§  1.7004   Scope, content, and frequency of Digital Opportunity Data
Collection filings.

   (a) All providers shall make biannual filings with the Commission in
   the Digital Opportunity Data Collection portal in accordance with this
   subpart.

   (b) Digital Opportunity Data Collection filings shall be made each year
   on or before March 1 (reporting data as of December 31 of the prior
   year) and September 1 (reporting data as of June 30 of the current
   year). Providers becoming subject to the provisions of this section for
   the first time shall file data initially for the reporting period in
   which they become eligible.

   (c) Providers shall include in their filings data relating to the
   availability and quality of service of their broadband internet access
   service in accordance with this subpart.

   (1) Each provider of terrestrial fixed or satellite broadband internet
   access service shall submit polygon shapefiles or a list of addresses
   or locations, and each provider of fixed wireless broadband internet
   access service shall submit propagation maps and model details that
   reflect the speeds and latency of its service or a list of addresses or
   locations, that document the areas where the provider has actually
   built out its broadband network infrastructure, such that the provider
   is able to provide service, and where the provider is capable of
   performing a standard broadband installation. Each provider's
   submission shall include the details of how it generated its polygon
   shapefiles, propagation maps and model details, or list of addresses or
   locations. In addition, fixed broadband internet service providers
   shall indicate, for each polygon shapefile or location they submit in
   the Digital Opportunity Data Collection, whether the reported service
   is available to residential customers and/or business customers.

   (i) Each provider of fixed broadband internet access service shall
   report the maximum advertised download and upload speeds associated
   with its broadband internet access service available in an area.
   However, for service offered at speeds below 25 Mbps downstream/3 Mbps
   upstream, providers shall report the maximum advertised download and
   upload speeds associated with the service using two speed tiers: One
   for speeds greater than 200 kbps in at least one direction and less
   than 10 Mbps downstream/1 Mbps upstream, and another for speeds greater
   than or equal to 10 Mbps downstream/1 Mbps upstream and less than 25
   Mbps downstream/3 Mbps upstream.

   (ii) Each provider of fixed broadband internet access service shall
   indicate in its Digital Opportunity Data Collection filing whether the
   network round-trip latency associated with each maximum speed
   combination reported in a particular geographic area is less than or
   equal to 100 milliseconds (ms), based on the 95th percentile of
   measurements.

   (iii) Terrestrial fixed providers using certain wireline technologies
   may not report coverage that exceeds a defined maximum distance from an
   aggregation point, including the drop distance, or that exceeds 500
   feet from a deployed line or distribution network infrastructure to the
   parcel boundary of a served location.

   (A) Terrestrial fixed providers using Digital Subscriber Line
   technology shall not report coverage that exceeds 6,600 route feet from
   the digital subscriber line access multiplexer to the customer premises
   for speeds offered at or above 25 Mbps downstream, 3 Mbps upstream.
   Providers that offer Digital Subscriber Line service in areas at speeds
   less than 25 Mbps downstream, 3 Mbps upstream shall not be subject to a
   maximum buffer requirement for such areas.

   (B) Terrestrial fixed providers using Fiber to the Premises technology
   shall not report coverage that exceeds 196,000 route feet from the
   optical line termination point to the optical network termination
   point.

   (C) Terrestrial fixed providers using Hybrid Fiber Coaxial Cable
   technology shall not report coverage that exceeds 12,000 route feet
   from the aggregation point to the customer premises.

   (D) Locations can be reported as served beyond the maximum distances to
   the extent that:

   (1) A provider has a current subscriber at a location beyond the bounds
   of the applicable maximum distance;

   (2) A provider previously had a broadband subscriber, using the same
   technology, at a location beyond the bounds of the maximum distance;

   (3) A provider is receiving or has received universal service support
   to provide broadband service in a particular geographic area—or has
   other Federal, state, or local obligations to make service available in
   the area—and the provider has begun to make service available in that
   area; or

   (4) A provider receives a waiver to report coverage beyond the maximum
   distances.

   (iv) Fixed wireless service providers that submit coverage maps shall
   submit propagation maps and propagation model details based on the
   following parameters:

   (A) A cell edge probability of not less than 75% of receiving the
   maximum advertised download and upload speeds;

   (B) A cell loading factor of not less than 50%; and

   (C) Receiver heights within a range of four to seven meters.

   (2) Fixed wireless service providers that submit coverage maps shall
   provide the following information with their propagation maps and model
   details:

   (i) The name of the radio network planning tool(s) used, along with
   information including:

   (A) The version number of the planning tool;

   (B) The name of the planning tool's developer;

   (C) The granularity of the model (e.g., 3-arc-second square points);
   and

   (D) Affirmation that the coverage model has been validated and
   calibrated at least one time using on the ground testing and/or other
   real-world measurements completed by the provider or its vendor.

   (ii) The following base station information:

   (A) Frequency band(s) used to provide the service being mapped;

   (B) Information about whether and how carrier aggregation is used;

   (C) The radio technologies used on each frequency band (e.g.,
   802.11ac-derived orthogonal frequency division multiplexing modulation
   (OFDM), proprietary OFDM, long-term evolution (LTE)); and

   (D) The elevation above ground for each base station.

   (E) The geographic coordinates.

   (iii) The following terrain and clutter information:

   (A) The name and vintage of the datasets used;

   (B) The resolution of clutter data;

   (C) A list of clutter categories used with a description of each; and

   (D) The link budget and a description of the other parameters used in
   the propagation model, including predicted signal strength.

   (iv) Information on the height and power values used for
   receivers/customer premises equipment (CPE) antennas in their modeling
   (height must be within a range of four to seven meters).

   (3) Mobile providers must submit coverage maps based on the following
   specified parameters:

   (i) For 3G services—a minimum expected user download speed of 200 kbps
   and user upload speed of 50 kbps at the cell edge; for 4G LTE
   services—a minimum expected user download speed of 5 Mbps and user
   upload speed of 1 Mbps at the cell edge; for 5G-NR services—a minimum
   expected user download speed of 7 Mbps and user upload speed of 1 Mbps,
   and a minimum expected user download speed of 35 Mbps and user upload
   speed of 3 Mbps at the cell edge.

   (ii) For each of the mobile broadband technologies, 3G, 4G LTE, and
   5G-NR, and for mobile voice services, the provider's coverage maps must
   reflect coverage areas where users should expect to receive the minimum
   required download and upload speeds with cell edge coverage probability
   of not less than 90% and a cell loading of not less than 50%.

   (iii) For each of the mobile broadband technologies, 3G, 4G LTE, and
   5G-NR, and for mobile voice services, the provider's coverage maps must
   account for terrain and clutter and use terrain and clutter data with a
   resolution of 100 meters or better. Each coverage map must have a
   resolution of 100 meters or better.

   (iv) For each of the mobile broadband technologies, 3G, 4G LTE, and
   5G-NR, and for mobile voice services, the provider's coverage maps must
   be submitted in vector format.

   (v) For each 4G LTE or 5G-NR propagation map that a provider submits,
   the provider also must submit a second set of maps showing Reference
   Signal Received Power (RSRP) signal levels in dBm, as would be measured
   at the industry standard of 1.5 meters above ground level (AGL), from
   each active cell site. A second set of maps showing Received Signal
   Strength Indicator (RSSI) signal levels for each 3G propagation map a
   provider submits is only required in areas where 3G is the only
   technology the provider offers. The RSSI and RSRP values should be
   provided in 10 dB increments or finer beginning with a maximum value of
   −50 dBm and continuing to −120 dBm.

   (4) Mobile providers must disclose the following information regarding
   their radio network planning tools:

   (i) The name of the planning tool;

   (ii) The version number used to produce the map;

   (iii) The name of the developer of the planning tool;

   (iv) Affirmation that the coverage model has been validated and
   calibrated at least one time using drive test and/or other real-world
   measurements completed by the provider or its vendors, to include a
   brief summary of the process and date of calibration; and

   (v) The propagation model or models used. If multiple models are used,
   the provider should include a brief description of the circumstances
   under which each model is deployed (e.g., model X is used in urban
   areas, while model Y is used in rural areas) and include any sites
   where conditions deviate; and

   (vi) The granularity of the models used (e.g., 3-arc-second square
   points, bin sizes, and other parameters).

   (5) Propagation maps submitted by providers must depict outdoor
   coverage, to include both on-street or pedestrian stationary usage, and
   in-vehicle mobile usage.

   (6) Mobile providers must disclose all applicable link-budgets used to
   design their networks and provide service at the defined speeds, and
   all parameters and parameter values included in those link budgets,
   including the following information:

   (i) A description of how the provider developed the link budget(s) and
   the rationale for using specific values in the link budget(s); and

   (ii) The name of the creator, developer or supplier, as well as the
   vintage of the terrain and clutter datasets used, the specific
   resolution of the data, and a list of clutter categories used, a
   description of each clutter category, and a description of the
   propagation loss due to clutter for each.

   (7) For each of the categories of data providers must disclose to the
   Commission, providers must submit reasonable parameter values and
   propagation models consistent with how they model their services when
   designing their networks. In no case may any provider omit link budget
   parameters or otherwise fail to account for constraints on their
   coverage projections.

   (d) Providers shall include in each Digital Opportunity Data Collection
   filing a certification signed by a corporate officer of the provider
   that the officer has examined the information contained in the
   submission and that, to the best of the officer's actual knowledge,
   information, and belief, all statements of fact contained in the
   submission are true and correct. All providers also shall submit a
   certification of the accuracy of its submissions by a qualified
   engineer. The engineering certification shall state that the certified
   professional engineer or corporate engineering officer is employed by
   the provider and has direct knowledge of, or responsibility for, the
   generation of the provider's Digital Opportunity Data Collection
   filing. If a corporate officer is also an engineer and has the
   requisite knowledge required under the Broadband DATA Act, a provider
   may submit a single certification that fulfills both requirements. The
   certified professional engineer or corporate engineering officer shall
   certify that he or she has examined the information contained in the
   submission and that, to the best of the engineer's actual knowledge,
   information, and belief, all statements of fact contained in the
   submission are true and correct, and in accordance with the service
   provider's ordinary course of network design and engineering.

   [ 85 FR 50907 , Aug. 18, 2020, as amended at  86 FR 18159 , Apr. 7, 2021]