6712-01
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 25
[IB Docket Nos. 06-160, 18-314, 20-330, 22-273; FCC 19-93, FCC 20-159, FCC 22-63, DA
24-271; FR ID 231569]
Amendments to Rules for Direct Broadcast Satellite, Satellite Services, and 17 GHz;
Updates to Forms 312 and 312-R for the International Communications Filing System;
Corrections to 17 GHz Report and Order
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date and correcting amendments.
SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission)
announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three
years, the information collections associated with the rules adopted in three rulemakings and
with updates to the Form 312, including Schedules A, B, and S, and Form 312-R. Specifically,
rules were adopted in: a Report and Order, FCC 19-93, in IB Docket No. 06-160 (DBS Licensing
Report and Order); a Report and Order, FCC 20-159, in IB Docket No. 18-314 (Satellite
Services Report and Order); and a Report and Order, FCC 22-63, in IB Docket Nos. 20-330 and
22-273, (17 GHz Report and Order). Each of those orders stated that the Commission would
publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of those rules which
were delayed indefinitely. The FCC is announcing the effective date of those rules. In addition,
this document is also correcting non-substantive typographical errors in the 17 GHz Report and
Order. Finally, this document also announces the updates to FCC Form 312, including
Schedules A, B, and S, and FCC Form 312-R.
DATES: The following are effective [INSERT DATE 30 DAYS AFTER DATE OF
PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER]:
(1) The amendment to 47 CFR § 25.136(h), published at 86 FR 11880 on March 1, 2021;

(2) The amendments to 47 CFR §§ 25.108(c)(5) and (c)(6), 25.114(a)(3), and 25.140(b)(6),
published at 86 FR 49484 on September 3, 2021;
(3) The amendments to 47 CFR §§ 25.114(d)(7), (d)(15), and (d)(18), 25.115(e), (g) and (k),
25.117(d)(2)(v), 25.140(a)(2) and (a)(3), (b), and (d), 25.203 and 25.264, published at 87 FR
72388 on November 25, 2022;
(4) The corrections to §§ 24.140 and 25.264;
(5) The revisions to Form 312 (including Schedules A, B, and C) and Form 312R, published at
88 FR 21424.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Mackoul, Space Bureau, at (202) 4187498 or Scott.Mackoul@fcc.gov. For information regarding the PRA information collection
requirements contained in the PRA, contact Cathy Williams, Office of Managing Director, at
(202) 418-2918 or Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that, on May 29, 2024,
OMB approved the information collection requirements in 47 CFR 25.108(c)(5) through(c)(6),
25.114(a)(3), and 25.140(b)(6), as modified in the DBS Licensing Report and Order (86 FR
49484, September 3, 2021); 47 CFR 25.136(h), as modified in the Satellite Services Report and
Order (86 FR 11880, March 1, 2021); and 47 CFR 25.114(d)(7), (d)(15), and (d)(18), 25.115(e),
(g) and (k), 25.117(d)(2)(v), 25.140(a)(2) and (3), (b), and (d), 25.203 and 25.264 as modified in
the 17 GHz Report and Order (87 FR 72388, November 25, 2022). The DBS Licensing Report
and Order, the Satellite Services Report and Order, and the 17 GHz Report and Order, stated
that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective
date of those rules. This notice announces the effective date of those rules. The other rule
amendments adopted in the three orders which did not require OMB approval became effective
as identified in their respective Federal Register publications.
This document also summarizes an order adopted by the Commission’s Space Bureau
and Managing Director, released on March 19, 2024, that amends the final rules in the 17 GHz

Report and Order, in order to correct non-substantive typographical errors. The full text of the
17 GHz Correction Order is available at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-24271A1.pdf.
Additionally, this document announces that, on May 29, 2024, OMB approved revisions
to the Form 312, including Schedules A, B, and S, and Form 312-R, that stemmed from an
update to the International Communications Filing System (ICFS), which is the Commission’s
filing system for earth station and space station applications filed pursuant to part 25 of the
Commission’s rules.
If you have any comments on the burden estimates listed below, or how the Commission
can improve the collections and reduce any burdens caused thereby, please contact Cathy
Williams, Federal Communications Commission, Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov, regarding OMB
Control Number 3060-0678. Please include the applicable OMB Control Number(s) in your
correspondence. The Commission will also accept your comments via email at PRA@fcc.gov.
To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print,
electronic files, audio format), send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).
Synopsis:
As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), the Commission
is notifying the public that it received final OMB approval on May 29, 2024, for the information
collection requirements contained in 47 CFR 25.108(c)(5) through (c)(6), 25.114(a)(3), and
25.140(b)(6); 47 CFR 25.136(h); and 47 CFR 25.114(d)(7), (d)(15), (d)(18), 25.115(e), (g) and
(k), 25.117(d)(2)(v), 25.140(a)(2) through (a)(3), (b), and (d), 25.203 and 25.264. Also, as
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Commission is notifying the public that it
received final OMB approval on May 29, 2024, for the information collection requirements
contained in the revised Form 312, including Schedules A, B, and S, and the revised Form 312R.

Under 5 CFR part 1320, an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of
information unless it displays a current, valid OMB Control Number. No person shall be subject
to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork
Reduction Act that does not display a current, valid OMB Control Number. The OMB Control
Number for the information collection requirements in these rules is 3060-0678.
The foregoing notice is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law
104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.
The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents are as follows:
OMB Control Number: 3060-0678.
OMB Approval Date: May 29, 2024.
OMB Expiration Date: May 31, 2027.
Title: Part 25 of the Federal Communications Commission’s Rules Governing the Licensing of,
and Spectrum Usage By, Commercial Earth Stations and Space Stations.
Form Number: FCC Form 312 (including Schedules A, B, and S) and FCC Form 312-R
Type of Review: Revision of an existing collection.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit, not-for-profit institutions.
Number of Respondents and Responses: 3,515 respondents and 3,567 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 0.5-80 hours.
Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement, one time and annual reporting
requirements; third-party disclosure requirement; recordkeeping requirement.
Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The statutory authority for this
information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 157, 301, 303, 307, 308, 309, and
310.
Total Annual Burden: 27,176.
Annual Cost Burden: $3,923,887.

Needs and Uses: The Commission will use the information collected under this revised
information collection effect the policies adopted in three rulemakings and the updates to the
Form 312, including Schedules A, B, and S, and Form 312-R that stemmed from an update to the
Commission’s filing system for earth station and space station applications filed pursuant to
part 25 of the Commission’s rules.
On September 27, 2019, the Commission released DBS Licensing Report and Order,
which adopted a new licensing process for space stations in the Direct Broadcast Satellite
Service (DBS). This new process allows applicants for DBS space station licenses to take
advantage of a licensing process that parallels the Commission’s streamlined part 25 satellite
licensing rules for geostationary orbit (GSO) space stations in the fixed-satellite service (FSS).
The Commission limited the regulatory burdens borne by applicants, while promoting new
opportunities for efficient use of orbital spacing and spectrum by DBS licensees. The
Commission’s action supports and encourages the increasing innovation in the DBS sector and
helps to preserve U.S. leadership in space-based services and operations. This information
collection will provide the Commission and the public with necessary information about this area
of satellite operations, and serves the public interest by streamlining the collection of information
and allowing the Commission to authorize DBS space stations under the new process established
in the DBS Licensing Report and Order. Specifically, the DBS Licensing Report and Order
contains the following new or modified information collection requirements: space station
applications for GSO space stations operating in the frequencies of the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) Appendices 30 and 30A (incorporated by reference, see 47
CFR 25.108) must include a statement that the proposed operation will take into account the
applicable requirements of these Appendices of the ITU Radio Regulations and a demonstration
that it is compatible with other U.S. ITU filings under Appendices 30 and 30A or, for any
affected filings, a letter signed by the affected operator indicating that it consents to the new
application.

On November 19, 2020, the Commission released Satellite Services Report and Order,
which streamlined the Commission’s rules governing satellite services by creating an optional
framework for authorizing both the blanket-licensed earth stations and space stations of a
satellite system through a unified license. The Satellite Services Report and Order also
permitted earth station applicants to certify compliance with relevant satellite licenses in lieu of
providing duplicative or unnecessary technical demonstrations, aligned the build-out
requirements for earth stations and space stations, and eliminated unnecessary reporting rules.
These changes reduce regulatory burdens, simplify the Commission’s licensing of satellite
systems, and provide additional operational flexibility. The Satellite Services Report and Order
affected two information collections: OMB Control Numbers 3060-1215 and 3060-0678. The
Commission received OMB approval for changes under OMB Control No. 3060-1215 on August
26, 2021, as reported in 86 FR 52102.
On August 3, 2022, the Commission released the 17 GHz Report and Order which
amended the Commission’s rules to permit geostationary satellite orbit (GSO) space stations to
use the 17.3-17.7 GHz band in the fixed-satellite service (FSS) in the space-to-Earth direction on
a co-primary basis with incumbent services and permit limited GSO FSS (space-to-Earth) use of
the 17.7-17.8 GHz band on an unprotected basis with respect to fixed service operations.
Specifically, the 17 GHz Report and Order contains the following new or modified information
collection requirements:
•

Certification of frequency coordination with the operator of the co-frequency space
station or submission of an interference analysis demonstrating the compatibility of the
proposed system with the co-frequency space station;

•

Information as to earth station antenna characteristics to ensure that antennas are properly
aimed and configured and that their signals are not likely to interfere with other systems;
and

•

Information pertaining to implementation of interference detection and mitigation plans
to prevent and resolve interference issues.

This information collection will provide the Commission and the public with necessary
information about this area of satellite operations and work to prevent interference, and serves
the public interest by streamlining the collection of information and allowing the Commission to
authorize operations contemplated in the 17 GHz Report and Order.
On March 19, 2024, the Commission’s Space Bureau and Managing Director released an
Order, DA 24-271 (17 GHz Correction Order), which amended the final rules in Appendix A of
the 17 GHz Report and Order, in order to correct typographical errors in the final rules and to
conform them with the publishing conventions of the Federal Register. The amendments are
non-substantive and do not change any regulatory obligations. This determination is guided by
the fact that the text of the 17 GHz Report and Order makes clear that the errors that remained in
the text of the final rules were unintentional and typographical in nature. For example, one error
was stating “17.3-18.8 GHz” instead of “17.3-17.8 GHz” when the rest of the text made clear
that the correct text was “17.3-17.8 GHz.” Furthermore, the text of the final rules as published in
the Federal Register was corrected to conform with the publishing conventions of the Federal
Register. The Space Bureau and Managing Director found that notice and comment procedures
are unnecessary under the “good cause” exception of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA)
because the changes in the final rules in Appendix A of the 17 GHz Report and Order as released
by the Commission adopted in the 17 GHz Correction Order merely correct typographical errors,
align the final rules in Appendix A of the 17 GHz Report and Order as released by the
Commission with the text of the final rules as published in the Federal Register, or conform the
17 GHz Report and Order as released by the Commission with the publishing conventions of the
Federal Register. Consequently, the Space Bureau and Managing Director found notice and
comment procedures are unnecessary for this action as the actions in the 17 GHz Correction

Order constitute routine “clean-up” matters that entail no substantive decisions of any
consequence or significance to industry or the general public.
Finally, the Commission recently updated ICFS – which was formerly named the
International Bureau Filing System, see 88 FR 21424 – which resulted in modifications to the
Form 312, including Schedules A, B, and S, and Form 312-R. Applicants will be required to
submit Form 312 (including Schedules A, B, and S) and Form 312-R through the updated,
integrated web-based program. The updated version of Form 312 (including Schedules A, B,
and S) and Form 312-R will include several minor changes to the information collection
designed to provide clarity to applicants and Commission staff, reduce errors, and make overall
improvements to the applicants’ experience in completing the forms, including adding several
questions designed to better convey the overall information being requested in the form.
List of Subjects
47 CFR Part 25
Administrative practice and procedure, Earth stations, Satellites.

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION.

Katura Jackson,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.

Final Rules
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal Communications Commission amends 47
CFR part 25 as follows:
PART 25—SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS
1. The authority citation for part 25 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 301, 302, 303, 307, 309, 310, 319, 332, 605, and 721, unless
otherwise noted.

§§ 25.140 and 25.264 [Amended]
2. Amend §§ 25.140(a)(3)(iii)(B) and 25.264(a)(6) by removing “17.3-18.8 GHz” and
adding, in its place, “17.3-17.8 GHz.”
3. In § 25.264 amend paragraphs (b)(2)(ii), (b)(3), and (e) introductory text by removing
“−117 dBW/m2/100 kHz” and adding, in their place, “−117 dBW/m2/100 kHz” in each instance
where it appears.

[FR Doc. 2024-15465 Filed: 7/16/2024 8:45 am; Publication Date: 7/17/2024]