The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) under the Department of Commerce (DOC), along with The National Science Foundation (NSF), are looking for feedback on the National Broadband Research Agenda on the topic of broadband data collection.
The agencies released a notice and request for comment in the Federal Register dated September 9, 2016. The notice specifically addresses the Broadband Opportunity Council’s recommendation to improve broadband data collection and analysis.
The Broadband Opportunity Council was created by the Obama administration in 2015. The group was made up of leaders from 25 federal agencies and departments who generated ideas about actions the federal government could take to encourage broadband development. A final report was published with 36 recommendations, one of which is a call for the NTIA and NSF to develop a national research agenda.
Input is requested on 4 specific topics, each of which is further detailed in the full notice:
- Broadband technology
- Broadband deployment, adoption, and utilization by individual, business, and institutional users
- Assessment of economic and social impacts
- Opportunities for federal leadership in data collection, research, and overall coordination
The NTIA and NSF are also looking for contributions that can help strengthen an overall strategic plan. The notice explains:
“NTIA and NSF seek recommendations, best practices, and solutions to current challenges with regard to: Promising research and analytical methodologies; effective approaches for data collection and sharing; opportunities for better alignment and coordination for these research efforts across all federal and external stakeholders; funding strategies with suggestions for prioritization and public-private resource sharing; and possible changes to federal policies and programs that could enhance broadband research. NTIA and NSF also encourage interested parties to recommend any other suggestions (e.g., research topics, implementation approaches) if the concepts are not articulated in this Notice.”
Written comments must be submitted before 5 p.m. ET on October 11, 2016.
See the full notice here: