Federal Communications Commission	DA 22-668


	DA 22-668
Released:  June 23, 2022

BROADBAND DATA TASK FORCE ANNOUNCES THE AVAILABILITY OF THE PRODUCTION VERSION OF THE BROADBAND SERVICEABLE LOCATION FABRIC
	WC Docket Nos. 19-195, 11-10	

By this Public Notice, the Broadband Data Task Force (Task Force), Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB), and Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA) announce that the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (Fabric) that will be used for the inaugural Broadband Data Collection (BDC) is now available for broadband service providers and governmental entities to access, subject to the procedures set forth in this Public Notice.  Broadband availability data as of June 30, 2022, can be submitted in the BDC beginning on June 30, 2022, and initial filings are due no later than September 1, 2022. See Broadband Data Task Force and Office of Economics and Analytics Announce Inaugural Broadband Data Collection Filing Dates, WC Docket Nos. 19-195, 11-10, Public Notice, DA 22-182, at 9 (BDTF, OEA Feb. 22, 2022) (BDC Filing Window Public Notice).  
  This Public Notice is a continuation of the efforts by Congress and the Commission to establish a common dataset of all locations in the United States where fixed broadband Internet access service can be installed. Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technology Availability Act, Pub. L. No. 116-130, 134 Stat. 228 (2020) (codified at 47 U.S.C. §§ 641-646) (Broadband DATA Act); Establishing the Digital Opportunity Data Collection; Modernizing the FCC Form 477 Data Program, WC Docket Nos. 19-195, 11-10, Second Report and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 35 FCC Rcd 7460, 7483-84, paras. 52-54 (2020) (Second Order and Third Further Notice); Establishing the Digital Opportunity Data Collection; Modernizing the FCC Form 477 Data Program, WC Docket Nos. 19-195, 11-10, Third Report and Order, 36 FCC Rcd 1126, 1175-77, paras. 126-32 (2021) (Third Report and Order); Broadband Data Task Force Announces Access to Preliminary Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric To Fixed Service Providers And Guidance For Filing Fixed Broadband Availability Data, WC Docket Nos. 19-195, 11-10, Public Notice, DA 22-413 (BDTF, OEA, WCB Apr. 14, 2022) (First Fabric Public Notice).
  The resulting Fabric is a key component of the BDC because it will serve as the foundation on which fixed broadband providers’ availability data will be overlaid. 47 U.S.C. § 642(b)(1)(B).
  
The First Fabric Public Notice announced that a preliminary version of the Fabric was available to fixed broadband service providers to assist them in preparing their broadband availability data for the BDC. See First Fabric Public Notice, at 1.
  In making this preliminary version of the Fabric available, the Task Force, WCB, and OEA noted that work on the location data for the Fabric was ongoing. Id. at 4.
  As a result, the First Fabric Public Notice announced that data in the preliminary version of the Fabric would be different in some respects from the data in the “production Fabric” that filers would use in the initial BDC filing window. Id.
  The First Fabric Public Notice noted, however, that release of the preliminary version would “enable fixed service providers to develop and test their methods to align their broadband availability data with the Fabric data format.” Id.
  We are now making the production version of the Fabric available to filers in advance of the June 30, 2022 opening of the initial filing window.  
Access to the Production Version of the Fabric
As the definitive set of locations for which fixed broadband availability is reported, the Fabric plays a crucial role in the BDC in terms of reporting by fixed broadband service providers and other entities, displaying and assessing fixed broadband availability data on the Commission’s maps, and for challenges to such data. In addition, the Fabric itself may be challenged, the timing and procedures for which we will announce in the near future.  See Third Report and Order, 36 FCC Rcd at 1161-62, para. 89.  
  
Fixed broadband service providers that accessed the preliminary Fabric using the process described in our First Fabric Public Notice First Fabric Public Notice at 4-6.
 do not need to execute a new license agreement and may access the production Fabric data files for their relevant geographic areas via a link that will be emailed to them by the Commission’s Fabric contractor, CostQuest.  Fixed broadband service providers that did not access the preliminary Fabric may now access the production Fabric by sending an email to CostQuest at nbfsupport@costquest.com with the name and email of the provider’s contact person, the provider’s name, and the provider’s FCC Registration Number (FRN).  CostQuest will provide those users with instructions on how to access the Fabric, which can be done after the user completes an online form and executes a license agreement with CostQuest. Id. at 5-6.  Commission staff have reviewed the various license agreements and associated user class statements to ensure that the bargained-for data usage rights and permitted uses for each class of users are fully and accurately reflected in the documents, but have otherwise not reviewed, and do not opine on, the commercial terms of the license agreements.  Any entity eligible to execute a license agreement for access to the Fabric data does so at its own risk, without any representations or warranties from the Commission.

The process for state, local, and Tribal governmental entities to access the Fabric data files differs somewhat from the process for service providers.  Governmental entities must obtain an FRN, log into the BDC system using the account information (username and password) created in the Commission Registration System (CORES), and complete the entity information form. We describe this process in detail in the Governmental Entity Public Notice.  Broadband Data Task Force Issues Guidance to State, Local, and Tribal Governmental Entities for Filing Verified Broadband Availability Data As Part of the Broadband Data Collection, WC Docket Nos. 19-195, 11-10, Public Notice, DA 22-417, at 3-4 (BDTF, OEA, WCB Apr. 14, 2022) (Governmental Entity Public Notice).  For governmental entities that already have a CORES account and FRN, they should confirm that the Entity Type associated with their FRN is listed as either “State or Local Agency” or “Tribal Governmental Agency.”  Id. at 4.
  After the governmental entity submits the necessary information in the BDC system, FCC staff will review the information and provide the contact information of approved entities to CostQuest.  CostQuest will then send an email invitation to the entity, which the entity can use to request access to the Fabric and execute a license agreement.  Government entities should note that, as with service providers, their license will cover only the counties in their jurisdiction.  Following execution of a license agreement, CostQuest will make the Fabric data files available to governmental entities.  CostQuest will process license requests as quickly as possible but, depending on the number of pending requests from providers and governmental entities, delivery of the data files may take up to two weeks from the time the entity information is submitted in the BDC system.
For More Information
Questions about how to access the Fabric and about the license agreement associated with the Fabric should be addressed to NBFsupport@costquest.com.  For information about the Fabric or the Broadband Data Collection, please visit the Broadband Data Collection website at https://www.fcc.gov/broadbanddata. 
 – FCC –
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