PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 DA 14-1458 Released: October 7, 2014 FORM 477 FILING INTERFACE REMAINS CLOSED AS TECHNICAL IMPROVEMENTS ARE IMPLEMENTED WC Docket No. 11-10 On September 29, 2014, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced that the Form 477 filing interface had closed temporarily, starting on September 26, 2014, due to significant and unanticipated technical issues.1 At the same time the Bureau announced that it was extending the deadline for filing Form 477 data as of June 30, 2014 beyond the original October 1, 2014 deadline and would announce a new filing deadline when the site reopened.2 The issue that required the closure of the site on September 26 was an isolated incident, and, out of an abundance of caution, the Bureau decided to halt submissions while it addressed this anomaly. However, with access to the site suspended, we believe this is an opportune time to deploy newly- developed technical improvements to the interface that should significantly enhance its overall performance. In particular, we expect improvements in the stability and processing times of large file uploads, which the FCC’s Technological Advisory Council (TAC) Working Group on Form 477 Testing recommended to the TAC on September 23, 2014.3 We will update filers on the status of the site in approximately two weeks. Once the site reopens, we will announce the new filing deadline, which will be no less than two weeks after that date. We apologize for any inconvenience related to these delays. We note that filers can continue to prepare their data for upload while the site is down. To assist in the preparation of these data, the Bureau has made several new resources available for filers on the Commission’s Form 477 webpage, http://www.fcc.gov/form477. These resources include: · Census block-level data on broadband availability by provider from the National Broadband Map, at http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/broadband-availability-data- national-broadband-map, · Lists of 2010 census blocks by state in CSV and Excel formats, at http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/census-blocks-state, 1 Form 477 Filing Interface Experiencing Technical Difficulties; Filing Deadline Extended, WC Docket No. 11-10, Public Notice, DA 14-1409 (Wireline Comp. Bur. rel. Sept. 26, 2014). 2 Id. 3 See Presentation of the Technological Advisory Council 477 Testing Working Group, FCC Technological Advisory Council Meeting, September 23, 2014, at 53-65, available at http://transition.fcc.gov/bureaus/oet/tac/tacdocs/meeting92314/September23rd-TAC-Full-Presentation.pdf. 2· Instructions on how to determine the census blocks in your service area using free, open source mapping software called QGIS, at http://www.fcc.gov/form477/Geo/finding_census_blocks_in_qgis.pdf; and · An overview of resources and options related to generating Fixed Broadband Deployment data, at http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/generating-fixed-broadband- deployment-data-fcc-form-477. For additional information on this proceeding, contact Chelsea Fallon or Ken Lynch of the Industry Analysis and Technology Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, (202) 418-0940, (202) 418- 0484 (tty). - FCC -