[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 125 (Monday, June 29, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 38793-38794]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12135]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 1 and 43

[WC Docket No. 11-10 and 19-195, FCC 19-79; FRS 16815]


Establishing the Digital Opportunity Data Collection; Modernizing 
the FCC Form 477 Data Program

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission 
(Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection 
requirements associated with the Local Telephone Competition and 
Broadband Reporting, Report and Order, FCC Form 477. This document is 
consistent with the Report and Order, which stated that the Commission 
would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing OMB 
approval and the effective date of the information collection 
requirements.

DATES: Paragraphs 44 through 51 of the Report and Order, published at 
84 FR 43705, August 22, 2019, are effective on June 29, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information, contact 
Cathy Williams, [email protected], (202) 418-2918.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that, on May 28, 
2020, OMB approved the information collection requirements contained in 
the Commission's Report and Order, FCC 19-79, published at 84 FR 43705, 
August 22, 2019. The OMB Control Numbers are 3060-0816. The Commission 
publishes this document as an announcement of the effective date of the 
information collection requirements.

Synopsis

    As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3507), the FCC is notifying the public that it received OMB approval on 
May 28, 2020, for the information collection requirements contained in 
the Commission's rules.
    No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply 
with a

[[Page 38794]]

collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act that 
does not display a current, valid OMB Control Number. The OMB Control 
Numbers are 3060-0816.
    The foregoing notice is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, Public Law 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.
    The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents 
are as follows:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0816.
    OMB Approval Date: May 28, 2020.
    OMB Expiration Date: March 31, 2023.
    Title: Local Telephone Competition and Broadband Reporting, Report 
and Order, FCC Form 477 (WC Docket No. 19-195, WC Docket No. 11-10, FCC 
19-79).
    Form Number: FCC Form 477.
    Respondents: Business or other non-profit or for-profit entities; 
not-for-profit institutions; and state, local, or tribal government.
    Number of Respondents: 2,515 respondents, 5,030 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 348 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Semi-annual reporting requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in 
47 U.S.C. 4(i), 201, 218-220, 251-252, 271, 303(r), 332 and 403 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and 47 U.S.C. 1302.
    Total Annual Burden: Approximately 1,750,440 hours (for all 
respondents).
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission will no longer 
treat as confidential service providers' minimum advertised or expected 
speed data for mobile broadband services. Thus, provider-specific 
coverage data will be publicly released for all subsequent Form 477 
filings. This action is necessary to ensure that consumers can easily 
use the information that is disclosed to the public, including minimum 
advertised or expected speed data, because such information is only 
beneficial if consumers know where service coverage is available.
    Needs and Uses: On August 1, 2019, the Commission adopted a Report 
and Order, FCC 19-79, in WC Docket Nos. 19-195 and 11-10. The Order 
makes targeted changes to the existing Form 477 data collection to 
reduce reporting burdens for all filers and incorporate new 
technologies. The Order adopts the 5G-NR (New Radio) technology 
standards developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) 
with Release 15 and requires providers to submit 5G deployment data 
that meet the specifications of Release 15 (or any successor release 
that may be adopted by the Commission's Bureaus). These changes are 
necessary because the deployment data collected on Form 477 are no 
longer sufficient for targeting universal service funds. The actions to 
improve the Form 477 data collection will also increase the usefulness 
of the information to the Commission, Congress, the industry, and the 
public. The Order reduces the burden on broadband providers by removing 
the requirement that facilities-based providers submit separate 
coverage maps depicting their broadband network coverage areas for each 
transmission technology and each frequency band. It also modifies the 
requirement that mobile broadband providers report coverage information 
for each technology deployed in their networks by reducing the number 
of categories from nine to four. The Order also eliminates the 
requirement that facilities-based providers submit a list of census 
tracts in which the provider advertises its mobile wireless broadband 
service and in which the service is available to actual and potential 
subscribers. Finally, the Order removes the requirement that fixed 
providers offering business/enterprise/government services to report 
the maximum downstream and upstream contractual or guaranteed data 
throughput rate (committed information rate) available in each reported 
census block. As adopted by the Commission, the Order required mobile 
providers to submit broadband and voice subscriber data at the census-
tract level based on the subscriber's place of primary use for postpaid 
subscribers and based on the subscriber's telephone number for prepaid 
and resold subscribers. These rules will not become effective as a 
result of the Broadband DATA Act (Broadband Deployment Accuracy and 
Technology Availability Act, Public Law 116-130, 134 Stat. 228 (2020) 
(codified at 47 U.S.C. 641-646)). The Broadband DATA Act directs the 
Commission to ``continue to collect and publicly report subscription 
data that the Commission collected through the Form 477 broadband 
deployment service availability process, as in effect on July 1, 
2019.'' 47 U.S.C. 642(b)(6)(B), which became law on March 23, 2020.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-12135 Filed 6-26-20; 8:45 am]
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