[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 23 (Wednesday, February 4, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6056-6057]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02087]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Computer and 
Internet Use Supplement to the Census Bureau's Current Population 
Survey

AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 
Commerce.

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: Submit comments on or before April 6, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to 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]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the proposed information collection instrument and 
instructions should be directed to Rafi Goldberg, Telecommunications 
Policy Analyst, Office of Policy Analysis and Development, NTIA, at 
(202) 482-1880 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    NTIA proposes to add 61 questions to the U.S. Census Bureau's July 
2015 Current Population Survey (CPS) 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.\1\ In support of that 
goal, he traveled to Cedar Falls, Iowa on January 14, 2015, and spoke 
of his plans to ``give more communities access to faster, cheaper 
broadband so they can succeed in the digital economy. . . . [T]oday, 
high speed broadband is not a luxury, but a necessity.'' \2\
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    \1\ See http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/10/31/promoting-rural-opportunity-expanding-access-broadband (last viewed January 6, 
2015).
    \2\ See http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/01/14/remarks-president-promoting-community-broadband (last viewed January 
15, 2015).
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    The Administration is working with Congress, the Federal 
Communications Commission (FCC), and other stakeholders to develop and 
advance economic and regulatory policies that foster broadband 
deployment and adoption to help ensure that the nation's consumers and 
businesses can obtain competitively priced high-speed Internet access 
and develop the skills necessary to use the technology. 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 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 Census Bureau's scheduled July 2015 CPS, thereby 
significantly reducing the potential burdens on the Bureau and on 
surveyed households. Twelve previous CPS surveys have included 
questions on broadband and Internet.
    The U.S. government has an increasingly pressing need for 
comprehensive broadband data. The U.S. Government Accountability Office 
(GAO), NTIA, and the FCC have issued reports noting the lack of useful 
broadband adoption 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 in part to 
address this deficiency. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and 
Development (OECD) looks to Census Bureau data as an important input 
into their inter-country benchmark analyses. Modifying the July CPS to 
include NTIA's requested broadband questions will allow the Commerce 
Department and NTIA to respond to congressional concerns and 
directives, and to work with the OECD on its broadband methodologies 
with more recent data.

II. Method of Collection

    Personal visits and telephone interviews using computer-assisted 
telephone interviewing and computer-assisted personal interviewing.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0660-XXXX.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission (Revision of a currently 
approved collection).
    Affected Public: Individuals and households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 54,000 households.
    Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 9,000.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.

IV. Requests for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed 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 on 
respondents of providing the requested information, 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 information 
collection; they also will be a matter of public record.


[[Page 6057]]


    Dated: January 29, 2015.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-02087 Filed 2-3-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-60-P