[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 82 (Wednesday, April 29, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23785-23787]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09996]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

[Docket No. 1540414365-5365-01]
RIN 0660-XC019


Broadband Opportunity Council Notice and Request for Comment

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and 
National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In furtherance of the Presidential Memorandum entitled 
Expanding Broadband Deployment and Adoption by Addressing Regulatory 
Barriers and Encouraging Investment and Training, which established the 
Broadband Opportunity Council (Council), the Rural Utilities Service 
(RUS) and the National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration (NTIA) are requesting public comment to inform the 
deliberations of the Council.\1\ The Council's objectives are to: (i) 
Engage with industry and other stakeholders to understand ways the 
government can better support the needs of communities seeking to 
expand broadband access and adoption; (ii) identify regulatory barriers 
unduly impeding broadband deployment, adoption, or competition; (iii) 
survey and report back on existing programs that currently support or 
could be modified to support broadband competition, deployment, or 
adoption; and (iv) take all necessary actions to remove these barriers 
and realign existing programs to increase broadband competition, 
deployment, and adoption.\2\ We welcome input from all interested 
parties, including the stakeholder groups identified in the 
Presidential Memorandum.
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    \1\ Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and 
Agencies, Expanding Broadband Deployment and Adoption by Addressing 
Regulatory Barriers and Encouraging Investment and Training, March 
23, 2015, available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/03/23/presidential-memorandum-expanding-broadband-deployment-and-adoption-addr.
    \2\ Fact Sheet: Next Steps in Delivering Fast, Affordable 
Broadband, March 23, 2015, available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/03/23/fact-sheet-next-steps-delivering-fast-affordable-broadband.

DATES: Submit written comments on or before 5 p.m. Eastern time on June 
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10, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted by email to: 
[email protected]. Include Broadband Opportunity Council in the 
subject line of the message. Comments submitted by email should be 
machine-readable and should not be copy-protected. Written comments may 
also be submitted by mail to the National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue NW., Room 4626, Attn: Broadband Opportunity 
Council, Washington, DC 20230. Responders should include the name of 
the person or organization filing the comment, as well as a page number 
on each page of their submissions. Paper submissions should also 
include a CD or DVD with an electronic version of the document, which 
should be labeled with the name and organization of the filer. Please 
do not include in your comments information of a confidential nature, 
such as sensitive personal information or proprietary information. All 
comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be 
posted to http://www.ntia.doc.gov/federal-register-notice/2015/broadband-opportunity-council-comments without change. All personal 
identifying information (e.g., name, address) voluntarily submitted by 
the commenter may be publicly accessible. Information obtained as a 
result of this notice may be used by the federal government for program 
planning on a non-attribution basis.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Hanson, National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Room 4626, Washington, DC 
20230; telephone: (202) 482-0213; email: [email protected]; or 
Denise Scott, Rural Development, Rural Utilities Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 
20250; telephone: (202)720-1910; email: [email protected]. 
Please direct media inquiries to NTIA's Office of Public Affairs, (202) 
482-7002.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On January 13, 2015, President Obama announced new Administration 
efforts to help more people, in more communities around the country, 
gain access to fast and affordable broadband.\3\ Communities across the 
country, including state, local, and tribal governments, are leveraging 
public and private investments to form new partnerships to bring world-
class Internet to their businesses, institutions, and homes. To assist 
these communities and partnerships, support economic growth, and 
promote a level playing field for all competitors, President Obama 
called on the Executive Branch agencies to remove all unnecessary 
regulatory and policy barriers to broadband build-out, adoption, and 
competition.
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    \3\ See FACT SHEET: Broadband That Works: Promoting Competition 
& Local Choice In Next-Generation Connectivity, White House, January 
13, 2015, available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/01/13/fact-sheet-broadband-works-promoting-competition-local-choice-next-gener.
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    On March 23, 2015, the White House released a Presidential 
Memorandum establishing a new Broadband Opportunity Council (Council), 
co-chaired by the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Agriculture. The 
Council comprises 25 federal agencies (Member Agencies) that can play a 
role in accelerating broadband deployment and promoting the 
technology's adoption across the country. To respond to this 
Presidential Memorandum, Member Agencies will provide a list of actions 
that they can take to identify and mitigate regulatory barriers, 
incentivize investment, promote best practices, align funding policies 
and decisions, and support broadband deployment and adoption. The 
Presidential Memorandum also directs the Council to consult with state, 
local, tribal, and territorial governments, as well as 
telecommunications companies, utilities, trade associations, 
philanthropic entities, policy experts, and other interested parties to 
identify and assess regulatory barriers and determine possible actions. 
This Notice seeks public comment to bolster the Council's work and to 
improve the number and quality of ideas under consideration.

II. Objectives of This Notice

    This Notice offers an opportunity for all interested parties to 
share their perspectives and recommend actions the federal government 
can take to promote broadband deployment,

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adoption, and competition, including by identifying and removing 
regulatory barriers unduly impeding investments in broadband 
technology.\4\
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    \4\ NTIA defines ``broadband deployment'' as installing, 
building, provisioning, funding, or otherwise making available 
broadband infrastructure, even in cases of laying an empty duct when 
a trench is open, regardless of technology. This does not preclude 
satellite or inside wiring. Promoting ``broadband adoption'' 
includes providing public access, training, information, affordable 
devices, and/or affordable broadband service to underserved 
individuals or groups.
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    This Notice seeks comment in several different areas: (i) Ways the 
federal government can promote best practices, modernize outdated 
regulations, promote coordination, and offer more services online; (ii) 
identification of regulatory barriers to broadband deployment, 
competition, and adoption; (iii) ways to promote public and private 
investment in broadband; (iv) ways to promote broadband adoption; (v) 
issues related to state, local, and tribal governments; (vi) issues 
related to vulnerable communities and communities with limited or no 
broadband; (vii) issues specific to rural areas; and (viii) ways to 
measure broadband availability, adoption, and speed.

III. Questions

    Commenters are encouraged to address any or all of the following 
questions. Please note in the response the number corresponding to the 
question(s). For any response, commenters may wish to consider 
describing specific goals, actions the Administration might take to 
achieve those goals, the benefits and costs associated with the action, 
whether the proposal is inter-agency or agency-specific, the rationale 
and evidence to support it, and the roles of other stakeholders. 
Specific, actionable proposals for policy mechanisms directed to the 
Executive Branch agencies included in the Council are most useful. 
Please note that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the 
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are independent regulatory agencies and 
not included in the Executive Branch. Independent agencies are not 
members of the Council, although the Presidential Memorandum strongly 
encourages them to comply with its requirements. As a result, 
commenters should focus on matters most within the control of the 
Executive Branch agencies serving on the Council.
    RUS and NTIA seek public comment on the following questions:

A. Overarching Questions

    1. How can the federal government promote best practices in 
broadband deployment and adoption? What resources are most useful to 
communities? What actions would be most helpful to communities seeking 
to improve broadband availability and use?
    2. How can the federal government best promote the coordination and 
use of federally-funded broadband assets?
    3. What federal regulations and/or statutes could be modernized or 
adapted to promote broadband deployment and adoption?
    4. As the federal government transitions to delivering more 
services online, what should government do to provide information and 
training to those who have not adopted broadband? What should the 
federal government do to make reasonable accommodations to those 
without access to broadband?
    5. How can the federal government best collaborate with 
stakeholders (state, local, and tribal governments, philanthropic 
entities, industry, trade associations, consumer organizations, etc.) 
to promote broadband adoption and deployment?

B. Addressing Regulatory Barriers to Broadband Deployment, Competition, 
and Adoption

    6. What regulatory barriers exist within the agencies of the 
Executive Branch to the deployment of broadband infrastructure?
    7. What federal programs should allow the use of funding for the 
deployment of broadband infrastructure or promotion of broadband 
adoption but do not do so now?
    8. What inconsistences exist in federal interpretation and 
application of procedures, requirements, and policies by Executive 
Branch agencies related to broadband deployment and/or adoption, and 
how could these be reconciled? One example is the variance in broadband 
speed definitions.\5\
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    \5\ The definition of what constitutes high-speed internet, 
i.e., ``broadband,'' has evolved over time. The FCC currently 
defines broadband as 25 Mbps for download speeds and 3 Mbps for 
upload speeds. See FCC Finds US Broadband Deployment Not Keeping 
Pace, Updated Broadband Speed Benchmark to 25Mbps/3 Mbps to Reflect 
Consumer Demand, Advances in Technology, Public Notice, Federal 
Communications Commission, January 29, 2015, available at http://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-finds-us-broadband-deployment-not-keeping-pace. USDA uses the 2014 Farm Bill's definition of broadband for 
rural service areas as 4 Mbps for download speeds and 1 Mbps for 
upload speeds.
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    9. Are there specific regulations within the agencies of the 
Executive Branch that impede or restrict competition for broadband 
service, where residents have either no option or just one option? If 
so, what modifications could agencies make to promote competition in 
the broadband marketplace?
    10. Are there federal policies or regulations within the Executive 
Branch that create barriers for communities or entities to share 
federally-funded broadband assets or networks with other non-federally 
funded networks?
    11. Should the federal government promote the implementation of 
federally-funded broadband projects to coincide with other federally-
funded infrastructure projects? For example, coordinating a broadband 
construction project funded by USDA with a road excavation funded by 
DOT?

C. Promoting Public and Private Investment in Broadband

    12. How can communities/regions incentivize service providers to 
offer broadband services, either wired or wireless, in rural and remote 
areas? What can the federal government do to help encourage providers 
to serve rural areas?
    13. What changes in Executive Branch agency regulations or program 
requirements could incentivize last mile investments in rural areas and 
sparsely populated, remote parts of the country?
    14. What changes in Executive Branch agency regulations or program 
requirements would improve coordination of federal programs that help 
communities leverage the economic benefits offered by broadband?
    15. How can Executive Branch agencies incentivize new entrants into 
the market by lowering regulatory or policy barriers?

D. Promoting Broadband Adoption

    16. What federal programs within the Executive Branch should allow 
the use of funding for broadband adoption, but do not do so now?
    17. Typical barriers to broadband adoption include cost, relevance, 
and training. How can these be addressed by regulatory changes by 
Executive Branch agencies?

E. Issues Related to State, Local, and Tribal Governments

    18. What barriers exist at the state, local, and/or tribal level to 
broadband deployment and adoption? How can the federal government work 
with and incentivize state, local, and tribal governments to remove 
these barriers?
    19. What federal barriers do state, local, and tribal governments 
confront as they seek to promote broadband

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deployment and adoption in their communities?
    20. What can the federal government do to make it easier for state, 
local, and tribal governments or organizations to access funding for 
broadband?
    21. How can the federal government support state, local, and tribal 
efforts to promote and/or invest in broadband networks and promote 
broadband adoption? For example, what type of capacity-building or 
technical assistance is needed?

F. Issues Related to Vulnerable Communities and Communities With 
Limited or No Broadband

    22. How can specific regulatory policies within the Executive 
Branch agencies be altered to remove or reduce barriers that prevent 
vulnerable populations from accessing and using broadband technologies? 
Vulnerable populations might include, but are not limited to, veterans, 
seniors, minorities, people with disabilities, at-risk youth, low-
income individuals and families, and the unemployed.
    23. How can the federal government make broadband technologies more 
available and relevant for vulnerable populations?

G. Issues Specific to Rural Areas

    24. What federal regulatory barriers can Executive Branch agencies 
alter to improve broadband access and adoption in rural areas?
    25. Would spurring competition to offer broadband service in rural 
areas expand availability and, if so, what specific actions could 
Executive Branch agencies take in furtherance of this goal?
    26. Because the predominant areas with limited or no broadband 
service tend to be rural, what specific provisions should Executive 
Branch agencies consider to facilitate broadband deployment and 
adoption in such rural areas?

H. Measuring Broadband Availability, Adoption, and Speeds

    27. What information about existing broadband services should the 
Executive Branch collect to inform decisions about broadband 
investment, deployment, and adoption? How often should this information 
be updated?
    28. Are there gaps in the level or reliability of broadband-related 
information gathered by other entities that need to be filled by 
Executive Branch data collection efforts?
    29. What additional research should the government conduct to 
promote broadband deployment, adoption, and competition?
    30. How might the federal government encourage innovation in 
broadband deployment, adoption, and competition?

    Dated: April 24, 2105.
Lawrence E. Strickling,
Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information.
Lisa Mensah,
Under Secretary for Rural Development.
[FR Doc. 2015-09996 Filed 4-28-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-60-P