Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 187 / Thursday, September 25, 2008 / Proposed Rules 55473 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 

97.022, ‘‘Flood Insurance.’’) 

Dated: September 16, 2008. 

Michael K. Buckley, 

Acting Assistant Administrator, Mitigation 

Directorate, Department of Homeland 

Security, Federal Emergency Management 

Agency. 

[FR Doc. E8–22523 Filed 9–24–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–12–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 20 

[PS Docket No. 07–114; DA 08–2129] 

Wireless E911 Location Accuracy 

Requirements 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal 

Communications Commission seeks 

comment on proposals in certain ex 

parte filings submitted by the 

Association of Public-Safety 

Communications Officials, International 

(APCO), the National Emergency 

Number Association (NENA), AT&T, 

Sprint Nextel Corporation, and Verizon 

Wireless regarding location accuracy 

requirements for wireless licensees 

subject to the Commission’s rules that 

specify standards for wireless Enhanced 

911 (E911) Phase II location accuracy 

and reliability. 

DATES: Comments are due October 6, 

2008 by 12 p.m. Reply Comments are 

due October 14, 2008 by 12 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: All filings must be 

addressed to the Commission’s 

Secretary, Marlene H. Dortch, Office of 

the Secretary, Federal Communications 

Commission, 445 12th Street, SW., 

Washington, DC 20554. Parties shall 

also serve one copy with the 

Commission’s copy contractor, Best 

Copy and Printing, Inc. (BCPI), Portals 

II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY–B402, 

Washington, DC 20554, (202) 488–5300, 

or via e-mail to fcc@bcpiweb.com. In 

addition to filing comments with the 

Secretary, a copy of any comments on 

the Paperwork Reduction Act 

information collection requirements 

contained herein should be submitted to 

the Federal Communications 

Commission via e-mail to PRA@fcc.gov 

and to Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of 

Management and Budget, via e-mail to 

Nicholas_A._Fraser@omb.eop.gov or via 

fax at 202–395–5167. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Thomas J. Beers, Chief, Policy Division, 

Public Safety and Homeland Security 

Bureau, at (202) 418–0952. For 

additional information concerning the 

Paperwork Reduction Act information 

collection requirements contained in 

this document, send an e-mail to 

PRA@fcc.gov or contact Jerry Cowden at 

(202) 418–0447. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

November 20, 2007, the Commission 

released a Report and Order (Location 

Accuracy Order) requiring wireless 

licensees subject to section 20.18(h) of 

the Commission’s rules, which specifies 

the standards for wireless Enhanced 911 

(E911) Phase II location accuracy and 

reliability, to satisfy these standards at 

a geographical level defined by the 

coverage area of a Public Safety 

Answering Point (PSAP). On March 25, 

2008, the United States Court of 

Appeals for the District of Columbia 

Circuit (Court) stayed the Location 

Accuracy Order. 

On July 14, 2008, APCO and the 

National Emergency Number 

Association (NENA) filed an ex parte 

letter addressing handset-based and 

network-based location accuracy 

criteria, stating that they ‘‘are now 

willing to accept compliance 

measurements at the county level’’ 

rather than at the PSAP level, and that 

‘‘[p]ublic safety and wireless carriers are 

in current discussions on a number of 

other issues associated with E9–1–1.’’ 

On July 31, 2008, the Commission 

filed with the Court a Motion for 

Voluntary Remand and Vacatur, which 

requested remand based on the 

proposals contained in the July 14 ex 

parte letter and ‘‘[i]n light of the public 

safety community’s support for revised 

rules.’’ Following this filing with the 

Court, NENA, APCO, Verizon Wireless, 

Sprint Nextel Corporation, and AT&T 

submitted written ex parte letters with 

the Commission with proposed new 

wireless E911 rules. Taken together, 

these proposals reflect agreement among 

those parties for new E911 accuracy 

requirements for both handset-based 

and network-based technologies, in 

order to achieve E911 accuracy 

compliance at the county-level. The 

parties also offer plans to convene 

industry groups to address related E911 

issues, and AT&T included a proposal 

reflecting agreement on carrier 

provision of confidence and uncertainty 

data to PSAPs. Copies of all relevant ex 

parte submissions are included in the 

Attachment to this document. 

We therefore seek comment on the 

proposed changed accuracy 

requirements, including the 

benchmarks, limitations, and exclusions 

noted therein, for handset-based and 

network-based location technologies. 

We also invite views on the pledges to 

convene industry groups to explore 

related issues, and whether we should 

require the provision of confidence and 

uncertainty data. In sum, by this Public 

Notice, the Public Safety and Homeland 

Security Bureau seeks comment on all 

of these proposals as well as any 

alternative modifications to location 

accuracy requirements. The Bureau 

urges all interested parties to review the 

entirety of the above-referenced ex parte 

letters. 

We also seek comment on the 

attached Initial Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis in connection with the 

proposals described. 

This action is taken under delegated 

authority pursuant to Sections 0.191 

and 0.392 of the Commission’s rules, 47 

CFR 0.191, 0.392. 

This abbreviated comment cycle is 

appropriate given the compelling public 

interest in achieving accurate and 

reliable E911 location information. 

Comments may be filed using the 

Commission’s Electronic Comment 

Filing System (ECFS) or by filing paper 

copies. Comments filed through the 

ECFS can be sent as an electronic file 

via the Internet to http://www.fcc.gov/ 

cgb/ecfs/. Generally, only one copy of 

an electronic submission must be filed. 

If multiple docket or rulemaking 

numbers appear in the caption of the 

proceeding, commenters must transmit 

one electronic copy of the comments to 

each docket or rulemaking number 

referenced in the caption. In completing 

the transmittal screen, commenters 

should include their full name, U.S. 

Postal Service mailing address, and the 

applicable docket or rulemaking 

numbers. All filings concerning this 

Public Notice should refer to PS Docket 

No. 07–114. Parties may also submit an 

electronic comment by Internet e-mail. 

To get filing instructions for e-mail 

comments, commenters should send an 

e-mail to ecfs@fcc.gov, and should 

include the following words in the body 

of the message, ‘‘get form.’’ A sample 

form and directions will be sent in 

reply. Parties who choose to file by 

paper must file an original and four 

copies of each filing. If more than one 

docket or rulemaking number appears in 

the caption of this proceeding, 

commenters must submit two additional 

copies for each additional docket or 

rulemaking number. 

Paper 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). Parties are strongly encouraged to 


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55474 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 187 / Thursday, September 25, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

file comments electronically using the 

Commission’s ECFS. 

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 mail, 

Express Mail, and Priority Mail 

should be addressed to 445 12th 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554. 

All filings must be addressed to the 

Commission’s Secretary, Marlene H. 

Dortch, Office of the Secretary, Federal 

Communications Commission, 445 12th 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554. 

Parties shall also serve one copy with 

the Commission’s copy contractor, Best 

Copy and Printing, Inc. (BCPI), Portals 

II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY–B402, 

Washington, DC 20554, (202) 488–5300, 

or via e-mail to fcc@bcpiweb.com. 

Documents in PS Docket No. 07–114 

will be available for public inspection 

and copying during business hours at 

the FCC Reference Information Center, 

Portals II, 445 12th St., SW., Room CY– 

A257, Washington, DC 20554. The 

documents may also be purchased from 

BCPI, telephone (202) 488–5300, 

facsimile (202) 488–5563, TTY (202) 

488–5562, e-mail fcc@bcpiweb.com. 

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). 

This matter shall be treated as a 

‘‘permit-but-disclose’’ proceeding in 

accordance with the Commission’s ex 

parte rules. Persons making oral ex 

parte presentations are reminded that 

memoranda summarizing the 

presentations must contain summaries 

of the substance of the presentations 

and not merely a listing of the subjects 

discussed. More than a one- or twosentence description of the views and 

arguments presented generally is 

required. Other requirements pertaining 

to oral and written presentations are set 

forth in section 1.1206(b) of the 

Commission’s rules. 

This document contains proposed 

new information collection 

requirements. The Commission, as part 

of its continuing effort to reduce 

paperwork burdens, invites the general 

public and the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) to comment on the 

information collection requirements 

contained in this document, as required 

by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, Public Law 104–13. In addition, 

pursuant to the Small Business 

Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public 

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

we seek specific comment on how we 

might ‘‘further reduce the information 

collection burden for small business 

concerns with fewer than 25 

employees.’’ 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

1. As required by the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended 

(RFA), the Commission has prepared 

this present Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) of the 

possible significant economic impact of 

the proposal described in the attached 

Public Notice on small entities. 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 in the 

Public Notice. The Commission will 

send a copy of the Public Notice, 

including this IRFA, to the Chief 

Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 

Business Administration (SBA). In 

addition, the Notice and IRFA (or 

summaries thereof) will be published in 

the Federal Register. 

A. Need for, and Objectives of, the 

Proposed Rules 

2. The Public Notice seeks comments 

broadly on a proposal recently 

submitted by APCO, NENA, AT&T, 

Sprint Nextel Corporation, and Verizon 

Wireless, and on any other alternative 

approaches, to best ensure that public 

safety answering points (PSAPs) receive 

location information that is as accurate 

as possible for all wireless E911 calls. 

APCO, NENA, AT&T, Sprint Nextel 

Corporation, and Verizon Wireless 

propose requiring measurement of 

location accuracy compliance at the 

county level rather than PSAP level; 

certain modifications to the Phase II 

location accuracy requirements set forth 

in 47 CFR 20.18(h); provision for testing 

to establish baseline confidence and 

uncertainty levels in a county; and 

stakeholder-based consultation to 

explore such E911-related issues as 

possible approaches for assessing 

wireless 911 location accuracy for calls 

originating indoors; updated outdoor 

and indoor accuracy measurement 

methodologies, testing of emerging 

technology claims; E911 responsibilities 

in an open-access environment, and the 

development of hybrid network aGPS 

technologies. 

B. Legal Basis 

3. The legal basis for any action that 

may be taken pursuant to this Public 

Notice is contained in Sections 4(i) and 

332 of the Communications Act of 1934, 

as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 332. 

C. Description and Estimate of the 

Number of Small Entities to Which the 

Proposed Rules Would Apply 

4. 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. 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). 

5. Nationwide, there are a total of 

approximately 22.4 million small 

businesses, according to SBA data. A 

‘‘small organization’’ is generally ‘‘any 

not-for-profit enterprise which is 

independently owned and operated and 

is not dominant in its field.’’ 

Nationwide, as of 2002, there were 

approximately 1.6 million small 

organizations. 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.’’ 

Census Bureau data for 2002 indicate 

that there were 87,525 local 

governmental jurisdictions in the 

United States. We estimate that, of this 

total, 84,377 entities were ‘‘small 

governmental jurisdictions.’’ Thus, we 

estimate that most governmental 

jurisdictions are small. 

1. Telecommunications Service Entities 

a. Wireless Telecommunications Service 

Providers 

6. Pursuant to 47 CFR 20.18(a), the 

Commission’s 911 Service requirements 

are only applicable to Commercial 

Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) 

‘‘[providers], excluding mobile satellite 

service operators, to the extent that they: 

(1) Offer real-time, two way switched 


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voice service that is interconnected with 

the public switched network; and (2) 

Utilize an in-network switching facility 

that enables the provider to reuse 

frequencies and accomplish seamless 

hand-offs of subscriber calls. These 

requirements are applicable to entities 

that offer voice service to consumers by 

purchasing airtime or capacity at 

wholesale rates from CMRS licensees.’’ 

7. 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. 

8. Cellular Licensees. The SBA has 

developed a small business size 

standard for wireless firms within the 

broad economic census category 

‘‘Cellular and Other Wireless 

Telecommunications.’’ Under this SBA 

category, a wireless business is small if 

it has 1,500 or fewer employees. For the 

census category of Cellular and Other 

Wireless Telecommunications, Census 

Bureau data for 2002 show that there 

were 1,397 firms in this category 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, under this category and size 

standard, the great majority of firms can 

be considered small. Also, according to 

Commission data, 437 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 260 of these are small, under the 

SBA small business size standard. 

9. Common Carrier Paging. The SBA 

has developed a small business size 

standard for wireless firms within the 

broad economic census category, 

‘‘Cellular and Other Wireless 

Telecommunications.’’ Under this SBA 

category, a wireless business is small if 

it has 1,500 or fewer employees. For the 

census category of Paging, Census 

Bureau data for 2002 show that there 

were 807 firms in this category 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. Thus, under this category and 

associated small business size standard, 

the majority of firms can be considered 

small. 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. Also, 

according to Commission data, 375 

carriers reported that they were engaged 

in the provision of paging and 

messaging services. Of those, we 

estimate that 370 are small, under the 

SBA-approved small business size 

standard. 

10. 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, 445 carriers reported 

that they were engaged in the provision 

of wireless telephony. We have 

estimated that 245 of these are small 

under the SBA small business size 

standard. 

11. 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. 

12. 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 auctions. However, 

four of the 16 winning bidders in the 

two previous narrowband PCS auctions 

were small businesses, as that term was 

defined. The Commission assumes, for 

purposes of this analysis that a large 

portion of the remaining narrowband 


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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. 

13. 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. 

14. 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. 

15. 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. 

b. International Service Providers 

16. The Commission has not 

developed a small business size 

standard 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. 

17. 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. 

18. 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. 

c. Equipment Manufacturers 

19. Wireless Communications 

Equipment Manufacturing. The Census 

Bureau defines this category as follows: 

‘‘This industry comprises 

establishments primarily engaged in 

manufacturing radio and television 

broadcast and wireless communications 

equipment. Examples of products made 

by these establishments are: 

transmitting and receiving antennas, 

cable television equipment, GPS 

equipment, pagers, cellular phones, 

mobile communications equipment, and 

radio and television studio and 

broadcasting equipment.’’ The SBA has 

developed a small business size 

standard for Radio and Television 

Broadcasting and Wireless 

Communications Equipment 

Manufacturing, which is: all such firms 

having 750 or fewer employees. 

According to Census Bureau data for 

2002, there were a total of 1,041 

establishments in this category that 

operated for the entire year. Of this 

total, 1,010 had employment of under 

500, and an additional 13 had 

employment of 500 to 999. Thus, under 

this size standard, the majority of firms 

can be considered small. 

20. Semiconductor and Related 

Device Manufacturing. These 

establishments manufacture ‘‘computer 

storage devices that allow the storage 

and retrieval of data from a phase 

change, magnetic, optical, or magnetic/ 

optical media.’’ The SBA has developed 

a small business size standard for this 

category of manufacturing; that size 

standard is 500 or fewer employees. 

According to Census Bureau data for 

1997, there were 1,082 establishments 

in this category that operated for the 

entire year. Of these, 987 had 

employment of under 500, and 52 

establishments had employment of 500 

to 999. 

21. Computer Storage Device 

Manufacturing. These establishments 

manufacture ‘‘computer storage devices 

that allow the storage and retrieval of 

data from a phase change, magnetic, 

optical, or magnetic/optical media.’’ The 

SBA has developed a small business 

size standard for this category of 

manufacturing; that size standard is 

1,000 or fewer employees. According to 

Census Bureau data for 1997, there were 

209 establishments in this category that 

operated for the entire year. Of these, 

197 had employment of under 500, and 

eight establishments had employment of 

500 to 999. 

D. Description of Projected Reporting, 

Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 

Requirements for Small Entities 

22. The Public Notice seeks comment 

broadly on APCO, NENA, AT&T, Sprint 

Nextel Corporation, and Verizon 

Wireless’ proposals, and on any other 

alternative approaches, to best ensure 

that public safety answering points 

(PSAPs) receive location information 

that is as accurate as possible for all 

wireless E911 calls. APCO, NENA, 

AT&T, Sprint Nextel Corporation, and 

Verizon Wireless propose requiring 

measurement of location accuracy 

compliance at the county level rather 

than PSAP level; certain modifications 

to the compliance levels set forth in 

rules section 20.18(h). 

E. Steps Taken To Minimize Significant 

Economic Impact on Small Entities, and 

Significant Alternatives Considered 

23. The RFA requires an agency to 

describe any significant, specifically 


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small business alternatives that it has 

considered in reaching its proposed 

approach, which may include the 

following four alternatives (among 

others): ‘‘(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) and exemption from 

coverage of the rule, or any part thereof, 

for small entities.’’ 

24. The Public Notice seeks comment 

on the relative merits of APCO, NENA, 

AT&T, Sprint Nextel Corporation, and 

Verizon Wireless’ proposals. To assist in 

the analysis, commenters are requested 

to provide information regarding how 

small entities would be affected if the 

Commission were to adopt APCO, 

NENA, AT&T, Sprint Nextel 

Corporation, and Verizon Wireless’ 

proposals, or any alternative proposals 

offered by other commenters. 

Commenters should also provide 

information on alternative approaches 

to alleviate any potential burdens on 

small entities. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Thomas J. Beers, 

Division Chief, Policy Public Safety and 

Homeland Security Bureau. 

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55478 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 187 / Thursday, September 25, 2008 / Proposed Rules 


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55494 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 187 / Thursday, September 25, 2008 / Proposed Rules 


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[FR Doc. E8–22645 Filed 9–24–08; 8:45 am] 

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