26 May 2010

[Federal Register: May 26, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 101)]
[Notices]               
[Page 29516-29517]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26my10-27]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

 
Broadband Researchers' Data Workshop

AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 
U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Public Meeting.

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SUMMARY: The National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
(NTIA) will host a public meeting concerning the nature of data related 
to broadband Internet access and use that the agency collects, data 
needs of researchers, and future broadband research.

DATES: The meeting will be held on June 3, 2010, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. 
Eastern Daylight Time.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 
1401 Constitution Avenue, NW., Herbert C. Hoover Building, Room 4830, 
Washington, DC. (Please enter at 14th Street.) The disability 
accessible entrance is located at the 14th Street Aquarium Entrance. 
Any change in the location will be posted on NTIA's Web

[[Page 29517]]

site (http://www.ntia.doc.gov) prior to the meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information regarding the 
meeting, contact James McConnaughey, NTIA, at (202) 482-3161 or 
JMcConnaughey@ntia.doc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: President Obama has expressly committed to 
the expansion of advanced technology across the United States as a 
necessary part of the foundation for long-term economic stability and 
prosperity.\1\ The increased availability and use of broadband 
technology is an integral part of the President's technology agenda. 
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is the 
President's principal adviser on domestic and international 
telecommunications policies pertaining to the Nation's economic and 
technological advancement. In order to achieve the technology and 
broadband goals of the Administration, NTIA is working with the Federal 
Communications Commission (FCC), the Department of Agriculture's Rural 
Utilities Service (RUS), and other stakeholders to develop and 
implement economic and regulatory policies that foster broadband 
deployment and adoption. Current and detailed data by U.S. households' 
and persons' usage of and access to broadband is critical to allow 
policymakers not only to gauge progress made to date, but to identify 
problem areas.
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    \1\ See Guiding Principles, ``Innovation in the Economy: Drive 
Economic Growth and Solve National Problems by Deploying a 21st 
Century Information Infrastructure,'' http://www.whitehouse.gov/
issues/technology.
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    Eight times since the early 1990s, the U.S. Commerce Department's 
Census Bureau has collected data based on questions that NTIA sponsored 
and developed (often in collaboration with the Department's Economics 
and Statistics Administration) to provide up-to-date information on the 
extent of the Nation's Internet adoption and the major reasons why 
current non-users choose not to adopt. Data have been generated by 
several demographic and geographic categories and must be weighted and 
appropriately aggregated before release. These various data, to the 
extent allowed under federal disclosure laws, are made publicly 
available for use by the research community to conduct economic, 
financial, demographic, and other studies. The purpose of the public 
meeting is to provide an opportunity for the research community to 
propose, with rationale, the type of Internet usage data that could be 
usefully collected through scientific-based surveys conducted by the 
Census Bureau (e.g., the Current Population Survey Internet Use 
Supplement).
    NTIA is authorized to conduct studies and evaluations concerning 
telecommunications research and development and for more than 15 years 
has collected and analyzed nationwide Internet data, including since 
2000 usage of high-speed connectivity. These activities have provided 
essential data for prudent policymaking in this area, including 
providing the data to the research community whose work provides 
invaluable inputs for sound policies. NTIA currently collects broadband 
related data from several sources, as demonstrated in the agency's 
October 30, 2009, Broadband Data Transparency Public Workshop.\2\
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    \2\ See http://www.ntia.doc.gov/advisory/broadbanddata/.
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    Matters to be Considered:
    The meeting will include a discussion of the following topics, 
including specific areas of inquiry:

1. Internet access at home and outside the home.
2. Internet use at home and outside the home.
3. Computer access at home and outside the home.
4. Computer use at home and outside the home.
5. Key demographic variables.
6. Key geographic variables.
7. Non-adoption issues: Internet.
8. Non-adoption issues: Computers.

    The meeting will also seek input on:
    A. The timing (``periodicity'') of future data collections.
    B. The data format preferred by researchers including those for 
distributing broadband-related data on the Web to promote maximum 
transparency for researchers and the interested public.
    C. An updated version of the October 2003 Current Population Survey 
Computer and Internet Use Supplement survey instrument (pp. 8 through 
23), http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/computer/2003/quest2003.pdf.
    Specific information regarding the status of and data from specific 
applications for the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) 
and the State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program (State 
Broadband Data Program) will not be discussed at the meeting.
    Time and Date: The meeting will be held on June 3, 2010, from 1 
p.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The times and the agenda topics 
are subject to change. The meeting may be webcast. Please refer to 
NTIA's web site, http://www.ntia.doc.gov, for the most up-to-date 
meeting agenda and webcast information.
    Place: The meeting will be held at the United States Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room 4830, Washington, DC. The 
meeting will be open to the public and press on a first-come, first-
served basis. Space is limited. Attendees should bring a photo ID and 
arrive early to clear security. The public meeting is physically 
accessible to people with disabilities. Individuals requiring 
accommodation, such as sign language interpretation or other ancillary 
aids, are asked to notify Mr. McConnaughey at (202) 482-1880 or 
JMcConnaughey@ntia.doc.gov, at least five (5) business days before the 
meeting.

    Dated: May 21, 2010.
Kathy D. Smith,
Chief Counsel, National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010-12642 Filed 5-25-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-60-P