[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 122 (Monday, June 25, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37870-37871]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-15382]


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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 provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. Chapter 35).
    Agency: National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
(NTIA).
    Title: Computer and Internet Use Supplement to the Census Bureau's 
Current Population Survey (formerly Broadband Subscription and Usage 
Survey Supplement to the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey).
    OMB Control Number: 0660-0021.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (Reinstatement with change of a 
previously approved collection).
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 54,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: 3 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,700.
    Needs and Uses: NTIA proposes to add 12 questions to the U.S. 
Census Bureau's October 2012 Current Population Survey (CPS) in order 
to gather reliable data on broadband (also known as high-speed 
Internet) use by U.S. households. President Obama has established a 
national goal of universal, affordable broadband access for all 
Americans (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/20091217-recovery-act-investments-broadband.pdf). To that end, the 
Administration is working with Congress, the Federal Communications

[[Page 37871]]

Commission (FCC), and other stakeholders to develop and advance 
economic and regulatory policies that foster broadband deployment and 
adoption. Collecting current, systematic, and comprehensive information 
on broadband use and non-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 (``the 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 
will occur in conjunction with the Bureau's scheduled October 2012 
Current Population Survey (CPS), thereby significantly reducing the 
potential burden on surveyed households. Questions on broadband and 
Internet use have been included in ten previous CPS surveys.
    The modification the October CPS to include NTIA's requested 
broadband data will allow the Commerce Department and NTIA to respond 
to congressional concerns and directives.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: Once.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    OMB Desk Officer: Nicholas Fraser, (202) 395-5887.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Jennifer Jessup, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0336, Department of Commerce, Room 6612, 14th Street 
and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet 
at [email protected]).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to Nicholas Fraser, OMB Desk Officer, via the Internet at [email protected], or by Fax at (202) 395-7285.

    Dated: June 19, 2012.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-15382 Filed 6-22-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P