Federal Communications Commission	DA 22-961



	DA 22-961
Released:  September 15, 2022

BROADBAND DATA TASK FORCE PUBLISHES SPECIFICATIONS FOR BULK FIXED AVAILABILITY CHALLENGE AND CROWDSOURCE DATA
	WC Docket Nos. 19-195, 11-10	

By this Public Notice, the Broadband Data Task Force (Task Force), together with the Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) and Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA), announce the release of Data Specifications for Bulk Fixed Availability Challenge and Crowdsource Data, which provides guidance as to the requirements in the Commission’s rules and orders for filing bulk challenges, as well as bulk crowdsource information, to the fixed broadband availability data that will be published on the FCC’s Broadband Maps as part of the new Broadband Data Collection (BDC).  The Data Specifications for Bulk Fixed Availability Challenge and Crowdsource Data, which also explains how to make the required filings in the BDC system, is available at:  https://us-fcc.box.com/v/bdc-bulk-fixed-challenge-spec.  The bulk fixed availability challenge and crowdsource processes will open after the FCC’s Broadband Maps are published.  
Individuals and entities, including consumers, state, local, and Tribal governmental entities, and service providers, can submit challenges to the BDC fixed availability data published on the Broadband Map. 47 U.S.C. § 642(a)(1)(B)(iii), (b)(5); 47 CFR § 1.7006(d); 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, 1155-65, paras. 70-96 (2021) (Third Report and Order).
  While interested parties will be able to submit individual challenges pertaining to availability at a single location directly from the online maps, entities can also submit “bulk” challenges to the fixed broadband availability data with respect to multiple locations by uploading a file in the BDC system that is consistent with the specifications set forth in the Data Specifications for Bulk Fixed Availability Challenge and Crowdsource Data. Each bulk fixed availability challenge data file must include records for each location being challenged in a Comma Separated Value (CSV) format.  All fields must be included in the file upload (unless otherwise indicated), and all values must conform to the descriptions, codes, or formats identified for each field in the Data Specifications for Bulk Fixed Availability Challenge and Crowdsource Data.
  The required bulk challenge data varies based on the methodology used by the challenger to generate its data.  In all cases, the data must include: (1) the challenger’s name and contact information; (2) the location of the dispute based on the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric; (3) the category of the challenge; and (4) information supporting the challenge.  
Entities such as state, local and Tribal governments may also submit bulk crowdsource data in the BDC system, which may be used by the Commission to verify and supplement the fixed broadband availability data published on the FCC’s Broadband Maps. 47 CFR § 1.7006(b); 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, 7487-93, paras. 62-76 (2020) (Second Order and Third Further Notice).
  Specifications for bulk crowdsource data are also set forth in the Data Specifications for Bulk Fixed Availability Challenge and Crowdsource Data.  Crowdsource data differs from challenge data in several ways.  For example, crowdsource data is not limited to availability information.  Filers of bulk crowdsource data may provide information on the locations where the data indicate that the actual speed of the fixed broadband service does not match its advertised speed, including information based on the results of speed tests. Second Order and Third Further Notice, 35 FCC Rcd at 7489, para. 66 (directing OET, OEA, WCB, and WTB to develop and refine a process for entities and individuals to submit third-party fixed and mobile crowdsource data); id. at para. 68 (directing the Offices and Bureaus “to implement the crowdsourced data collection and to create a portal for the receipt of crowdsourced data”); see also Third Report and Order, 36 FCC Rcd at 1155-56, para. 72 n.230 (noting that the fixed availability challenge process “is not meant to address disputes that subscribers have with their broadband provider about quality of service issues, such as network performance [i.e., speeds] experienced at a particular location.”).
  Further, unlike in bulk challenge filings, information supporting the circumstances claimed in crowdsource data is optional. Id.
 
For more information about the BDC, please visit the Broadband Data Collection website at https://www.fcc.gov/BroadbandData.  

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