8668 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 31 / Thursday, February 14, 2008 / Notices 

Commission also provides a recorded 

announcement a full week in advance on 

future Commission sessions.) 

Please telephone (202) 663–7100 

(voice) and (202) 663–4074 (TTY) at any 

time for information on these meetings. 

The EEOC provides sign language 

interpretation at Commission meetings 

for the hearing impaired. Requests for 

other reasonable accommodations may 

be made by using the voice TTY 

numbers listed above. 

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: 

Stephen Llewellyn, Executive Officer on 

(202) 663–4070. 

Dated: February 12, 2008. 

Stephen Llewellyn, 

Executive Officer, Executive Secretariat. 

[FR Doc. 08–703 Filed 2–12–08; 12:19 pm] 

BILLING CODE 6570–01–M 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

Public Information Collections 

Approved by Office of Management 

and Budget 

January 24, 2008. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Communications 

Commission (FCC) has received Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) 

approval for the following public 

information collections pursuant to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13. An agency may not 

conduct or sponsor and a person is not 

required to respond to a collection of 

information unless it displays a 

currently valid control number. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Thomas Butler, Federal 

Communications Commission, (202) 

418–1492 or via the Internet at 

Thomas.butler@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

OMB Control No.: 3060–0804. 

OMB Approval Date: 1/17/2008. 

Expiration Date: 7/31/2008. 

Title: Universal Service—Rural Health 

Care Program/Rural Health Care Pilot 

Program. 

Form Number(s): FCC Forms 465, 466, 

466–A, and 467. 

Estimated Annual Burden: 6,494 

respondents; 59,464 responses; 68,420 

total annual hours; 0.10–20 hours per 

response. 

Needs and Uses: In the 

Telecommunications Act of 1996 (1996 

Act), Congress specifically intended that 

rural health care providers be provided 

with ‘‘an affordable rate for the services 

necessary for the provision of 

telemedicine and instruction relating to 

such services.’’ In 1997, the Commission 

implemented this statutory directive by 

adopting the current Rural Health Care 

support mechanism, which provides 

universal service support to ensure that 

rural health care providers pay no more 

than their urban counterparts for their 

telecommunications needs and Internet 

access in the provision of health care 

services. Despite the Commission’s 

efforts to increase the utility of the Rural 

Health Care support mechanism, the 

program has yet to fully achieve the 

benefits intended by the statute and the 

Commission. In particular, health care 

providers continue to lack access to the 

broadband facilities needed to support 

the types of advanced telehealth 

applications, like telemedicine, that are 

vital to bringing medical expertise and 

the advantages of modern health 

technology to rural areas of the Nation. 

In response, the Commission issued the 

2007 Rural Health Care Pilot Program 

Selection Order (WC Docket No. 02–60; 

FCC 07–198) which selected 69 

participants for the universal service 

Rural Health Care Pilot Program (which 

was originally established by the 

Commission in September 2006). These 

69 participants represent 42 states and 

3 U.S. territories and will be eligible for 

approximately $417 million in universal 

service support over three years (or $139 

million per funding year) to: (1) Support 

up to 85 percent of the costs associated 

with the construction of state or regional 

broadband health care networks and 

with the advanced telecommunications 

and information services provided over 

those networks; and (2) support up to 85 

percent of the costs of connecting to 

Internet2 or National LambdaRail, 

which are both dedicated nationwide 

backbones, or to the public Internet. To 

minimize the burden on Pilot Program 

participants and to streamline the 

process, the Commission generally uses 

the same forms as the existing Rural 

Health Care support mechanism. For 

example, Selected Participants, in order 

to receive support, must submit an FCC 

Form 465 (seeking bids), FCC 466–A 

(selection of service provider), and FCC 

Form 467 (notification of service 

initiation). Due to the unique structure 

of the Pilot Program, however, in the 

2007 Rural Health Care Pilot Program 

Selection Order, the Commission 

provides guidance regarding how these 

forms should be completed and 

additional information is required from 

Selected Participants, including, 

proposed network costs worksheets, 

certifications, letters of agency from 

each participating health care provider, 

invoices showing actual incurred costs, 

and, if applicable, network design 

studies. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene H. Dortch, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E8–2365 Filed 2–13–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

Notice of Public Information 

Collection(s) Being Reviewed by the 

Federal Communications Commission 

for Extension Under Delegated 

Authority, Comments Requested 

February 8, 2008. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Communications 

Commission, as part of its continuing 

effort to reduce paperwork burdens, 

invites the general public and other 

Federal agencies to take this 

opportunity to comment on the 

following information collection, as 

required by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995 (PRA), Public Law 104–13. 

An agency may not conduct or sponsor 

a collection of information unless it 

displays a currently valid control 

number. Subject to the PRA, no person 

shall be subject to any penalty for failing 

to comply with a collection of 

information that does not display a 

valid control number. Comments are 

requested concerning (a) Whether the 

proposed collection of information is 

necessary for the proper performance of 

the functions of the Commission, 

including whether the information shall 

have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of 

the Commission’s burden estimate; (c) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information collected; and 

(d) ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on the 

respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

DATES: Written PRA comments should 

be submitted on or before April 14, 

2008. If you anticipate that you will be 

submitting comments, but find it 

difficult to do so within the period of 

time allowed by this notice, you should 

advise the contact listed below as soon 

as possible. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit all PRA 

comments by e-mail or U.S. mail. To 

submit your comments by e-mail, send 

them to PRA@fcc.gov. To submit your 

comments by U.S. mail, send them to 

Jerry Cowden, Federal Communications 

Commission, Room 1–B135, 445 12th 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

additional information about the 

information collection(s), contact Jerry 


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