[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 47 (Friday, March 9, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14340-14341]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-5724]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Broadband 
Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) Quarterly and Annual 
Performance Progress Reports

AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY:  The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Written Comments must be submitted on or before May 8, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 
14th and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via email to 
[email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Requests for additional information 
or copies of the information collection instruments and instructions 
should be sent to Anthony G. Wilhelm, Director, BTOP, Office of 
Telecommunications and Information Applications, National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration, via email at 
[email protected], or by telephone at (202) 482-2048.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) 
appropriated funds for BTOP, which included competitive grants to 
expand public computer center capacity and innovative programs to 
encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service. Section 6001 of 
the Recovery Act establishes five core purposes to be advanced by 
projects funded under BTOP:
    (1) To provide access to broadband service to consumers residing in 
unserved areas of the country;
    (2) To provide improved access to broadband service to underserved 
areas of the country;
    (3) To provide broadband access, education, and support to 
community anchor institutions (e.g., schools, libraries, and medical 
facilities), or organizations and agencies serving vulnerable 
populations (e.g., low-income, unemployed, and aged), or job-creating 
strategic facilities located in State- or Federally-designated economic 
development areas;
    (4) To improve access to, and use of, broadband service by public 
safety agencies; and
    (5) To stimulate the demand for broadband, economic growth, and job 
creation.
    OMB also requires agencies administering grant programs to

[[Page 14341]]

implement post-award financial and performance reporting for those 
programs. Finally, the Department of Commerce's implementation of OMB's 
Uniform Administrative Requirements authorizes NTIA to require 
performance reports from BTOP grant recipients.
    To date, NTIA has utilized OMB-approved Performance Progress 
Reports (PPRs) to capture quarterly and annual reports for each project 
type (Infrastructure, Public Computer Center, and Sustainable Broadband 
Adoption). Each PPR provides updates on fundamental project milestones 
and key performance indicators that allow NTIA to measure project 
progress and ensure proper monitoring and compliance with program 
rules.
    After reviewing recent PPRs, NTIA identified a need to collect 
additional information from Infrastructure grant recipients to assess 
more accurately the progress of BTOP grants in relation to intended 
program benefits. Specifically, NTIA modified its existing annual 
performance report for Infrastructure awards by adding questions that 
require Infrastructure grantees to provide supplemental information 
regarding project deployment. NTIA requires this additional project 
implementation information to better monitor and assess the effect BTOP 
grant awards are having meeting program goals, including increasing 
broadband availability and adoption and achieving economic and social 
benefits in communities served by the grantees.
    NTIA intends to use the information collected to: (1) Identify more 
accurately BTOP grant beneficiaries; (2) track better a project's 
progress against program-specific objectives; (3) facilitate further 
monitoring and oversight efforts of existing grants; and (4) ensure 
that grant projects will have the intended sustained impacts.

II. Method of Collection

     The reports will be submitted electronically.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0660-0037.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission (revision of a currently 
approved information collection).
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations; not-
for-profit institutions; and State, Local, or Tribal government 
organizations.
    Number of Respondents: 121.
     Average Burden Hours per Response for the Annual Report: 3.94.
     Average Burden Hours for the Additional Responses in the Annual 
Report: 2.0.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours on Respondents: 719.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the collection of information 
is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the 
accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden (including hours and 
cost) of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this proposed 
revision of a currently approved collection of information. They will 
also become a matter of public record.

    Dated: March 5, 2012.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-5724 Filed 3-8-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P