helpdesk at (877) 480–3201, 

option 4, or ARINQUIRIES@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

Heading Paragraph No. 

I. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 

II. Report and Order ......................................................................................................................................................................... 3 

A. Calculation of Revenue and Fee Requirements .................................................................................................................. 4 

B. Additional Adjustments to Payment Units ......................................................................................................................... 5 

1. Commercial Mobile Radio (‘‘CMRS’’) Messaging Service ........................................................................................... 7 

2. Private Land Mobile Radio Service (‘‘PLMRS’’) .......................................................................................................... 9 

3. Regulatory Fee Obligations for AM Expanded Band Broadcasters ............................................................................. 11 

4. International Bearer Circuits ......................................................................................................................................... 14 

a. Background .............................................................................................................................................................. 14 

b. Discussion ............................................................................................................................................................... 19 


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1 47 U.S.C. 159(a). 

2See Implementation of Section 9 of the 

Communications Act, Report and Order, 9 FCC Rcd 

5333 (1994). 3See Assessment and Collection of Regulatory 

Fees for Fiscal Year 2008, Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking and Order, 23 FCC Rcd 7987 (2008) 

(‘‘FY 2008 NPRM’’). 

4See Appendix C for the list of commenters and 

abbreviated names. 

5 In many instances, the regulatory fee amount is 

a flat fee per licensee or regulatee. In some 

instances, the fee amount represents a per-unit fee 

(such as for International Bearer Circuits), a per-unit 

subscriber fee (such as for Cable, Commercial 

Mobile Radio Service (‘‘CMRS’’) Cellular/Mobile 

and CMRS Messaging), or a fee factor per revenue 

dollar (Interstate Telecommunications Service 

Provider (‘‘ITSP’’) fee). The payment unit is the 

measure upon which the fee is based, such as a 

licensee, regulatee, or subscriber fee. 

6The databases we consulted include, but are not 

limited to, the Commission’s Universal Licensing 

System (‘‘ULS’’), International Bureau Filing 

System (‘‘IBFS’’), Consolidated Database System 

(‘‘CDBS’’) and Cable Operations and Licensing 

System (‘‘COALS’’). We also consulted industry 

sources including, but not limited to, Television & 

Cable Factbook by Warren Publishing, Inc., and the 

Broadcasting and Cable Yearbook by Reed Elsevier, 

Inc., as well as reports generated within the 

Commission such as the Wireline Competition 

Bureau’s Trends in Telephone Service and the 

Wireless Telecommunications Bureau’s Numbering 

Resource Utilization Forecast and Annual CMRS 

Competition Report. 7 In addition, beginning in FY 2005, we 

established a procedure by which we set regulatory 

fees for AM and FM radio and VHF and UHF 

television Construction Permits each year at an 

amount no higher than the lowest regulatory fee in 

that respective service category. For example, the 

regulatory fee for a Construction Permit for an AM 

radio station will never be more than the regulatory 

fee for an AM Class C radio station serving a 

population of less than 25,000. 

Heading Paragraph No. 

APPENDIX A Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

APPENDIX B List of Commenters 

ATTACHMENTS 

Attachment A Sources of Payment Unit Estimates for FY 2008.

Attachment B Calculation of FY 2008 Revenue Requirements and Pro-Rata Fees.

Attachment C FY 2008 Schedule of Regulatory Fees.

Attachment D Factors, Measurements, and Calculations That Determine Station Contours and Population Coverages.

Attachment E FY 2007 Schedule of Regulatory Fees.

I. Introduction 

1. In this Report and Order we 

conclude a proceeding to collect 

$312,000,000 in regulatory fees for 

Fiscal Year (‘‘FY’’) 2008, pursuant to 

section 9 of the Communications Act of 

1934, as amended (the ‘‘Act’’). Section 

9 regulatory fees are mandated by 

Congress and are collected to recover 

the regulatory costs associated with the 

Commission’s enforcement, policy and 

rulemaking, user information, and 

international activities.1 In this annual 

regulatory fee proceeding, we retain the 

established methods, policies, and 

procedures for collecting section 9 

regulatory fees adopted by the 

Commission in prior years. Consistent 

with our established practice, we intend 

to collect these regulatory fees during a 

filing window in September 2008 in 

order to collect the required amount by 

the end of our fiscal year. 

2. As a general matter, our annual 

regulatory fee rulemakings must be 

concluded in a short time frame to allow 

regulatees to make their payments for 

the relevant fiscal year that fund 

Commission operations. These yearly 

rulemaking proceedings are not 

conducive to exploring more general 

regulatory fee issues. We have not 

conducted an in-depth review of our 

regulatory fee methodology since 1994.2

We, however, adopt a Further Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking (‘‘FNPRM’’) to 

explore how we can comprehensively 

make the Commission’s regulatory fee 

process more equitable. 

II. Report and Order 

3. On May 8, 2008, we released a 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and 

Order (‘‘FY 2008 NPRM’’) seeking 

comment on regulatory fee issues for FY 

2008.3 The section 9 regulatory fee 

proceeding is an annual rulemaking 

process to ensure the Commission 

collects the fee amount required by 

Congress each year. In the FY 2008 

NPRM, we proposed to largely retain the 

section 9 regulatory fee methodology 

used in the prior fiscal year. We 

received nine comments and 12 reply 

comments.4 We address the issues 

raised in our FY 2008 NPRM below. 

A. Calculation of Revenue and Fee 

Requirements 

4. In our FY 2008 regulatory fee 

assessment, we use the same section 9 

regulatory fee assessment methodology 

adopted for FY 2007. Each fiscal year, 

the Commission proportionally allocates 

the total amount that must be collected 

via section 9 regulatory fees. The results 

of our FY 2008 regulatory fee 

assessment methodology (including a 

comparison to the prior year’s results) 

are contained in Attachment B. To 

collect the $312,000,000 required by 

Congress, we adjust the FY 2007 amount 

upward by approximately 7.5 percent. 

Consistent with past practice, we then 

divide the FY 2008 amount by the 

number of payment units in each fee 

category to determine the unit fee.5 As 

in prior years, for cases involving small 

fees, e.g., licenses that are renewed over 

a multiyear term, we divide the 

resulting unit fee by the term of the 

license and then round these unit fees 

consistent with the requirements of 

section 9(b)(2) of the Act. 

B. Additional Adjustments to Payment 

Units 

5. In calculating the FY 2008 

regulatory fees listed in Attachment C, 

we further adjusted the FY 2007 list of 

payment units (Attachment A) based 

upon licensee databases and industry 

and trade group projections. In some 

instances, Commission licensee 

databases were used; in other instances, 

actual prior year payment records and/ 

or industry and trade association 

projections were used in determining 

the payment unit counts.6 Where 

appropriate, we adjusted and rounded 

our final estimates to take into 

consideration events that may impact 

the number of units for which regulatees 

submit payment, such as waivers and 

exemptions that may be filed in FY 

2008, and fluctuations in the number of 

licensees or station operators due to 

economic, technical, or other reasons. 

Therefore, our estimated FY 2008 

payment units are based on FY 2007 

actual payment units, but the number 

may have been rounded or adjusted 

slightly to account for these variables. 

6. We consider additional factors in 

determining regulatory fees for AM and 

FM radio stations. These factors are 

facility attributes and the population 

served by the radio station. The 

calculation of the population served is 

determined by coupling current U.S. 

Census Bureau data with technical and 

engineering data, as detailed in 

Attachment D. Consequently, the 

population served, as well as the class 

and type of service (AM or FM), 

determines the regulatory fee amount to 

be paid.7

1. Commercial Mobile Radio (‘‘CMRS’’) 

Messaging Service 

7. CMRS Messaging Service, which 

replaced the CMRS One-Way Paging fee 

category in 1997, includes all 


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8See Assessment and Collection of Regulatory 

Fees for Fiscal Year 1997, MD Docket No. 96–186, 

Report and Order, 12 FCC Rcd 17161, 17184–85, 

para. 60 (1997) (‘‘FY 1997 Report and Order’’). 9 FY 2008 NPRM at para. 5. 10AAPC Comments at 1–4. 

11 Id. at 2. 

12The subscriber base in the paging industry 

declined 83 percent from 40.8 million to 7.1 

million, from FY 1997 to FY 2007, according to FY 

2007 collection data, as of Sept. 30, 2007. 

13PCIA Comments at 2; Enterprise Reply 

Comments at 2–3. 

14PCIA Comments at 2. 

15PCIA Comments at 3; Enterprise Reply 

Comments at 3. 

16PCIA Comments at 3. 

17Enterprise Reply Comments at 4. 

18Enterprise Reply Comments at 4–5. 

19Enterprise Reply Comments at 5–6. 

20 FY 2008 NPRM at para. 7. 

21 Id. 

22MRB has petitioned the Commission to waive 

the requirement that either the expanded band or 

the standard band license be returned. 

23Chisholm Reply Comments at 1. 

24See Petition for Stay of Effective Dates, filed 

Mar. 27, 2006; Request for Waiver of Rules 

Requiring Return of AM Licenses,’’ filed Mar. 27, 

2006. 

25See Assessment and Collection of Regulatory 

Fees for Fiscal Year 2006, MD Docket No. 06–68, 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 21 FCC Rcd 3708, 

3718, n.20 (2006) (‘‘FY 2006 NPRM’’). 

26See Petition for Rulemaking of VSNL 

Telecommunications (US) Inc., RM–11312 (filed 

Feb. 6, 2006) (‘‘VSNL Petition’’). VSNL 

Telecommunications is now Tata Communications. 

We released a Public Notice designating the 

proceeding as RM–11312 and seeking comment on 

the Petition. See Consumer and Governmental 

Affairs Bureau, Reference Information Center, 

Public Notice, Report No. 2759 (rel. Feb. 15, 2006). 

In our FY 2006 Report and Order we stated that the 

issues presented in the Petition warranted 

consideration separately from the Commission’s 

annual regulatory fee proceeding. See Assessment 

and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 

2006, MD Docket No. 06–68, Report and Order, 21 

FCC Rcd 8092, 8098–99, para. 18 (2006) (‘‘FY 2006 

Report and Order’’). 

27Petition at 5. See also Apollo RM–11312 

Comments at 2–4. AT&T filed comments 

disagreeing with this proposal and observing that 

the proposed new fee category would likely exclude 

all or most facilities-based carrier circuits on noncommon carrier cables as well as the international 

bearer circuits on common carrier cables. AT&T 

RM–11312 Comments at 6. SIA agrees that 

regulatory fee reform is needed, but contends that 

such reform should extend to the treatment on noncommon carrier satellite operators as well. SIA RM–

11312 Comments at 1–4. 

28Petition at 5. 

29 Id. at 5–6. See also Level 3 RM–11312 

Comments at 6–7. 

30Petition at 6. See also Hibernia Atlantic RM–

11312 Comments at 7–8; Level 3 RM–11312 

Comments at 8–10 (supporting a flat per-system fee 

on all submarine cable systems); Level 3 RM–11312 

Reply Comments at 8–9. 

narrowband services.8 In the FY 2008 

NPRM, we proposed maintaining the 

messaging service regulatory fee at $0.08 

per subscriber; the rate first established 

for this service in FY 2002.9

8. One commenter, AAPC, addressed 

this issue.10 AAPC agrees with our 

proposal and observes that maintaining 

the fee at the existing level is a 

reasonable and appropriate action due 

to the paging industry’s declining 

subscriber base.11 We conclude that for 

FY 2008 we should continue this 

regulatory fee rate at $0.08 per 

subscriber due to the declining 

subscriber base in this industry.12

2. Private Land Mobile Radio Service 

(‘‘PLMRS’’) 

9. Commenters observe that the 

proposed FY 2008 fees for a PLMRS 

applicant are $40 per year for exclusive 

use PLMRS and $20 per year for shared 

use PLMRS.13 Regulatory fees for this 

service have increased significantly over 

the past three years; 14 however, there 

are 74 percent fewer licensees in 2008 

than there were in 2005.15 PCIA also 

‘‘perceives’’ a decline in Commission 

staffing devoted to PLMRS, which 

would correlate with the reduction in 

licensees.16 Enterprise observes that 

there are few rulemakings associated 

with these licensees and the 

Commission has not allocated 

additional spectrum for these users 

since the mid-1980s.17 In addition, 

because these licenses are site-specific, 

licensees often require multiple 

authorizations, which further increases 

the regulatory fee assessment.18 Further, 

these Part 90 licenses are generally 

private internal systems used to support 

businesses and are not commercial 

communications systems with a 

substantial revenue stream.19 For these 

reasons, commenters contend that we 

should not substantially increase the 

regulatory fees for PLMRS. 

10. Instead of freezing the regulatory 

fees, we are going to address this matter 

more comprehensively in the attached 

FNPRM in the context of our entire 

regulatory fee structure. At this time; 

however, we are adopting the proposals 

in the FY 2008 NPRM for FY 2008. 

3. Regulatory Fee Obligations for AM 

Expanded Band Broadcasters 

11. Currently, AM expanded band 

stations in the 1610–1700 kHz range are 

exempt from regulatory fees, as a matter 

of Commission policy. In the FY 2008 

NPRM, we sought comment on the most 

efficient way of assessing a regulatory 

fee on expanded band AM stations.20

We sought comment on whether we 

should assess regulatory fees when the 

licensee has chosen to retain the 

expanded band station while no longer 

keeping the standard AM station as well 

as where the licensee continues to 

operate the standard AM station as well 

as the expanded band station.21

12. Two commenters addressed the 

AM expanded band issue. MRB is 

concerned with the situation where an 

expanded band licensee has 

relinquished its expanded band license 

but continues to operate under special 

temporary authority (‘‘STA’’).22 In such 

a situation, the licensee is operating the 

standard band and the expanded band 

stations, but only holds a license to the 

standard band station. The five-year 

transition period for allowing lower 

band AM licensees to continue to 

operate the AM expanded band and the 

lower band has not yet expired for all 

licensees.23

13. There is no compelling reason to 

permanently exempt AM expanded 

band licensees from paying regulatory 

fees. As a general matter, it would be 

appropriate to treat the AM expanded 

band and the AM standard band 

similarly for regulatory fee purposes. 

We note, however, that currently only 

20 licensees out of 54 have surrendered 

one of their dual licenses. The 

remaining 34 licensees have either 

conditionally surrendered one license 

and are operating under an STA 

permitting dual operation or have 

retained both licenses and are 

continuing dual operation under STAs. 

The Commission has before it the 

pending issue of whether we should 

permit licensees to continue to hold 

both standard band and expanded band 

licenses.24 This issue should be resolved 

before we can assess regulatory fees on 

the expanded band AM licensees; 

therefore, we are not assessing 

regulatory fees on expanded band AM 

licenses at this time. 

4. International Bearer Circuits 

a. Background 

14. In our FY 2006 NPRM,25 we 

observed that VSNL 

Telecommunications (US) Inc. 

(‘‘VSNL’’) had filed a Petition for 

Rulemaking urging the Commission to 

revise its regulatory fee methodology for 

international bearer circuits (‘‘IBCs’’).26

In the Petition, VSNL proposes that the 

Commission: (1) Reclassify noncommon carrier submarine cable service 

as a new fee category 27 (all other 

carriers subject to IBC fees would be in 

the second category); 28 (2) apportion the 

IBC fee revenue requirement between 

the two categories, based on a 

comparative assessment of the 

regulatory services used by the entities 

in each category; 29 and (3) assess a flat 

annual fee per cable system for noncommon carrier submarine cable 

operators.30

15. In our FY 2008 NPRM, we granted 

VSNL’s petition and sought comment on 

the methodology used to calculate 


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50204 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 26, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

31The Commission’s website provides the 

following information regarding International and 

Satellite License Fees, for FY 2007: 

International Bearer Circuits 

Who Must Pay: Regulatory fees for International 

Bearer Circuits are to be paid by facilities-based 

common carriers that have active international 

bearer circuits as of December 31, 2006 in any 

transmission facility for the provision of service to 

an end user or resale carrier, which includes active 

circuits to themselves or to their affiliates. In 

addition, non-common carrier satellite operators 

must pay a fee for each circuit sold or leased to any 

customer, including themselves or their affiliates, 

other than an international common carrier 

authorized by the Commission to provide U.S. 

international common carrier services. Noncommon carrier submarine cable operators are also 

to pay fees for any and all international bearer 

circuits sold on an indefeasible right of use (IRU) 

basis or leased to any customer, including 

themselves or their affiliates, other than an 

international common carrier authorized by the 

Commission to provide U.S. international common 

carrier services. If you are required to pay 

regulatory fees, you should pay based on your 

active 64 KB circuit count as of December 31, 2006. 

For more information regarding compliance with 

regulatory fee payment requirements for 

international bearer circuits, refer to FCC Public 

Notice: Compliance with Regulatory Fee 

Requirements by Cable Landing Licensees 

Operating on a Non-Common Carrier Basis (DA 04–

2027, released July 6, 2004). 

Fee Calculation: $1.05 per active 64 KB circuit or 

equivalent. 

See http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/ 

attachmatch/DOC–275938A6. pdf. 

32 FY2008 NPRM at para. 8. Comments filed 

earlier in response to the VSNL Petition are referred 

to as ‘‘RM–11312 Comments.’’ Many of the same 

commenters filed comments on this issue in 

response to our FY 2008 NPRM. On May 30, 2008, 

a joint proposal for reforming International Bearer 

Circuit fees was submitted by Level 3 

Communications, LLC, Brasil Telecom of America, 

Inc., Columbus Networks USA, Inc., ARCOS–1 

USA, Inc., A.SUR Net, Inc., Hibernia Atlantic U.S. 

LLC, Pacific Crossing Limited, and PC Landing 

Corp. See Joint Proposal, MD Docket No. 08–65, 

Attach. (filed May 30, 2008). 

33See Letter from Kent D. Bressie, Counsel, Level 

3 Communications, LLC to Marlene H. Dortch, 

Secretary, FCC, MD Docket No. 08–65, Attach. (filed 

July 11, 2008). This revised joint proposal was 

submitted by Brasil Telecom of America, Inc., 

Columbus Networks USA, Inc., ARCOS–1 USA Inc., 

A.SUR Net, Inc., Global Crossing Ltd., Level 3 

Communications, LLC, Hibernia-Atlantic U.S. LLC, 

Marine Cable Corp., Pacific Crossing Limited and 

PC Landing Corp., Reliance Globalcom Limited (fka 

FLAG Telecom Group Limited), and Tata 

Communications (US) Inc. (formerly VSNL 

International (US) Inc.) (‘‘Revised Joint Proposal’’). 

34Revised Joint Proposal at 1. 35 Id. 36See Implementation of Section 9 of the 

Communications Act, Assessment and Collection of 

Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2006, Report and 

Order, 21 FCC Rcd 8092, 8107, n. 62 (2006) (‘‘FY 

2006 Report and Order’’); Assessment and 

Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2001, 

MD Docket No. 01–76, Report and Order, 16 FCC 

Rcd 13525, 13593 (2001); Regulatory Fees Fact 

Sheet: What You Owe—International and Satellite 

Services Licensees for FY 2005 at 3 (rel. July 2005) 

(the fact sheet is available on the FCC Web site at: 

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/ 

DOC_249904A4.pdf). 

37 FY 2006 Report and Order, 21 FCC Rcd at 8107, 

n. 62. 

38We note that the flat fee proposed by 

commenters may address the non-compliance issue 

as well. 

39See, e.g., Petition at 10; Flag RM–11312 

Comments at 3; SIA RM–11312 Comments at 4; 

Level 3 RM–11312 Reply Comments at 6–7; Level 

3 Comments at 11–14. 

40AT&T RM–11312 Comments at 8; Verizon RM–

11312 Reply Comments at 2–3; Verizon Reply 

Comments at 4. 

41AT&T RM–11312 Comments at 9; Verizon RM–

11312 Reply Comments at 3; AT&T Reply 

Comments at 17; Verizon Reply Comments at 5. 

42AT&T RM–11312 Reply Comments at 7. 

43AT&T Comments at 3. AT&T observes that that 

the average capacity of the 27 U.S.-licensed noncommon carrier systems is approximately 3.2 

million circuits, almost ten times larger than the 

regulatory fees for providers of 

international bearer circuits.31 We 

specifically sought comment on whether 

the Commission should retain the 

current methodology used to assess 

these regulatory fees, or modify the 

methodology.32 In addition to the 

comments filed to the FY 2008 NPRM, 

a Revised Joint Proposal for amending 

our IBC regulatory fee methodology was 

filed as an ex parte by a group of carriers 

on July 11, 2008.33

16. This proposal modified the earlier 

joint proposal to address several 

concerns raised by the parties. The 

Revised Joint Proposal would do the 

following: (1) Create a new regulatory 

fee category for submarine cablesystems, 

a new SCS fee, for both common carrier 

and non-common carrier systems.34 The 

new SCS fee would be a flat fee, per 

cable landing license, with a reduced 

fee amount for ‘‘small-capacity 

systems.’’ In addition, a consortium 

would be considered one cable landing 

license for SCS fee purposes, regardless 

of how many licensees were members of 

the consortium. (2) The SCS fee would 

be based originally on one-half of the 

current IBC category. According the 

Revised Joint Proposal, this would 

subsequently be revised downward 

based on the Commission’s internal 

calculations of regulatory effort 

expended to regulate this industry.35 (3) 

In addition, there would be a new IBC 

fee based on active circuits, originally 

based on the remaining one-half of the 

current fee category, for common 

carriers. Thus, under the Revised Joint 

Proposal, common carriers would pay 

the flat SCS per license fee and a per 

circuit fee and non-common carriers 

would pay only the flat SCS per license 

fee. 

17. Our current rules provide that 

regulatory fees for international bearer 

circuits are to be paid by facilities-based 

common carriers that have active 

international bearer circuits in any 

transmission facility for the provision of 

service to an end user or resale carrier, 

which includes active circuits to 

themselves or to their affiliates.36 Noncommon carrier submarine cable 

operators are also to pay fees for any 

and all international bearer circuits sold 

on an indefeasible right of use (‘‘IRU’’) 

basis or leased to any customer, 

including themselves or their affiliates, 

other than an international common 

carrier authorized by the Commission to 

provide U.S. international common 

carrier services.37 Regulatory fees are 

based on the number of active 64 kbps 

international bearer circuits as of 

December 31 of the previous year. 

18. We agree with the commenters 

who argue that our methodology for 

calculating IBC regulatory fees needs to 

be reformed and we intend to adopt a 

revised methodology to be effective for 

FY 2009. We recognize that an in-depth 

review of our IBC regulatory fee 

methodology may be long overdue. We 

also note that there appears to be 

significant non-compliance with our 

current regulatory fee requirements. One 

issue raised by several commenters is 

that the regulatory fee for IBCs is far too 

high. We will need to address the issue 

of non-compliance to determine if the 

fee is still considered unreasonably high 

after non-payors are contributing as 

well.38 As we mentioned earlier, if some 

do not pay their share of regulatory fees, 

the amount of fees due is increased for 

the remaining parties. We consider rule 

non-compliance a serious issue affecting 

all regulatees. 

b. Discussion 

19. Several commenters argue that 

non-common carrier submarine cable 

operators generate only a fraction of the 

regulatory costs common carriers 

generate, yet they pay the same per unit 

regulatory fees.39 AT&T and Verizon 

disagree, and argue that due to recent 

deregulation such as elimination of 

tariff filing requirements, the reduced 

disparities between the Commission’s 

treatment of these services support the 

continued application of the same 

regulatory fees to all international bearer 

circuits.40 AT&T observes that the 

private carriers’ argument ignores the 

regulatory costs incurred in connection 

with the Commission’s international 

representational activities, work with 

foreign regulators, and other activities in 

support of the Commission’s 

international regulatory goals to 

promote effective competition in the 

global marketplace.41 AT&T contends 

that the same fees should be applied to 

all types of submarine cable systems.42

The difference in size between common 

carrier systems and private carrier 

systems, contends AT&T, is even larger 

now than when VSNL filed its 

petition.43 AT&T, Verizon, and Qwest 


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average capacity of U.S. common carrier systems. 

Id. at note 4. 

44AT&T Reply Comments at 1–6; Verizon Reply 

Comments at 2; Qwest Reply Comments at 2. 

45Petition at 7–8. Level 3 contends that this fee 

timing issue can make owners base their capacity 

turn-up decisions on non-market factors, such as 

activating circuits only at certain times of the year. 

Level 3 RM–11312 Comments at 5. 

46Flag RM–11312 Comments at 6. Reliance 

observes that, with respect to high-capacity leases, 

the per 64 kbps circuit fee distorts the market. 

Reliance Reply Comments at 5. 

47Pacific Reply Comments at 5. 

48 Joint Commenters RM–11312 Reply Comments 

at 4–5; Global Crossing Comments at 2; Pacific 

Comments at 11; Tata Comments at 2–4. 

Commenters also observe that IBC operators sell 

services as a ‘‘back up’’ or restoration service, 

which does not fit the definition of ‘‘active’’

circuits. Level 3 Comments at 15. AT&T and Qwest, 

on the other hand, contend that IBC fees are based 

on ‘‘active’’ capacity, which provides a reasonable 

and nondiscriminatory method to allocate fees and 

is similar to the fee structure for other licensees. 

AT&T RM–11312 Comments at 11–13; Qwest Reply 

Comments at 3. 

49Petition at 6. Apollo agrees with VSNL and 

argues that a fee per cable landing license, rather 

than a per 64 kpbs international bearer circuit, 

should be adopted. Apollo RM–11312 Comments at 

6. SIA suggests assessing a flat fee based on section 

214 authorizations and cable landing licenses. SIA 

RM–11312 Comments at 2. Pacific agrees that a per 

system fee would be fair, equitable, and easily 

administrated. Pacific Comments at 4. Telstra 

suggests that if we adopt a flat fee, we should 

establish a two-year ramp up period for newlylicensed systems. Telstra Reply Comments at 2–3. 

50Level 3 Comments at 18; Level 3 Reply 

Comments at 5; Verizon Reply Comments at 3; 

Global Crossing Reply Comments at 2–3; Qwest 

Reply Comments at 4. Reliance supports the Joint 

Proposal. Reliance Reply Comments at 7. 

51AT&T Reply Comments at 5. Qwest observes 

that the Joint Proposal contains different fee 

structures for submarine cable operators based on 

their common carrier or non-common carrier status 

and is not competitively neutral. Qwest Reply 

Comments at 5. 

52 Global Crossing Reply Comments at 2. 

53AT&T RM–11312 Comments at 10–11; Qwest 

RM–11312 Reply Comments at 4; AT&T Comments 

at 3; AT&T Reply Comments at 1–6; Verizon Reply 

Comments at 1–3. The Joint Commenters, who 

operate smaller systems, contend that they would 

be unfairly prejudiced by a flat per-system fee. Joint 

Commenters at 2. 

54 Joint Commenters at 2. 

55 Id. at 3. 

56Pacific Comments at 7–8. 

57 Id. citing the Commission’s ‘‘International 

Bureau Report on 2006 Section 43.82 Circuit Status 

Data,’’ at 29, table 5. 

58Pacific Comments at 8. 

59Hibernia Atlantic RM–11312 Comments at 6–

7; Apollo RM–11312 Comments at 6–7; Level 3 

RM–11312 Comments at 3; Joint Commenters RM–

11312 Reply Comments at 3–7; Global Crossing 

Comments at 3; Reliance Reply Comments at 5–6; 

Qwest Reply Comments at 2. 

60Reliance Reply Comments at 6. 

61 Verizon Reply Comments at 5. 

62AT&T Reply Comments at 10. 

63Level 3 Comments at 16. Nonpayment by some 

operators raises the costs for others. Verizon Reply 

Comments at 5–6. 

64AT&T Reply Comments at 7–8; Qwest Reply 

Comments at 3, note 9. 

65Pacific Reply Comments at 3. 

66Pacific Reply Comments at 4. 

67Qwest Reply Comments at 3. 

68Level 3 Comments at 17. 

oppose any new fee structure that 

would impose higher fees on facilitiesbased common carriers, such as the 

proposal that non-common carriers 

would no longer pay fees on active 

circuits.44

20. VSNL argues in its Petition that 

the number of active 64 kpbs circuits 

bears no relationship to the regulatory 

costs that operators generate.45 For 

example, one commenter explains, if a 

licensee doubles its cable’s capacity 

through a technology upgrade, the 

regulatory fee obligations will nearly 

double even though the regulatory costs 

to the Commission do not change.46

Pacific contends that there is no 

correlation between cable system size 

and the Commission’s regulatory 

effort.47 Commenters observe that the 64 

kbps increment measurement is an 

artifact of the original channelized 

telephone systems, but is not relevant to 

the current broadband environment 

where data passes unchannelized in 

packetized form.48

21. The flat annual fee proposed by 

VSNL as an alternative to our current 

circuit-based fee would be derived by 

dividing the revenue requirement for 

non-common carrier submarine cable 

systems by the number of licensed 

systems.49 The Joint Proposal suggested 

by Level 3 and others and the Revised 

Joint Proposal ex parte would assess a 

per-system fee on common carriers and 

private carriers (regardless of system 

size) and would also impose a percircuit fee for active circuits common 

carriers own or lease.50 The net effect of 

either of the flat fee proposals would be 

to provide significant advantages to 

private carriers.51 Global Crossing 

observes that the Joint Proposal would 

result in double counting where a 

common carrier has capacity from an 

affiliated private operator.52 Common 

carriers disagree with the flat fee 

proposal on the grounds that this would 

require smaller systems to pay higher 

fees per circuit and would adversely 

affect common carrier systems which 

are generally smaller than non-common 

carrier systems.53 The Joint Commenters 

contend that a flat per-system fee would 

discourage investment in the 

deployment of new submarine cable 

systems in the Caribbean or South 

America.54 Instead, the Joint 

Commenters argue, the Commission 

should adopt a two-tiered approach.55

22. Pacific contends that the rate 

proposed in our FY 2008 NPRM of $1.09 

is too high because the number of active 

circuits used in the calculation was far 

too low.56 According to Pacific, 

international common carriers alone 

maintained 7.55 million active 64 kpbs 

circuits, so our estimate of 7.5 million 

for common carrier and non-common 

carrier combined must be revised 

upward.57 Pacific concludes that if the 

Commission used more realistic 

estimates of active circuits, the per unit 

fee would be $.20 per circuit instead of 

$1.09 per circuit.58 Several commenters 

observe that the prices for highercapacity circuits have dropped more 

steeply than the prices for low-capacity 

circuits, thus the regulatory fee is an 

increasing percentage of the price of 

higher-capacity circuits.59 The current 

IBC regulatory fee methodology 

discourages new investment to increase 

the capacity of existing undersea 

cables.60 Verizon observes that under 

our current regulatory fee methodology, 

the IBC fee has dropped from $7.00 per 

circuit in 2000 to $1.09 per circuit in 

2008, showing that increased demand 

has resulted in lower per circuit fees.61

AT&T notes that private carriers have 

continued to rapidly expand their U.S. 

underseas cable capacity.62

23. Commenters also observe that the 

Commission has no way to monitor 

active IBCs and therefore cannot enforce 

compliance with regulatory fee 

requirements.63 More stringent 

reporting requirements, generally 

opposed by private carriers, could 

eliminate the fee avoidance problem 

and further reduce the per circuit fee.64

Pacific contends that the total number of 

active circuits is more than five times 

the number of payment units counted 

by the Commission.65 Such significant 

undercounting of active circuits results 

in certain providers overpaying while 

others are underpaying.66 Qwest 

observes that the Commission’s reliance 

on section 43.82 reports of active 

circuits do not capture the circuits of 

private carriers.67 The current practice 

of assessing fees based on a snapshot of 

active capacity on December 31 

encourages operators to take capacity off 

line on December 31st to avoid having 

such capacity considered active.68

24. We agree with the commenters 

who argue that our methodology for 

calculating IBC regulatory fees needs to 

be reformed. We intend to resolve this 

issue within 60 days of adoption of this 

Order. Our rules should treat all 

providers subject to our regulatory fees 

in a nondiscriminatory and 

competitively neutral manner. If our 

rules permit certain entities to avoid 

complying with our regulatory fee 

requirements, the remaining carriers 

must pay a higher amount to 

compensate for those within the fee 


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69 $0.93 per active 64 KB circuit. 

1 5 U.S.C. 603. The RFA, 5 U.S.C. 601–612 has 

been amended by the Contract With America 

Advancement Act of 1996, Public Law 104–121, 

110 Stat. 847 (1996) (‘‘CWAAA’’). Title II of the 

CWAAA is the Small Business Regulatory 

Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (‘‘SBREFA’’). 

2See Assessment and Collection of Regulatory 

Fees for Fiscal Year 2008, MD Docket No. 08–65, 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, (‘‘FY 2008 

NPRM’’). 

3 5 U.S.C. 604. 

4 5 U.S.C. 603(b)(3). 

5 5 U.S.C. 601(6). 

6 5 U.S.C. 601(3) (incorporating by reference the 

definition of ‘‘small-business concern’’ in the Small 

Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 632). Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

601(3), the statutory definition of a small business 

applies ‘‘unless an agency, after consultation with 

the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business 

Administration and after opportunity for public 

comment, establishes one or more definitions of 

such term which are appropriate to the activities of 

the agency and publishes such definition(s) in the 

Federal Register.’’

7 15 U.S.C. 632. 

8See SBA, Programs and Services, SBA Pamphlet 

No. CO–0028, at p. 40 (July 2002). 

9 5 U.S.C. 601(4). 

10 Independent Sector, The New Nonprofit 

Almanac & Desk Reference (2002). 

11 5 U.S.C. 601(5). 

12U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the 

United States: 2006, Section 8, page 272, Table 415. 

13We assume that the villages, school districts, 

and special districts are small and total 48,558. See 

U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the 

United States: 2006, section 8, p. 273, Table 417. 

For 2002, Census Bureau data indicate that the total 

number of county, municipal, and township 

governments nationwide was 38,967, of which 

35,819 were small. Id. 

14 13 CFR 121.201, North American Industry 

Classification System (NAICS) code 517110. 

15FCC, Wireline Competition Bureau, Industry 

Analysis and Technology Division, ‘‘Trends in 

Telephone Service’’ at Table 5.3, Page 5–5 (June 

2005) (hereinafter ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’). 

16 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110. 

17 ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’ at Table 5.3. 

18 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517310. 

19 ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’ at Table 5.3. 

20 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517310. 

21 ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’ at Table 5.3. 

22 3 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110. 

23 ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’ at Table 5.3. 

category who avoid payment. For FY 

2008, however, we are using our current 

methodology and the rate set forth in 

Attachment C.69

Appendix A—Final Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis 

25. As required by the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (‘‘RFA’’),1 the Commission 

prepared an Initial Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis (‘‘IRFA’’) of the possible significant 

economic impact on small entities by the 

policies and rules proposed in its Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking.2 Written public 

comments were sought on the FY 2008 fees 

proposal, including comments on the IRFA. 

This present Final Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis (‘‘FRFA’’) conforms to the RFA.3

I. Need for, and Objectives of, the Proposed 

Rules 

26. This rulemaking proceeding is initiated 

to amend the Schedule of Regulatory Fees in 

the amount of $312,000,000, the amount that 

Congress has required the Commission to 

recover. The Commission seeks to collect the 

necessary amount through its revised 

Schedule of Regulatory Fees in the most 

efficient manner possible and without undue 

public burden. 

II. Summary of Significant Issues Raised by 

Public Comments in Response to the IRFA 

27. No parties have raised significant 

issues in response to the IRFA. 

III. Description and Estimate of the Number 

of Small Entities To Which the Proposed 

Rules Will Apply 

28. 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 proposed rules and 

policies, if adopted.4 The RFA generally 

defines the term ‘‘small entity’’ as having the 

same meaning as the terms ‘‘small business,’’

‘‘small organization,’’ and ‘‘small 

governmental jurisdiction.’’ 5 In addition, the 

term ‘‘small business’’ has the same meaning 

as the term ‘‘small business concern’’ under 

the Small Business Act.6 A ‘‘small business 

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.7

29. Nationwide, there are a total of 22.4 

million small businesses, according to SBA 

data.8 A ‘‘small organization’’ is generally 

‘‘any not-for-profit enterprise which is 

independently owned and operated and is 

not dominant in its field.’’ 9 Nationwide, as 

of 2002, there were approximately 1.6 

million small organizations.10 The term 

‘‘small governmental jurisdiction’’ is defined 

generally as ‘‘governments of cities, towns, 

townships, villages, school districts, or 

special districts, with a population of less 

than fifty thousand.’’ 11 Census Bureau data 

for 2002 indicate that there were 87,525 local 

governmental jurisdictions in the United 

States.12 We estimate that, of this total, 

84,377 entities were ‘‘small governmental 

jurisdictions.’’ 13 Thus, we estimate that most 

governmental jurisdictions are small. Below, 

we further describe and estimate the number 

of small entities, applicants and licensees, 

that may be affected by our action. 

30. Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers 

(‘‘ILECs’’). Neither the Commission nor the 

SBA has developed a small business size 

standard specifically for incumbent local 

exchange services. The appropriate size 

standard under SBA rules is for the category 

Wired Telecommunications Carriers. Under 

that size standard, such a business is small 

if it has 1,500 or fewer employees.14

According to Commission data,15 1,303 

carriers have reported that they are engaged 

in the provision of incumbent local exchange 

services. Of these 1,303 carriers, an estimated 

1,020 have 1,500 or fewer employees and 283 

have more than 1,500 employees. 

Consequently, the Commission estimates that 

most providers of incumbent local exchange 

service are small businesses that may be 

affected by these rules. 

31. Competitive Local Exchange Carriers 

(‘‘CLECs’’), 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. Under that 

size standard, such a business is small if it 

has 1,500 or fewer employees.16 According to 

Commission data,17 769 carriers have 

reported that they are engaged in the 

provision of either competitive access 

provider services or competitive local 

exchange carrier services. Of these 769 

carriers, an estimated 676 have 1,500 or 

fewer employees and 94 have more than 

1,500 employees. In addition, 12 carriers 

have reported that they are ‘‘Shared-Tenant 

Service Providers,’’ and all 12 are estimated 

to have 1,500 or fewer employees. In 

addition, 39 carriers have reported that they 

are ‘‘Other Local Service Providers.’’ Of the 

39, an estimated 38 have 1,500 or fewer 

employees and one has more than 1,500 

employees. Consequently, the Commission 

estimates that most providers of competitive 

local exchange service, competitive access 

providers, ‘‘Shared-Tenant Service 

Providers,’’ and ‘‘Other Local Service 

Providers’’ are small entities that may be 

affected by these rules. 

32. Local Resellers. The SBA has 

developed a small business size standard for 

the category of Telecommunications 

Resellers. Under that size standard, such a 

business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer 

employees.18 According to Commission 

data,19 143 carriers have reported that they 

are engaged in the provision of local resale 

services. Of these, an estimated 141 have 

1,500 or fewer employees and two have more 

than 1,500 employees. Consequently, the 

Commission estimates that the majority of 

local resellers are small entities that may be 

affected by these rules. 

33. Toll Resellers. The SBA has developed 

a small business size standard for the 

category of Telecommunications Resellers. 

Under that size standard, such a business is 

small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees.20

According to Commission data,21 770 carriers 

have reported that they are engaged in the 

provision of toll resale services. Of these, an 

estimated 747 have 1,500 or fewer employees 

and 23 have more than 1,500 employees. 

Consequently, the Commission estimates that 

the majority of toll resellers are small entities 

that may be affected by these rules. 

34. Payphone Service Providers (‘‘PSPs’’). 

Neither the Commission nor the SBA has 

developed a small business size standard 

specifically for payphone services providers. 

The appropriate size standard under SBA 

rules is for the category Wired 

Telecommunications Carriers. Under that 

size standard, such a business is small if it 

has 1,500 or fewer employees.22 According to 

Commission data,23 654 carriers have 

reported that they are engaged in the 

provision of payphone services. Of these, an 

estimated 652 have 1,500 or fewer employees 

and two have more than 1,500 employees. 

Consequently, the Commission estimates that 

the majority of payphone service providers 


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24 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110. 

25 ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’ at Table 5.3. 

26 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517110. 

27 ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’ at Table 5.3. 

28 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517310. 

29 ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’ at Table 5.3. 

30We include all toll-free number subscribers in 

this category, including those for 888 numbers. 

31 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517310. 

32 ‘‘Trends in Telephone Service’’ at Tables 18.4, 

18.5, 18.6, and 18.7. 

33 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS codes 517410 and 

517910. 

34U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 NAICS Definitions, 

‘‘517410 Satellite Telecommunications;’’ http:// 

www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/def/NDEF517.HTM. 

35U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, 

Subject Series: Information, ‘‘Establishment and 

Firm Size (Including Legal Form of Organization),’’

Table 4, NAICS code 517410. 

36 Id. An additional 38 firms had annual receipts 

of $25 million or more. 

37U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 NAICS Definitions, 

‘‘517910 Other Telecommunications’’; http:// 

www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/def/NDEF517.HTM. 

38U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, 

Subject Series: Information, ‘‘Establishment and 

Firm Size (Including Legal Form of Organization),’’

Table 4, NAICS code 517910. 

39 Id. An additional 14 firms had annual receipts 

of $25 million or more. 

40U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, 

‘‘517210 Wireless Telecommunications Categories 

(Except Satellite)’’; http://www.census.gov/naics/ 

2007/def/ND517210.HTM#N517210. 

41U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 NAICS Definitions, 

‘‘517211 Paging’’; http://www.census.gov/epcd/ 

naics02/def/NDEF517.HTM; U.S. Census Bureau, 

2002 NAICS Definitions, ‘‘517212 Cellular and 

Other Wireless Telecommunications’’; http:// 

www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/def/NDEF517.HTM. 

42 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517210 (2007 

NAICS). The now-superseded, pre-2007 CFR 

citations were 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS codes 

517211 and 517212 (referring to the 2002 NAICS)). 

43U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, 

Subject Series: Information, ‘‘Establishment and 

Firm Size (Including Legal Form of Organization,’’

Table 5, NAICS code 517211 (issued Nov. 2005)). 

44 Id. The census data do not provide a more 

precise estimate of the number of firms that have 

employment of 1,500 or fewer employees; the 

largest category provided is for firms with ‘‘1000 

employees or more.’’

45U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, 

Subject Series: Information, ‘‘Establishment and 

Firm Size (Including Legal Form of Organization,’’

Table 5, NAICS code 517212 (issued Nov. 2005)). 

46 Id. The census data do not provide a more 

precise estimate of the number of firms that have 

employment of 1,500 or fewer employees; the 

largest category provided is for firms with ‘‘1000 

employees or more.’’

are small entities that may be affected by 

these rules. 

35. Interexchange Carriers (‘‘IXCs’’). 

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. Under that 

size standard, such a business is small if it 

has 1,500 or fewer employees.24 According to 

Commission data,25 316 carriers have 

reported that they are engaged in the 

provision of interexchange service. Of these, 

an estimated 292 have 1,500 or fewer 

employees and 24 have more than 1,500 

employees. Consequently, the Commission 

estimates that the majority of IXCs are small 

entities that may be affected by these rules. 

36. Operator Service Providers (‘‘OSPs’’). 

Neither the Commission nor the SBA has 

developed a small business size standard 

specifically for operator service providers. 

The appropriate size standard under SBA 

rules is for the category Wired 

Telecommunications Carriers. Under that 

size standard, such a business is small if it 

has 1,500 or fewer employees.26 According to 

Commission data,27 23 carriers have reported 

that they are engaged in the provision of 

operator services. Of these, an estimated 20 

have 1,500 or fewer employees and three 

have more than 1,500 employees. 

Consequently, the Commission estimates that 

the majority of OSPs are small entities that 

may be affected by these rules. 

37. Prepaid Calling Card Providers. Neither 

the Commission nor the SBA has developed 

a small business size standard specifically for 

prepaid calling card providers. The 

appropriate size standard under SBA rules is 

for the category Telecommunications 

Resellers. Under that size standard, such a 

business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer 

employees.28 According to Commission 

data,29 89 carriers have reported that they are 

engaged in the provision of prepaid calling 

cards. Of these, an estimated 88 have 1,500 

or fewer employees and one has more than 

1,500 employees. Consequently, the 

Commission estimates that the majority of 

prepaid calling card providers are small 

entities that may be affected by these rules. 

38. 800 and 800-Like Service 

Subscribers.30 Neither the Commission nor 

the SBA has developed a small business size 

standard specifically for 800 and 800-like 

service (‘‘toll free’’) subscribers. The 

appropriate size standard under SBA rules is 

for the category Telecommunications 

Resellers. Under that size standard, such a 

business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer 

employees.31 The most reliable source of 

information regarding the number of these 

service subscribers appears to be data the 

Commission receives from Database Service 

Management on the 800, 866, 877, and 888 

numbers in use.32 According to our data, at 

the end of December 2004, the number of 800 

numbers assigned was 7,540,453; the number 

of 888 numbers assigned was 5,947,789; the 

number of 877 numbers assigned was 

4,805,568; and the number of 866 numbers 

assigned was 5,011,291. We do not have data 

specifying the number of these subscribers 

that are independently owned and operated 

or have 1,500 or fewer employees, and thus 

are unable at this time to estimate with 

greater precision the number of toll free 

subscribers that would qualify as small 

businesses under the SBA size standard. 

Consequently, we estimate that there are 

7,540,453 or fewer small entity 800 

subscribers; 5,947,789 or fewer small entity 

888 subscribers; 4,805,568 or fewer small 

entity 877 subscribers, and 5,011,291 or 

fewer entity 866 subscribers. 

39. International Service Providers. There 

is no small business size standard developed 

specifically for providers of international 

service. The appropriate size standards under 

SBA rules are for the two broad census 

categories of ‘‘Satellite Telecommunications’’

and ‘‘Other Telecommunications.’’ Under 

both categories, such a business is small if it 

has $13.5 million or less in average annual 

receipts.33

40. The first category of Satellite 

Telecommunications ‘‘comprises 

establishments primarily engaged in 

providing point-to-point 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.’’ 34 For this category, 

Census Bureau data for 2002 show that there 

were a total of 371 firms that operated for the 

entire year.35 Of this total, 307 firms had 

annual receipts of under $10 million, and 26 

firms had receipts of $10 million to 

$24,999,999.36 Consequently, we estimate 

that the majority of Satellite 

Telecommunications firms are small entities 

that might be affected by our action. 

41. The second category of Other 

Telecommunications ‘‘comprises 

establishments primarily engaged in (1) 

providing specialized telecommunications 

applications, such as satellite tracking, 

communications telemetry, and radar station 

operations; or (2) providing satellite terminal 

stations and associated facilities 

operationally connected with one or more 

terrestrial communications systems and 

capable of transmitting telecommunications 

to or receiving telecommunications from 

satellite systems.’’ 37 For this category, 

Census Bureau data for 2002 show that there 

were a total of 332 firms that operated for the 

entire year.38 Of this total, 259 firms had 

annual receipts of under $10 million and 15 

firms had annual receipts of $10 million to 

$24,999,999.39 Consequently, we estimate 

that the majority of Other 

Telecommunications firms are small entities 

that might be affected by our action. 

42. Wireless Telecommunications Carriers 

(except Satellite). Since 2007, the Census 

Bureau has placed wireless firms within this 

new, broad, economic census category.40

Prior to that time, such firms were within the 

now-superseded categories of ‘‘Paging’’ and 

‘‘Cellular and Other Wireless 

Telecommunications.’’ 41 Under the present 

and prior categories, the SBA has deemed a 

wireless business to be small if it has 1,500 

or fewer employees.42 Because Census 

Bureau data are not yet available for the new 

category, we will estimate small business 

prevalence using the prior categories and 

associated data. For the category of Paging, 

data for 2002 show that there were 807 firms 

that operated for the entire year.43 Of this 

total, 804 firms had employment of 999 or 

fewer employees, and three firms had 

employment of 1,000 employees or more.44

For the category of Cellular and Other 

Wireless Telecommunications, data for 2002 

show that there were 1,397 firms that 

operated for the entire year.45 Of this total, 

1,378 firms had employment of 999 or fewer 

employees, and 19 firms had employment of 

1,000 employees or more.46 Thus, we 


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47Office of Management and Budget, North 

American Industry Classification System, page 515 

(1997). NAICS code 518111, ‘‘On-Line Information 

Services.’’

48 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 518111. 

49U.S. Census Bureau, 1997 Economic Census, 

Subject Series: ‘‘Information,’’ Table 4, Receipts 

Size of Firms Subject to Federal Income Tax: 1997, 

NAICS code 514191. 

50 Id. 

51U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 NAICS Definitions, 

‘‘515120 Television Broadcasting’’ (partial 

definition); http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/ 

def/NDEF515.HTM. 

52 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 515120. 

53 ‘‘Concerns are affiliates of each other when one 

concern controls or has the power to control the 

other or a third party or parties controls or has the 

power to control both.’’ 13 CFR 21.103(a)(1). 

54 FCC News Release, ‘‘Broadcast Station Totals as 

of September 30, 2007.’’

55See OMB, North American Industry 

Classification System: United States, 1997, at 509 

(1997) (Radio Stations) (NAICS code 515112). 

56 Id. 

57 ‘‘Concerns are affiliates of each other when one 

concern controls or has the power to control the 

other, or a third party or parties controls or has the 

power to control both.’’ 13 CFR 121.103(a)(1). 

58 ‘‘SBA counts the receipts or employees of the 

concern whose size is at issue and those of all its 

domestic and foreign affiliates, regardless of 

whether the affiliates are organized for profit, in 

determining the concern’s size.’’ 13 CFR 121(a)(4). 

59 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS codes 513111 and 

513112. 

60FCC News Release, ‘‘Broadcast Station Totals as 

of September 30, 2007.’’

61 15 U.S.C. 632. 

62U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 NAICS Definitions, 

‘‘517510 Cable and Other Program Distribution;’’

http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/def/ 

NDEF517.HTM. 

63 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517510. 

64U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, 

Subject Series: Information, Table 4, Receipts Size 

of Firms for the United States: 2002, NAICS code 

517510. 

65 Id. An additional 61 firms had annual receipts 

of $25 million or more. 

66 47 CFR 76.901(e). The Commission determined 

that this size standard equates approximately to a 

size standard of $100 million or less in annual 

revenues. Implementation of Sections of the 1992 

Cable Act: Rate Regulation, Sixth Report and Order 

and Eleventh Order on Reconsideration, 10 FCC 

Rcd 7393, 7408 (1995). 

67These data are derived from: R.R. Bowker, 

Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2006, ‘‘Top 25 

Cable/Satellite Operators,’’ pages A–8 & C–2; 

Warren Communications News, Television & Cable 

Factbook 2006, ‘‘Ownership of Cable Systems in the 

United States,’’ pages D–1805 to D–1857. 

estimate that the majority of wireless firms 

are small. 

43. Internet Service Providers. The SBA 

has developed a small business size standard 

for Internet Service Providers. This category 

comprises establishments ‘‘primarily engaged 

in providing direct access through 

telecommunications networks to computerheld information compiled or published by 

others.’’47 Under the SBA size standard, such 

a business is small if it has average annual 

receipts of $21 million or less.48 According 

to Census Bureau data for 1997, there were 

2,751 firms in this category that operated for 

the entire year.49 Of these, 2,659 firms had 

annual receipts of under $10 million, and an 

additional 67 firms had receipts of between 

$10 million and $24,999,999.50 Thus, under 

this size standard, the great majority of firms 

can be considered small entities. 

44. Television Broadcasting. The Census 

Bureau defines this category as follows: 

‘‘This industry comprises establishments 

primarily engaged in broadcasting images 

together with sound. These establishments 

operate television broadcasting studios and 

facilities for the programming and 

transmission of programs to the public.’’ 51

The SBA has created a small business size 

standard for Television Broadcasting entities, 

which is: such firms having $13 million or 

less in annual receipts.52 According to 

Commission staff review of the BIA 

Publications, Inc., Media Access Pro 

Television Database as of December 7, 200, 

about 825 (66 percent) of the 1,250 

commercial television stations in the United 

States had revenues of $13 million or less. 

We note, however, that in assessing whether 

a business entity qualifies as small under the 

above definition, business (control) 

affiliations 53 must be included. Our estimate, 

therefore, likely overstates the number of 

small entities that might be affected by our 

action, because the revenue figure on which 

it is based does not include or aggregate 

revenues from affiliated companies. 

45. In addition, an element of the 

definition of ‘‘small business’’ is that the 

entity not be dominant in its field of 

operation. We are unable at this time to 

define or quantify the criteria that would 

establish whether a specific television station 

is dominant in its field of operation. 

Accordingly, the estimate of small businesses 

to which rules may apply do not exclude any 

television station from the definition of a 

small business on this basis and are therefore 

over-inclusive to that extent. Also as noted, 

an additional element of the definition of 

‘‘small business’’ is that the entity must be 

independently owned and operated. We note 

that it is difficult at times to assess these 

criteria in the context of media entities and 

our estimates of small businesses to which 

they apply may be over-inclusive to this 

extent. 

46. There are also 2,117 low power 

television stations (‘‘LPTV’’).54 Given the 

nature of this service, we will presume that 

all LPTV licensees qualify as small entities 

under the above SBA small business size 

standard. 

47. Radio Broadcasting. The SBA defines a 

radio broadcast entity that has $6 million or 

less in annual receipts as a small business.55

Business concerns included in this industry 

are those ‘‘primarily engaged in broadcasting 

aural programs by radio to the public.56

According to Commission staff review of the 

BIA Publications, Inc., Master Access Radio 

Analyzer Database, as of May 16, 2003, about 

10,427 of the 10,945 commercial radio 

stations in the United States have revenue of 

$6 million or less. We note, however, that 

many radio stations are affiliated with much 

larger corporations with much higher 

revenue, and that in assessing whether a 

business concern qualifies as small under the 

above definition, such business (control) 

affiliations 57 are included.58 Our estimate, 

therefore likely overstates the number of 

small businesses that might be affected by the 

rules adopted herein. 

48. Auxiliary, Special Broadcast and Other 

Program Distribution Services. This service 

involves a variety of transmitters, generally 

used to relay broadcast programming to the 

public (through translator and booster 

stations) or within the program distribution 

chain (from a remote news gathering unit 

back to the station). The Commission has not 

developed a definition of small entities 

applicable to broadcast auxiliary licensees. 

The applicable definitions of small entities 

are those, noted previously, under the SBA 

rules applicable to radio broadcasting 

stations and television broadcasting 

stations.59

49. The Commission estimates that there 

are approximately 5,618 FM translators and 

boosters.60 The Commission does not collect 

financial information on any broadcast 

facility, and the Department of Commerce 

does not collect financial information on 

these auxiliary broadcast facilities. We 

believe that most, if not all, of these auxiliary 

facilities could be classified as small 

businesses by themselves. We also recognize 

that most commercial translators and 

boosters are owned by a parent station 

which, in some cases, would be covered by 

the revenue definition of small business 

entity discussed above. These stations would 

likely have annual revenues that exceed the 

SBA maximum to be designated as a small 

business ($6.5 million for a radio station or 

$13.0 million for a TV station). Furthermore, 

they do not meet the Small Business Act’s 

definition of a ‘‘small business concern’’

because they are not independently owned 

and operated.61

50. Cable and Other Program Distribution. 

The Census Bureau defines this category as 

follows: ‘‘This industry comprises 

establishments primarily engaged as thirdparty distribution systems for broadcast 

programming. The establishments of this 

industry deliver visual, aural, or textual 

programming received from cable networks, 

local television stations, or radio networks to 

consumers via cable or direct-to-home 

satellite systems on a subscription or fee 

basis. These establishments do not generally 

originate programming material.’’ 62 The SBA 

has developed a small business size standard 

for Cable and Other Program Distribution, 

which is: all such firms having $13.5 million 

or less in annual receipts.63 According to 

Census Bureau data for 2002, there were a 

total of 1,191 firms in this category that 

operated for the entire year.64 Of this total, 

1,087 firms had annual receipts of under $10 

million, and 43 firms had receipts of $10 

million or more but less than $25 million.65

Thus, under this size standard, the majority 

of firms can be considered small. 

51. Cable Companies and Systems. The 

Commission has also developed its own 

small business size standards, for the 

purpose of cable rate regulation. Under the 

Commission’s rules, a ‘‘small cable 

company’’ is one serving 400,000 or fewer 

subscribers, nationwide.66 Industry data 

indicate that, of 1,076 cable operators 

nationwide, all but eleven are small under 

this size standard.67 In addition, under the 


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68 47 CFR 76.901(c). 

69Warren Communications News, Television & 

Cable Factbook 2006, ‘‘U.S. Cable Systems by 

Subscriber Size,’’ page F–2 (data current as of Oct. 

2005). The data do not include 718 systems for 

which classifying data were not available. 

70 47 U.S.C. 543(m)(2); see 47 CFR 76.901(f) & nn. 

1–3. 

71 47 CFR 76.901(f); see Public Notice, ‘‘FCC 

Announces New Subscriber Count for the Definition 

of Small Cable Operator,’’ 16 FCC Rcd 2225 (Cable 

Services Bureau, 2001). 

72These data are derived from: R.R. Bowker, 

Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2006, ‘‘Top 25 

Cable/Satellite Operators,’’ pages A–8 & C–2; 

Warren Communications News, Television & Cable 

Factbook 2006, ‘‘Ownership of Cable Systems in the 

United States,’’ pages D–1805 to D–1857. 

73The Commission does receive such information 

on a case-by-case basis if a cable operator appeals 

a local franchise authority’s finding that the 

operator does not qualify as a small cable operator 

pursuant to § 76.901(f) of the Commission’s rules. 

See 47 CFR 76.909(b). 

74See 47 U.S.C. 573. 

75 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517510. 

76See http://www.fcc.gov/csb/ovs/csovscer.html. 

77 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517510. 

78U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, 

Subject Series: Information, Table 4, Receipts Size 

of Firms for the United States: 2002, NAICS code 

517510. 

79 Id. An additional 61 firms had annual receipts 

of $25 million or more. 

80Amendment of Parts 2 and 25 of the 

Commission’s Rules to Permit Operation of NGSO 

FSS Systems Co-Frequency with GSO and 

Terrestrial Systems in the Ku-Band Frequency 

Range; Amendment of the Commission’s Rules to 

Authorize Subsidiary Terrestrial Use of the 12.2–

12.7 GHz Band by Direct Broadcast Satellite 

Licenses and their Affiliates; and Applications of 

Broadwave USA, PDC Broadband Corporation, and 

Satellite Receivers, Ltd., to provide A Fixed Service 

in the 12.2–12.7 GHz Band, ET Docket No. 98–206, 

Memorandum Opinion and Order and Second 

Report and Order, 17 FCC Rcd 9614, 9711, para. 252 

(2002). 

81See Letter from Hector V. Barreto, 

Administrator, SBA, to Margaret W. Wiener, Chief, 

Auctions and Industry Analysis Division, Wireless 

Telecommunications Bureau, FCC (Feb. 13, 2002). 

82See ‘‘Multichannel Video Distribution and Data 

Service Auction Closes,’’ Public Notice, 19 FCC Rcd 

1834 (2004). 

83See ‘‘Auction of Multichannel Video 

Distribution and Data Service Licenses Closes; 

Winning Bidders Announced for Auction No. 63,’’

Public Notice, 20 FCC Rcd 19807 (2005). 

84 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS code 517212. 

85Amendment of the Commission’s Rules 

Concerning Maritime Communications, Third 

Report and Order and Memorandum Opinion and 

Order, 13 FCC Rcd 19853 (1998). 

86 47 CFR Part 90. 

Commission’s rules, a ‘‘small system’’ is a 

cable system serving 15,000 or fewer 

subscribers.68 Industry data indicate that, of 

7,208 systems nationwide, 6,139 systems 

have less than 10,000 subscribers, and an 

additional 379 systems have 10,000–19,999 

subscribers.69 Thus, under this second size 

standard, most cable systems are small. 

52. Cable System Operators. The 

Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 

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.’’ 70 The Commission 

has determined that an operator serving 

fewer than 677,000 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.71

Industry data indicate that, of 1,076 cable 

operators nationwide, all but ten are small 

under this size standard.72 We 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,73

and therefore we are unable to estimate more 

accurately the number of cable system 

operators that would qualify as small under 

this size standard. 

53. Open Video Services. Open Video 

Service (‘‘OVS’’) systems provide 

subscription services.74 The SBA has created 

a small business size standard for Cable and 

Other Program Distribution.75 This standard 

provides that a small entity is one with $13.5 

million or less in annual receipts. The 

Commission has certified approximately 25 

OVS operators to serve 75 areas, and some of 

these are currently providing service.76

Affiliates of Residential Communications 

Network, Inc. (‘‘RCN’’) received approval to 

operate OVS systems in New York City, 

Boston, Washington, D.C., and other areas. 

RCN has sufficient revenues to assure that 

they do not qualify as a small business entity. 

Little financial information is available for 

the other entities that are authorized to 

provide OVS and are not yet operational. 

Given that some entities authorized to 

provide OVS service have not yet begun to 

generate revenues, the Commission 

concludes that up to 24 OVS operators (those 

remaining) might qualify as small businesses 

that may be affected by the rules and policies 

adopted herein. 

54. Cable Television Relay Service. This 

service includes transmitters generally used 

to relay cable programming within cable 

television system distribution systems. The 

SBA has developed a small business size 

standard for Cable and Other Program 

Distribution, which is: all such firms having 

$13.5 million or less in annual receipts.77

According to Census Bureau data for 2002, 

there were a total of 1,191 firms in this 

category that operated for the entire year.78

Of this total, 1,087 firms had annual receipts 

of under $10 million, and 43 firms had 

receipts of $10 million or more but less than 

$25 million.79 Thus, under this size standard, 

the majority of firms can be considered small. 

55. Multichannel Video Distribution and 

Data Service (‘‘MVDDS’’). MVDDS is a 

terrestrial fixed microwave service operating 

in the 12.2–12.7 GHz band. The Commission 

adopted criteria for defining three groups of 

small businesses for purposes of determining 

their eligibility for special provisions such as 

bidding credits. It defined a very small 

business as an entity with average annual 

gross revenues not exceeding $3 million for 

the preceding three years; a small business as 

an entity with average annual gross revenues 

not exceeding $15 million for the preceding 

three years; and an entrepreneur as an entity 

with average annual gross revenues not 

exceeding $40 million for the preceding three 

years.80 These definitions were approved by 

the SBA.81 On January 27, 2004, the 

Commission completed an auction of 214 

MVDDS licenses (Auction No. 53). In this 

auction, ten winning bidders won a total of 

192 MVDDS licenses.82 Eight of the ten 

winning bidders claimed small business 

status and won 144 of the licenses. The 

Commission also held an auction of MVDDS 

licenses on December 7, 2005 (Auction 63). 

Of the three winning bidders who won 22 

licenses, two winning bidders, winning 21 of 

the licenses, claimed small business status.83

56. Amateur Radio Service. These licensees 

are held by individuals in a noncommercial 

capacity; these licensees are not small 

entities. 

57. Aviation and Marine Services. Small 

businesses in the aviation and marine radio 

services use a very high frequency (‘‘VHF’’) 

marine or aircraft radio and, as appropriate, 

an emergency position-indicating radio 

beacon (and/or radar) or an emergency 

locator transmitter. The Commission has not 

developed a small business size standard 

specifically applicable to these small 

businesses. For purposes of this analysis, the 

Commission uses the SBA small business 

size standard for the category ‘‘Cellular and 

Other Telecommunications,’’ which is 1,500 

or fewer employees.84 Most applicants for 

recreational licenses are individuals. 

Approximately 581,000 ship station licensees 

and 131,000 aircraft station licensees operate 

domestically and are not subject to the radio 

carriage requirements of any statute or treaty. 

For purposes of our evaluations in this 

analysis, we estimate that there are up to 

approximately 712,000 licensees that are 

small businesses (or individuals) under the 

SBA standard. In addition, between 

December 3, 1998, and December 14, 1998, 

the Commission held an auction of 42 VHF 

Public Coast licenses in the 157.1875–

157.4500 MHz (ship transmit) and 161.775–

162.0125 MHz (coast transmit) bands. For 

purposes of the auction, the Commission 

defined a ‘‘small’’ business as an entity that, 

together with controlling interests and 

affiliates, has average gross revenues for the 

preceding three years not to exceed $15 

million dollars. In addition, a ‘‘very small’’

business is one that, together with controlling 

interests and affiliates, has average gross 

revenues for the preceding three years not to 

exceed $3 million dollars.85 There are 

approximately 10,672 licensees in the Marine 

Coast Service, and the Commission estimates 

that almost all of them qualify as ‘‘small’’

businesses under the above special small 

business size standards. 

58. Personal Radio Services. Personal radio 

services provide short-range, low power 

radio for personal communications, radio 

signaling, and business communications not 

provided for in other services. The Personal 

Radio Services include spectrum licensed 

under Part 95 of our rules.86 These services 

include Citizen Band Radio Service (‘‘CB’’), 

General Mobile Radio Service (‘‘GMRS’’), 

Radio Control Radio Service (‘‘R/C’’), Family 

Radio Service (‘‘FRS’’), Wireless Medical 

Telemetry Service (‘‘WMTS’’), Medical 


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87The Citizens Band Radio Service, General 

Mobile Radio Service, Radio Control Radio Service, 

Family Radio Service, Wireless Medical Telemetry 

Service, Medical Implant Communications Service, 

Low Power Radio Service, and Multi-Use Radio 

Service are governed by Subpart D, Subpart A, 

Subpart C, Subpart B, Subpart H, Subpart I, Subpart 

G, and Subpart J, respectively, of Part 95 of the 

Commission’s rules. See generally 47 CFR Part 95. 

88 13 CFR 121.201, NAICS Code 517212. 

89With the exception of the special emergency 

service, these services are governed by Subpart B 

of part 90 of the Commission’s Rules, 47 CFR 

90.15–90.27. The police service includes 

approximately 27,000 licensees that serve state, 

county, and municipal enforcement through 

telephony (voice), telegraphy (code) and teletype 

and facsimile (printed material). The fire radio 

service includes approximately 23,000 licensees 

comprised of private volunteer or professional fire 

companies as well as units under governmental 

control. The local government service that is 

presently comprised of approximately 41,000 

licensees that are state, county, or municipal 

entities that use the radio for official purposes not 

covered by other public safety services. There are 

approximately 7,000 licensees within the forestry 

service which is comprised of licensees from state 

departments of conservation and private forest 

organizations who set up communications networks 

among fire lookout towers and ground crews. The 

approximately 9,000 state and local governments 

that are licensed to highway maintenance service 

provide emergency and routine communications to 

aid other public safety services to keep main roads 

safe for vehicular traffic. The approximately 1,000 

licensees in the Emergency Medical Radio Service 

(‘‘EMRS’’) use the 39 channels allocated to this 

service for emergency medical service 

communications related to the delivery of 

emergency medical treatment. 47 CFR 90.15–90.27. 

The approximately 20,000 licensees in the special 

emergency service include medical services, rescue 

organizations, veterinarians, handicapped persons, 

disaster relief organizations, school buses, beach 

patrols, establishments in isolated areas, 

communications standby facilities, and emergency 

repair of public communications facilities. 47 CFR 

90.33–90.55. 

90 47 CFR 1.1162. 

91 5 U.S.C. 601(5). 

92The following categories are exempt from the 

Commission’s Schedule of Regulatory Fees: 

Amateur radio licensees (except applicants for 

vanity call signs) and operators in other nonlicensed services (e.g., Personal Radio, part 15, ship 

and aircraft). Governments and non-profit (exempt 

under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code) 

entities are exempt from payment of regulatory fees 

and need not submit payment. Non-commercial 

educational broadcast licensees are exempt from 

regulatory fees as are licensees of auxiliary 

broadcast services such as low power auxiliary 

stations, television auxiliary service stations, 

remote pickup stations and aural broadcast 

auxiliary stations where such licenses are used in 

conjunction with commonly owned noncommercial educational stations. Emergency Alert 

System licenses for auxiliary service facilities are 

also exempt as are Educational Broadband Service 

(EBS) (previously referred to as instructional 

television fixed service licensees). Regulatory fees 

are automatically waived for the licensee of any 

translator station that: (1) Is not licensed to, in 

whole or in part, and does not have common 

ownership with, the licensee of a commercial 

broadcast station; (2) does not derive income from 

advertising; and (3) is dependent on subscriptions 

or contributions from members of the community 

served for support. Receive only earth station 

permittees are exempt from payment of regulatory 

fees. A regulatee will be relieved of its fee payment 

requirement if its total fee due, including all 

categories of fees for which payment is due by the 

entity, amounts to less than $10. 

93 47 CFR 1.1164. 

94 47 CFR 1.1164(c). 

95Public Law 104–134, 110 Stat. 1321 (1996). 

96 31 U.S.C. 7701(c)(2)(B). 

97 47 CFR 1.1166. 

98 5 U.S.C. 603. 

Implant Communications Service (‘‘MICS’’), 

Low Power Radio Service (‘‘LPRS’’), and 

Multi-Use Radio Service (‘‘MURS’’).87 There 

are a variety of methods used to license the 

spectrum in these rule parts, from licensing 

by rule, to conditioning operation on 

successful completion of a required test, to 

site-based licensing, to geographic area 

licensing. Under the RFA, the Commission is 

required to make a determination of which 

small entities are directly affected by the 

rules being adopted. Since all such entities 

are wireless, we apply the definition of 

cellular and other wireless 

telecommunications, pursuant to which a 

small entity is defined as employing 1,500 or 

fewer persons.88 Many of the licensees in 

these services are individuals, and thus are 

not small entities. In addition, due to the 

mostly unlicensed and shared nature of the 

spectrum utilized in many of these services, 

the Commission lacks direct information 

upon which to base an estimation of the 

number of small entities under an SBA 

definition that might be directly affected by 

the rules adopted herein. 

59. Public Safety Radio Services. Public 

Safety radio services include police, fire, 

local government, forestry conservation, 

highway maintenance, and emergency 

medical services.89 There are a total of 

approximately 127,540 licensees in these 

services. Governmental entities 90 as well as 

private businesses comprise the licensees for 

these services. All governmental entities with 

populations of less than 50,000 fall within 

the definition of a small entity.91

IV. Description of Projected Reporting, 

Recordkeeping and Other Compliance 

Requirements 

60. With certain exceptions, the 

Commission’s Schedule of Regulatory Fees 

applies to all Commission licensees and 

regulatees. Most licensees will be required to 

count the number of licenses or call signs 

authorized, complete and submit an FCC 

Form 159 Remittance Advice, and pay a 

regulatory fee based on the number of 

licenses or call signs.92 Interstate telephone 

service providers must compute their annual 

regulatory fee based on their interstate and 

international end-user revenue using 

information they already supply to the 

Commission on the FCC Form 499–A, 

Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet, 

and they must complete and submit the FCC 

Form 159. Compliance with the fee schedule 

will require some licensees to tabulate the 

number of units (e.g., cellular telephones, 

pagers, cable TV subscribers) they have in 

service, and complete and submit an FCC 

Form 159. Licensees ordinarily will keep a 

list of the number of units they have in 

service as part of their normal business 

practices. No additional outside professional 

skills are required to complete the FCC Form 

159, and it can be completed by the 

employees responsible for an entity’s 

business records. 

61. Each licensee must submit the FCC 

Form 159 to the Commission’s lockbox bank 

after computing the number of units subject 

to the fee. Licensees may also file 

electronically to minimize the burden of 

submitting multiple copies of the FCC Form 

159. Applicants who pay small fees in 

advance and provide fee information as part 

of their application must use FCC Form 159. 

62. Licensees and regulatees are advised 

that failure to submit the required regulatory 

fee in a timely manner will subject the 

licensee or regulatee to a late payment 

penalty of 25 percent in addition to the 

required fee.93 If payment is not received, 

new or pending applications may be 

dismissed, and existing authorizations may 

be subject to rescission.94 Further, in 

accordance with the Debt Collection 

Improvement Act of 1996 (‘‘DCIA’’), Public 

Law 194–134, federal agencies may bar a 

person or entity from obtaining a federal loan 

or loan insurance guarantee if that person or 

entity fails to pay a delinquent debt owed to 

any federal agency.95 Nonpayment of 

regulatory fees is a debt owed the United 

States pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3711 et seq., and 

the DCIA. Appropriate enforcement measures 

as well as administrative and judicial 

remedies, may be exercised by the 

Commission. Debts owed to the Commission 

may result in a person or entity being denied 

a federal loan or loan guarantee pending 

before another federal agency until such 

obligations are paid.96

63. The Commission’s rules currently 

provide for relief in exceptional 

circumstances. Persons or entities may 

request a waiver, reduction or deferment of 

payment of the regulatory fee.97 However, 

timely submission of the required regulatory 

fee must accompany requests for waivers or 

reductions. This will avoid any late payment 

penalty if the request is denied. The fee will 

be refunded if the request is granted. In 

exceptional and compelling instances (where 

payment of the regulatory fee along with the 

waiver or reduction request could result in 

reduction of service to a community or other 

financial hardship to the licensee), the 

Commission will defer payment in response 

to a request filed with the appropriate 

supporting documentation. 

V. Steps Taken To Minimize Significant 

Economic Impact on Small Entities, and 

Significant Alternatives Considered 

64. 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: (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.98 In the NPRM, we sought 

comment on alternatives that might simplify 


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our fee procedures or otherwise benefit filers, 

including small entities, while remaining 

consistent with our statutory responsibilities 

in this proceeding. 

65. Several categories of licensees and 

regulatees are exempt from payment of 

regulatory fees. Also, waiver procedures 

provide regulatees, including small entity 

regulatees, relief in exceptional 

circumstances. 

66. Report to Small Business 

Administration: The Commission will send a 

copy of this Report and Order, including a 

copy of the FRFA to the Chief Counsel for 

Advocacy of the Small Business 

Administration. The Report and Order and 

FRFA (or summaries thereof) will also be 

published in the Federal Register. 

67. Report to Congress: The Commission 

will send a copy of this FRFA, along with 

this Report and Order, in a report to Congress 

pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, 5 

U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). 

Appendix B 

List of Commenters 

INITIAL COMMENTS

Party Abbreviated name 

American Association of Paging Carriers ...................................................................................................................................... AAPC. 

AT&T, Inc ....................................................................................................................................................................................... AT&T. 

Global Crossing North America, Inc ............................................................................................................................................... Global Crossing. 

Level 3 Communications, LLC ....................................................................................................................................................... Level 3. 

Multicultural Radio Broadcasting Licensee, LLC and Way Broadcasting Licensee, LLC ............................................................. MRB. 

Pacific Crossing Limited and PC Landing Corp ............................................................................................................................. Pacific. 

PCIA—The Wireless Infrastructure Association ............................................................................................................................. PCIA. 

Satellite Industry Association ......................................................................................................................................................... SIA. 

Tata Communications (US) Inc ...................................................................................................................................................... Tata. 

REPLY COMMENTS

Party Abbreviated name 

AT&T Inc ....................................................................................................................................................................................... AT&T. 

Brasil Telecom of America, Hibernia Atlantic U.S. LLC, Columbus Networks USA, Inc., ARCOS–1 USA, Inc., A.SUR Net, 

Inc.

Joint Commenters. 

Chisholm Trail Broadcasting Co ................................................................................................................................................... CTBC. 

Enterprise Wireless Alliance ......................................................................................................................................................... Enterprise. 

Global Crossing North America, Inc ............................................................................................................................................. Global Crossing. 

Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance ......................................................................................................... ITTA. 

Level 3 Communications, LLC ..................................................................................................................................................... Level 3. 

Pacific Crossing Limited and PC Landing Corp ........................................................................................................................... Pacific. 

Quest Communications International, Inc .................................................................................................................................... Quest. 

Reliance Globalcom Limited ......................................................................................................................................................... Reliance. 

Telstra Incorporated ..................................................................................................................................................................... Telstra. 

Verizon .......................................................................................................................................................................................... Verizon. 

PARTIES FILING INITIAL COMMENTS IN RESPONSE TO VSNL PETITION, RM–11312 

Party Abbreviated name 

Apollo Submarine Cable System, Inc ............................................................................................................................................ Apollo. 

AT&T, Inc ....................................................................................................................................................................................... AT&T. 

Flag Telecom Group Limited .......................................................................................................................................................... Flag. 

Hibernia Atlantic ............................................................................................................................................................................. Hibernia. 

Level 3 Communications, LLC ....................................................................................................................................................... Level 3. 

Satellite Industry Association ......................................................................................................................................................... SIA. 

PARTIES FILING REPLY COMMENTS TO VSNL PETITION, RM–11312 

Apollo Submarine Cable System, Inc ........................................................................................................................................... Apollo. 

ARCOS–1 USA, Inc., et al ........................................................................................................................................................... Joint Commenters. 

AT&T, Inc ...................................................................................................................................................................................... AT&T. 

Level 3 Communications, LLC ..................................................................................................................................................... Level 3. 

Versio ́n .......................................................................................................................................................................................... Versio ́n. 

Quest Communications Internacional ........................................................................................................................................... Qwest. 

VSNL Communications (US) Inc .................................................................................................................................................. VSNL. 

ATTACHMENT A 

Sources of Payment Unit Estimates for FY 

2008 

In order to calculate individual service fees 

for FY 2008, we adjusted FY 2007 payment 

units for each service to more accurately 

reflect expected FY 2008 payment liabilities. 

We obtained our updated estimates through 

a variety of means. For example, we used 

Commission licensee databases, actual prior 

year payment records and industry and trade 

association projections when available. The 

databases we consulted include our 

Universal Licensing System (‘‘ULS’’), 

International Bureau Filing System (‘‘IBFS’’), 

Consolidated Database System (‘‘CDBS’’) and 

Cable Operations and Licensing System 

(‘‘COALS’’), as well as reports generated 

within the Commission such as the Wireline 

Competition Bureau’s Trends in Telephone 


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Service and the Wireless 

Telecommunications Bureau’s Numbering 

Resource Utilization Forecast. 

We tried to obtain verification for these 

estimates from multiple sources and, in all 

cases; we compared FY 2008 estimates with 

actual FY 2007 payment units to ensure that 

our revised estimates were reasonable. Where 

appropriate, we adjusted and/or rounded our 

final estimates to take into consideration the 

fact that certain variables that impact on the 

number of payment units cannot yet be 

estimated exactly. These include an 

unknown number of waivers and/or 

exemptions that may occur in FY 2008 and 

the fact that, in many services, the number 

of actual licensees or station operators 

fluctuates from time to time due to economic, 

technical, or other reasons. When we note, 

for example, that our estimated FY 2008 

payment units are based on FY 2007 actual 

payment units, it does not necessarily mean 

that our FY 2008 projection is exactly the 

same number as FY 2007. We have either 

rounded the FY 2008 number or adjusted it 

slightly to account for these variables. 

Fee category Sources of payment unit estimates 

Land Mobile (All), Microwave, 218–219 MHz, 

Marine (Ship & Coast), Aviation (Aircraft & 

Ground), GMRS, Amateur Vanity Call Signs, 

Domestic Public Fixed.

Based on Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (‘‘WTB’’) projections of new applications and 

renewals taking into consideration existing Commission licensee databases. Aviation (Aircraft) and Marine (Ship) estimates have been adjusted to take into consideration the licensing of portions of these services on a voluntary basis. 

CMRS Cellular/Mobile Services ......................... Based on WTB projection reports, and FY 07 payment data. 

CMRS Messaging Services ................................ Based on WTB reports, and FY 07 payment data. 

AM/FM Radio Stations ........................................ Based on CDBS data, adjusted for exemptions, and actual FY 2007 payment units. 

UHF/VHF Television Stations ............................. Based on CDBS data, adjusted for exemptions, and actual FY 2007 payment units. 

AM/FM/TV Construction Permits ........................ Based on CDBS data, adjusted for exemptions, and actual FY 2007 payment units. 

LPTV, Translators and Boosters, Class A Television.Based on CDBS data, adjusted for exemptions, and actual FY 2007 payment units. 

Broadcast Auxiliaries .......................................... Based on actual FY 2007 payment units. 

BRS (formerly MDS/MMDS) ............................... Based on WTB reports and actual FY 2007 payment units. 

Cable Television Relay Service (‘‘CARS’’) Stations.Based on data from Media Bureau’s COALS database and actual FY 2007 payment units. 

Cable Television System Subscribers ................ Based on publicly available data sources for estimated subscriber counts and actual FY 2007 

payment units. 

Interstate Telecommunication Service Providers Based on FCC Form 499–Q data for the four quarters of calendar year 2007, the Wireline 

Competition Bureau projected the amount of calendar year 2007 revenue that will be reported on 2008 FCC Form 499–A worksheets in April, 2008. 

Earth Stations ..................................................... Based on International Bureau (‘‘IB’’) licensing data and actual FY 2007 payment units. 

Space Stations (GSOs & NGSOs) ..................... Based on IB data reports and actual FY 2007 payment units. 

International Bearer Circuits ............................... Based on IB reports and actual FY 2007 payment units. 

International HF Broadcast Stations, International Public Fixed Radio Service.Based on IB reports and actual FY 2007 payment units. 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P ATTACHMENT B 

Calculation of FY 2008 Revenue 

Requirements and Pro-Rata Fees 


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ATTACHMENT C 

FY 2008 Schedule of Regulatory Fees 


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1 47 CFR 73.150 and 73.152. 2See Map of Estimated Effective Ground 

Conductivity in the United States, 47 CFR 73.190 

Figure R3. 

3 47 CFR 73.313. 

ATTACHMENT D 

Factors, Measurements, and Calculations 

That Go Into Determining Station Signal 

Contours and Associated Population 

Coverages 

AM Stations 

For stations with nondirectional daytime 

antennas, the theoretical radiation was used 

at all azimuths. For stations with directional 

daytime antennas, specific information on 

each day tower, including field ratio, 

phasing, spacing and orientation was 

retrieved, as well as the theoretical pattern 

root-mean-square of the radiation in all 

directions in the horizontal plane (‘‘RMS’’) 

figure milliVolt per meter (mV/m) @ 1 km) 

for the antenna system. The standard, or 

modified standard if pertinent, horizontal 

plane radiation pattern was calculated using 

techniques and methods specified in section 

73.150 and 73.152 of the Commission’s 

rules.1 Radiation values were calculated for 

each of 360 radials around the transmitter 

site. Next, estimated soil conductivity data 

was retrieved from a database representing 

the information in FCC Figure R3.2 Using the 

calculated horizontal radiation values, and 

the retrieved soil conductivity data, the 

distance to the principal community (5 mV/ 

m) contour was predicted for each of the 360 

radials. The resulting distance to principal 

community contours were used to form a 

geographical polygon. Population counting 

was accomplished by determining which 

2000 block centroids were contained in the 

polygon. (A block centroid is the center point 

of a small area containing population as 

computed by the U.S. Census Bureau.) The 

sum of the population figures for all enclosed 

blocks represents the total population for the 

predicted principal community coverage 

area. 

FM Stations 

The greater of the horizontal or vertical 

effective radiated power (‘‘ERP’’) (kW) and 

respective height above average terrain 

(‘‘HAAT’’) (m) combination was used. Where 

the antenna height above mean sea level 

(‘‘HAMSL’’) was available, it was used in lieu 

of the average HAAT figure to calculate 

specific HAAT figures for each of 360 radials 

under study. Any available directional 

pattern information was applied as well, to 

produce a radial-specific ERP figure. The 

HAAT and ERP figures were used in 

conjunction with the Field Strength (50–50) 

propagation curves specified in 47 CFR 

73.313 of the Commission’s rules to predict 

the distance to the principal community (70 

dBu (decibel above 1 microVolt per meter) or 

3.17 mV/m) contour for each of the 360 

radials.3 The resulting distance to principal 

community contours were used to form a 

geographical polygon. Population counting 

was accomplished by determining which 

2000 block centroids were contained in the 

polygon. The sum of the population figures 

for all enclosed blocks represents the total 

population for the predicted principal 

community coverage area. 

ATTACHMENT E 

FY 2007 Schedule of Regulatory Fees 

Fee category 

Annual 

regulatory fee 

(U.S. $’s) 

PLMRS (per license) (Exclusive Use) (47 CFR part 90) .............................................................................................................. 35 

Microwave (per license) (47 CFR part 101) .................................................................................................................................. 40 

218–219 MHz (Formerly Interactive Video Data Service) (per license) (47 CFR part 95) .......................................................... 55 

Marine (Ship) (per station) (47 CFR part 80) ................................................................................................................................ 10 

Marine (Coast) (per license) (47 CFR part 80) ............................................................................................................................. 30 

General Mobile Radio Service (per license) (47 CFR part 95) ..................................................................................................... 5 

Rural Radio (47 CFR part 22) (previously listed under the Land Mobile category) ..................................................................... 15 

PLMRS (Shared Use) (per license) (47 CFR part 90) .................................................................................................................. 15 

Aviation (Aircraft) (per station) (47 CFR part 87) .......................................................................................................................... 5 

Aviation (Ground) (per license) (47 CFR part 87) ......................................................................................................................... 10 

Amateur Vanity Call Signs (per call sign) (47 CFR part 97) ......................................................................................................... 1.17 

CMRS Mobile/Cellular Services (per unit) (47 CFR parts 20, 22, 24, 27, 80 and 90) ................................................................. .18 

CMRS Messaging Services (per unit) (47 CFR parts 20, 22, 24 and 90) .................................................................................... .08 

Broadband Radio Service (formerly MMDS/ MDS) (per license sign) (47 CFR part 21) ............................................................. 325 

Local Multipoint Distribution Service (per call sign) (47 CFR, part 101) ...................................................................................... 325 

AM Radio Construction Permits .................................................................................................................................................... 400 

FM Radio Construction Permits .................................................................................................................................................... 575 

TV (47 CFR part 73) VHF Commercial: 

Markets 1–10 .......................................................................................................................................................................... 64,300 

Markets 11–25 ........................................................................................................................................................................ 46,350 

Markets 26–50 ........................................................................................................................................................................ 31,075 

Markets 51–100 ...................................................................................................................................................................... 20,000 

Remaining Markets ................................................................................................................................................................. 5,125 

Construction Permits .............................................................................................................................................................. 5,125 

TV (47 CFR part 73) UHF Commercial: 

Markets 1–10 .......................................................................................................................................................................... 19,650 

Markets 11–25 ........................................................................................................................................................................ 19,450 

Markets 26–50 ........................................................................................................................................................................ 10,800 

Markets 51–100 ...................................................................................................................................................................... 6,300 

Remaining Markets ................................................................................................................................................................. 1,750 

Construction Permits .............................................................................................................................................................. 1,750 

Satellite Television Stations (All Markets) ..................................................................................................................................... 1,100 

Construction Permits—Satellite Television Stations ..................................................................................................................... 550 

Low Power TV, TV/FM Translators & Boosters (47 CFR part 74) ............................................................................................... 345 

Broadcast Auxiliary (47 CFR part 74) ........................................................................................................................................... 10 

CARS (47 CFR part 78) ................................................................................................................................................................ 185 

Cable Television Systems (per subscriber) (47 CFR part 76) ...................................................................................................... .75 

Interstate Telecommunication Service Providers (per revenue dollar) ......................................................................................... .00266 

Earth Stations (47 CFR part 25) ................................................................................................................................................... 185 

Space Stations (per operational station in geostationary orbit) (47 CFR part 25) also includes Direct Broadcast Satellite 

Service (per operational station) (47 CFR part 100) ................................................................................................................. 109,200 

Space Stations (per operational system in non-geostationary orbit) (47 CFR part 25) ............................................................... 116,475 


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Fee category 

Annual 

regulatory fee 

(U.S. $’s) 

International Bearer Circuits (per active 64KB circuit) .................................................................................................................. 1.05 

International Public Fixed (per call sign) (47 CFR part 23) .......................................................................................................... 1,875 

International (HF) Broadcast (47 CFR part 73) ............................................................................................................................. 795 

FY 2007 RADIO STATION REGULATORY FEES

Population served AM class A AM class B AM class C AM class D FM classes 

A, B1 & C3 

FM classes 

B, C, C0, 

C1 & C2 

<=25,000 .......................................................................... $625 $475 $400 $475 $575 $725 

25,001–75,000 ................................................................. 1,225 925 600 725 1,150 1,250 

75,001–150,000 ............................................................... 1,825 1,150 800 1,200 1,600 2,300 

150,001–500,000 ............................................................. 2,750 1,950 1,200 1,425 2,475 3,000 

500,001–1,200,000 .......................................................... 3,950 2,975 2,000 2,375 3,900 4,400 

1,200,001–3,000,00 ......................................................... 6,075 4,575 3,000 3,800 6,350 7,025 

>3,000,000 ....................................................................... 7,275 5,475 3,800 4,750 8,075 9,125 

Rule Changes 

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 1 

Administrative practice and 

procedure. 

■ For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Federal Communications 

Commission amends 47 CFR part 1 as 

follows: 

PART 1—PRACTICE AND 

PROCEDURE 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 1 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 154(j), 

155, 225, 303, 309. 

■ 2. Section 1.1152 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 1.1152 Schedule of annual regulatory 

fees and filing locations for wireless radio 

services. 

Exclusive use services (per license) Fee amount 1 Address 

1. Land Mobile (Above 470 MHz and 220 MHz Local, Base Station & 

SMRS) (47 CFR, Part 90): 

(a) New, Renew/Mod (FCC 601 & 159) ............................................. $40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) New, Renew/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) ................ 40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(c) Renewal Only (FCC 601 & 159) ................................................... 40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(d) Renewal Only (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) ...................... 40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

220 MHz Nationwide: 

(a) New, Renew/Mod (FCC 601 & 159) ............................................. 40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) New, Renew/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) ................ 40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(c) Renewal Only (FCC 601 & 159) ................................................... 40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(d) Renewal Only (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) ...................... 40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

2. Microwave (47 CFR Pt. 101) (Private): 

(a) New, Renew/Mod (FCC 601 & 159) ............................................. 40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) New, Renew/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) ................ 40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(c) Renewal Only (FCC 601 & 159) ................................................... 40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(d) Renewal Only (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) ...................... 40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

3. 218–219 MHz Service: 

(a) New, Renew/Mod (FCC 601 & 159) ............................................. 60.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) New, Renew/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) ................ 60.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(c) Renewal Only (FCC 601 & 159) ................................................... 60.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(d) Renewal Only (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) ...................... 60.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

4. Shared Use Services: 

Land Mobile (Frequencies Below 470 MHz—except 220 MHz) 

(a) New, Renew/Mod (FCC 601 & 159) ............................................. 20.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) New, Renew/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) ................ 20.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(c) Renewal Only (FCC 601 & 159) ................................................... 20.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(d) Renewal Only (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) ...................... 20.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

General Mobile Radio Service: 

(a) New, Renew/Mod (FCC 605 & 159) ............................................. 5.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) New, Renew/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 605 & 159) ................ 5.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(c) Renewal Only (FCC 605 & 159) ................................................... 5.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(d) Renewal Only (Electronic Filing) (FCC 605 & 159) ...................... 5.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

Rural Radio (Part 22): 

(a) New, Additional Facility, Major Renew/Mod (Electronic Filing) 

(FCC 601 & 159).

20.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) Renewal, Minor Renew/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) 20.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

Marine Coast: 

(a) New Renewal/Mod(FCC 601 & 159) ............................................. 35.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) New, Renewal/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) ............. 35.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(c) Renewal Only (FCC 601 & 159) ................................................... 35.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 


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Exclusive use services (per license) Fee amount 1 Address 

(d) Renewal Only (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) ...................... 35.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

Aviation Ground: 

(a) New, Renewal/Mod (FCC 601 & 159) .......................................... 10.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) New, Renewal/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 601 & 159) ............. 10.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(c) Renewal Only (FCC 601 & 159) ................................................... 10.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(d) Renewal Only (Electronic Only) (FCC 601 & 159) ....................... 10.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

Marine Ship: 

(a) New, Renewal/Mod (FCC 605 & 159) .......................................... 10.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) New, Renewal/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 605 & 159) ............. 10.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(c) Renewal Only (FCC 605 & 159) ................................................... 10.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(d) Renewal Only (Electronic Filing) (FCC 605 & 159) ...................... 10.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

Aviation Aircraft: 

(a) New, Renew/Mod (FCC 605 & 159) ............................................. 5.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) New, Renew/Mod (Electronic Filing) (FCC 605 & 159) ................ 5.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(c) Renewal Only (FCC 605 & 159) ................................................... 5.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(d) Renewal Only (Electronic Filing) (FCC 605 & 159) ...................... 5.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

5. Amateur Vanity Call Signs: 

(a) Initial or Renew (FCC 605 & 159) ................................................. 1.23 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

(b) Initial or Renew (Electronic Filing) (FCC 605 & 159) ................... 1.23 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

6. CMRS Mobile Services (per unit) (FCC 159) ........................................ 2.17 FCC, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

7. CMRS Messaging Services (per unit) (FCC 159) ................................. 3.08 FCC, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

8. Broadband Radio Service (formerly MMDS and MDS) ......................... 295 FCC, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

9. Local Multipoint Distribution Service ...................................................... 295 FCC, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

1 Note that ‘‘small fees’’ are collected in advance for the entire license term. Therefore, the annual fee amount shown in this table that is a 

small fee (categories 1 through 5) must be multiplied by the 5- or 10-year license term, as appropriate, to arrive at the total amount of regulatory 

fees owed. It should be further noted that application fees may also apply as detailed in § 1.1102 of this chapter. 2These are standard fees that are to be paid in accordance with § 1.1157(b) of this chapter. 3These are standard fees that are to be paid in accordance with § 1.1157(b) of this chapter. 

■ 3. Section 1.1153 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 1.1153 Schedule of annual regulatory 

fees and filing locations for mass media 

services. 

Fee amount Address 

Radio [AM and FM] (47 CFR, Part 73) 

1. AM Class A: 

<=25,000 population ............................................................................................. $650 FCC, Radio, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, 

MO 63197–9000. 

25,001–75,000 population ..................................................................................... 1,325 

75,001–150,000 population ................................................................................... 1,975 

150,001–500,000 population ................................................................................. 2,975 

500,001–1,200,000 population .............................................................................. 4,300 

1,200,001–3,000,000 population ........................................................................... 6,600 

>3,000,000 population .......................................................................................... 7,925 

2. AM Class B: 

<=25,000 population ............................................................................................. 500 

25,001–75,000 population ..................................................................................... 1,025 

75,001–150,000 population ................................................................................... 1,275 

150,001–500,000 population ................................................................................. 2,175 

500,001–1,200,000 population .............................................................................. 3,325 

1,200,001–3,000,000 population ........................................................................... 5,100 

>3,000,000 population .......................................................................................... 6,125 

3. AM Class C: 

<=25,000 population ............................................................................................. 450 

25,001–75,000 population ..................................................................................... 650 

75,001–150,000 population ................................................................................... 875 

150,001–500,000 population ................................................................................. 1,325 

500,001–1,200,000 population .............................................................................. 2,200 

1,200,001–3,000,000 population ........................................................................... 3,300 

>3,000,000 population .......................................................................................... 4,175 

4. AM Class D: 

<=25,000 population ............................................................................................. 525 

25,001–75,000 population ..................................................................................... 775 

75,001–150,000 population ................................................................................... 1,300 

150,001–500,000 population ................................................................................. 1,550 

500,001–1,200,000 population .............................................................................. 2,575 

1,200,001–3,000,000 population ........................................................................... 4,125 

>3,000,000 population .......................................................................................... 5,150 

5. AM Construction Permit ........................................................................................... 415 

6. FM Classes A, B1 and C3: 

<=25,000 population ............................................................................................. 600 


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Fee amount Address 

25,001–75,000 population ..................................................................................... 1,225 

75,001–150,000 population ................................................................................... 1,675 

150,001–500,000 population ................................................................................. 2,600 

500,001–1,200,000 population .............................................................................. 4,125 

1,200,001–3,000,000 population ........................................................................... 6,700 

>3,000,000 population .......................................................................................... 8,550 

7. FM Classes B, C, C0, C1 and C2: 

<=25,000 population ............................................................................................. 775 

25,001–75,000 population ..................................................................................... 1,375 

75,001–150,000 population ................................................................................... 2,550 

150,001–500,000 population ................................................................................. 3,325 

500,001–1,200,000 population .............................................................................. 4,900 

1,200,001–3,000,000 population ........................................................................... 7,850 

>3,000,000 population .......................................................................................... 10,200 

8. FM Construction Permits ......................................................................................... 600 

TV (47 CFR, Part 73) VHF Commercial 

1. Markets 1 thru 10 ..................................................................................................... 71,050 FCC, TV Branch, P.O. Box 979084, St. 

Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

2. Markets 11 thru 25 ................................................................................................... 53,525 

3. Markets 26 thru 50 ................................................................................................... 33,525 

4. Markets 51 thru 100 ................................................................................................. 21,025 

5. Remaining Markets .................................................................................................. 5,600 

6. Construction Permits ................................................................................................ 5,600 

UHF Commercial 

1. Markets 1 thru 10 ..................................................................................................... 21,225 FCC, UHF Commercial, P.O. Box 

979084, St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

2. Markets 11 thru 25 ................................................................................................... 19,475 

3. Markets 26 thru 50 ................................................................................................... 11,900 

4. Markets 51 thru 100 ................................................................................................. 6,800 

5. Remaining Markets .................................................................................................. 1,800 

6. Construction Permits ................................................................................................ 1,800 

Satellite UHF/VHF Commercial 

1. All Markets ............................................................................................................... 1,175 FCC Satellite TV, P.O. Box 979084, St. 

Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

2. Construction Permits ................................................................................................ 595 

Low Power TV, Class A TV, TV/FM Translator, & TV/FM Booster (47 CFR Part 74) 365 FCC, Low Power, P.O. Box 979084, St. 

Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

Broadcast Auxiliary ....................................................................................................... 10 FCC, Auxiliary, P.O. Box 979084, St. 

Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

■ 4. Section 1.1154 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 1.1154 Schedule of annual regulatory 

charges and filing locations for common 

carrier services. 

Fee amount Address 

Radio Facilities: 

1. Microwave (Domestic Public Fixed) (Electronic Filing) (FCC Form 601 & 

159).

$40.00 FCC, P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 

63197–9000. 

Carriers: 

1. Interstate Telephone Service Providers (per interstate and international enduser revenues (see FCC Form 499–A)..00314 FCC, Carriers, P.O. Box 979084, St. 

Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

■ 5. Section 1.1155 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 1.1155 Schedule of regulatory fees and 

filing locations for cable television services. 

Fee amount Address 

1. Cable Television Relay Service ............................................................................... $205 FCC, Cable, P.O. Box 979084, St. Louis, 

MO 63197–9000. 

2. Cable TV System (per subscriber) .......................................................................... .80 


sroberts on PROD1PC76 with RULES
50222 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 26, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

■ 6. Section 1.1156 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 1.1156 Schedule of regulatory fees and 

filing locations for international services. 

Fee amount Address 

Radio Facilities: 

1. International (HF) Broadcast ............................................................................. $860 FCC, International, P.O. Box 979084, St. 

Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

2. International Public Fixed ................................................................................. 2,025 FCC, International, P.O. Box 979084, St. 

Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

Space Stations (Geostationary Orbit) .......................................................................... 119,300 FCC, Space Stations, P.O. Box 979084, 

St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

Space Stations (Non-Geostationary Orbit) .................................................................. 125,750 FCC, Space Stations, P.O. Box 979084, 

St. Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

Earth Stations: 

Transmit/Receive & Transmit Only (per authorization or registration) ................. 195 FCC, Earth Station, P.O. Box 979084, St. 

Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

Carriers: 

International Bearer Circuits (per active 64KB circuit or equivalent) ................... .93 FCC, International, P.O. Box 979084, St. 

Louis, MO 63197–9000. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E8–19899 Filed 8–25–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 73 

[DA 08–1714; MB Docket No. 07–183; RM–

11394] 

Radio Broadcasting Services; Cotulla 

and Dilley, TX 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Audio Division grants a 

Petition for Rule Making issued at the 

request of Katherine Pyeatt, proposing 

the allotment of Channel 291A at Dilley, 

Texas, as its fourth local FM aural 

transmission service. The reference 

coordinates for vacant Channel 291A at 

Dilley are 28–36–06 NL and 99–06–21 

WL. This site is located 9.6 kilometers 

(6 miles) southeast of Dilley. This site is 

located within 320 kilometers of the 

Mexican border. Although concurrence 

has been requested for Channel 291A at 

Dilley, notification has not been 

received. If a construction permit is 

granted prior to the receipt of formal 

concurrence in the allotment by the 

Mexican government, the construction 

permit will include the following 

condition: ‘‘Operation with the facilities 

specified for Dilley herein is subject to 

modification, suspension or, 

termination without right to hearing, if 

found by the Commission to be 

necessary in order to conform to the 

1992 USA-Mexico FM Broadcast 

Agreement.’’

Additionally, the new reference 

coordinates for vacant Channel 289A at 

Cotulla, Texas are modified to 28–22–00 

NL and 99–17–00 WL. This site is 

located 9.1 kilometers (5.7 miles) 

southwest of Cotulla. This site is located 

within 320 kilometers of the Mexican 

border. Although concurrence has been 

requested for Channel 289A at Cotulla, 

notification has not been received. If a 

construction permit is granted prior to 

the receipt of formal concurrence in the 

allotment by the Mexican government, 

the construction permit will include the 

following condition: ‘‘Operation with 

the facilities specified for Cotulla herein 

is subject to modification, suspension 

or, termination without right to hearing, 

if found by the Commission to be 

necessary in order to conform to the 

1992 USA-Mexico FM Broadcast 

Agreement.’’

DATES: Effective September 8, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Secretary, Federal 

Communications Commission, 445 

Twelfth Street, SW., Washington, DC 

20554. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rolanda F. Smith, Media Bureau, (202) 

418–2180. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Commission’s Report 

and Order, MB Docket No. 07–183, 

adopted July 23, 2008, and released July 

25, 2008. The Notice of Proposed Rule 

Making proposed the allotment of 

Channel 291A at Dilley, Texas. See 72 

FR 59510, published October 22, 2007. 

The full text of this Commission 

decision is available for inspection and 

copying during normal business hours 

in the Commission’s Reference 

Information Center, 445 Twelfth Street, 

SW., Washington, DC 20554. The 

complete text of this decision may also 

be purchased from the Commission’s 

duplicating contractor, Best Copy and 

Printing, Inc., 445 12th Street, SW., 

Room CY–B402, Washington, DC 20554, 

telephone 1–800–378–3160 or http:// 

www.BCPIWEB.com. The Commission 

will send a copy of this Report and 

Order in a report to be sent to Congress 

and the Government Accountability 

Office pursuant to the Congressional 

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

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73 

Radio, Radio broadcasting. 

■ As stated in the preamble, the Federal 

Communications Commission amends 

47 CFR Part 73 as follows: 

PART 73—RADIO BROADCAST 

SERVICES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 73 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 303, 334, 336. 

§ 73.202 [Amended] 

■ 2. Section 73.202(b), the Table of FM 

Allotments under Texas, is amended by 

adding Channel 291A at Dilley. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Robert A. Haynes, 

Senior Attorney. 

[FR Doc. E8–19544 Filed 8–25–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Office of the Secretary 

49 CFR Part 40 

[Docket OST–2003–15245] 

RIN 2105–AD55 

Procedures for Transportation 

Workplace Drug Testing Programs 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOT. 


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