Notice of Public Information Collection Submitted to OMB for Emergency Review and Approval

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

Notice of Public Information Collection Submitted to OMB for

Emergency Review and Approval

April 28, 1997.

SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission has requested Office of

Management and Budget (``OMB'') approval, under the emergency

processing provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, for the

FCC Annual Survey of Cable Industry Prices (``1997 Price Survey''). OMB

approval is requested to be effective no later than June 5, 1997. The

Commission, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork

burden, 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, Public Law 104-13.

Comments should address: (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 estimates; (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 comments should be submitted on or before June 2, 1997.

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: Direct all comments to Timothy Fain, Office of Management

and Budget, Room 10236 NEOB, Washington, DC 20503, 202-395-3561 or via

internet at [email protected], and to Dorothy Conway, Federal

Communications, Room 234, 1919 M

[[Page 24112]]

St., NW., Washington, DC 20554 or via internet to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For copies of the proposed 1997 Price

Survey contact Dorothy Conway at 202-418-0217 or via internet at

[email protected]. Copies may also be obtained by contacting the

Commission's Fax on Demand System. To obtain fax copies, call 202-418-

0177 from the handset on your fax machine, and enter the document

retrieval number when prompted. The document retrieval number is

000647. The proposed 1997 Price Survey is also posted on the

Commission's internet site at: http//www.fcc.gov/formpage.html. The

internet posting can be accessed by downloading the Adobe Reader and

then the 1997 Price Survey PDF file. For additional information

concerning this information collection requirement contact Dr. Kiran

Duwadi at 202-418-7200.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Cable Television Consumer Protection and

Competition Act of 1992 (``Cable Act'') requires the Commission to

publish an annual statistical report on average rates for basic cable

service, cable programming service and equipment. The report must

compare the prices charged by cable systems subject to effective

competition and those that are not subject to effective competition.

The 1997 Price Survey is intended to collect the data needed to prepare

this report. For the 1997 Price Survey, the Commission will provide the

survey and receive responses by means of the internet. We will also

provide diskette copies of the survey to respondents so that cable

operators without internet access will have automated copies of the

survey to complete. We will also provide paper versions of the survey

to all respondents in the event that some respondents do not have

access to the internet or a computer.

OMB Approval Number: 3060-0647.

Type of Review: Reinstatement, with change, of a previously

approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.

Number of Respondents: 635.

Estimated Time Per Response: 8 hours.

Total Annual Burden to Respondents: 5,080 hours. The Commission

estimates that the average burden to respondents for gathering the data

and completing and filing the 1997 Price Survey will be 8 hours. The

survey will be sent to a total of 635 respondents. 635 responsesx8

hours=5,080 hours.

Total Cost to Respondents: $2,000. We estimate that a significant

portion of respondents (an estimated 400 out of 635) will opt for the

purchase of computer diskettes to complete the 1997 Price Survey. 400

respondents x $5 per diskette = $2,000.

Needs and Uses: The 1997 Price Survey will be distributed to

randomly selected groups of competitive and noncompetitive cable

systems. The data collected will be used by the Commission to monitor

cable prices and to determine whether the goal of the Cable Act is

being met; that goal being to ensure that rates charged for basic and

cable programming services by cable operators not subject to effective

competition are reasonable in comparison with rates charged by

operators subject to effective competition. The results of the survey

will be published in an annual report on cable industry prices.

Federal Communications Commission.

William F. Caton,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97-11443 Filed 5-1-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712-10-P