[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 194 (Tuesday, October 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69926-69927]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-22425]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-1139; FR ID 176951]


Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal 
Communications Commission

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, 
and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the 
Federal Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) invites the 
general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to 
comment on the following information collection. Comments are requested 
concerning: whether the proposed collection of information is necessary 
for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, 
including whether the information shall have practical utility; the 
accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on the 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology; and ways to further reduce the 
information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer 
than 25 employees.

DATES: Written PRA comments should be submitted on or before December 
11, 2023. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but 
find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this 
notice, you should advise the contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicole Ongele, FCC, via email 
[email protected] and to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the 
information collection, contact Nicole Ongele, (202) 418-2991.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a 
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control 
number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply 
with a collection of information subject to the PRA that does not 
display a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1139.
    Title: FCC Consumer Broadband Services Testing and Measurement.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Businesses or other for-profit and individuals or 
households.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 501,020 respondents and 
501,020 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour-200 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Biennial reporting requirement and third-
party disclosure requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Voluntary. Statutory authority for this 
information collection is contained in the Broadband

[[Page 69927]]

Data Improvement Act of 2008, Public Law 110-385, Stat 4096, 103(c)(1).
    Total Annual Burden: 46,667 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission will submit this expiring collection 
after this 60-day comment period to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) to obtain the full three-year clearance.
    This study's collection of information on actual speeds and 
performance of fixed and mobile broadband connections delivered to 
consumers by ISPs has been reported to be of great value to academic 
researchers, manufacturers and technology providers, broadband 
providers, public interest groups and other diverse stakeholders. 
Validation of fixed broadband subscribed speeds as opposed to actual 
speeds by participating ISPs remains unique to this program and 
provides a context for measured speeds. Mobile broadband performance 
information is measured using the FCC Speed Test app for Android and 
iOS devices to test the upload and download speeds, latency and packet 
loss, as well as the wireless performance characteristics of the 
broadband connection and the kind of handsets and versions of operating 
systems tested. Information the FCC Speed Test App (``Application'') 
collects is limited to information used to measure volunteers' mobile 
broadband service and no personally identifiable information, such as 
subscribers' name, phone number or unique identifiers associated with a 
device is collected. Software-based tools and online tools exist that 
can test consumer's broadband connections, including a set of consumer 
tools launched by the FCC in conjunction with the National Broadband 
Plan. However, these tools track speeds experienced by consumers, 
rather than speeds delivered directly to a consumer by an ISP. The 
distinction is important for supporting Agency broadband policy 
analysis, as ISPs advertise speeds and performance delivered rather 
than speeds experienced, which suffers from degradation outside of an 
ISP's control. No other dedicated panel of direct fixed and mobile 
broadband performance measurement using publicly documented 
methodologies using free and add-free technologies exists today in the 
country. The program will continue to support existing software-based 
tools and online tools but the focus of the program will remain the 
direct measurement of broadband performance delivered to the consumer. 
The collection effort also has specific elements focused on further 
network performance statistics, time of day parameters, and other 
elements affecting consumers' broadband experience that are not tracked 
elsewhere. The information to be confirmed by ISP Partners about their 
subscribers or technical and market data regarding the broadband 
services they provide is unavailable from other sources.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-22425 Filed 10-6-23; 8:45 am]
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