NTIA seeks approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) to add 65 questions to the November 2023 edition of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS). This collection of questions is known as the NTIA Internet Use Survey and is also referred to as the CPS Computer and Internet Use Supplement. NTIA has sponsored sixteen such surveys since 1994. President Biden has made clear the Administration’s goal to ensure that ‘‘every community in America has access to affordable, high-speed Internet.’’
Digitally connected Americans populate the modern workforce, drive creative innovation throughout the economy, and ensure a growing customer base to help sustain our nation’s global competitiveness; data from the NTIA Internet Use Survey will inform policies aimed at achieving digital equity so that the Internet’s benefits are accessible to all Americans. The research and policy analysis enabled by this data collection are particularly important in light of the historic investments being made through the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All programs, and following a pandemic that has further highlighted the importance of the Internet in daily life.
Submit a Comment to the Request for Comment
Deadline: August 1, 2023
Mail comments to:
Rafi Goldberg, Senior Policy Advisor, Digital Equity, NTIA
1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Suite 4725
Washington, DC 20230
NTIA is working with Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), other federal agencies, state and local governments, industry, and nonprofits to develop and promote policies that foster ubiquitous broadband deployment, adoption, and effective use. These policies help to ensure that families and businesses can obtain competitively priced high-speed Internet service, and that everyone is able to gain the skills necessary to use the technology. Collecting current, systematic, and comprehensive information on Internet use and non-use by U.S. households is critical to enabling policymakers to gauge progress made to date and identify specific areas and demographic groups in which adoption is a concern with a specificity that permits carefully targeted and cost effective responses.
The U.S. Census Bureau is widely regarded as a premier data collector based on centuries of experience and rigorous scientific methods. Collection of NTIA’s requested Internet usage data will occur in conjunction with a future edition of the U.S. Census Bureau’s CPS, thereby significantly reducing the potential burdens on the U.S. Census Bureau and on surveyed households.
The U.S. government has a pressing need for comprehensive data in this area. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), NTIA, and the FCC have issued reports noting the importance of useful broadband data for policymakers. Moreover, Congress has passed legislation—including the Broadband Data Improvement Act, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Broadband DATA Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, and most recently, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—wholly or in part to facilitate data collection, research, and policy analysis in this area. Modifying the CPS to include NTIA’s requested Internet use questions will enable the Commerce Department and NTIA to respond to congressional concerns and directives. It will also enable NTIA to continue using timely data in the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, which employs a funding formula that by law must be based in part on estimates from the NTIA Internet Use Survey.
Comments should respond to questions posed in the RFC, and commenters are encouraged to correlate the content of their comments to the pillars and questions set forth in the RFC. Commenters need not respond to every question. Comments should be typed, double-spaced, and signed and dated by the filing party or a legal representative of that party.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or specific questions related to collection activities should be directed to Rafi Goldberg, Senior Policy Advisor, Digital Equity, NTIA, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Suite 4725, Washington, DC 20230, at (202) 482-4375 or rgoldberg@ntia.gov.