Aug 18 -- The Federal Communications Commission adopts a Second Report and Order (effective September 17, 2020) establishing measures for developing improved broadband data, including requiring:
-- fixed wireline and satellite providers to submit shapefiles, or lists of addresses or locations, representing where they have customers or could install service within 10 business days of a request;
-- terrestrial fixed wireless providers to report their coverage areas based on propagation maps and models using prescribed parameters, or based on lists of addresses or locations, to define their specific coverage areas;
-- all fixed providers to provide details on the methodology used to determine their reported coverage; and
-- mobile providers to submit coverage maps and propagation model details based on minimum specified parameters and to disclose other assumptions underlying the models.
Under the Second Report and Order, the Commission will establish a common dataset of all locations in the United States where fixed broadband service can be installed—known as the “Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric.”
The Second Report and Order also adopts processes for verifying the accuracy of providers' broadband data, including the collection of crowdsourced data and the use of regular audits to examine provider data.
The Commission adopted the Second Report and Order on July 16, 2020. This document is available at:
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-94A1.pdf.
FR notice regarding implementation of Digital Opportunity Data Collection:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/08/18/2020-17633/establishing-the-digital-opportunity-data-collection-modernizing-the-fcc-form-477-data-program
Points of contact: Wireline Competition Bureau, Kirk Burgee, at (202) 418-1599, Kirk.Burgee@fcc.gov, or Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Garnet Hanly, at (202) 418-0995, Garnet.Hanly@fcc.gov.
