[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 140 (Thursday, July 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36455-36456]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-17508]


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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 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).
    OMB Control Number: 0660-0021.
    Agency Form Number: None.
    Type of Request: Emergency submission.
    Burden Hours: 581.
    Average Time per Response: 38 seconds.
    Number of Respondents: 55,000.
    Needs and Uses: NTIA proposes to add five questions to the Census 
Bureau's October 2009 Current Population Survey (CPS) in order to 
gather reliable data on broadband (also known as high-speed Internet) 
use by U.S. households. The Administration is committed to providing 
broadband service to every community in America. To that end, the 
Administration is working with Congress, NTIA, the Federal 
Communications Commission, Rural Utilities Service, the States, and 
other parties to develop and implement 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, but also 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 usage data, moreover, will 
occur in conjunction with Census' scheduled October CPS, thereby 
significantly reducing the potential burdens on the Bureau and the 
households surveyed. The questions on Internet usage were included in 
seven 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. The General Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued reports

[[Page 36456]]

noting the lack of useful broadband data for policymakers, and Congress 
passed legislation--the Broadband Data Improvement Act in 2008 and the 
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009--wholly or partly in 
response to such criticisms. The Organization for Economic Cooperation 
and Development (OECD) has ranked the United States a disappointing 
number 18 in household broadband access despite a period of rapid 
growth in the technology's penetration. The OECD has noted that the 
user data they are using to benchmark the United States is from 2007 as 
they have no other current official data from the United States. 
Modifying the October CPS to include NTIA's requested broadband data 
will allow the Commerce Department and NTIA to respond to make more 
informed grant decisions, to respond to 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: Nicholas A. Fraser, (202) 395-5887.
    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 7845, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent by August 13, 2009 to Nicholas A. Fraser, OMB 
Desk Officer, e-mail [email protected] or Fax number 
(202) 395-5167.

    Dated: July 17, 2009.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-17508 Filed 7-22-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-60-P