[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 175 (Friday, September 9, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62479-62481]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-21771]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

[Docket No. 160831803-6803-01]
RIN 0660-XC031


National Broadband Research Agenda

AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 
U.S. Department of Commerce; National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice, request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In furtherance of the Broadband Opportunity Council's 
recommendation to improve data collection, analysis and research on 
broadband, the National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration (NTIA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) request 
public comments to inform the development of a National Broadband 
Research Agenda (Agenda) in collaboration with the Networking and 
Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Program and 
other agencies that form the Council. This Agenda will reflect the most 
significant opportunities for data collection, analysis, and research 
to keep pace with, and take advantage of, the massive digital changes 
that permeate our economy and society.

DATES: Submit written comments on or before 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight 
Time on October 11, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted by email to: 
[email protected]. Include ``National Broadband Research 
Agenda'' 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 4887, Attn: National 
Broadband Research Agenda, 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 the submission. Enclose a CD or 
DVD version of your submission labeled with the name and organization 
of the filer. All comments received are a part of the public record and 
will generally be posted to https://www.ntia.doc.gov/federal-register-notice/2016/comments-national-broadband-research-agenda without change. 
All personal identifying information (e.g., name, address) voluntarily 
submitted by commenters may be publicly accessible. Do not submit 
confidential business information or otherwise sensitive or protected 
information. NTIA will accept anonymous comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Francine Alkisswani, National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Room 4621, Washington, DC 
20230; telephone: (202) 482-5560; email: [email protected]; or 
Jack T. Brassil, Computer and Information Science and Engineering, 
National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Room 1175.31N, 
Arlington, VA 22230; telephone: (703) 292-8950; email: 
[email protected]. Please direct media inquiries to NTIA's Office of 
Public Affairs; email: [email protected]; telephone: (202) 482-7002.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    In March 2015, President Obama created the Broadband Opportunity 
Council (Council), composed of 25 federal departments and agencies, to 
determine actions that the federal government could take to eliminate 
barriers to broadband deployment, competition, and adoption and 
encourage investment through executive actions within the scope of 
existing agency programs, missions, and budgets.\1\ The U.S. 
Departments of Commerce and Agriculture co-chaired the Council.
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    \1\ The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, Presidential 
Memorandum--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.
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    In September 2015, the White House released the Council's report, 
which described 36 concrete steps the member agencies would take to 
reduce barriers, incentivize investment, promote best practices, align 
funding policies and decisions, and support broadband deployment and 
adoption.\2\ One of the actions in the report called for NTIA and NSF 
to develop a national broadband research agenda with input from other 
federal agencies and the broader research community. This Notice seeks 
recommendations from all members of the research community to support 
the development of the Agenda. This input will supplement input 
received through an NSF-sponsored visioning workshop.\3\
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    \2\ Broadband Opportunity Council, Report and Recommendations 
Pursuant to the Presidential Memorandum on Expanding Broadband 
Deployment and Adoption by Addressing Regulatory Barriers and 
Encouraging Investment and Training (Aug. 20, 2015) at 12, available 
at https://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/broadband_opportunity_council_report_final.pdf.
    \3\ The National Science Foundation (NSF) funded the 
Pennsylvania State University, Institute of Information Policy (IIP) 
to organize a visioning workshop with leading experts in academia, 
industry, and government on June 16-17, 2016, at the NSF in 
Arlington, Virginia. See the details of the ``Broadband 2021'' 
workshop at https://broadband.ist.psu.edu/.
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II. Objectives of This Notice

    This Notice seeks input to improve data collection, analysis, 
research, and their applications for the benefit of broadband policy 
development, program implementation, and program evaluation. A robust 
broadband research

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agenda will also help external stakeholders, especially those whose 
research initiatives rely on federal data, reporting, funding, 
coordination, and other federal resources and support. This Notice 
seeks such input in four specific areas: (i) Broadband technology; (ii) 
broadband deployment, adoption, and utilization by individual, 
business, and institutional users; (iii) assessment of economic and 
social impacts; and (iv) opportunities for federal leadership in data 
collection, research, and overall coordination.
    The success of the Agenda requires not only high-impact, cutting-
edge proposals across data collection, analysis, and research, but also 
an overall strategic plan that is achievable. Thus, through this 
Notice, NTIA and NSF seek recommendations, best practices, and 
solutions to current challenges with regard to: Promising research and 
analytical methodologies; effective approaches for data collection and 
sharing; opportunities for better alignment and coordination for these 
research efforts across all federal and external stakeholders; funding 
strategies with suggestions for prioritization and public-private 
resource sharing; and possible changes to federal policies and programs 
that could enhance broadband research. NTIA and NSF also encourage 
interested parties to recommend any other suggestions (e.g., research 
topics, implementation approaches) if the concepts are not articulated 
in this Notice.

III. Request for Comments

    Instructions for Commenters: Commenters are encouraged to address 
any or all of the following questions. Commenters responding to 
specific questions should label the response with a question number. 
Comments that contain references to studies, research, and other 
empirical data that are not widely published should include copies of 
(or links to) the referenced materials with the submitted comments.
    For any response, commenters may wish to consider describing 
specific goals and action(s) that NTIA and/or NSF, or other federal 
agencies, may take (independently or in conjunction with the private 
sector) to achieve those goals; the benefits and costs associated with 
the action(s); whether the proposal is agency-specific or interagency; 
the rationale and evidence to support the proposal; and the roles of 
other stakeholders.

A. Broadband Technology

    Comments under this heading should address research and evaluation 
as related to broadband technology development and innovation. The 
broadband technology landscape continues to reflect rapid innovation 
and advancement, across all levels of the broadband technology value 
chain, e.g., platforms, networks, devices, services, applications. 
These advances have yielded a myriad of new products and services, and 
improved the quality and performance of existing ones. Questions 
related to technology research follow:
    1. What are the critical data and research needs in the areas of 
broadband technology and innovation?
    2. What specific technology research proposals, and associated 
methodologies, should be prioritized to support the advancement of 
broadband technology? And why?
    3. What specific technology research proposals can support federal 
efforts to foster the access and adoption of broadband technology 
across rural areas, and other unserved and underserved segments, such 
as population groups that have traditionally under-utilized broadband 
technology (e.g., seniors, low-income families, persons with 
disabilities)?

B. Broadband Access and Adoption

    Comments under this heading should address research and evaluation 
as related to programs, services, and applications that drive broadband 
access, adoption, and utilization for individuals and their families, 
businesses, and institutions. Questions related to broadband deployment 
and adoption follow:
    4. What are the critical data and research needs in the areas of 
broadband deployment and access?
    5. What specific research proposals, and associated methodologies, 
regarding broadband access should be prioritized? And why?
    6. What are specific areas for federally-supported research as 
related to key market trends that impact broadband deployment, 
including business models, public-private partnerships, sustainability 
drivers, the removal of regulatory barriers?
    7. What are the critical data and research needs in the areas of 
broadband adoption and utilization?
    8. What specific research proposals, and associated methodologies, 
regarding broadband adoption and utilization should be prioritized? And 
why?
    9. What specific research and data are needed to understand how 
rural residents and other population groups that have traditionally 
under-utilized broadband technology (e.g., seniors, low-income 
families, persons with disabilities) can better adopt and use 
broadband?

C. Socioeconomic Impacts

    Comments under this heading should address research and evaluation 
as related to measuring the social and economic impacts of deploying 
and/or using broadband. Understanding the economic and social impact of 
broadband on the American society influences the prioritization, 
design, and evaluation of federal policies and programs. Questions 
related to socioeconomic impact follow:
    10. What are the critical data and research needs in the area of 
broadband and its economic and social impact?
    11. What specific research proposals, and associated methodologies, 
regarding the socioeconomic impact of broadband should be prioritized?
    12. Are there specific socioeconomic research areas that can help 
measure the effectiveness of federal programs seeking to foster 
broadband access, adoption, or competition?

D. Opportunities for Federal Leadership in Data Collection and Research

    Comments under this heading should address proposals for 
implementing the suggestions and recommendations discussed above. The 
Agenda will include a strategic plan that includes specific 
initiatives, measurable goals, and identification of the key resources 
necessary for implementation. Resources and leadership will be required 
across a multitude of stakeholders (e.g., federal government, industry, 
academia). Questions related to opportunities for federal leadership 
and engagement with stakeholders follow:
    13. What opportunities exist to improve the sharing of research 
from federal research programs with external stakeholders (e.g., 
industry, academia)? Likewise, how can external stakeholders better 
share their research with federal agencies?
    14. What are suggestions for enhancing cross-disciplinary 
collaboration in broadband research?
    15. Given limited federal budgets and existing research efforts led 
by industry, academia, and other external groups, what specific role 
should the federal government play in the area of broadband research 
(e.g., funding, data gathering, coordination)?
    16. Are there opportunities to collect new broadband-related data 
or expand current data sets within federal programs that fund and/or 
produce research?
    17. What data (whether public or commercial/proprietary) would

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facilitate ground-breaking research related to broadband, if that data 
were to become available?
    18. What are possible changes to federal policies and programs that 
could enhance broadband research?
    19. What are recommendations for standardizing broadband and 
commonly-used demographic terms across the research community? How can 
these terms be operationalized to ensure comparability of data?

    Dated: September 6, 2016.
Kathy D. Smith,
Chief Counsel, National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Management Analyst, Office of the General Counsel, National Science 
Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2016-21771 Filed 9-8-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-60-P