Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 168 / Thursday, August 28, 2008 / Proposed Rules 50741 

prevent endangerment of drinking water 

sources. These hearings will provide 

interested parties with an opportunity to 

provide oral comments on the proposed 

rule. The oral comments will become 

part of the official rule-making record. 

DATES: The hearings will be held from 

9 a.m. to 5 p.m., CDT, September 30, 

2008 in Chicago, IL, and 9 a.m. to 5 

p.m., MDT, October 2, 2008 in Denver, 

CO. 

ADDRESSES: In Chicago, IL the hearing 

will be held at the Ralph H. Metcalfe 

Federal Building, 77 W. Jackson 

Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60604. The 

Denver, CO hearing will be at the 

Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th 

St., Denver, CO 80202. Due to capacity 

limitations, we encourage you to 

indicate your intent to participate 

through pre-registration. To pre-register, 

for directions, and for site specific 

information, please visit the following 

Web site: http:// 

gshearing.cadmusweb.com/. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

general information about these public 

hearings, please contact Mary Rose 

(Molly) Bayer by phone (202) 564–1981, 

by e-mail at bayer.maryrose@epa.gov, or 

by mail at: U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, Mail Code 4606M, 

1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 

Washington, DC 20460. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 

25, 2008 at 73 FR 43491, EPA proposed 

requirements for underground injection 

of carbon dioxide for geologic 

sequestration. The proposal included a 

request for public comment and also 

described EPA’s intent to convene 

public hearings on the proposed rule. 

This notice provides information about 

the dates and locations for those 

hearings. The proposed rule applies to 

owners or operators of wells that will be 

used to inject CO2 into the subsurface 

for the purpose of long-term storage. It 

proposes a new class of well (Class VI) 

and technical criteria for the geologic 

site characterization, area of review 

(AoR) and corrective action, well 

construction, operation, mechanical 

integrity testing, monitoring, well 

plugging, post-injection site care, and 

site closure for the purposes of 

protecting underground sources of 

drinking water. 

For more information on Geologic 

Sequestration and the Underground 

Injection Control Program, please visit 

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/uic/ 

index.html. To submit written 

comments, the docket can be viewed at 

http://www.regulations.gov (Docket Id: 

EPA–HQ–OW–2008–0390). Comments 

on the proposed rule must be received 

by November 24, 2008. 

Special Accommodations 

For information on access or services 

for individuals with disabilities, please 

contact Mary Rose (Molly) Bayer at 

(202) 564–1981 or 

bayer.maryrose@epa.gov. To request 

accommodation of a disability, please 

contact Mary Rose Bayer, preferably at 

least 10 days prior to the meeting, to 

give EPA as much time as possible to 

process your request. 

Dated: August 21, 2008. 

Nanci Gelb, 

Deputy Director, Office of Ground Water and 

Drinking Water. 

[FR Doc. E8–19998 Filed 8–27–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Chapter I 

[WC Docket No. 08–171; FCC 08–195] 

Implementation of the New and 

Emerging Technologies 911 

Improvement Act of 2008 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Communications 

Commission (Commission) adopted a 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking 

comment on rules that must be adopted 

pursuant to the New and Emerging 

Technologies 911 Improvement Act of 

2008 (NET 911 Act). This action is 

necessary because the NET 911 Act 

commands us to issue certain 

regulations within 90 days of the NET 

911 Act’s enactment. The intended 

effect of this action is to generate 

comment to guide the Commission 

when issuing those particular 

regulations. 

DATES: Comments are due on or before 

September 9, 2008, and reply comments 

are due on or before September 17, 

2008. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by WC Docket No. 08–171, by 

any of the following methods: 

• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Federal Communications 

Commission’s Web Site: http:// 

www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• E-mail: ecfs@fcc.gov, and include 

the following words in the body of the 

message, ‘‘get form.’’ A sample form and 

directions will be sent in response. 

Include the docket number(s) in the 

subject line of the message. 

• Mail: Secretary, Federal 

Communications Commission, 445 12th 

Street, SW., Washington DC 20554. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: 236 

Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Suite 110, 

Washington, DC 20002. 

• People with Disabilities: Contact the 

FCC to request reasonable 

accommodations (accessible format 

documents, sign language interpreters, 

CART, etc.) by e-mail: FCC504@fcc.gov 

or phone: 202–418–0530 or TTY: 202–

418–0432. 

All submissions received must 

include the agency name and docket 

number for this rulemaking, WC Docket 

No. 08–171. All comments received will 

be posted without change to http:// 

www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs. For detailed 

instructions for submitting comments 

and additional information on the 

rulemaking process, see the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matt 

Warner, Wireline Competition Bureau, 

(202) 418–1580. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to sections 1.415 and 1.419 of the 

Commission’s rules, 47 CFR 1.415, 

1.419, interested parties may file 

comments and reply comments on or 

before the dates indicated on the first 

page of this document. Comments may 

be filed using: (1) The Commission’s 

Electronic Comment Filing System 

(ECFS), (2) the Federal Government’s eRulemaking Portal, or (3) by filing paper 

copies. See Electronic Filing of 

Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 

63 FR 24121 (1998). 

• Electronic Filers: Comments may be 

filed electronically using the Internet by 

accessing the ECFS: http://www.fcc.gov/ 

cgb/ecfs/ or the Federal e-Rulemaking 

Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 

Filers should follow the instructions 

provided on the Web site for submitting 

comments. 

• For ECFS filers, if multiple docket 

or rulemaking numbers appear in the 

caption of this proceeding, filers must 

transmit one electronic copy of the 

comments for each docket or 

rulemaking number referenced in the 

caption. In completing the transmittal 

screen, filers should include their full 

name, U.S. Postal Service mailing 

address, and the applicable docket or 

rulemaking number. Parties may also 

submit an electronic comment by 

Internet e-mail. To get filing 

instructions, filers should send an email to ecfs@fcc.gov, and include the 

following words in the body of the 

message, ‘‘get form.’’ A sample form and 

directions will be sent in response. 

• Paper Filers: Parties who choose to 

file by paper must file an original and 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with PROPOSALS
50742 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 168 / Thursday, August 28, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

four copies of each filing. If more than 

one docket or rulemaking number 

appears in the caption of this 

proceeding, filers must submit two 

additional copies for each additional 

docket or rulemaking number. 

Filings can be sent by hand or 

messenger delivery, by commercial 

overnight courier, or by first-class or 

overnight U.S. Postal Service mail 

(although we continue to experience 

delays in receiving U.S. Postal Service 

mail). All filings must be addressed to 

the Commission’s Secretary, Office of 

the Secretary, Federal Communications 

Commission. 

• The Commission’s contractor will 

receive hand-delivered or messengerdelivered paper filings for the 

Commission’s Secretary at 236 

Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Suite 110, 

Washington, DC 20002. The filing hours 

at this location are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. All 

hand deliveries must be held together 

with rubber bands or fasteners. Any 

envelopes must be disposed of before 

entering the building. 

• Commercial overnight mail (other 

than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail 

and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300 

East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, 

MD 20743. 

• U.S. Postal Service first-class, 

Express, and Priority mail must be 

addressed to 445 12th Street, SW., 

Washington, DC 20554. 

People with Disabilities: To request 

materials in accessible formats for 

people with disabilities (braille, large 

print, electronic files, audio format), 

send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call 

the Consumer & Governmental Affairs 

Bureau at 202–418–0530 (voice), 202–

418–0432 (tty). 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

I. Introduction 

1. 911 service is critical to our 

nation’s ability to respond to a host of 

crises. The New and Emerging 

Technologies (NET) 911 Improvement 

Act of 2008 (NET 911 Act), signed into 

law on July 23, 2008, is designed to 

‘‘promote and enhance public safety by 

facilitating the rapid deployment of IPenabled 911 and E911 services, 

encourage the Nation’s transition to a 

national IP-enabled emergency network, 

and improve 911 and enhanced 911 

(E911) access to those with disabilities.’’

This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

(NPRM) marks our first step towards 

implementing this new legislation. 

2. The NET 911 Act addresses several 

aspects of our nation’s 911 system. This 

NPRM focuses on one particular 

obligation in the NET 911 Act: The 

Commission must, no later than October 

21, 2008, issue regulations 

implementing certain key provisions 

that, among other things, ensure that 

providers of IP-enabled voice services 

have access to the capabilities they need 

to provide 911 and E911 service. We 

fully intend to have those regulations in 

place by Congress’s deadline. Therefore 

we issue this NPRM and provide a short 

comment cycle that will allow us to 

meet our statutory obligation. 

II. Background 

3. The NET 911 Act explicitly 

imposes on each IP-enabled voice 

service provider the obligation to 

provide 911 service and E911 service in 

accordance with Commission 

requirements. The NET 911 Act also 

grants each IP-enabled voice service 

provider rights with respect to 

‘‘capabilities’’ to provide 911 and E911 

services. Specifically, section 102 of the 

NET 911 Act adds a new section 6 to the 

Wireless 911 Act, which states in 

relevant part: 

(a) DUTIES.—It shall be the duty of each 

IP-enabled voice service provider to provide 

9–1–1 service and enhanced 9–1–1 service to 

its subscribers in accordance with the 

requirements of the Federal Communications 

Commission, as in effect on the date of 

enactment of the New and Emerging 

Technologies 911 Improvement Act of 2008 

and as such requirements may be modified 

by the Commission from time to time. 

(b) PARITY FOR IP-ENABLED VOICE 

SERVICE PROVIDERS.—An IP-enabled voice 

service provider that seeks capabilities to 

provide 9–1–1 and enhanced 9–1–1 service 

from an entity with ownership or control 

over such capabilities, to comply with its 

obligations under subsection (a), shall, for the 

exclusive purpose of complying with such 

obligations, have a right of access to such 

capabilities, including interconnection, to 

provide 9–1–1 and enhanced 9–1–1 service 

on the same rates, terms, and conditions that 

are provided to a provider of commercial 

mobile service * * *, subject to such 

regulations as the Commission prescribes 

under subsection (c). 

(c) REGULATIONS.—The Commission—

(1) within 90 days after the date of 

enactment of the [NET 911 Act] shall issue 

regulations implementing such Act, 

including regulations that—

(A) ensure that IP-enabled voice service 

providers have the ability to exercise their 

rights under subsection (b); 

(B) take into account any technical, 

network security, or information privacy 

requirements that are specific to IP-enabled 

voice services; and 

(C) provide, with respect to any 

capabilities that are not required to be made 

available to a commercial mobile service 

provider but that the Commission determines 

under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph or 

paragraph (2) are necessary for an IP-enabled 

voice service provider to comply with its 

obligations under subsection (a), that such 

capabilities shall be available at the same 

rates, terms, and conditions as would apply 

if such capabilities were made available to a 

commercial mobile service provider. 

(2) shall require IP-enabled voice service 

providers to which the regulations apply to 

register with the Commission and to establish 

a point of contact for public safety and 

government officials relative to 9–1–1 and 

enhanced 9–1–1 service and access * * * 

4. The ‘‘requirements of the Federal 

Communications Commission, as in 

effect on the date of enactment of the 

[NET 911 Act]’’ referenced in the 

legislation are set forth in the 

Commission’s VoIP 911 Order. In that 

Order, the Commission required 

providers of ‘‘interconnected VoIP 

service’’—referred to as ‘‘IP-enabled 

voice services’’ in the NET 911 Act—to 

provide 911 service using the existing 

wireline 911 infrastructure. Congress 

has specified that ‘‘[n]othing in the 

[NET 911 Act] shall be construed as 

altering, delaying, or otherwise limiting 

the ability of the Commission to enforce 

the Federal actions taken or rules 

adopted obligating an IP-enabled voice 

service provider to provide 9–1–1 or 

enhanced 9–1–1 service as of the date of 

the enactment of the [NET 911 Act].’’

III. Discussion 

5. In the discussion that follows, we 

seek comment on the specific duties 

imposed by the legislation and the 

elements of the regulations we are 

required to adopt. We ask about the 

capabilities for which the NET 911 Act 

affords IP-enabled voice service 

providers a right of access, how the 

Commission can ensure that IP-enabled 

voice service providers can exercise 

these rights, and how to provide that 

such capabilities are made available on 

the same rates, terms, and conditions 

that are provided to commercial mobile 

service providers. We also explore how 

the regulations we must adopt are 

impacted by requirements specific to IPenable voice service providers. We seek 

comment, generally, on the questions 

and tentative conclusions below. 

A. ‘‘Capabilities’’

6. The NET 911 Act states that IPenabled voice service providers ‘‘shall 

* * * have a right of access to such 

capabilities, including interconnection, 

to provide 9–1–1 and enhanced 9–1–1 

service on the same rates, terms, and 

conditions that are provided to CMS 

providers.’’ To what extent is it 

appropriate for the Commission to 

define ‘‘capabilities’’ in this rulemaking, 

or should we determine what 

constitutes ‘‘capabilities’’ on a case-bycase basis? To the extent a prospective 

determination is appropriate, we seek 

comment on the definition of 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 168 / Thursday, August 28, 2008 / Proposed Rules 50743 

‘‘capabilities.’’ What would such a 

definition include and exclude? Are 

pseudo Automatic Number 

Identification (p-ANI), real-time 

Automatic Location Identification (ALI) 

database access, Emergency Service 

Numbers (ESN), Master Street Address 

Guides (MSAG), shell records, callback 

number, selective router 

interconnection for both voice and data 

transport, or other ‘‘elements’’

appropriately considered ‘‘capabilities’’

under the NET 911 Act? Do 

‘‘capabilities’’ include network services, 

testing, and agreements? What other 

items, elements, features, functions, or 

agreements are appropriately considered 

capabilities? Because the NET 911 Act 

requires IP-enabled service providers to 

‘‘have a right of access’’ to capabilities 

to provide 911 and enhanced 911 

service ‘‘on the same rates, terms, and 

conditions that are provided to a 

provider of commercial mobile service,’’

we seek comment about what 

capabilities are currently required to be 

available to CMS providers. What, if 

any, capabilities ‘‘are necessary for an 

IP-enabled voice service provider to 

comply with its obligations’’ under 

section 6(a) of the Wireless 911 Act, but 

‘‘are not required to be made available 

to a commercial mobile service 

provider’’? 

7. With regard to mobile VoIP service 

used by CMRS carriers in conjunction 

with their CMRS service, we seek 

comment specifically on what 

capabilities ‘‘are necessary for [such 

mobile interconnected VoIP] provider to 

comply with its obligations’’ under 

section 6(a) of the Wireless 911 Act. 

Specifically, what requirements should 

be imposed on the mobile VoIP provider 

and its roaming partner when offering 

mobile VoIP service in a roaming area 

outside its CMRS footprint? For 

example, T-Mobile has asked the 

Commission to waive or rule on several 

requirements of the VoIP 911 Order for 

its interconnected VoIP service, which 

allows a customer to use a dual-mode 

handset that works as a regular CMRS 

phone and, when it is in a WiFi hotspot, 

an interconnected VoIP phone. Its 

service uses CMRS default routing for 

VoIP 911 calls and ‘‘last known cell’’

information for automatic location 

information in its footprint, but is not 

able to use such ‘‘last known cell’’

information outside the footprint 

because it is not provided by its roaming 

partner. Assuming that T-Mobile’s use 

of CMRS default routing and associated 

‘‘last known cell’’ information is 

sufficient, we seek comment on what 

modifications we should make to our 

rules when outside the footprint. For 

example, what requirements should be 

placed on the roaming partners of these 

dual-mode service providers to provide 

access to information necessary to 

employ ‘‘last known cell’’ in a roaming 

area in the same manner that dual-mode 

providers such as T-Mobile use such 

information when in its own network? 

Further, we seek comment generally on 

what capabilities we should require 

roaming partners to make available to 

mobile VoIP providers to ensure 

compliance with applicable 911 and 

E911 requirements. In addition, we seek 

comment on whether wireless carriers 

should be required pursuant to the NET 

911 Act to provide roaming partners 

with last-known caller location 

information necessary for the proper 

routing of wireless VoIP calls to 911. We 

also seek comment on how such a 

requirement would affect incentives to 

reach roaming agreements and how the 

Commission can ensure that such a 

requirement would not prevent 

companies from forming roaming 

agreements they might otherwise reach. 

B. Ownership, Control, Availability, and 

Right of Access 

8. Who owns and controls each of the 

capabilities identified in response to the 

questions above? For each type of entity 

owning or controlling such capabilities, 

how should the Commission fulfill its 

statutory mandate to ‘‘ensure that IPenabled voice service providers have the 

ability to exercise their rights under 

subsection (b)’’? Does this mandate 

confer sufficient authority or 

jurisdiction upon the Commission to 

impose requirements on state, local or 

private entities? What other sources of 

authority or jurisdiction are available to 

the Commission to ensure that such 

capabilities are made available? Are 

there any additional actions the 

Commission should take to ensure that 

such capabilities are available per 

Congress’s instructions? What are the 

implications of Congress’s direction that 

IP-enabled voice service providers shall 

have a right of access to these 

capabilities ‘‘for the exclusive purpose 

of complying with’’ their obligations 

under the NET 911 Act? 

C. Rates, Terms, and Conditions 

9. The NET 911 Act requires that IPenabled voice service providers receive 

a right of access to E911 network 

capabilities on the ‘‘same rates, terms, 

and conditions’’ as provided to CMS 

providers. Under what rates, terms, and 

conditions are such capabilities 

provided to CMS providers? To what 

extent are capabilities made available to 

CMS providers under tariff, 

interconnection agreement, or some 

other form of agreement? To what extent 

are the terms of such agreements 

available for review by other CMS 

providers or providers of IP-enabled 

voice service? 

10. Assuming that similar capabilities 

have varying rates, terms, and 

conditions, how should the Commission 

determine what rates, terms, and 

conditions are to be placed on certain 

capabilities? Is it enough to mandate in 

our rules that those entities owning or 

controlling the capabilities needed for 

IP-enabled voice service providers 

provide such capabilities at the same 

rates, terms and conditions offered to 

CMS providers? Conversely, is it 

necessary to establish pricing standards 

for each of the capabilities that an IPenabled voice service provider needs to 

meet the NET 911 Act’s section 101(2) 

obligations? If so, what standards 

should apply? Can and should the 

Commission mandate disclosure of all 

rates, terms, and conditions concerning 

each capability from states, localities, 

and industry? How shall the 

Commission determine what rates, 

terms, and conditions would have been 

made available to CMS providers for 

capabilities that they do not use? Are 

there any other differences between 

CMS and IP-enabled voice service that 

we should consider with regard to the 

‘‘rates, terms, and conditions’’ of access 

for IP-enabled voice service providers? 

D. Technical, Network Security, or 

Information Privacy Requirements That 

Are Specific to IP-Enabled Voice 

Services 

11. What technical, network security, 

or information privacy requirements 

specific to IP-enabled voice services 

must be taken into account when 

ensuring that capabilities are available 

to IP-enabled voice service providers? 

Are there any concerns that certain 911 

systems may not offer the capabilities 

necessary particularly to meet the 

technical requirements of IP-enable 

voice services? If so, how should we 

take into account these requirements 

when adopting regulations for IPenabled voice service providers? What 

network security issues do providers of 

IP-enabled voice services pose for the 

911 and E911 networks? What steps can 

the Commission take to correct or 

ameliorate these concerns? With respect 

to information privacy, are there any 

issues specific to IP-enabled voice 

service providers that raise new 

concerns regarding the protection of 

customer proprietary network 

information? What steps should the 

Commission take to ensure IP-enabled 

voice service providers’ customers’

information is protected during and 


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50744 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 168 / Thursday, August 28, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

after a 911 or E911 call? Should the 

Commission take any action at this time 

to require IP-enabled voice service 

providers to register with the 

Commission and to establish a point of 

contact for public safety and 

government officials relative to 911 and 

E911 service and access? If so, what 

steps would be appropriate? 

E. Other Considerations 

12. Finally, what other issues relating 

to the NET 911 Act should the 

Commission consider? Are there 

particular issues relating to the 

Commission’s jurisdiction, federal, 

state, local and private initiatives, or 

other issues that the Commission should 

take into consideration when adopting 

rules? Should the Commission delegate 

authority to enforce any regulations 

issued under subsection (c) to State 

commissions or other State or local 

agencies or programs with jurisdiction 

over emergency communications? If so, 

what specifically should the 

Commission delegate and to which 

entity? What costs and burdens would 

rules resulting from the NPRM impose 

upon small entities and how can they be 

ameliorated? Are there any other issues 

or significant alternatives that the 

Commission should consider to ease the 

burden on small entities? 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

13. As required by the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended 

(RFA), the Commission has prepared the 

present Initial Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis (IRFA) of the possible 

significant economic impact on small 

entities that might result from today’s 

NPRM. Written public comments are 

requested on this IRFA. Comments must 

be identified as responses to the IRFA 

and must be filed by the deadlines for 

comments on the NPRM provided 

above. The Commission will send a 

copy of the NPRM, including this IRFA, 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration. In 

addition, the NPRM and IRFA (or 

summaries thereof) will be published in 

the Federal Register. 

A. Need for, and Objectives of, the 

Proposed Rules 

14. In the NPRM, the Commission 

considers how to best make 911 

capabilities available to IP-enabled 

voice service providers at the same 

rates, terms, and conditions available to 

commercial mobile service (CMS) 

providers. Specifically, the Commission 

seeks comments regarding its need to 

issue regulations within 90 days of NET 

911 Act’s enactment, including 

regulations that: 

(A) Ensure that IP-enabled voice 

service providers have the ability to 

exercise their rights under subsection 

(b); 

(B) Take into account any technical, 

network security, or information privacy 

requirements that are specific to IPenabled voice services; and 

(C) Provide, with respect to any 

capabilities that are not required to be 

made available to a commercial mobile 

service provider but that the 

Commission determines * * * are 

necessary for an IP-enabled voice 

service provider to comply with its 

obligations [to provide 911 service and 

enhanced 911 service], that such 

capabilities shall be available at the 

same rates, terms, and conditions as 

would apply if such capabilities were 

made available to a commercial mobile 

service provider. 

For each of these issues, the 

Commission also seeks comment on the 

burdens, including those placed on 

small carriers, associated with 

corresponding Commission rules related 

to each issue and whether there are 

alternative rules that might lessen any 

burden. 

B. Legal Basis 

15. The legal basis for any action that 

may be taken pursuant to the NPRM is 

contained in sections 1, 4(i)–(j), 201, 

202, 222, 251, 252, 303(r) of the 

Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i)–(j), 201, 

202, 222, 251, 252, 303(r), and section 

6 of the Wireless 911 Act, as amended. 

C. Description and Estimate of the 

Number of Small Entities to Which the 

Rules Will Apply 

16. The RFA directs agencies to 

provide a description of, and, where 

feasible, an estimate of, the number of 

small entities that may be affected by 

the rules adopted herein. The RFA 

generally defines the term ‘‘small 

entity’’ as having the same meaning as 

the terms ‘‘small business,’’ ‘‘small 

organization,’’ and ‘‘small governmental 

jurisdiction.’’ In addition, the term 

‘‘small business’’ has the same meaning 

as the term ‘‘small business concern’’

under the Small Business Act. A ‘‘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 Small Business 

Administration (SBA). 

1. Wireline Carriers and Service 

Providers 

17. Incumbent Local Exchange 

Carriers (ILECs). Neither the 

Commission nor the SBA has developed 

a size standard for small businesses 

specifically applicable to incumbent 

local exchange services. The closest 

applicable size standard under SBA 

rules is for Wired Telecommunications 

Carriers. Under that size standard, such 

a business is small if it has 1,500 or 

fewer employees. According to 

Commission data, 1,307 carriers 

reported that they were engaged in the 

provision of local exchange services. Of 

these 1,307 carriers, an estimated 1,019 

have 1,500 or fewer employees and 288 

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 

our action. 

18. 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. 

According to Commission data, 859 

carriers reported that they were engaged 

in the provision of either competitive 

local exchange carrier or competitive 

access provider services. Of these 859 

carriers, an estimated 741 have 1,500 or 

fewer employees and 118 have more 

than 1,500 employees. In addition, 16 

carriers have reported that they are 

‘‘Shared-Tenant Service Providers,’’ and 

all 16 are estimated to have 1,500 or 

fewer employees. In addition, 44 

carriers have reported that they are 

‘‘Other Local Service Providers.’’ Of the 

44, an estimated 43 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 

our action. 

19. We have included small 

incumbent local exchange carriers 

(LECs) in this present RFA analysis. As 

noted above, a ‘‘small business’’ under 

the RFA is one that, inter alia, meets the 

pertinent small business size standard 

(e.g., a telephone communications 

business having 1,500 or fewer 

employees), and ‘‘is not dominant in its 

field of operation.’’ The SBA’s Office of 

Advocacy contends that, for RFA 

purposes, small incumbent LECs are not 

dominant in their field of operation 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 168 / Thursday, August 28, 2008 / Proposed Rules 50745 

because any such dominance is not 

‘‘national’’ in scope. We have therefore 

included small incumbent LECs in this 

RFA analysis, although we emphasize 

that this RFA action has no effect on 

Commission analyses and 

determinations in other, non-RFA 

contexts. 

20. 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. 

According to Commission data, 184 

carriers have reported that they are 

engaged in the provision of local resale 

services. Of these, an estimated 181 

have 1,500 or fewer employees and 

three have more than 1,500 employees. 

Consequently, the Commission 

estimates that the majority of local 

resellers are small entities that may be 

affected by our action. 

21. 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. 

According to Commission data, 881 

carriers have reported that they are 

engaged in the provision of toll resale 

services. Of these, an estimated 853 

have 1,500 or fewer employees and 28 

have more than 1,500 employees. 

Consequently, the Commission 

estimates that the majority of toll 

resellers are small entities that may be 

affected by our action. 

22. 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. According to 

Commission data, 657 carriers have 

reported that they are engaged in the 

provision of payphone services. Of 

these, an estimated 653 have 1,500 or 

fewer employees and four have more 

than 1,500 employees. Consequently, 

the Commission estimates that the 

majority of payphone service providers 

are small entities that may be affected 

by our action. 

23. Interexchange Carriers (IXCs). 

Neither the Commission nor the SBA 

has developed a size standard for small 

businesses specifically applicable to 

interexchange services. The closest 

applicable size standard under SBA 

rules is for Wired Telecommunications 

Carriers. Under that size standard, such 

a business is small if it has 1,500 or 

fewer employees. According to 

Commission data, 330 companies 

reported that their primary 

telecommunications service activity was 

the provision of interexchange services. 

Of these 330 companies, an estimated 

309 have 1,500 or fewer employees and 

21 have more than 1,500 employees. 

Consequently, the Commission 

estimates that the majority of 

interexchange service providers are 

small entities that may be affected by 

our action. 

24. 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. According to 

Commission data, 23 carriers have 

reported that they are engaged in the 

provision of operator services. Of these, 

an estimated 22 have 1,500 or fewer 

employees and one has more than 1,500 

employees. Consequently, the 

Commission estimates that the majority 

of OSPs are small entities that may be 

affected by our action. 

25. 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. According to Commission 

data, 104 carriers have reported that 

they are engaged in the provision of 

prepaid calling cards. Of these, an 

estimated 102 have 1,500 or fewer 

employees and two have 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 

our action. 

26. 800 and 800-Like Service 

Subscribers. 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. The most reliable source of 

information regarding the number of 

these service subscribers appears to be 

data the Commission collects on the 

800, 888, 877, and 866 numbers in use. 

According to our data, at the beginning 

of July 2006, the number of 800 

numbers assigned was 7,647,941; the 

number of 888 numbers assigned was 

5,318,667; the number of 877 numbers 

assigned was 4,431,162; and the number 

of 866 numbers assigned was 6,008,976. 

We do not have data specifying the 

number of these subscribers that are not 

independently owned and operated or 

have more than 1,500 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 7,647,941 or fewer small 

entity 800 subscribers; 5,318,667 or 

fewer small entity 888 subscribers; 

4,431,162 or fewer small entity 877 

subscribers; and 5,318,667 or fewer 

small entity 866 subscribers. 

2. Wireless Carriers and Service 

Providers 

27. Below, for those services subject 

to auctions, we note that, as a general 

matter, the number of winning bidders 

that qualify as small businesses at the 

close of an auction does not necessarily 

represent the number of small 

businesses currently in service. Also, 

the Commission does not generally track 

subsequent business size unless, in the 

context of assignments or transfers, 

unjust enrichment issues are implicated. 

28. Wireless Telecommunications 

Carriers (except Satellite). Since 2007, 

the SBA has recognized wireless firms 

within this new, broad, economic 

census category. Prior to that time, the 

SBA had developed a small business 

size standard for wireless firms within 

the now-superseded census categories of 

‘‘Paging’’ and ‘‘Cellular and Other 

Wireless Telecommunications.’’ Under 

the present and prior categories, the 

SBA has deemed a wireless business to 

be small if it has 1,500 or fewer 

employees. 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 

first category of Paging, data for 2002 

show that there were 807 firms that 

operated for the entire year. Of this 

total, 804 firms had employment of 999 

or fewer employees, and three firms had 

employment of 1,000 employees or 

more. For the second category of 

Cellular and Other Wireless 

Telecommunications, data for 2002 

show that there were 1,397 firms that 

operated for the entire year. Of this 

total, 1,378 firms had employment of 

999 or fewer employees, and 19 firms 

had employment of 1,000 employees or 

more. Thus, using the prior categories 

and the available data, we estimate that 

the majority of wireless firms can be 


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considered small. According to 

Commission data, 432 carriers reported 

that they were engaged in the provision 

of cellular service, Personal 

Communications Service (PCS), or 

Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) 

Telephony services, which are placed 

together in the data. We have estimated 

that 221 of these are small, under the 

SBA small business size standard. Thus, 

under this category and size standard, 

about half of firms can be considered 

small. This information is also included 

in paragraph 23. 

29. Common Carrier Paging. The SBA 

has developed a small business size 

standard for Paging, under which a 

business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer 

employees. According to Commission 

data, 365 carriers have reported that 

they are engaged in Paging or Messaging 

Service. Of these, an estimated 360 have 

1,500 or fewer employees, and 5 have 

more than 1,500 employees. 

Consequently, the Commission 

estimates that the majority of paging 

providers are small entities that may be 

affected by our action. In addition, in 

the Paging Third Report and Order, we 

developed a small business size 

standard for ‘‘small businesses’’ and 

‘‘very small businesses’’ for purposes of 

determining their eligibility for special 

provisions such as bidding credits and 

installment payments. A ‘‘small 

business’’ is an entity that, together with 

its affiliates and controlling principals, 

has average gross revenues not 

exceeding $15 million for the preceding 

three years. Additionally, a ‘‘very small 

business’’ is an entity that, together with 

its affiliates and controlling principals, 

has average gross revenues that are not 

more than $3 million for the preceding 

three years. The SBA has approved 

these small business size standards. An 

auction of Metropolitan Economic Area 

licenses commenced on February 24, 

2000, and closed on March 2, 2000. Of 

the 985 licenses auctioned, 440 were 

sold. Fifty-seven companies claiming 

small business status won. 

30. Wireless Communications 

Services. This service can be used for 

fixed, mobile, radiolocation, and digital 

audio broadcasting satellite uses. The 

Commission established small business 

size standards for the wireless 

communications services (WCS) 

auction. A ‘‘small business’’ is an entity 

with average gross revenues of $40 

million for each of the three preceding 

years, and a ‘‘very small business’’ is an 

entity with average gross revenues of 

$15 million for each of the three 

preceding years. The SBA has approved 

these small business size standards. The 

Commission auctioned geographic area 

licenses in the WCS service. In the 

auction, held in April 1997, there were 

seven winning bidders that qualified as 

‘‘very small business’’ entities, and one 

that qualified as a ‘‘small business’’

entity. 

31. Wireless Telephony. Wireless 

telephony includes cellular, personal 

communications services (PCS), and 

specialized mobile radio (SMR) 

telephony carriers. As noted earlier, the 

SBA has developed a small business 

size standard for ‘‘Cellular and Other 

Wireless Telecommunications’’ services. 

Under that SBA small business size 

standard, a business is small if it has 

1,500 or fewer employees. According to 

Commission data, 432 carriers reported 

that they were engaged in the provision 

of wireless telephony. We have 

estimated that 221 of these are small 

under the SBA small business size 

standard. 

32. Broadband Personal 

Communications Service. The 

broadband Personal Communications 

Service (PCS) spectrum is divided into 

six frequency blocks designated A 

through F, and the Commission has held 

auctions for each block. The 

Commission defined ‘‘small entity’’ for 

Blocks C and F as an entity that has 

average gross revenues of $40 million or 

less in the three previous calendar 

years. For Block F, an additional 

classification for ‘‘very small business’’

was added and is defined as an entity 

that, together with its affiliates, has 

average gross revenues of not more than 

$15 million for the preceding three 

calendar years.’’ These standards 

defining ‘‘small entity’’ in the context of 

broadband PCS auctions have been 

approved by the SBA. No small 

businesses, within the SBA-approved 

small business size standards bid 

successfully for licenses in Blocks A 

and B. There were 90 winning bidders 

that qualified as small entities in the 

Block C auctions. A total of 93 small 

and very small business bidders won 

approximately 40 percent of the 1,479 

licenses for Blocks D, E, and F. On 

March 23, 1999, the Commission reauctioned 347 C, D, E, and F Block 

licenses. There were 48 small business 

winning bidders. On January 26, 2001, 

the Commission completed the auction 

of 422 C and F Broadband PCS licenses 

in Auction No. 35. Of the 35 winning 

bidders in this auction, 29 qualified as 

‘‘small’’ or ‘‘very small’’ businesses. 

Subsequent events, concerning Auction 

35, including judicial and agency 

determinations, resulted in a total of 163 

C and F Block licenses being available 

for grant. 

33. Narrowband Personal 

Communications Services. To date, two 

auctions of narrowband personal 

communications services (PCS) licenses 

have been conducted. For purposes of 

the two auctions that have already been 

held, ‘‘small businesses’’ were entities 

with average gross revenues for the prior 

three calendar years of $40 million or 

less. Through these auctions, the 

Commission has awarded a total of 41 

licenses, out of which 11 were obtained 

by small businesses. To ensure 

meaningful participation of small 

business entities in future auctions, the 

Commission has adopted a two-tiered 

small business size standard in the 

Narrowband PCS Second Report and 

Order. A ‘‘small business’’ is an entity 

that, together with affiliates and 

controlling interests, has average gross 

revenues for the three preceding years of 

not more than $40 million. A ‘‘very 

small business’’ is an entity that, 

together with affiliates and controlling 

interests, has average gross revenues for 

the three preceding years of not more 

than $15 million. The SBA has 

approved these small business size 

standards. In the future, the 

Commission will auction 459 licenses to 

serve Metropolitan Trading Areas 

(MTAs) and 408 response channel 

licenses. There is also one megahertz of 

narrowband PCS spectrum that has been 

held in reserve and that the Commission 

has not yet decided to release for 

licensing. The Commission cannot 

predict accurately the number of 

licenses that will be awarded to small 

entities in future actions. However, four 

of the 16 winning bidders in the two 

previous narrowband PCS auctions were 

small businesses, as that term was 

defined under the Commission’s Rules. 

The Commission assumes, for purposes 

of this analysis, that a large portion of 

the remaining narrowband PCS licenses 

will be awarded to small entities. The 

Commission also assumes that at least 

some small businesses will acquire 

narrowband PCS licenses by means of 

the Commission’s partitioning and 

disaggregation rules. 

34. 220 MHz Radio Service—Phase I 

Licensees. The 220 MHz service has 

both Phase I and Phase II licenses. Phase 

I licensing was conducted by lotteries in 

1992 and 1993. There are approximately 

1,515 such non-nationwide licensees 

and four nationwide licensees currently 

authorized to operate in the 220 MHz 

band. The Commission has not 

developed a small business size 

standard for small entities specifically 

applicable to such incumbent 220 MHz 

Phase I licensees. To estimate the 

number of such licensees that are small 

businesses, we apply the small business 

size standard under the SBA rules 

applicable to ‘‘Cellular and Other 


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Wireless Telecommunications’’

companies. Under this category, the 

SBA deems a wireless business to be 

small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees. 

The Commission estimates that nearly 

all such licensees are small businesses 

under the SBA’s small business size 

standard. 

35. 220 MHz Radio Service—Phase II 

Licensees. The 220 MHz service has 

both Phase I and Phase II licenses. The 

Phase II 220 MHz service is a new 

service, and is subject to spectrum 

auctions. In the 220 MHz Third Report 

and Order, we adopted a small business 

size standard for ‘‘small’’ and ‘‘very 

small’’ businesses for purposes of 

determining their eligibility for special 

provisions such as bidding credits and 

installment payments. This small 

business size standard indicates that a 

‘‘small business’’ is an entity that, 

together with its affiliates and 

controlling principals, has average gross 

revenues not exceeding $15 million for 

the preceding three years. A ‘‘very small 

business’’ is an entity that, together with 

its affiliates and controlling principals, 

has average gross revenues that do not 

exceed $3 million for the preceding 

three years. The SBA has approved 

these small business size standards. 

Auctions of Phase II licenses 

commenced on September 15, 1998, and 

closed on October 22, 1998. In the first 

auction, 908 licenses were auctioned in 

three different-sized geographic areas: 

Three nationwide licenses, 30 Regional 

Economic Area Group (EAG) Licenses, 

and 875 Economic Area (EA) Licenses. 

Of the 908 licenses auctioned, 693 were 

sold. Thirty-nine small businesses won 

licenses in the first 220 MHz auction. 

The second auction included 225 

licenses: 216 EA licenses and 9 EAG 

licenses. Fourteen companies claiming 

small business status won 158 licenses. 

36. 800 MHz and 900 MHz 

Specialized Mobile Radio Licenses. The 

Commission awards ‘‘small entity’’ and 

‘‘very small entity’’ bidding credits in 

auctions for Specialized Mobile Radio 

(SMR) geographic area licenses in the 

800 MHz and 900 MHz bands to firms 

that had revenues of no more than $15 

million in each of the three previous 

calendar years, or that had revenues of 

no more than $3 million in each of the 

previous calendar years, respectively. 

These bidding credits apply to SMR 

providers in the 800 MHz and 900 MHz 

bands that either hold geographic area 

licenses or have obtained extended 

implementation authorizations. The 

Commission does not know how many 

firms provide 800 MHz or 900 MHz 

geographic area SMR service pursuant 

to extended implementation 

authorizations, nor how many of these 

providers have annual revenues of no 

more than $15 million. One firm has 

over $15 million in revenues. The 

Commission assumes, for purposes here, 

that all of the remaining existing 

extended implementation 

authorizations are held by small 

entities, as that term is defined by the 

SBA. The Commission has held 

auctions for geographic area licenses in 

the 800 MHz and 900 MHz SMR bands. 

There were 60 winning bidders that 

qualified as small or very small entities 

in the 900 MHz SMR auctions. Of the 

1,020 licenses won in the 900 MHz 

auction, bidders qualifying as small or 

very small entities won 263 licenses. In 

the 800 MHz auction, 38 of the 524 

licenses won were won by small and 

very small entities. 

37. 700 MHz Guard Band Licensees. 

In the 700 MHz Guard Band Order, we 

adopted a small business size standard 

for ‘‘small businesses’’ and ‘‘very small 

businesses’’ for purposes of determining 

their eligibility for special provisions 

such as bidding credits and installment 

payments. A ‘‘small business’’ is an 

entity that, together with its affiliates 

and controlling principals, has average 

gross revenues not exceeding $15 

million for the preceding three years. 

Additionally, a ‘‘very small business’’ is 

an entity that, together with its affiliates 

and controlling principals, has average 

gross revenues that are not more than $3 

million for the preceding three years. 

An auction of 52 Major Economic Area 

(MEA) licenses commenced on 

September 6, 2000, and closed on 

September 21, 2000. Of the 104 licenses 

auctioned, 96 licenses were sold to nine 

bidders. Five of these bidders were 

small businesses that won a total of 26 

licenses. A second auction of 700 MHz 

Guard Band licenses commenced on 

February 13, 2001 and closed on 

February 21, 2001. All eight of the 

licenses auctioned were sold to three 

bidders. One of these bidders was a 

small business that won a total of two 

licenses. 

38. Rural Radiotelephone Service. The 

Commission has not adopted a size 

standard for small businesses specific to 

the Rural Radiotelephone Service. A 

significant subset of the Rural 

Radiotelephone Service is the Basic 

Exchange Telephone Radio System 

(BETRS). The Commission uses the 

SBA’s small business size standard 

applicable to ‘‘Cellular and Other 

Wireless Telecommunications,’’ i.e., an 

entity employing no more than 1,500 

persons. There are approximately 1,000 

licensees in the Rural Radiotelephone 

Service, and the Commission estimates 

that there are 1,000 or fewer small entity 

licensees in the Rural Radiotelephone 

Service that may be affected by the rules 

and policies adopted herein. 

39. Air-Ground Radiotelephone 

Service. The Commission has not 

adopted a small business size standard 

specific to the Air-Ground 

Radiotelephone Service. We will use 

SBA’s small business size standard 

applicable to ‘‘Cellular and Other 

Wireless Telecommunications,’’ i.e., an 

entity employing no more than 1,500 

persons. There are approximately 100 

licensees in the Air-Ground 

Radiotelephone Service, and we 

estimate that almost all of them qualify 

as small under the SBA small business 

size standard. 

40. Aviation and Marine Radio 

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. 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. 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. 

41. Fixed Microwave Services. Fixed 

microwave services include common 


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carrier, private operational-fixed, and 

broadcast auxiliary radio services. At 

present, there are approximately 22,015 

common carrier fixed licensees and 

61,670 private operational-fixed 

licensees and broadcast auxiliary radio 

licensees in the microwave services. 

The Commission has not created a size 

standard for a small business 

specifically with respect to fixed 

microwave services. 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. The Commission 

does not have data specifying the 

number of these licensees that have 

more than 1,500 employees, and thus is 

unable at this time to estimate with 

greater precision the number of fixed 

microwave service licensees that would 

qualify as small business concerns 

under the SBA’s small business size 

standard. Consequently, the 

Commission estimates that there are up 

to 22,015 common carrier fixed 

licensees and up to 61,670 private 

operational-fixed licensees and 

broadcast auxiliary radio licensees in 

the microwave services that may be 

small and may be affected by the rules 

and policies adopted herein. We noted, 

however, that the common carrier 

microwave fixed licensee category 

includes some large entities. 

42. Offshore Radiotelephone Service. 

This service operates on several UHF 

television broadcast channels that are 

not used for television broadcasting in 

the coastal areas of states bordering the 

Gulf of Mexico. There are presently 

approximately 55 licensees in this 

service. We are unable to estimate at 

this time the number of licensees that 

would qualify as small under the SBA’s 

small business size standard for 

‘‘Cellular and Other Wireless 

Telecommunications’’ services. Under 

that SBA small business size standard, 

a business is small if it has 1,500 or 

fewer employees. 

43. 39 GHz Service. The Commission 

created a special small business size 

standard for 39 GHz licenses—an entity 

that has average gross revenues of $40 

million or less in the three previous 

calendar years. An additional size 

standard for ‘‘very small business’’ is: 

An entity that, together with affiliates, 

has average gross revenues of not more 

than $15 million for the preceding three 

calendar years. The SBA has approved 

these small business size standards. The 

auction of the 2,173 39 GHz licenses 

began on April 12, 2000 and closed on 

May 8, 2000. The 18 bidders who 

claimed small business status won 849 

licenses. Consequently, the Commission 

estimates that 18 or fewer 39 GHz 

licensees are small entities that may be 

affected by our action. 

44. Wireless Cable Systems. Wireless 

cable systems use 2 GHz band 

frequencies of the Broadband Radio 

Service (BRS), formerly Multipoint 

Distribution Service (MDS), and the 

Educational Broadband Service (EBS), 

formerly Instructional Television Fixed 

Service (ITFS), to transmit video 

programming and provide broadband 

services to residential subscribers. 

These services were originally designed 

for the delivery of multichannel video 

programming, similar to that of 

traditional cable systems, but over the 

past several years licensees have 

focused their operations instead on 

providing two-way high-speed Internet 

access services. We estimate that the 

number of wireless cable subscribers is 

approximately 100,000, as of March 

2005. Local Multipoint Distribution 

Service (LMDS) is a fixed broadband 

point-to-multipoint microwave service 

that provides for two-way video 

telecommunications. As described 

below, the SBA small business size 

standard for the broad census category 

of Cable and Other Program 

Distribution, which consists of such 

entities generating $13.5 million or less 

in annual receipts, appears applicable to 

MDS, ITFS and LMDS. Other standards 

also apply, as described. 

45. The Commission has defined 

small MDS (now BRS) and LMDS 

entities in the context of Commission 

license auctions. In the 1996 MDS 

auction, the Commission defined a 

small business as an entity that had 

annual average gross revenues of less 

than $40 million in the previous three 

calendar years. This definition of a 

small entity in the context of MDS 

auctions has been approved by the SBA. 

In the MDS auction, 67 bidders won 493 

licenses. Of the 67 auction winners, 61 

claimed status as a small business. At 

this time, the Commission estimates that 

of the 61 small business MDS auction 

winners, 48 remain small business 

licensees. In addition to the 48 small 

businesses that hold BTA 

authorizations, there are approximately 

392 incumbent MDS licensees that have 

gross revenues that are not more than 

$40 million and are thus considered 

small entities. MDS licensees and 

wireless cable operators that did not 

receive their licenses as a result of the 

MDS auction fall under the SBA small 

business size standard for Cable and 

Other Program Distribution. Information 

available to us indicates that there are 

approximately 850 of these licensees 

and operators that do not generate 

revenue in excess of $13.5 million 

annually. Therefore, we estimate that 

there are approximately 850 small entity 

MDS (or BRS) providers, as defined by 

the SBA and the Commission’s auction 

rules. 

46. Educational institutions are 

included in this analysis as small 

entities; however, the Commission has 

not created a specific small business 

size standard for ITFS (now EBS). We 

estimate that there are currently 2,032 

ITFS (or EBS) licensees, and all but 100 

of the licenses are held by educational 

institutions. Thus, we estimate that at 

least 1,932 ITFS licensees are small 

entities. 

47. In the 1998 and 1999 LMDS 

auctions, the Commission defined a 

small business as an entity that has 

annual average gross revenues of less 

than $40 million in the previous three 

calendar years. Moreover, the 

Commission added an additional 

classification for a ‘‘very small 

business,’’ which was defined as an 

entity that had annual average gross 

revenues of less than $15 million in the 

previous three calendar years. These 

definitions of ‘‘small business’’ and 

‘‘very small business’’ in the context of 

the LMDS auctions have been approved 

by the SBA. In the first LMDS auction, 

104 bidders won 864 licenses. Of the 

104 auction winners, 93 claimed status 

as small or very small businesses. In the 

LMDS re-auction, 40 bidders won 161 

licenses. Based on this information, we 

believe that the number of small LMDS 

licenses will include the 93 winning 

bidders in the first auction and the 40 

winning bidders in the re-auction, for a 

total of 133 small entity LMDS 

providers as defined by the SBA and the 

Commission’s auction rules. 

48. 218–219 MHz Service. The first 

auction of 218–219 MHz spectrum 

resulted in 170 entities winning licenses 

for 594 Metropolitan Statistical Area 

(MSA) licenses. Of the 594 licenses, 557 

were won by entities qualifying as a 

small business. For that auction, the 

small business size standard was an 

entity that, together with its affiliates, 

has no more than a $6 million net worth 

and, after federal income taxes 

(excluding any carryover losses), has no 

more than $2 million in annual profits 

each year for the previous two years. In 

the 218–219 MHz Report and Order and 

Memorandum Opinion and Order, we 

established a small business size 

standard for a ‘‘small business’’ as an 

entity that, together with its affiliates 

and persons or entities that hold 

interests in such an entity and their 

affiliates, has average annual gross 

revenues not to exceed $15 million for 

the preceding three years. A ‘‘very small 

business’’ is defined as an entity that, 


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together with its affiliates and persons 

or entities that hold interests in such an 

entity and its affiliates, has average 

annual gross revenues not to exceed $3 

million for the preceding three years. 

These size standards will be used in 

future auctions of 218–219 MHz 

spectrum. 

49. 24 GHz—Incumbent Licensees. 

This analysis may affect incumbent 

licensees who were relocated to the 24 

GHz band from the 18 GHz band, and 

applicants who wish to provide services 

in the 24 GHz band. The applicable SBA 

small business size standard is that of 

‘‘Cellular and Other Wireless 

Telecommunications’’ companies. This 

category provides that such a company 

is small if it employs no more than 

1,500 persons. We believe that there are 

only two licensees in the 24 GHz band 

that were relocated from the 18 GHz 

band, Teligent and TRW, Inc. It is our 

understanding that Teligent and its 

related companies have less than 1,500 

employees, though this may change in 

the future. TRW is not a small entity. 

Thus, only one incumbent licensee in 

the 24 GHz band is a small business 

entity. 

50. 24 GHz—Future Licensees. With 

respect to new applicants in the 24 GHz 

band, the small business size standard 

for ‘‘small business’’ is an entity that, 

together with controlling interests and 

affiliates, has average annual gross 

revenues for the three preceding years 

not in excess of $15 million. ‘‘Very 

small business’’ in the 24 GHz band is 

an entity that, together with controlling 

interests and affiliates, has average gross 

revenues not exceeding $3 million for 

the preceding three years. The SBA has 

approved these small business size 

standards. These size standards will 

apply to the future auction, if held. 

3. Satellite Service Providers 

51. Satellite Telecommunications. 

Since 2007, the SBA has recognized 

satellite firms within this revised 

category, with a small business size 

standard of $13.5 million. The most 

current Census Bureau data, however, 

are from the (last) economic census of 

2002, and we will use those figures to 

gauge the prevalence of small 

businesses in this category. Those size 

standards are for the two census 

categories of ‘‘Satellite 

Telecommunications’’ and ‘‘Other 

Telecommunications.’’ Under both prior 

categories, such a business was 

considered small if it had, as now, $13.5 

million or less in average annual 

receipts. 

52. 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.’’ For this category, 

Census Bureau data for 2002 show that 

there were a total of 371 firms that 

operated for the entire year. Of this 

total, 307 firms had annual receipts of 

under $10 million, and 26 firms had 

receipts of $10 million to $24,999,999. 

Consequently, we estimate that the 

majority of Satellite 

Telecommunications firms are small 

entities that might be affected by our 

action. 

53. 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.’’ For this category, Census 

Bureau data for 2002 show that there 

were a total of 332 firms that operated 

for the entire year. Of this total, 303 

firms had annual receipts of under $10 

million and 15 firms had annual 

receipts of $10 million to $24,999,999. 

Consequently, we estimate that the 

majority of Other Telecommunications 

firms are small entities that might be 

affected by our action. 

4. Cable and OVS Operators 

54. In 2007, the SBA recognized new 

census categories for small cable 

entities. However, there is no census 

data yet in existence that may be used 

to calculate the number of small entities 

that fit these definitions. Therefore, we 

will use prior definitions of these types 

of entities in order to estimate numbers 

of potentially affected small business 

entities. In addition to the estimates 

provided above, we consider certain 

additional entities that may be affected 

by the data collection from broadband 

service providers. Because section 706 

requires us to monitor the deployment 

of broadband regardless of technology or 

transmission media employed, we 

anticipate that some broadband service 

providers will not provide telephone 

service. Accordingly, we describe below 

other types of firms that may provide 

broadband services, including cable 

companies, MDS providers, and 

utilities, among others. 

55. Cable and Other Program 

Distribution. The Census Bureau defines 

this category as follows: ‘‘This industry 

comprises establishments primarily 

engaged as third-party 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.’’ 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. According to 

Census Bureau data for 2002, there were 

a total of 1,191 firms in this category 

that operated for the entire year. 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. Thus, under this size 

standard, the majority of firms can be 

considered small. 

56. 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. 

Industry data indicate that, of 1,076 

cable operators nationwide, all but 

eleven are small under this size 

standard. In addition, under the 

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

a cable system serving 15,000 or fewer 

subscribers. Industry data indicate that, 

of 7,208 systems nationwide, 6,139 

systems have under 10,000 subscribers, 

and an additional 379 systems have 

10,000–19,999 subscribers. Thus, under 

this second size standard, most cable 

systems are small. 

57. 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.’’ 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. 

Industry data indicate that, of 1,076 


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cable operators nationwide, all but ten 

are small under this size standard. 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, 

and therefore we are unable to estimate 

more accurately the number of cable 

system operators that would qualify as 

small under this size standard. 

58. Open Video Services. Open Video 

Service (OVS) systems provide 

subscription services. As noted above, 

the SBA has created a small business 

size standard for Cable and Other 

Program Distribution. This standard 

provides that a small entity is one with 

$13.5 million or less in annual receipts. 

The Commission has certified 

approximately 45 OVS operators to 

serve 75 areas, and some of these are 

currently providing service. Affiliates of 

Residential Communications Network, 

Inc. (RCN) received approval to operate 

OVS systems in New York City, Boston, 

Washington, DC 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 44 

OVS operators (those remaining) might 

qualify as small businesses that may be 

affected by the rules and policies 

adopted herein. 

5. Electric Power Generation, 

Transmission and Distribution 

59. Electric Power Generation, 

Transmission, and Distribution. The 

Census Bureau defines this category as 

follows: ‘‘This industry group comprises 

establishments primarily engaged in 

generating, transmitting, and/or 

distributing electric power. 

Establishments in this industry group 

may perform one or more of the 

following activities: (1) Operate 

generation facilities that produce 

electric energy; (2) operate transmission 

systems that convey the electricity from 

the generation facility to the distribution 

system; and (3) operate distribution 

systems that convey electric power 

received from the generation facility or 

the transmission system to the final 

consumer.’’ The SBA has developed a 

small business size standard for firms in 

this category: ‘‘A firm is small if, 

including its affiliates, it is primarily 

engaged in the generation, transmission, 

and/or distribution of electric energy for 

sale and its total electric output for the 

preceding fiscal year did not exceed 4 

million megawatt hours.’’ According to 

Census Bureau data for 2002, there were 

1,644 firms in this category that 

operated for the entire year. Census data 

do not track electric output and we have 

not determined how many of these firms 

fit the SBA size standard for small, with 

no more than 4 million megawatt hours 

of electric output. Consequently, we 

estimate that 1,644 or fewer firms may 

be considered small under the SBA 

small business size standard. 

6. Internet Service Providers, Web 

Portals, and Other Information Services 

60. In 2007, the SBA recognized two 

new small business, economic census 

categories. They are (1) Internet 

Publishing and Broadcasting and Web 

Search Portals, and (2) All Other 

Information Services. However, there is 

no census data yet in existence that may 

be used to calculate the number of small 

entities that fit these definitions. 

Therefore, we will use prior definitions 

of these types of entities in order to 

estimate numbers of potentially affected 

small business entities. 

61. Internet Service Providers. The 

SBA has developed a small business 

size standard for Internet Service 

Providers (ISPs). ISPs ‘‘provide clients 

access to the Internet and generally 

provide related services such as Web 

hosting, Web page designing, and 

hardware or software consulting related 

to Internet connectivity.’’ Under the 

SBA size standard, such a business is 

small if it has average annual receipts of 

$23 million or less. According to Census 

Bureau data for 2002, there were 2,529 

firms in this category that operated for 

the entire year. Of these, 2,437 firms had 

annual receipts of under $10 million, 

and an additional 47 firms had receipts 

of between $10 million and 

$24,999,999. Consequently, we estimate 

that the majority of these firms are small 

entities that may be affected by our 

action. 

62. Web Search Portals. Our action 

pertains to interconnected VoIP 

services, which could be provided by 

entities that provide other services such 

as e-mail, online gaming, Web browsing, 

video conferencing, instant messaging, 

and other, similar IP-enabled services. 

The Commission has not adopted a size 

standard for entities that create or 

provide these types of services or 

applications. However, the Census 

Bureau has identified firms that 

‘‘operate Web sites that use a search 

engine to generate and maintain 

extensive databases of Internet 

addresses and content in an easily 

searchable format. Web search portals 

often provide additional Internet 

services, such as e-mail, connections to 

other Web sites, auctions, news, and 

other limited content, and serve as a 

home base for Internet users.’’ The SBA 

has developed a small business size 

standard for this category; that size 

standard is $6.5 million or less in 

average annual receipts. According to 

Census Bureau data for 2002, there were 

342 firms in this category that operated 

for the entire year. Of these, 303 had 

annual receipts of under $5 million, and 

an additional 15 firms had receipts of 

between $5 million and $9,999,999. 

Consequently, we estimate that the 

majority of these firms are small entities 

that may be affected by our action. 

63. Data Processing, Hosting, and 

Related Services. Entities in this 

category ‘‘primarily * * * provid[e] 

infrastructure for hosting or data 

processing services.’’ The SBA has 

developed a small business size 

standard for this category; that size 

standard is $23 million or less in 

average annual receipts. According to 

Census Bureau data for 2002, there were 

6,877 firms in this category that 

operated for the entire year. Of these, 

6,418 had annual receipts of under $10 

million, and an additional 251 firms had 

receipts of between $10 million and 

$24,999,999. Consequently, we estimate 

that the majority of these firms are small 

entities that may be affected by our 

action. 

64. All Other Information Services. 

‘‘This industry comprises 

establishments primarily engaged in 

providing other information services 

(except new syndicates and libraries 

and archives).’’ Our action pertains to 

interconnected VoIP services, which 

could be provided by entities that 

provide other services such as e-mail, 

online gaming, Web browsing, video 

conferencing, instant messaging, and 

other, similar IP-enabled services. The 

SBA has developed a small business 

size standard for this category; that size 

standard is $6.5 million or less in 

average annual receipts. According to 

Census Bureau data for 2002, there were 

155 firms in this category that operated 

for the entire year. Of these, 138 had 

annual receipts of under $5 million, and 

an additional four firms had receipts of 

between $5 million and $9,999,999. 

Consequently, we estimate that the 

majority of these firms are small entities 

that may be affected by our action. 

65. Internet Publishing and 

Broadcasting. ‘‘This industry comprises 

establishments engaged in publishing 

and/or broadcasting content on the 

Internet exclusively. These 

establishments do not provide 

traditional (non-Internet) versions of the 

content that they publish or broadcast.’’

The SBA has developed a small 


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business size standard for this census 

category; that size standard is 500 or 

fewer employees. According to Census 

Bureau data for 2002, there were 1,362 

firms in this category that operated for 

the entire year. Of these, 1,351 had 

employment of 499 or fewer employees, 

and six firms had employment of 

between 500 and 999. Consequently, we 

estimate that the majority of these firms 

small entities that may be affected by 

our action. 

D. Description of Projected Reporting, 

Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 

Requirements for Small Entities 

66. Any potential proposals from this 

NPRM will not impose reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements that would 

be subject to the Paperwork Reduction 

Act. Therefore, we have not attempted 

here to provide an estimate in terms of 

burden hours. Rather, we are asking 

commenters to provide the Commission 

with reliable information and comments 

on any costs and burdens on small 

entities. 

E. Steps Taken To Minimize the 

Significant Economic Impact on Small 

Entities, and Significant Alternatives 

Considered 

67. The RFA requires an agency to 

describe any significant alternatives that 

it has considered in reaching its 

proposed approach, which may include 

(among others) 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. 

68. As noted above, the NPRM invites 

comment on regulations that the 

Commission must implement 90 days 

after the 911 NET Act’s enactment, 

including regulations that: 

(A) Ensure that IP-enabled voice 

service providers have the ability to 

exercise their rights under subsection 

(b); 

(B) Take into account any technical, 

network security, or information privacy 

requirements that are specific to IPenabled voice services; and 

(C) Provide, with respect to any 

capabilities that are not required to be 

made available to a commercial mobile 

service provider but that the 

Commission determines * * * are 

necessary for an IP-enabled voice 

service provider to comply with its 

obligations [to provide 911 service and 

enhanced 911 service], that such 

capabilities shall be available at the 

same rates, terms, and conditions as 

would apply if such capabilities were 

made available to a commercial mobile 

service provider. 

69. Specifically, we invite comment 

regarding how the Commission could 

ease any potential burden on small 

entities. The Commission seeks 

comment on significant alternatives and 

recommends that small entities file 

comments in response to the NPRM. We 

anticipate that the record will be 

developed concerning alternative ways 

in which the Commission could lessen 

the burden on classes of carrier or 

entities. 

F. Federal Rules That May Duplicate, 

Overlap, or Conflict With the Proposed 

Rules 

70. None. 

Initial Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 Analysis 

71. This document does not contain 

proposed information collection(s) 

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995 (PRA), Public Law 104–13. In 

addition, therefore, it does not contain 

any new or modified ‘‘information 

collection burden for small business 

concerns with fewer than 25 

employees,’’ pursuant to the Small 

Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, 

Public Law 107–198. See 44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(4). 

Ordering Clauses 

72. Accordingly, it is ordered that 

pursuant to the authority contained in 

sections 1, 4(i)–(j), 201, 202, 222, 251, 

252, and 303(r) of the Communications 

Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 

154(i)–(j), 201, 202, 222, 251, 252, 

303(r), and section 6 of the Wireless 911 

Act, as amended, this Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking is adopted. 

73. It is further ordered that the 

Commission’s Consumer and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference 

Information Center, shall send a copy of 

this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 

including the Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis, to the Chief 

Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 

Business Administration. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene H. Dortch, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E8–20135 Filed 8–27–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 665 

[Docket No. 0612242967–7394–01] 

RIN 0648–AS71 

Fisheries in the Western Pacific; 

Pelagic Fisheries; Squid Jig Fisheries 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would 

include three species of pelagic squid 

under Federal management, and 

establish permitting and reporting 

requirements for squid jig fishing 

vessels over 50 ft (15.4 m) in length. 

These vessels would also be required to 

carry Federal observers if requested by 

NMFS. This proposed rule is intended 

to improve monitoring and management 

of U.S. domestic pelagic squid fisheries 

in the western Pacific. 

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule 

must be received by October 14, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Comments on the 

amendment, identified by 0648–AS71, 

may be sent to either of the following 

addresses: 

• Electronic Submission: Federal eRulemaking Portal www.regulations.gov; 

or 

• Mail: William L. Robinson, 

Regional Administrator, NMFS, Pacific 

Islands Region (PIR), 1601 Kapiolani 

Blvd, Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814–

4700. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information 

(e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted 

voluntarily by the commenter may be 

publicly accessible. Do not submit 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive or protected 

information. NMFS will accept 

anonymous comments (if you wish to 

remain anonymous, enter ‘‘NA’’ in the 

required name and organization fields). 

Attachments to electronic comments 

will be accepted in Microsoft Word or 

Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file 

formats only. 

Copies of the Fishery Management 

Plan for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western 

Pacific Region (Pelagics FMP), and 

proposed Amendment 15 including an 

environmental assessment (EA), are 


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