Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Computer and Internet Use Supplement to the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey
Federal Register, Volume 80 Issue 23 (Wednesday, February 4, 2015)
Federal Register Volume 80, Number 23 (Wednesday, February 4, 2015)
Notices
Pages 6056-6057
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office www.gpo.gov
FR Doc No: 2015-02087
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Computer and Internet Use Supplement to the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey
AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Submit comments on or before April 6, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, (202) 482-0336, Department of Commerce, Room 6612, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at JJessup@doc.gov).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or copies of the proposed information collection instrument and instructions should be directed to Rafi Goldberg, Telecommunications Policy Analyst, Office of Policy Analysis and Development, NTIA, at (202) 482-1880 or RGoldberg@ntia.doc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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Abstract
NTIA proposes to add 61 questions to the U.S. Census Bureau's July 2015 Current Population Survey (CPS) to gather reliable data on broadband (also known as high-speed Internet) use by U.S. households. President Obama has established a national goal of universal, affordable broadband access for all Americans.\1\ In support of that goal, he traveled to Cedar Falls, Iowa on January 14, 2015, and spoke of his plans to ``give more communities access to faster, cheaper broadband so they can succeed in the digital economy. . . . Today, high speed broadband is not a luxury, but a necessity.'' \2\
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\1\ See http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/10/31/promoting-rural-opportunity-expanding-access-broadband (last viewed January 6, 2015).
\2\ See http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/01/14/remarks-president-promoting-community-broadband (last viewed January 15, 2015).
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The Administration is working with Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and other stakeholders to develop and advance economic and regulatory policies that foster broadband deployment and adoption to help ensure that the nation's consumers and businesses can obtain competitively priced high-speed Internet access and develop the skills necessary to use the technology. Collecting current, systematic, and comprehensive information on broadband use and non-use by U.S. households is critical to allow policymakers not only to gauge progress made to date, but also to identify problem areas with a specificity that permits carefully targeted and cost-effective responses.
The Census Bureau is widely regarded as a superior collector of data based on its centuries of experience and its scientific methods. Collection of NTIA's requested broadband usage data will occur in conjunction with the Census Bureau's scheduled July 2015 CPS, thereby significantly reducing the potential burdens on the Bureau and on surveyed households. Twelve previous CPS surveys have included questions on broadband and Internet.
The U.S. government has an increasingly pressing need for comprehensive broadband data. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), NTIA, and the FCC have issued reports noting the lack of useful broadband adoption data for policymakers, and Congress passed legislation--the Broadband Data Improvement Act in 2008 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009--wholly or in part to address this deficiency. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) looks to Census Bureau data as an important input into their inter-country benchmark analyses. Modifying the July CPS to include NTIA's requested broadband questions will allow the Commerce Department and NTIA to respond to congressional concerns and directives, and to work with the OECD on its broadband methodologies with more recent data.
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Method of Collection
Personal visits and telephone interviews using computer-assisted telephone interviewing and computer-assisted personal interviewing.
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Data
OMB Control Number: 0660-XXXX.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Regular submission (Revision of a currently approved collection).
Affected Public: Individuals and households.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 54,000 households.
Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 9,000.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
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Requests for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden (including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden on respondents of providing the requested information, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information collection; they also will be a matter of public record.
Page 6057
Dated: January 29, 2015.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
FR Doc. 2015-02087 Filed 2-3-15; 8:45 am
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