Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 192 / Tuesday, October 5, 2004 / Notices 59595

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

Unleashing the Educational Power of 

Broadband Symposium

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY: This notice advises interested 

persons that the Federal 

Communications Commission is 

holding a symposium exploring the 

educational power of broadband. A 

news release announcing the event was 

released on September 8, 2004 and an 

expanded release with an agenda was 

released on September 29, 2004, both of 

which were posted on the Commission’s 

website.

DATES: Wednesday, October 6, 2004, 9 

a.m., to 4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons may join 

the meeting at the Federal 

Communications Commission, 

Commission Meeting Room, Room TW–

A402 and TW–A442, 445 12th St. SW., 

Washington, DC 20554.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sarah Whitesell, 202–418–1941, 

Sarah.Whitesell@fcc.gov. Press Contact, 

Meribeth McCarrick, (202) 418–0654, 

Meribeth.McCarrick@fcc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of the meeting is to explore 

ways to use broadband to facilitate 

learning in schools, libraries and the 

home. Among the presenters will be 

participants in the Schools and Libraries 

Universal Service program, also called 

‘‘e-rate,’’ which was established as part 

of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 

to provide affordable 

telecommunications services for all 

eligible schools and libraries, especially 

those in rural and economically 

disadvantaged areas. Speakers will also 

include teachers and librarians with 

first-hand experience using digital 

resources and assessing their impact on 

learning. The Federal Communications 

Commission will attempt to 

accommodate as many people as 

possible. However, admittance will be 

limited to the seating available. A live 

RealAudio feed will be available over 

the Internet; information on how to tune 

in can be found at the Commission’s 

Web site http://www.fcc.gov.

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene H. Dortch, 

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 04–22475 Filed 10–4–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

[GN Docket No. 04–54; FCC 04–208] 

Availability of Advanced 

Telecommunications Capability in the 

United States

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission.

ACTION: Notice; report to congress.

SUMMARY: This Report concludes the 

Commission’s fourth inquiry under 

section 706 of the Telecommunications 

Act of 1996. This Report finds that the 

overall goal of section 706 is being met, 

and that advanced telecommunications 

capability is being deployed on a 

reasonable and timely basis to all 

Americans.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Regina Brown, Wireline Competition 

Bureau, Telecommunications Access 

Policy Division, (202) 418–7400, TTY 

(202) 418–0484.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Commission’s Fourth 

Report to Congress in GN Docket No. 

04–54 released on September 9, 2004. 

The full text of this document is 

available for public inspection during 

regular business hours in the FCC 

Reference Center, Room CY–A257, 445 

12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 

20554. 

I. Introduction 

1. Section 706 of the 1996 

Telecommunications Act directs both 

the Commission and the states to 

encourage deployment of advanced 

telecommunications capability to all 

Americans on a reasonable and timely 

basis. In conjunction with this objective, 

Congress directed the Commission to 

conduct regular inquiries concerning 

whether advanced telecommunications 

capability is being deployed to all 

Americans on a reasonable and timely 

basis and, based on our findings, to take 

action to accelerate deployment, if 

necessary. 

2. This Fourth Report to Congress

(Fourth Report) concludes the 

Commission’s fourth inquiry into the 

availability of advanced 

telecommunications capability in the 

United States. Like the previous three 

reports, this Fourth Report finds that the 

overall goal of section 706 is being met, 

and that advanced telecommunications 

capability is being deployed on a 

reasonable and timely basis to all 

Americans. 

3. In the Fourth Report, we use the 

terms ‘‘advanced telecommunications 

capability’’ and ‘‘advanced services’’ to 

mean services and facilities with an 

upstream (customer-to-provider) and 

downstream (provider-to-customer) 

transmission speed of 200 kbps or 

greater. Such facilities and services are 

referred to as ‘‘broadband’’ throughout 

this report, and, as the report details, 

they include both wireline (telephone 

company and cable) as well as a 

growing list of wireless facilities, both 

licensed and unlicensed. This Fourth 

Report focuses on services and facilities 

that provide 200 kbps upstream and 

downstream transmission speeds. In 

contrast, we use the term ‘‘high-speed’’

to describe services with more than 200 

kbps capability in at least one direction. 

4. Our existing definitions are not 

static. The success of first-generation 

broadband—at speeds of approximately 

200 kbps—has prompted demand for 

ever-faster broadband networks and 

connections, and today most broadband 

providers are offering service well in 

excess of the minimum 200 kbps speed. 

The Commission currently has under 

consideration rule changes that will 

enable us to gather more information 

about these ‘‘next-generation’’

broadband networks and services for 

purposes of future reports. 

5. This Fourth Report documents the 

significant development of new 

Internet-based services, and new access 

technologies that has taken place since 

the issuance of our last report in 2002. 

The best-known of these new Internetbased services is the commercial 

deployment of voice communications 

over the Internet Protocol network. The 

remarkable growth in Internet access is 

highlighted by the expansion of Wi-Fi 

Internet access and the explosive growth 

of both commercial and noncommercial 

hotspots. Wi-Fi joins an increasingly 

lengthy list of other wired and wireless 

methods of accessing the Internet, a list 

that also includes WiMax, personal area 

networks, satellite technologies, fiber-tothe-home, and broadband over power 

lines, in addition to more familiar cable 

modem and digital subscriber line (DSL) 

services. 

6. The Fourth Report also documents 

that subscribership to these networks 

and services has increased significantly 

since the issuance of our last report. 

Specifically, subscribership to highspeed lines almost tripled from 9.6 

million in June 2001 to 28.2 million in 

December 2003, and subscribership to 

advanced services more than tripled in 

this same period, from 5.9 million lines 

to 20.3 million lines. In addition, the 

number of residential and small 

business subscribers to high-speed 

services has more than tripled during 

the same period, from 7.8 million lines 

59596 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 192 / Tuesday, October 5, 2004 / Notices 

in June 2001 to 26 million lines in 

December 2003. 

7. Further, the Fourth Report

documents the continuation of a 

positive trend that first emerged in our 

last report: namely, the increasing 

availability of advanced 

telecommunications capability to 

certain groups of consumers—those in 

rural areas, those with low incomes, and 

those with disabilities—who stand in 

particular need of advanced services. 

Consumers in these groups are of 

special concern to the Commission in 

that they are the doubly vulnerable: that 

is, although they are most in need of 

access to advanced telecommunications 

capability to overcome economic, 

educational, and other limitations, they 

are also the most likely to lack access 

precisely because of these limitations. 

The Fourth Report demonstrates that we 

are making substantial progress in 

closing the gaps in access that these 

groups traditionally have experienced. 

8. Broadband-based Internet services 

have also become a critical 

communications tool for the deaf and 

hard-of-hearing, through the use of 

Internet Protocol Relay (IP Relay) and 

Video Relay Service (VRS), two forms of 

telecommunications relay services 

(TRS) that rely on the Internet. This 

report shows that there has been more 

than a 640 percent increase in IP Relay 

usage and more than a 2,000 percent 

increase in VRS in the past two years. 

9. In addition, more than 95 percent 

of public libraries and 92 percent of 

public school classrooms have Internet 

access. Use of broadband connections in 

schools with high minority enrollment 

increased from 81 percent to 95 percent 

between 2000 and 2002. During this 

same period, schools with the highest 

poverty concentration using broadband 

connections to access the Internet 

increased from 75 percent to 95 percent.

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene H. Dortch, 

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 04–22369 Filed 10–4–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE 

CORPORATION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collections; 

Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation (FDIC).

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY: The FDIC, as part of its 

continuing effort to reduce paperwork 

and respondent burden, invites the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies to take this opportunity to 

comment on continuing information 

collections, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. chapter 35). Currently, the FDIC 

is soliciting comments concerning the 

following collections of information 

titled: (1) Interagency Charter and 

Federal Deposit Insurance Application, 

and (2) Notice of Branch Closure.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before December 6, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are 

invited to submit written comments to 

Steven F. Hanft (202–898–3907), 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, Room 

MB–3064, Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation, 550 17th Street NW., 

Washington, DC 20429. All comments 

should refer to the OMB control 

number. Comments may be handdelivered to the guard station at the rear 

of the 17th Street Building (located on 

F Street), on business days between 7 

a.m. and 5 p.m. [FAX number (202) 

898–3838]. 

A copy of the comments may also be 

submitted to the OMB desk officer for 

the FDIC: Mark Menchik, Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, New 

Executive Office Building, Washington, 

DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steven F. Hanft, at the address 

identified above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Proposal 

to renew the following currently 

approved collections of information: 

1. Title: Interagency Charter and 

Federal Deposit Insurance Application. 

OMB Number: 3064–0001. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion. 

Affected Public: Banks or savings 

associations wishing to become FDICinsured depository institutions. 

Estimated Number of Respondents:

200. 

Estimated Time per Response: 125 

hours. 

Total Annual Burden: 25,000 hours. 

General Description of Collection: The 

Interagency Charter and Federal Deposit 

Insurance Application is used by the 

FDIC as a deposit insurance application, 

and by the OCC and OTS as a charter 

application. Applications for deposit 

insurance must provide sufficient 

information to permit the FDIC to 

consider certain factors which are 

listsed in Section 6 of the FDI Act. 

These factors include: the financial 

history and condition of the depository 

institution, the adequacy of its capital 

structure, its future earnings prospects, 

the general character and fitness of its 

management, the risk it presents to the 

relevant insurance fund, the 

convenience and needs of the 

community to be served, and the 

consistency of its corporate powers. All 

depository institutions seeking 

insurance must follow the same 

procedures. 

2. Title: Notice of Branch Closure. 

OMB Number: 3064–0109. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion. 

Affected Public: Insured depository 

institutions. 

Estimated Number of Respondents:

1,364. 

Estimated Time per Response: 2.4 

hours. 

Total Annual Burden: 3,028 hours. 

General Description of Collection: An 

institution proposing to close a branch 

must notify its primary regulator no 

later than 90 days prior to the closing. 

Each FDIC-insured institution must 

adopt policies for branch closings. This 

collection covers the requirements for 

notice, and for policy adoption. 

Request for Comment 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

these two collections of information are 

necessary for the proper performance of 

the FDIC’s functions, including whether 

the information has practical utility; (b) 

the accuracy of the estimates of the 

burden of the information collections, 

including the validity of the 

methodologies and assumptions used; 

(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 

burden of the information collections on 

respondents, including through the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

At the end of the comment period, the 

comments and recommendations 

received will be analyzed to determine 

the extent to which the collections 

should be modified prior to submission 

to OMB for review and approval. 

Comments submitted in response to this 

notice also will be summarized or 

included in the FDIC’s requests to OMB 

for renewal of these collections. All 

comments will become a matter of 

public record.

Dated at Washington, DC, this 30th day of 

September 2004.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. 

Robert E. Feldman, 

Executive Secretary.

[FR Doc. 04–22367 Filed 10–4–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6714–01–P