[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 98 (Tuesday, May 21, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23036-23037]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-10506]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; 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.
    Title: NTIA Voluntary Collection of Broadband Availability Data.
    OMB Control Number: None.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission.
    Number of Respondents: 600.
    Average Hours per Response: 53.
    Burden Hours: 31,800.
    Needs and Uses: In the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, 
Congress directed NTIA to update the national broadband availability 
map in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 
and the states.\1\ Specifically, Congress directed NTIA to acquire and 
display available third-party data sets to the extent it is able to 
negotiate its inclusion to augment data from the FCC, other federal 
government agencies, state governments, and the private sector.\2\ The 
objective of these updates is to identify regions of the country with 
insufficient broadband capacity, particularly in rural areas.
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    \1\ Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, Public Law 115-141, 
Division B, Title I, 132 Stat. 348.
    \2\ Joint Explanatory Statement, 164 Cong. Rec. No. 50--Book II, 
at H2084-85 (Mar. 22, 2018).
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    Presently, the only source of nationwide broadband availability 
data is that collected from broadband service provider responses to the 
FCC Form 477 Fixed Broadband Deployment data process. Form 477 data are 
submitted by voice and broadband telecommunications service providers 
semi-annually and include information on the services each provider 
offers, at

[[Page 23037]]

the Census block level. While the Census block system provides a very 
high level of geographic granularity overall--the United States is 
divided into over 11 million blocks, 95 percent of which do not exceed 
1 square mile in land area--it is possible that broadband availability 
may vary within a single block, (which is most common in rural areas). 
Additionally, broadband service providers who wish to share more 
granular data on broadband availability--including regulated and non-
regulated entities--have no mechanism to do so. Further, a broadband 
service provider offering service to any homes or businesses in a 
Census block is instructed to report that block as served in its Form 
477 filing, even though it may not offer broadband services in most of 
the block. This can lead to overstatements in the level of broadband 
availability, especially in rural areas where Census blocks are large 
or when services are only available near the boundaries of a Census 
block.
    As a result of these requirements and constraints, NTIA has 
developed this voluntary collection of broadband availability data, at 
a more granular level than that available via current Federal programs 
(including the FCC Form 477 process). This data will be used to analyze 
and map broadband availability across the country, and particularly in 
rural areas, for the purposes of public policy-making and public 
investment analysis and decision-making. This information collection 
covers the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
Puerto Rico, the Island Areas of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the United States Virgin 
Islands.
    The data to be collected includes geographic information on service 
availability--such as address, address range, road centerline, land-
parcel identification, or latitude/longitude--and corresponding 
broadband availability data (such as technology service type, upload 
and download speed, etc.) Data in a Geographic Information Systems 
(GIS) format that describe (a) wireless coverage areas based on a 
propagation model and (b) network infrastructure (such as fiber optic 
routes) is also responsive. The information collection will be 
administered through an online file transfer tool. NTIA will not 
require that respondents modify appropriate data sets, with the 
exception that Personally Identifiable Information (PII) should be 
removed prior to transmission to NTIA.
    Affected Public: NTIA intends to collect this information from two 
types of respondents that collect broadband data with more geographic 
granularity than the Census block level: (1) Owners and operators of 
broadband networks; and (2) industry associations, data aggregators, 
and researchers that study or analyze broadband availability. 
Respondents may include private companies, non-profits, cooperatives, 
educational institutions, tribal governments, and local, regional, or 
state governments. This information collection includes the use of both 
wireline and wireless technologies to deliver broadband services.
    Frequency: Bi-annual. Recognizing the regulatory requirements and 
deadlines of broadband service providers, NTIA has aligned the due 
dates for this information collection to trail the bi-annual FCC Form 
477 reporting submitted by service providers. Data should be submitted 
to NTIA on November 1 and May 1 of each year. While NTIA intends to 
collect information twice a year on these dates, NTIA's online system 
will not foreclose an entity from submitting information at any other 
time during the year or more than twice a year if the entity 
voluntarily chooses to do so.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    This information collection request may be viewed at reginfo.gov. 
Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce collections 
currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to [email protected] or fax to (202) 395-5806.

Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental Lead PRA Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, 
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2019-10506 Filed 5-20-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-60-P