Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 200 / Wednesday, October 15, 2008 / Proposed Rules 60997 

or interfere with efforts of another state 

to protect visibility. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before November 14, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R10– 

OAR–2008–0166, by one of the 

following methods: 

A. http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 

the on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

B. E-mail: R10- 

Public_Comments@epa.gov. 

C. Mail: Donna Deneen, Office of Air, 

Waste and Toxics, AWT–107 EPA, 

Region 10, 1200 Sixth Ave., Suite 900, 

Seattle, Washington 98101. 

D. Hand Delivery or Courier: EPA, 

Region 10 Mail Room, 9th Floor, 1200 

Sixth Ave., Seattle, Washington 98101. 

Attention: Donna Deneen, Office of Air, 

Waste and Toxics, AWT–107. Such 

deliveries are only accepted during 

normal hours of operation, and special 

arrangements should be made for 

deliveries of boxed information. 

Please see the direct final rule which 

is located in the Rules section of this 

Federal Register for detailed 

instructions on how to submit 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Donna Deneen at telephone number: 

(206) 553–6706, e-mail address: 

deneen.donna@epa.gov, fax number: 

(206) 553–0110, or the above EPA, 

Region 10 address. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For 

further information, please see the 

direct final action, of the same title, 

which is located in the Rules section of 

this Federal Register. EPA is approving 

the State’s SIP revision as a direct final 

rule without prior proposal because 

EPA views this as a noncontroversial 

SIP revision and anticipates no adverse 

comments. A detailed rationale for the 

approval is set forth in the preamble to 

the direct final rule. If EPA receives no 

adverse comments, EPA will not take 

further action on this proposed rule. 

If EPA receives adverse comments, 

EPA will withdraw the direct final rule 

and it will not take effect. EPA will 

address all public comments in a 

subsequent final rule based on this 

proposed rule. EPA will not institute a 

second comment period on this action. 

Any parties interested in commenting 

on this action should do so at this time. 

Please note that if we receive adverse 

comment on an amendment, paragraph, 

or section of this rule and if that 

provision may be severed from the 

remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt 

as final those provisions of the rule that 

are not the subject of an adverse 

comment. 

Dated: October 1, 2008. 

Elin D. Miller, 

Regional Administrator, Region 10. 

[FR Doc. E8–24278 Filed 10–14–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Parts 1 and 43 

[WC Docket No. 08–190; FCC 08–203] 

Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction, 

Infrastructure and Operating Data 

Gathering 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: In the Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking (NPRM), the Federal 

Communications Commission 

(Commission) recognizes that it has 

continually sought to ensure that it has 

access to the data necessary for its 

public safety and broadband 

policymaking, and that certain 

infrastructure and operating data might 

be useful, but only if collected on an 

industry-wide basis from all relevant 

facilities-based providers of broadband 

and/or telecommunications. In addition, 

the Commission recognizes that certain 

service quality and customer 

satisfaction data might be useful, but 

only if collected on an industry-wide 

basis from all relevant facilities-based 

providers of broadband and/or 

telecommunications. The NPRM 

therefore seeks comment on whether 

and what types of such data should be 

collected from all relevant providers in 

furtherance of those goals. 

DATES: Comments are due on or before 

November 14, 2008. Reply comments 

are due on or before December 15, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by WC Docket No. 08–190, by 

any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking 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. 

• Mail: Parties choosing to file by 

paper must file an original and four 

copies of each filing in WC Docket No. 

07–38. 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 the Commission continues to 

experience delays in receiving U.S. 

Postal Service mail). 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. The Commission’s 

mail contractor, Vistronix, Inc., 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, Office of the Secretary, 

Federal Communications Commission. 

• 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. 

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: 

Jeremy Miller, Wireline Competition 

Bureau, Industry Analysis and 

Technology Division, (202) 418–0940. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Commission’s Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking in WC Docket No. 

08–190, adopted on September 6, 2008, 

and released on September 6, 2008. The 

complete text of this Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking, and its accompanying 

Memorandum Opinion and Order, is 

available for public inspection Monday 

through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 

p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 11:30 

a.m. in the Commission’s Consumer and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference 

Information Center, Room CY–A257, 

445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 

20554. The complete text is available 

also on the Commission’s Internet site at 

www.fcc.gov. Alternative formats are 

available for persons with disabilities by 

contacting the Consumer and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau, at (202) 

418–0531, TTY (202) 418–7365, or at 

fcc504@fcc.gov. The complete text of the 

decision may be purchased from the 

Commission’s duplicating contractor, 


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60998 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 200 / Wednesday, October 15, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

Best Copying and Printing, Inc., Room 

CY–B402, 445 12th Street, SW., 

Washington, DC 20554, telephone (202) 

488–5300, facsimile (202) 488–5563, 

TTY (202) 488–5562, or e-mail at 

fcc@bcpiweb.com. 

Synopsis of Further Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking 

1. In the NPRM, the Commission 

recognizes that the collection of certain 

service quality, customer satisfaction, 

infrastructure, and operating data 

information might be warranted, if 

tailored in scope to be consistent with 

Commission objectives, and if obtained 

from the entire relevant industry of 

facilities-based providers of broadband 

and/or telecommunications. In the 

Memorandum Opinion and Order that 

accompanies the NPRM, the 

Commission conditionally grants in part 

petitions filed by certain carriers to 

forbear from their obligation to file the 

Automated Reporting Management 

Information System (ARMIS) Reports 

43–05, 43–06, 43–07, and 43–08. See 

Attachment A to the NPRM for a 

summary of these reports. 

2. As an initial matter, the 

Commission seeks comment on what 

information the Commission should 

collect on an industry-wide basis. In the 

NPRM, the Commission tentatively 

concludes that collection of 

infrastructure and operating data 

information would be useful to the 

Commission’s public safety and 

broadband policymaking and seeks 

comment on the specific information 

that the Commission should collect. The 

Commission seeks comment on this 

tentative conclusion. The Commission 

further finds that this data would be 

useful only if they are collected from the 

entire relevant industry. Therefore, any 

such data collection would gather this 

information from all facilities-based 

providers of broadband and/or 

telecommunications. 

3. The Commission also recognizes 

the possibility that service quality and 

customer satisfaction data contained in 

ARMIS Reports 43–05 and 43–06 might 

be useful to consumers to help them 

make informed choices in a competitive 

market, but only if available from the 

entire relevant industry. The 

Commission thus tentatively concludes 

that it should collect this type of 

information, and seeks comment on the 

specific information that it should 

collect. The Commission seeks comment 

on this tentative conclusion. Again, the 

Commission finds that these data would 

be useful only if they are collected from 

the entire relevant industry. Thus, any 

such data collection would gather this 

information from all facilities-based 

providers of broadband and/or 

telecommunications. 

4. To the extent that the Commission 

collects any of the types of information 

described above, the Commission also 

seeks comment on the appropriate 

mechanism for such data collection. The 

Commission tentatively concludes that 

it should collect the infrastructure and 

operating data through Form 477, and 

seeks comment on that tentative 

conclusion. In addition, the 

Commission notes that while ARMIS 

information generally has been publicly 

available, carrier-specific Form 477 data 

is treated as confidential. What 

confidentiality protections, if any, are 

appropriate for the information here? To 

the extent that commenters support 

Commission collection of service 

quality and customer satisfaction data, 

the Commission also seeks comment on 

the appropriate mechanisms for such 

collections. Finally, the Commission 

seeks comment on possible methods for 

reporting information, as well as 

suggestions of methods to maintain and 

report the information, that achieve the 

purposes of the information collection 

while minimizing the burden on 

reporting entities, including small 

entities. 

Ex Parte Presentations 

5. This proceeding 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 is generally 

required. Other rules pertaining to oral 

and written presentations are set forth 

in Section 1.1206(b) of the 

Commission’s rules as well. 

Comment Filing Procedures 

6. 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. All filings 

related to this Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking should refer to WC Docket 

No. 08–190. Comments may be filed 

using: (1) The Commission’s Electronic 

Comment Filing System (ECFS), (2) the 

Federal Government’s rulemaking 

Portal, or (3) by filing paper copies. See 

Electronic Filing of Documents in 

Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 Fed. Reg. 

24,121 (1998). 

• Electronic Filers: Comments may be 

filed electronically using the Internet by 

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

cgb/ecfs or the Federal eRulemaking 

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

Filers should follow the instructions 

provided on the Web site for submitting 

comments. 

Æ For ECFS filers, if multiple dockets 

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 

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 the Commission continues 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. 

Æ 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. 

Æ 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. 

Æ U.S. Postal Service first-class, 

Express, and Priority mail must be 

addressed to 445 12th Street, SW., 

Washington, DC 20554. 

7. Comments and reply comments and 

any other filed documents in this matter 

may be obtained from Best Copy and 

Printing, Inc., in person at 445 12th 

Street, SW., Room CY–B402, 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 200 / Wednesday, October 15, 2008 / Proposed Rules 60999 

Washington, DC 20554, via telephone at 

(202) 488–5300, via facsimile at (202) 

488–5563, or via e-mail at 

FCC@BCPIWEB.COM. The pleadings 

will also be available for public 

inspection and copying during regular 

business hours in the FCC Reference 

Information Center, Room CY–A257, 

445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 

20554, and through the Commission’s 

Electronic Comment Filing System 

(ECFS) accessible on the Commission’s 

Web site, http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs. 

8. 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). 

9. Comments and reply comments 

must include a short and concise 

summary of the substantive arguments 

raised in the pleading. Comments and 

reply comments also must comply with 

section 1.49 and all other applicable 

sections of the Commission’s rules. All 

parties are encouraged to utilize a table 

of contents, and to include the name of 

the filing party and the date of the filing 

on each page of their submission. 

10. Commenters who file information 

that they believe should be withheld 

from public inspection may request 

confidential treatment pursuant to 

section 0.459 of the Commission’s rules. 

Commenters should file both their 

original comments for which they 

request confidentiality and redacted 

comments, along with their request for 

confidential treatment. Commenters 

should not file proprietary information 

electronically. Even if the Commission 

grants confidential treatment, 

information that does not fall within a 

specific exemption pursuant to the 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 

must be publicly disclosed pursuant to 

an appropriate request. See 47 CFR 

0.461; 5 U.S.C. 552. The Commission 

may grant requests for confidential 

treatment either conditionally or 

unconditionally. As such, the 

Commission has the discretion to 

release information on public interest 

grounds that does fall within the scope 

of a FOIA exemption. 

Initial Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 Analysis 

11. The Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking seeks comment on potential 

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 to 

comment on the potential information 

collection requirements contained in 

this document. A copy of any 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 

comments on the information 

collection(s) contained herein should be 

submitted to the Federal 

Communications Commission, Room 1– 

C804, 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, 

D.C. 20554, or via the Internet to 

PRA@fcc.gov, and to Nicholas Fraser, 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB), via e-mail to 

Nicholas_A._Fraser@ omb.eop.gov or 

via fax at 202–395–5167. 

12. In addition, pursuant to the Small 

Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, 

Public Law 107–198, see 44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(4), the Commission seeks 

specific comment on how it might 

‘‘further reduce the information 

collection burden for small business 

concerns with fewer than 25 

employees.’’ 

13. The Commission will also invite 

the general public to comment at a later 

date on any rules developed as a result 

of this proceeding that require the 

collection of information, as required by 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13. The Commission 

will at that time publish a separate 

notice seeking these comments from the 

public. In addition, pursuant to the 

Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 

2002, Public Law 107–198, see 44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(4), the Commission also seek 

specific comment on how it might 

‘‘further reduce the information 

collection burden for small business 

concerns with fewer than 25 

employees.’’ 

Legal Basis 

14. The legal basis for any action that 

may be taken pursuant to the NPRM is 

contained in sections 1–5, 10, 11, 201– 

205, 211, 215, 218–220, 251–271, 303(r), 

332, 403, 502, and 503 of the 

Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended, 47 U.S.C. 151–155, 160, 161, 

201–205, 211, 215, 218–220, 251–271, 

303(r), 332, 403, 502, and 503, and 

section 706 of the Telecommunications 

Act of 1996, 47 U.S.C. 157 nt. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

15. 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 Further Notice 

provided above. The Commission will 

send a copy of the Further Notice, 

including this IRFA, to the Chief 

Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 

Business Administration. 

Need for, and Objectives of, the 

Proposed Rules 

16. In the NPRM, the Commission 

considers whether to implement 

reporting requirements relating to 

service quality and infrastructure 

information. Specifically, the 

Commission seeks comment on whether 

to impose reporting requirements 

previously required through ARMIS 

Reports 43–05, 43–06, 43–07 and 43–08, 

or similar requirements. The 

Commission also seeks comment on the 

mechanism for collecting that 

information. In addition, the NPRM 

seeks comment on the appropriate 

confidentiality protections for such 

information. For each of these issues, 

the Commission also seeks comment on 

the burdens, including those placed on 

small entities, associated with possible 

Commission data collection and 

whether there are alternative rules that 

might lessen any burden. 

Description and Estimate of the Number 

of Small Entities to Which the Proposed 

Rules May Apply 

17. 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). 

18. 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 


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estimates that most providers of 

incumbent local exchange service are 

small businesses that may be affected by 

the Commission’s action. 

19. 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 

the Commission’s action. 

20. The Commission has 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 

because any such dominance is not 

‘‘national’’ in scope. The Commission 

has therefore included small incumbent 

LECs in this RFA analysis, although the 

Commission emphasizes that this RFA 

action has no effect on Commission 

analyses and determinations in other, 

non-RFA contexts. 

21. 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 the Commission’s action. 

22. 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 the Commission’s action. 

23. 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 the Commission’s action. 

24. 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 

the Commission’s action. 

25. 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 the Commission’s action. 

26. 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 

the Commission’s action. 

27. 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 the Commission’s 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. The Commission does 

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, the 


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Commission estimates 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. 

Wireless Carriers and Service Providers 

28. Below, for those services subject 

to auctions, the Commission notes 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. 

29. Wireless Telecommunications 

Carriers (except Satellite). Since 2007, 

the SBA has recognized wireless firms 

within this new, broad, economic 

census category. Because there is not, as 

yet, much if any data to establish small 

business size standards for the different 

categories of wireless firms that fall 

under this broad, new census category, 

the Commission will use data gathered 

under superseded census categories to 

estimate the relevant size standards. 

Prior to 2007, 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, the Commission 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, the Commission 

estimates that the majority of wireless 

firms can be 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. The 

Commission has 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. 

30. Common Carrier Paging. The SBA 

has developed a small business size 

standard for the superseded category of 

‘‘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 the 

Commission’s action. In addition, in the 

Paging Third Report and Order, the 

Commission 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. 

31. 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. 

32. 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 the superseded census 

category of ‘‘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. The Commission 

has estimated that 221 of these are small 

under the SBA small business size 

standard. 

33. 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. 

34. 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 


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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. 

35. 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, the Commission applies the 

small business size standard under the 

SBA rules applicable to ‘‘Cellular and 

Other 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. 

36. 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, the Commission 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. 

37. 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. 

38. 700 MHz Guard Band Licensees. 

In the 700 MHz Guard Band Order, the 

Commission 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’’ as 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. 

39. 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. 


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40. Air-Ground Radiotelephone 

Service. The Commission has not 

adopted a small business size standard 

specific to the Air-Ground 

Radiotelephone Service. The 

Commission 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 the Commission estimates 

that almost all of them qualify as small 

under the SBA small business size 

standard. 

41. 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 the Commission’s 

evaluations in this analysis, the 

Commission estimates 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. 

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. 

42. Fixed Microwave Services. Fixed 

microwave services include common 

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 

are 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. The 

Commission noted, however, that the 

common carrier microwave fixed 

licensee category includes some large 

entities. 

43. 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. The Commission is 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. 

44. 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 the Commission’s action. 

45. 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. The Commission 

estimates 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-tomultipoint 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. Although this 

census category has been superseded by 

the new census category of Cable and 

Other Subscription Programming, the 

Commission uses the size standards 

under the superseded census category 

because no standards have been 

established for the new category. Other 

standards also apply, as described. 

46. 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 


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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, the Commission 

estimates that there are approximately 

850 small entity MDS (or BRS) 

providers, as defined by the SBA and 

the Commission’s auction rules. 

47. 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). The 

Commission estimates that there are 

currently 2,032 ITFS (or EBS) licensees, 

and all but 100 of the licenses are held 

by educational institutions. Thus, the 

Commission estimates that at least 1,932 

ITFS licensees are small entities. 

48. 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, the 

Commission believes that the number of 

small LMDS licenses will include the 93 

winning bidders in the first auction and 

the 40 winning bidders in the reauction, for a total of 133 small entity 

LMDS providers as defined by the SBA 

and the Commission’s auction rules. 

49. 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 carry over 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, the 

Commission 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, 

together with its affiliates and persons 

or entities, holds 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. 

50. 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. The Commission believes 

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 the Commission’s 

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. 

51. 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. 

Satellite Service Providers 

52. Satellite Telecommunications. 

Since 2007, the SBA has recognized 

satellite firms within this revised 

category, with a small business size 

standard of $15 million. The most 

current Census Bureau data, however, 

are from the (last) economic census of 

2002, and the Commission 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.’’ 

53. 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, the Commission 

estimates that the majority of Satellite 

Telecommunications firms are small 

entities that might be affected by the 

Commission’s action. 

54. 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, the Commission 

estimates that the majority of Other 

Telecommunications firms are small 

entities that might be affected by the 

Commission’s action. 

Cable and OVS Operators 

55. 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, the 

Commission 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, the 

Commission considers certain 

additional entities that may be affected 

by the data collection from broadband 

service providers. Because section 706 

requires us to monitor the deployment 


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of broadband regardless of technology or 

transmission media employed, the 

Commission anticipates that some 

broadband service providers will not 

provide telephone service. Accordingly, 

the Commission describes below other 

types of firms that may provide 

broadband services, including cable 

companies, MDS providers, and 

utilities, among others. 

56. 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. 

57. 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. 

58. 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 

cable operators nationwide, all but ten 

are small under this size standard. The 

Commission notes that it neither 

requests nor collects information on 

whether cable system operators are 

affiliated with entities whose gross 

annual revenues exceed $250 million, 

and therefore the Commission is unable 

to estimate more accurately the number 

of cable system operators that would 

qualify as small under this size 

standard. 

59. 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. 

Electric Power Generation, 

Transmission and Distribution 

60. 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 the 

Commission has 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, the Commission 

estimates that 1,644 or fewer firms may 

be considered small under the SBA 

small business size standard. 

Internet Service Providers, Web Portals 

and Other Information Services 

61. 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, the Commission will use 

prior definitions of these types of 

entities in order to estimate numbers of 

potentially affected small business 

entities. 

62. 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, the 

Commission estimates that the majority 

of these firms are small entities that may 

be affected by the Commission’s action. 

63. Web Search Portals. The 

Commission’s action pertains to 

interconnected VoIP services, which 

could be provided by entities that 

provide other services such as email, 

online gaming, web browsing, video 

conferencing, instant messaging, and 

other, similar IP-enabled services. The 


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61006 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 200 / Wednesday, October 15, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

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, the Commission 

estimates that the majority of these firms 

are small entities that may be affected 

by the Commission’s action. 

64. 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, the 

Commission estimates that the majority 

of these firms are small entities that may 

be affected by the Commission’s action. 

65. All Other Information Services. 

‘‘This industry comprises 

establishments primarily engaged in 

providing other information services 

(except new syndicates and libraries 

and archives).’’ The Commission’s 

action pertains to interconnected VoIP 

services, which could be provided by 

entities that provide other services such 

as email, 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 $7 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, the Commission 

estimates that the majority of these firms 

are small entities that may be affected 

by the Commission’s action. 

66. 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 

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, the 

Commission estimates that the majority 

of these firms are small entities that may 

be affected by the Commission’s action. 

Description of Projected Reporting, 

Recordkeeping and Other Compliance 

Requirements 

67. In the NPRM, the Commission 

considers whether to implement certain 

reporting requirements relating to 

service quality and infrastructure 

information. Specifically, the 

Commission seeks comment on whether 

to impose certain reporting 

requirements previously required 

through ARMIS Reports 43–05, 43–06, 

43–07 and 43–08, or similar 

requirements. In addition, the NPRM 

seeks comment on the appropriate 

confidentiality protections for such 

information. The Commission also seeks 

comment on the mechanism for 

collecting that information. 

Steps Taken To Minimize Significant 

Economic Impact on Small Entities, and 

Significant Alternatives Considered 

68. 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. 

69. As noted above, the NPRM seeks 

comment on possible methods for 

reporting the proposed information 

collections, as well as suggestions of 

methods to maintain and report the 

information that achieve the purposes of 

the NPRM while minimizing the burden 

on reporting entities, including small 

entities. This information will assist the 

Commission in determining whether 

these various proposed information 

collections would impose a significant 

economic impact on small entities. 

Based on these questions, the 

Commission anticipates that the record 

will be developed concerning 

alternative ways in which the 

Commission could lessen the burden on 

small entities. 

Federal Rules That May Duplicate, 

Overlap, or Conflict With the Proposed 

Rules 

70. None. 

Ordering Clauses 

71. Accordingly, it is ordered that, 

pursuant to sections 1–5, 10, 11, 201– 

205, 211, 215, 218–220, 251–271, 303(r), 

332, 403, 502, and 503 of the 

Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended, 47 U.S.C. 151–155, 160, 161, 

201–205, 211, 215, 218–220, 251–271, 

303(r), 332, 403, 502, and 503, and 

section 706 of the Telecommunications 

Act of 1996, 47 U.S.C. 157 nt, this 

Memorandum Opinion and Order and 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is 

adopted. 

72. It is further ordered that the 

Commission’s Consumer and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference 

Information Center, shall send a copy of 

this Further Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking, including the Initial 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, to the 

Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 

Business Administration. 

73. It is further ordered, pursuant to 

sections 1.103(a) and 1.427(b) of the 

Commission’s rules, 47 CFR 1.103(a), 

1.427(b), that comments are due on or 

before November 14, 2008 and reply 

comments are due on or before 

December 15, 2008. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene H. Dortch, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E8–24476 Filed 10–14–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 


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