0660.0021.SuppStmt.Reinstmt.072710

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION
BROADBAND SUBSCRIPTION AND USAGE SURVEY (SUPPLEMENT TO THE
CENSUS BUREAU’S CURRENT POPULATION SURVEY)
OMB CONTROL NO. 0660-0021

A.

JUSTIFICATION

This is a review request for reinstatement with change of a previously approved collection.
The date requested for approval is September 1, 2010 which will allow Census the
necessary time to incorporate the questions into the survey.

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.
President Barack Obama is committed to expanding broadband technology across the country. a
The Administration is working with Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC),
Rural Utilities Service, the States, and other parties to develop and implement economic and
regulatory policies that foster broadband deployment and adoption. Current, systematic, and
comprehensive data 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 National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) proposes to add eight
questions to the Census Bureau’s October 2010 Current Population Survey (CPS) in order to
gather reliable data on broadband (also known as high-speed Internet) use by U.S. households.
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,
moreover, will occur in conjunction with Census’ scheduled October Current Population Survey,
thereby significantly reducing the potential burdens on the Bureau and the households surveyed.
Questions on Internet usage were included in eight previous Census household surveys.
The need for comprehensive broadband data has become more pressing in recent months and has
necessitated this request for expedited review. The General Accountability Office (GAO),
NTIA, and the FCC recently issued reports noting the lack of useful broadband 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 partly in response to such
criticisms. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has ranked
the United States a disappointing number 15 in household broadband access for several years
despite a period of rapid growth in the technology’s penetration. The OECD looks to Census data
as an important input into their inter-country benchmark analyses. Modifying the October CPS
to include NTIA’s requested broadband data will allow the Commerce Department and NTIA to
respond to Congressional concerns, Congressional directives, and to work with the OECD on its
broadband methodologies with more recent data.

2. Explain how, by whom, how frequently, and for what purpose the information will be
used. If the information collected will be disseminated to the public or used to support
information that will be disseminated to the public, then explain how the collection
complies with all applicable Information Quality Guidelines.
The Census Bureau will collect the desired information during its October 2010 CPS and
potentially on an annual basis thereafter on varying dates (e.g., July 2011, October 2012) and
with updated survey instruments. NTIA will use the data collected to assist the President, the
Congress, and the FCC to develop targeted, sound, and cost-effective policies to foster the
deployment and adoption of broadband and other Internet services throughout the United States.
The data collected will also be available to the public to further policy research on broadband
and other communications issues, and will be used on an international level at the OECD to
better inform their broadband studies and methodologies. A prominent use for the data will be as
an input into a national broadband map that NTIA must develop and maintain as required by the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Information quality is an integral part of the pre-dissemination review of the information
disseminated by the Census Bureau (fully described in the Census Bureau’s Information Quality
Guidelines).

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological techniques or other forms of
information technology.
The Census Bureau will conduct personal visits and telephone interviews, using computerassisted telephone interviewing and computer-assisted personal interviewing, and consider these
techniques the most appropriate collection methodology, given existing available information
technology.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.
Adding the NTIA’s proposed eight questions to the Census Bureau’s October CPS will generate
official geographic and demographic statistics on broadband and Internet usage in the United
States that is unavailable with such attributes from any other source. To NTIA’s knowledge,
there are no other data sources that can provide the depth and reliability of information on
broadband deployment and adoption that is available from the CPS.

5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or other small entities, describe
the methods used to minimize burden.
Not Applicable.
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6. Describe the consequences to the Federal program or policy activities if the collection is
not conducted or is conducted less frequently.
If the information collection is not conducted, comprehensive and reliable data that is essential to
the development of sound and cost-effective government policies regarding broadband
deployment and adoption and, more broadly, the Internet, would be unattainable.

7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a
manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.
Not Applicable.

8. Provide a copy of the PRA Federal Register Notice that solicited public comments on the
information collection prior to this submission. Summarize the public comments received
in response to that notice and describe the actions taken by the agency in response to those
comments. Describe the efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their
views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and
recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be
recorded, disclosed, or reported.
The Federal Register Notice soliciting public comment was published on May 24, 2010 (Vol. 75,
pg. 28781). No comments were received.
NTIA consulted with the following person(s) concerning the development of the proposed
questions:
Christopher Laskey, Census Bureau, (301) 763-5312
Lisa Clement, Census Bureau, (301) 763-5482
Greg Weyland, Census Bureau, (301) 763-3790
Robert Kominski, Census Bureau, (301) 763-2120
The result of these consultations is NTIA’s eight proposed supplemental questions. The advance
letter referred to in response to Question 10 provide respondents with an address at the Census
Bureau and at the OMB to which they can submit general comments on the survey, specifically
those regarding respondent burden.

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9. Explain any decisions to provide payments or gifts to respondents, other than
remuneration of contractors or grantees.
Not Applicable.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for
assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.
The Census Bureau will collect CPS data (including NTIA’s proposed supplemental questions)
in compliance with the Privacy Act of 1974. Each sample household will receive an advance
letter approximately one week before the start of the initial CPS interview. The letter includes
the information required by the Privacy Act of 1974, informs each respondent of the voluntary
nature of the survey, and states the estimated time required for participating in the survey.
Additionally, interviewers must ask each respondent if he/she received the advance letter and, if
not, will provide a copy of the letter to each respondent and allow sufficient time for him/her to
read its contents. Upon request, interviewers also provide households with the pamphlet on
"How the Census Bureau Keeps Your Information Strictly Confidential," which reaffirms the
confidentiality assurances and mentions the Census Bureau's past performance in assuring
confidentiality. All information given by respondents to Census Bureau employees is held in
strict confidence under Title 13, United States Code, Section 9. Each Census Bureau employee
has taken an oath to that effect and is subject to a jail penalty and/or a substantial fine if he/she
discloses any information given to him/her.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual
behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered
private.
NTIA’s proposed supplemental questions are not of a sensitive nature.

12. Provide an estimate in hours of the burden of the collection of information.
The Census Bureau estimates that the total respondent burden for NTIA’s proposed eight
questions is 1,350 hours (90 seconds per household for the 54,000 households in the CPS
sample).

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to the respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection (excluding the value of the burden hours in
Question 12 above).
Not Applicable.
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14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.
The Census Bureau is charging NTIA $340,000 to include the eight supplemental questions in
the CPS with associated agreed-upon tables.

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments.
The program change is due to the reinstatement of a previously approved collection.

16. For collections whose results will be published, outline the plans for tabulation and
publication.
The Census Bureau will conduct the CPS in October 2010. Fact sheets and any appropriate
reports will be issued during the first quarter of 2011.
A copy of the NTIA Broadband Internet Report which comprised the results of the information
collected from the previous inclusion of broadband questions in the CPS is in ROCIS as a
supplementary document.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the
information collection, explain the reasons why display would be inappropriate.
Not Applicable.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement.
There are no exceptions to the certification.

a

See White House website at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/20091217-recovery-act-investmentsbroadband.pdf (last viewed May 11, 2010).

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