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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 31, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
Vendor price quotes submitted with the FCC Form 5640, Application Request for Funding Allocation, or in a Modification filing;
Invoices submitted with the FCC
Form 5640, Reimbursement Claim Requests;
Equipment or services location, including address, latitude/longitude, etc.;
Removal or replacement plans that include sensitive information;
Specific equipment or service type;
Other provider-specific information; and, Specific timeline for the permanent removal, replacement, and disposal of covered communications equipment and services.
The Bureau finds, consistent with the 2020 Supply Chain Order, that this information would likely qualify as confidential commercial or financial information or trade secrets under the Freedom of Information Act and therefore should be withheld from routine public inspection.
66. Finally, the Bureau adopts the approach proposed in the Reimbursement Process PN, to allow filers uploading attachments to the online portal to categorize whether the attachment is confidential or public. RWA argues that anything attached to the FCC Form 5640 by an applicant that is clearly marked confidential should be treated as such and withheld from public inspection.
The Bureau clarifies that participants may submit requests to treat documentation as confidential information to be withheld from public inspection; however, such requests must be consistent with FOIA and the Commissions rules. Requests for confidential treatment that are overbroad or otherwise inconsistent with our rules will be rejected.
Attachments designated as confidential will be withheld from routine public inspection, subject to FOIA and the Commissions rules, whereas attachments designated as public may be made publicly available.
67. The Secure Networks Act directed the Commission to take all necessary steps to avoid waste, fraud, and abuse with respect to the Program, including regular audits and reviews of reimbursements under the Program to confirm that recipients of such reimbursements are complying with this Act, and random field investigations to ensure that recipients of reimbursements under the Program are performing the work such recipients are required to perform. In the 2020
Supply Chain Order, the Commission
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adopted a number of measures as directed by the Secure Networks Act to combat waste, fraud, and abuse, including requiring audits, reviews, and field inspections. In particular, the Commission directed the Office of the Managing Director OMD, or a thirdparty identified by OMD, to prepare a system to audit Reimbursement Program recipients to ensure compliance with the Commissions rules. Recipients are subject to audits and other investigations to evaluate their compliance with the statutory and regulatory requirements for the program.
To facilitate audits and field investigations, recipients must provide consent to allow vendors or contractors used by the recipient to release confidential information to the auditor, reviewer, or other representative.
Recipients must also allow any representative appointed by the Commission to enter the premises of the recipient to conduct compliance inspections.
68. In the 2021 Supply Chain Order, the Commission delegated financial oversight of the Reimbursement Program to OMD, in coordination with the Bureau and the Reimbursement Program Fund Administrator, to ensure that all financial aspects of the program have adequate internal controls. OMD, in coordination the Bureau, may issue additional directions to the Reimbursement Program Fund Administrator and program participants in furtherance of its responsibilities.
The Bureau will continue to work with OMD, any third-party identified by OMD, and the Reimbursement Program Fund Administrator to develop an audit, review, and field investigations process for the Reimbursement Program to protect against waste, fraud, and abuse.
Pursuant to the 2020 Supply Chain Order, participants must allow any representative appointed by the Commission to enter the participants premises to conduct compliance inspections so, at a minimum, the audit process may include site visits to participants premises to conduct these compliance inspections.
B. Catalog of Eligible Expenses and Estimated Costs 69. In this section, the Bureau adopts a final Catalog which applicants may rely on, where applicable, when submitting cost estimates in their Application Request for Funding Allocation, and the Bureau provides additional guidance regarding whether certain costs are reasonably incurred and may be reimbursable under the Reimbursement Program.

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70. Section 4d1 of the Secure Networks Act requires the Commission to develop a list of suggested replacements for covered equipment and services and for applicants to submit initial reimbursement cost estimates at the time of application.
To accomplish this objective, the Commission delegated authority to the Bureau to develop and finalize a Cost Catalog in the 2020 Supply Chain Order.
The Commissions rules provide that eligible providers may rely upon the predetermined estimated costs identified in the Catalog when submitting their cost estimates with their requests for funding allocation.
The Bureau contracted with Widelity Inc. Widelity to produce a preliminary catalog containing a non-exhaustive list of cost categories and a range of cost estimates for communications equipment and services potentially eligible for reimbursement. Widelity developed the preliminary catalog based on a series of confidential interviews with communications industry stakeholders to understand the process and costs associated with removing, replacing, and disposing of covered communications equipment and services. In the Catalog PN, the Bureau sought comment on the preliminary catalog, the suggested ranges of estimated costs and cost categories identified therein, and how the Catalog should inform the Reimbursement Program. Widelity subsequently conducted a thorough review of the preliminary catalog, based on comments received in response to the Catalog PN, and conducted additional engagement with communications industry stakeholders and the Bureau, resulting in additional improvements to the Catalog.
71. After considering comments received in response to the Catalog PN, and in consultation with Widelity, the Bureau revises and finalizes the Catalog as set forth in this document. The final Catalog includes as an attachment a chart indexing changes from the preliminary catalog to the final Catalog.
In particular, the Bureau added an index number to reference line item cost categories, clarified certain expenses that it finds are highly variable, clarified units of measurement, clarified cost categories and descriptions, amended certain ranges of cost estimates, and corrected typographical errors. For the reasons discussed in this document, the Bureau adopts the Catalog in Appendix C of the PN for use in the Reimbursement Program. The Catalog will be made available on the Commissions website, and the line
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