[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 155 (Monday, August 13, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45218-45219]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-15788]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the

[[Page 45219]]

following proposal for collection of information under the emergency 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).
    Agency: National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
(NTIA).
    Title: Broadband Subscription and Usage Survey (Supplement to the 
Census Bureau's Current Population Survey).
    Agency Form Number: None.
    Type of Request: Emergency submission.
    Burden Hours: 458.
    Average Time Per Response: 30 seconds.
    Number of Respondents: 55,000.
    Needs and Uses: NTIA proposes to add four questions to the Census 
Bureau's October 2007 Current Population Survey (CPS) in order to 
gather reliable data on broadband (also known as high-speed Internet) 
use by U.S. households. President Bush has established a national goal 
of universal, affordable broadband access for all Americans by 2007. To 
that end, the Administration is working with Congress, the Federal 
Communications Commission, and other parties to develop and advance 
economic and regulatory policies that foster broadband deployment. 
Current, systematic, and comprehensive data on broadband subscription 
and use by U.S. households is critical to allow policymakers not only 
to gauge progress made to date, and to identify problem areas with a 
specificity that permits carefully targeted and cost-effective 
responses.
    The Census Bureau is widely regarded as a superior collector of 
data based on its centuries of experience and its scientific methods. 
Collection of NTIA's requested broadband subscription and usage data, 
moreover, will occur in conjunction with Census' scheduled October 
Current Population Survey (CPS), thereby significantly reducing the 
potential burdens on the Bureau and the households surveyed. Questions 
on broadband and Internet usage were included in six previous Census 
household surveys.
    The need for comprehensive broadband data has become more pressing 
in recent months and has necessitated this request for expedited 
review. Following the April 2007 release of an Organization for 
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) ranking of broadband 
deployment worldwide, Congress held a series of hearings on the issue. 
The OECD has noted that the data that they are using to benchmark the 
United States is from 2003 as they have no other current official data 
from the United States. Congress has shown a particular interest in 
improving available statistics on U.S. broadband deployment and use. 
One proposed bill introduced in May directs the Census Bureau to modify 
its survey instruments to collect information similar to the data that 
NTIA proposes to collect here. Modifying the October CPS to include 
NTIA's requested broadband data will allow the Commerce Department and 
NTIA to respond to congressional concerns, congressional directives, 
and to work with the OECD on its broadband methodologies with more 
recent data.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    OMB Desk Officer: Jasmeet Seehra, (202) 395-3123.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0266, Department of Commerce, Room 6625, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent by August 31, 2007 to Jasmeet Seehra, OMB 
Desk Officer, e-mail [email protected] or Fax number 
(202) 395-5167.


    Dated: August 8, 2007.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
 [FR Doc. E7-15788 Filed 8-10-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-60-P