Takeaways

Data collection requirements will apply to a significant portion of the broadband services industry.
Considering the detailed information to be submitted, broadband service providers should start preparations for filing as soon as possible.
Third-party challenge process introduces additional obligations on broadband service providers.

The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC or Commission) new Broadband Data Collection (BDC) program will open later this month. All facilities-based providers of fixed or mobile broadband Internet access service will be required to file broadband availability data in the new biannual collection. Data collected through the BDC will provide valuable information to the public and help federal, state, local and tribal policymakers target funding to the areas of the country where support is most needed.

The first of these biannual filing deadlines is September 1, 2022, which must contain the requested information as of June 30, 2022.

How Did We Get Here?

In March 2020, Congress enacted the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Available Act (DATA Act), requiring the FCC, among other things, to collect data on the availability and quality of both fixed and mobile broadband Internet access services, create publicly available coverage maps, establish processes for individuals and entities to challenge and verify the coverage maps, and to create a dataset of all locations where fixed broadband Internet access service can be installed.

The Commission adopted rules in 2020 and 2021 implementing the BDC program in order to comply with the DATA Act. The DATA Act instructs the Commission to (1) biannually collect geographic broadband coverage data to use in creating coverage maps; (2) prepare a comprehensive database of broadband serviceable locations; and (3) create a process for challenges to the coverage data of the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (Fabric).

The Fabric is a database of all locations in the United States where fixed broadband Internet access service has been or could be installed. Fixed broadband providers will report their broadband availability data using either (1) availability polygons or (2) a list of addresses or locations, and the Fabric will then form the foundation for the location-based or address-based reporting.

Who Must File?

BDC filing requirements apply to facilities-based providers of fixed or mobile broadband internet, including providers of interconnected VoIP service. An entity is a facilities-based provider of a service if it supplies the service using any of five types of facilities:

  1. physical facilities that the entity owns and that terminate at the end-user premises;
  2. facilities that the entity has obtained the right to use from other entities, such as dark fiber or satellite transponder capacity as part of its own network, or has obtained from other entities;
  3. unbundled network element (UNE) loops, special access lines, or other leased facilities that the entity uses to complete terminations to the end-user premises;
  4. wireless spectrum for which the entity holds a license/manages/has obtained the right to use via a spectrum leasing arrangement or comparable arrangement; or
  5. unlicensed spectrum.

The DATA Act requires the FCC to collect data from “each provider of terrestrial fixed, fixed wireless, or satellite broadband,” and to document the areas where the provider “has actually built out the broadband network infrastructure of the provider such that the provider is able to provide that service.” The FCC states that it has construed that provision to require reporting only by facilities-based providers. Additionally, the Commission determined that resellers are not subject to the filing requirement, because facilities-based providers, rather than a reseller, are in the best position to know and report such information. However, providers using UNE loops, special access lines or other leased facilities to provide broadband access to end users are subject to the BDC filing requirements.

Filing Deadlines

Filers must submit broadband availability data, as of June 30, 2022, no later than September 1, 2022. These filings will continue to be due twice a year on the same schedule as the Form 477.

Note that the BDC filings do not relieve service providers of their Form 477 obligations. However, service providers offering only voice service (and not broadband service) are not required to submit their voice subscribership data in a BDC filing; such data will be submitted in the Form 477 filing interface.

How to File: What Is the “Fabric?”

Broadband service providers that filed fixed broadband deployment data in prior Form 477 filings already have access to a preliminary version of the Fabric. Each company’s data will contain Fabric records for the counties that overlap the census blocks reported in the filer’s Form 477 fixed broadband deployment data. Filers are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the preliminary version of the Fabric to gain an understanding of the format of the Fabric data and to develop a process for conforming their data with the Fabric.

Eligible providers will be required to execute a license agreement with CostQuest before accessing the data. CostQuest will send an email from support@costquest.zendesk.com to the certifying individual listed on each June 2021 Form 477 filing with fixed broadband deployment.

The Preliminary Location Fabric version will contain data elements for each broadband serviceable location, including: (1) a Commission-issued unique Location ID, (2) the location’s latitude/longitude coordinates, which fall within the boundaries of the structure, and (3) address data for each location, if feasible, along with additional information to help filers associate Fabric points with their data.

While BDC filing requirements apply to all facilities-based providers of fixed and mobile broadband internet access, different requirements apply to entities depending on the type of facility it uses to provide service:

  • Fixed Wireline and Satellite Broadband Service Providers must report either polygon shapefiles or lists of addresses/locations that constitute their service areas.
  • Fixed Wireless Broadband Service Providers must report their shapefiles in the form of propagation maps and propagation model details, or a list of addresses/locations reflecting their service areas.
  • Mobile Broadband Internet Access Service Providers must submit propagation maps and propagation model details based on minimum specified parameters. Propagation maps should predict outdoor coverage and include both (1) on-street or pedestrian stationary coverage, and (2) in-vehicle mobile usage. Mobile broadband providers must also submit “heat maps” showing signal strength data.

Fixed broadband service providers that submit availability polygons must ensure that the polygons include, and only include, the locations in the Fabric to which the filer is providing service or those to which it could provide service with a “standard broadband installation.” Fixed broadband service providers that do not report using availability polygons must submit their broadband availability data using Location IDs that match the unique FCC-issued Location IDs in later versions of the Fabric. Filers seeking to submit lists of addresses or locations will need to match their location data to locations in the Fabric.

Failure to timely file the required data may lead to penalties, and it will be difficult to obtain waivers or extensions of the filing deadline. As such, filers are strongly encouraged to access the preliminary Fabric and begin the work of preparing their data.

Challenge Process

The DATA Act requires the FCC to adopt a user-friendly challenge process allowing consumers, state, local, and tribal governmental entities, and other entities or individuals to challenge the accuracy of the coverage maps, broadband availability information submitted by providers, or information included in the Fabric. Challenges will be submitted through an online portal, and the FCC requires challengers to submit different information based on whether they are challenging the data provided by fixed broadband Internet access service providers or challenging mobile coverage data. Providers must either submit a rebuttal to the challenge or concede the challenge within a 60-day period of being notified of the challenge.

Additional Information

Additional information is available at the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection website and video tutorials can be found at the BDC Help Center website under “Video Resources.” If you have addition questions, please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys in Pillsbury’s Communications Practice for specific advice on compliance with these rules or for assistance in preparing any of the above documentation.

These and any accompanying materials are not legal advice, are not a complete summary of the subject matter, and are subject to the terms of use found at: https://www.pillsburylaw.com/en/terms-of-use.html. We recommend that you obtain separate legal advice.