Editorial Note on Part 1
Editorial Note: Nomenclature changes to part 1 appear at 63 FR 54077, Oct. 8, 1998.

§ 1.7004 Scope, content, and frequency of Broadband Data Collection filings. ( a ) All providers shall make biannual filings with the Commission in the Broadband Data Collection portal in accordance with this subpart.
( b ) Broadband 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 Broadband 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 Broadband 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 Broadband 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 Broadband 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; 89 FR 66268, Aug. 15, 2024]