[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 199 (Friday, October 15, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63472-63473]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-25926]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


Notice of Public Information Collection(s) Being Reviewed by the 
Federal Communications Commission, Comments Requested

October 6, 2010.
SUMMARY: The Federal Communications 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(s), as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520 Comments are requested 
concerning: (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 estimate; (c) ways 
to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; (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; and (e) 
ways to further reduce the information collection burden on small 
business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.
    The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information 
unless it displays a currently 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 (PRA) that does 
not display a valid OMB control number.

DATES: Written Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments should be 
submitted on or before December 14, 2010. If you anticipate that you 
will be submitting PRA comments, but find it difficult to do so within 
the period of time allowed by this notice, you should advise the FCC 
contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of 
Management and Budget, via fax at 202-395-5167 or via Internet at 
[email protected] and to the Federal Communications 
Commission. To submit your PRA comments by e-mail send them to: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information, contact 
Judith B. Herman at 202-418-0214 or via the Internet at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 63473]]

    OMB Control Number: 3060-1139.
    Title: Residential Fixed Broadband Services Testing and 
Measurement.
    Form No.: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Individuals or households; and business or other for-
profit.
    Number of Respondents: 11,016 respondents; 11,016 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour for respondents based on a 10 
minute initial sign-up for the panel, 30 minutes to connect and install 
the hardware appliance, and two 10-minute validation contacts to be 
conducted by the vendor over the course of the study period. The 16 ISP 
partners participating in the study is estimated at 200 hours per 
response per partner for all participation activities.
    Frequency of Response: Biennial reporting requirement and third 
party disclosure requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Voluntary. Statutory authority for this 
information collection is contained in the Broadband Data Improvement 
Act of 2008, Public Law 110-385, Stat 4096 Sec.  103(c)(1).
    Total Annual Burden: 14,200 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: N/A.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: This information collection affects 
individuals or households. However, the collection of personally 
identifiable information (PII) is not being collected, made available 
or accessible by the Commission but instead by third parties including 
SamKnows, a third party contractor, and ISP Partners.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: No personally identifying 
information (PII) will be transmitted to the Commission from the 
contractor as a matter of vendor policy. SamKnows maintains a series of 
administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect against 
the transmission of personally identifying information. At point of 
registration, individuals will be given full disclosure in a ``privacy 
statement'' highlighting what information will be collected. ISP 
Partners will receive personally identifying information about 
volunteers to confirm the validity of the information against their 
subscription records, but will be bound by a non-disclosure agreement 
that will maintain various administrative, technical and physical 
safeguards to protect the information and limit its use. ISP Partners 
providing support to the testing program will likewise be bound to the 
same series of administrative, technical and physical safeguards 
developed by SamKnows. In addition all third parties supporting the 
program directly will be bound by a ``Code of Conduct'' to ensure all 
participate and act in good faith.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission will submit this information 
collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) after this 60-
day comment period in order to obtain the full three-year clearance 
from them. The Commission had requested emergency processing for this 
revised collection on September 2, 2010. The Commission received OMB 
approval on October 4, 2010. Emergency OMB approvals are only granted 
for six months. Therefore, the Commission is now requesting approval of 
an extension of this information collection (no change in the reporting 
requirement or third party disclosure requirements) to keep the 
approval from lapsing.
    The Broadband Data Improvement Act of 2008, Public Law 110-385, 
Stat 4096 Sec.  103(c)(1) directs the Commission to collect information 
on the type of technology used to provide broadband to consumers, the 
price of such services, actual transmission speeds, and the reasons for 
non-adoption of broadband service.
    This collection of information was necessary to complete research 
done for the Broadband Plan on key consumer issues including 
transparency and actual speeds and performance of broadband service.
    This information collection was revised to respond to new 
requirements that were initially unforeseen. Recent surveys demonstrate 
a majority of consumers are not able to accurately report the broadband 
service information approved in the first collection approved on April 
30, 2010.
    In recent discussions, broadband service providers (ISPs) have also 
noted that certain technical characteristics of broadband service may 
vary region to region and such information may not be available from 
the consumer. ISP Partners have offered to partner with the FCC in the 
testing and measurement trial by verifying certain consumer information 
collected by SamKnows and by providing associated data not directly 
available from the consumer. This information is crucial for good 
sample selection and analysis of results.
    The Commission's Office of Engineering and Technology (OET), the 
Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis (OSPPA) and the 
Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) and other Commission 
entities will use the information collected under this study to assess 
what actual broadband speeds and performance consumers are currently 
receiving from providers. Our purpose is to measure the speed of 
broadband services provided by ISPs across service packages and 
geographies, rather than assess the differences in broadband 
performance received by demographics. This assessment will help the 
Commission create standards for broadband measurements, assess the 
validity of ISP performance claims, and inform future steps to 
increasing transparency and consumer awareness of broadband service.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-25926 Filed 10-14-10; 8:45 am]
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