40826 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 143 / Thursday, July 29, 2021 / Notices 

Ohio on September 28, 2018, Texas on 

September 12, 2018, and West Virginia 

on February 4, 2019. 

Under the terms of the proposed 

consent decree, no later than April 30, 

2022, EPA shall sign a final rule to 

approve, disapprove, conditionally 

approve, or approve in part and 

conditionally approve or disapprove in 

part, the 2015 ozone NAAQS good 

neighbor SIP submissions from Indiana, 

Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Texas, and 

West Virginia. However, under the 

proposed consent decree, if, by February 

28, 2022, EPA signs a proposal of full 

or partial disapproval of any of the six 

good neighbor SIP submissions and 

signs a proposal for a federal 

implementation plan to implement any 

such fully or partially disapproved SIP 

submission, EPA shall have until 

December 15, 2022, to sign a final action 

to approve, disapprove, conditionally 

approve, or approve in part and 

conditionally approve or disapprove in 

part, each such good neighbor SIP 

submission. 

In accordance with section 113(g) of 

the CAA, for a period of thirty (30) days 

following the date of publication of this 

document, the Agency will accept 

written comments relating to the 

proposed consent decree. EPA or the 

Department of Justice may withdraw or 

withhold consent to the proposed 

consent decree if the comments disclose 

facts or considerations that indicate that 

such consent is inappropriate, 

improper, inadequate, or inconsistent 

with the requirements of the Act. 

III. Additional Information About 

Commenting on the Proposed Consent 

Decree 

Submit your comments, identified by 

Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OGC–2021– 

0444, via https://www.regulations.gov. 

Once submitted, comments cannot be 

edited or removed from this docket. 

EPA may publish any comment received 

to its public docket. Do not submit to 

EPA’s docket at https://

www.regulations.gov any information 

you consider to be Confidential 

Business Information (CBI) or other 

information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Multimedia 

submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be 

accompanied by a written comment. 

The written comment is considered the 

official comment and should include 

discussion of all points you wish to 

make. EPA will generally not consider 

comments or comment contents located 

outside of the primary submission (i.e. 

on the web, cloud, or other file sharing 

system). For additional submission 

methods, the full EPA public comment 

policy, information about CBI or 

multimedia submissions, and general 

guidance on making effective 

comments, please visit https://

www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epadockets. For additional information 

about submitting information identified 

as CBI, please contact the person listed 

in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section of this document. Note 

that written comments containing CBI 

and submitted by mail may be delayed 

and deliveries or couriers will be 

received by scheduled appointment 

only. 

If you submit an electronic comment, 

EPA recommends that you include your 

name, mailing address, and an email 

address or other contact information in 

the body of your comment. This ensures 

that you can be identified as the 

submitter of the comment and allows 

EPA to contact you in case EPA cannot 

read your comment due to technical 

difficulties or needs further information 

on the substance of your comment. Any 

identifying or contact information 

provided in the body of a comment will 

be included as part of the comment that 

is placed in the official public docket 

and made available in EPA’s electronic 

public docket. If EPA cannot read your 

comment due to technical difficulties 

and cannot contact you for clarification, 

EPA may not be able to consider your 

comment. 

Use of the https://

www.regulations.gov website to submit 

comments to EPA electronically is 

EPA’s preferred method for receiving 

comments. The electronic public docket 

system is an ‘‘anonymous access’’ 

system, which means EPA will not 

know your identity, email address, or 

other contact information unless you 

provide it in the body of your comment. 

Please ensure that your comments are 

submitted within the specified comment 

period. Comments received after the 

close of the comment period will be 

marked ‘‘late.’’ EPA is not required to 

consider these late comments. 

Gautam Srinivasan, 

Associate General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2021–16155 Filed 7–28–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

[WC Docket No. 16–271; DA 21–858; FRS 

39694] 

Wireless Telecommunications Bureau 

Seeks Comment on Drive Test 

Parameters and Model for Alaska Plan 

Participants 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In the document, the Wireless 

Telecommunications Bureau (Bureau) of 

the Federal Communications 

Commission (Commission) proposes 

drive test parameters and a drive test 

model required of two Alaska Plan 

mobile-provider participants: General 

Communication Inc. (GCI) and Copper 

Valley Wireless. The Bureau seeks 

comment on these proposals and on any 

alternatives that it should consider. 

DATES: Comments are due on or before 

August 12, 2021. If you anticipate that 

you will be submitting comments but 

find it difficult to do so within the 

period of time allowed by this 

document, you should advise the 

contact listed in the following as soon 

as possible. 

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file 

comments on or before the date 

indicated above and must reference WC 

Docket No. 16–271. Comments may be 

filed using the Commission’s Electronic 

Filing System (ECFS) or by filing paper 

copies. 

• Electronic Filers: Comments may be 

filed electronically using the internet by 

accessing the ECFS: http://apps.fcc.gov/ 

ecfs/. 

• Paper Filers: Parties who choose to 

file by paper must file an original and 

one copy of each filing. 

• Filings can be sent by commercial 

overnight courier, or by first-class or 

overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All 

filings must be addressed to the 

Commission’s Secretary, Office of the 

Secretary, Federal Communications 

Commission. 

• Commercial overnight mail (other 

than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail 

and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9050 

Junction Drive, Annapolis Junction, MD 

20701. U.S. Postal Service first-class, 

Express, and Priority mail must be 

addressed to 45 L Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20554. 

• Effective March 19, 2020, and until 

further notice, the Commission no 

longer accepts any hand or messenger 

delivered filings. This is a temporary 

measure taken to help protect the health 


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and safety of individuals, and to 

mitigate the transmission of COVID–19. 

People with Disabilities: To request 

materials in accessible formats for 

people with disabilities (braille, large 

print, electronic files, audio format), 

send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or call 

the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental 

Affairs Bureau at (202) 418–0530 

(voice). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

additional information on this 

proceeding, contact Matthew Warner of 

the Wireless Telecommunications 

Bureau, Competition & Infrastructure 

Policy Division, Matthew.Warner@

fcc.gov, (202) 418–2419. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Bureau’s Alaska Plan 

Drive Test Public Notice, adopted on 

July 19, 2021, and released on July 19, 

2021. The full text of this document is 

available for public inspection on the 

Commission’s website at: https://

www.fcc.gov/document/wtb-seekscomment-alaska-plan-drive-testing-andmodel. 

I. Public Notice 

By this Public Notice, the Wireless 

Telecommunications Bureau (Bureau) 

seeks comment on proposed drive test 

parameters and a model for the drive 

tests required of certain mobile 

providers participating in the Alaska 

Plan. 

The Commission adopted the Alaska 

Plan Order in 2016 to address both fixed 

and mobile voice and broadband service 

in high-cost areas of the state of Alaska. 

Eight mobile providers chose to 

participate in the Alaska Plan and 

submitted performance plans in which 

they committed to specific deployment 

obligations and performance 

requirements sufficient to demonstrate 

that Alaska Plan support would be used 

in the public interest. In the 

performance plans, providers 

committed to cover a specified number 

of people by five-year (December 31, 

2021) and 10-year (December 31, 2026) 

milestones at a specified minimum 

speed, broken down by each level of 

wireless service offered (2G/Voice, 3G, 

and 4G LTE) and each type of middle 

mile facility used in connection with 

the deployed mobile technology. Each 

participant must certify that it has met 

the reporting milestones, including 

minimum download and upload speeds 

set forth in its approved performance 

plans. 

In addition, participants that receive 

more than $5 million annually in Alaska 

Plan support must supplement these 

certifications with ‘‘data received or 

used from drive tests analyzing network 

coverage for mobile service covering the 

population for which support was 

received and showing mobile 

transmissions to and from the . . . 

network meeting or exceeding the 

minimum expected download and 

upload speeds delineated in the 

approved performance plan[s].’’ The 

Alaska Plan Order specifies that 

participants may demonstrate coverage 

of an area with a ‘‘statistically 

significant number of tests in the 

vicinity of residences being covered.’’ 

The Alaska Plan Order further specifies 

that, as with Tribal Mobility Fund Phase 

I, these drive tests may be conducted by 

means other than in automobiles on 

roads due to the unique terrain and lack 

of road networks in remote areas of 

Alaska. In the Alaska Plan Order, the 

Commission delegated to the Bureau the 

authority to ‘‘effectuate plan 

implementation and administration,’’ 

including by ‘‘requir[ing] additional 

information . . . from individual 

participants that it deems necessary to 

establish clear standards for 

determining whether or not they meet 

their five- and 10-year commitments.’’ 

Drive test results confirming qualifying 

participants’ performance commitments 

for the five-year milestone are due by 

March 1, 2022. 

Two participants meet the trigger for 

the drive test requirement: GCI and 

Copper Valley Wireless. Consistent with 

the Alaska Plan Order’s delegation of 

authority, we propose drive test 

parameters and a drive test model to 

ensure that GCI’s and Copper Valley 

Wireless’s drive tests allow the 

Commission to determine whether the 

carriers met their five-year 

commitments. Appendix A lists the data 

that we propose to require the carriers 

to collect during the drive tests and the 

format in which we propose it be 

reported. The parameters listed in 

Appendix A are consistent with 

requirements the Commission has 

established for mobile speed test data 

collected in other contexts, and we 

anticipate that these categories of data 

will allow the Bureau to evaluate 

whether GCI and Copper Valley 

Wireless have met their deployment 

benchmarks. Appendix B sets forth a 

drive test model that would help to 

ensure that the two carriers conduct a 

‘‘statistically significant number of tests 

in the vicinity of residences being 

covered.’’ This proposal uses stratified 

random sampling to provide the carriers 

with locations to test within a grid 

system of their reported coverage areas. 

A confidence interval would be 

constructed around the drive test results 

to verify that a provider’s commitments 

have been met or determine the 

percentage by which the carrier’s 

coverage has failed to meet its 

commitment. 

We seek comment on these proposals 

and on any alternatives that we should 

consider. Given that this Public Notice 

only affects two Alaska Plan 

participants, both of whom have been 

informed of this action and have 

indicated a desire to begin testing as 

soon as possible to maximize their 

ability to conduct drive testing during 

less adverse weather conditions, we find 

that a 14-day comment period will 

allow sufficient opportunity for public 

input and accordingly waive the default 

reply comment period. 

II. Appendix A: Mobile Speed Test Data 

Specification 

A. Overview 

The Alaska Plan requires certain plan 

participants to conduct and report speed 

tests of their networks, as described in 

this PN and appendices. Appendix A 

describes the data to be collected and 

the format in which it is to be reported. 

B. Sample Data 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 


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BILLING CODE 6712–01–C C. Mobile Speed Test Data 

This section details the data structure 

common for all mobile speed test data 

in the Alaska Plan. This file contains 

records of each mobile speed test in 

JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) 

format matching the specification in the 

table and sections below: 

Field Data type Example Description/notes 

submission_type ....................... Enumerated ............................ Alaska Plan ............................ Type of data submission. 

—Value must be ‘‘Alaska Plan’’. 

submissions .............................. Array [Submission Object] ...... ................................................. List of drive test data submissions. 

Note: the specification for the Submission 

Object is described in Section 0. 

1. Submission Object 

Field Data type Example Description/notes 

test_id ....................................... String ...................................... 1599236609 ............................ Unique identifier used by the app to differentiate tests. 

timestamp ................................. Datetime ................................. 2021–07–08T09:02:42–08:00 Timestamp of the time at which the set of 

test metrics commenced. 

—Value must match valid ISO–8601 format 

including seconds and timezone offset, 

e.g.: YYYY–MM–DD[T]hh:mm:ss±hh:mm. 

device_type .............................. Enumerated ............................ Android ................................... Type of device. 

—Value must be one of the following: 

/iOS|Android/Other/; 

manufacturer ............................ String ...................................... Google .................................... Name of the device manufacturer. 

model ........................................ String ...................................... PIXEL 3 .................................. Name of the device model. 

operating_system ..................... String ...................................... Android 11 .............................. Name and version of the device operating 

system. 

app_id ....................................... String ...................................... FCC Speed Test app ............. Name of the mobile speed test app. 

app_version .............................. String ...................................... 2.0.2496 .................................. Version of the mobile speed test app. 

provider_name .......................... String ...................................... GCI ......................................... Name of the mobile service provider. 

tests .......................................... Test Object ............................. ................................................. Information about the test metrics. 

Note: the specification for the Test Object is 

described in Section 0. 

2. Test Object 

Field Data type Example Description/notes 

download .................................. Download Test Object ............ ................................................. Information about the download test metric. 

Note: the specification for the Download Test 

Object is described in Section 0. 

upload ....................................... Upload Test Object ................ ................................................. Information about the upload test metric. 

Note: the specification for the Upload Test 

Object is described in Section 0. 

3. Download Test Object 

Field Data type Example Description/notes 

timestamp ................................. Datetime ................................. 2021–07–08T09:02:42–08:00 Timestamp of the time at which the test metric commenced. 

—Value must match valid ISO–8601 format 

including seconds and timezone offset, i.e.: 

YYYY–MM–DD[T]hh:mm:ss±hh:mm. 

duration .................................... Integer .................................... 4997185 .................................. Duration that the test metric took to complete 

in microseconds. 

bytes_transferred ...................... Integer .................................... 97382448 ................................ Measured total amount of data in bytes that 

the test metric transferred. 

bytes_sec ................................. Integer .................................... 19487461 ................................ Measure number of bytes per second that 

the test metric transferred. 

locations ................................... Array [Location Object] ........... ................................................. List of geographic coordinates of the locations measured during the speed test. 

Note: the specification for each Location Object element is described in Section 0. 


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Field Data type Example Description/notes 

cells .......................................... Array [Cell Object] .................. ................................................. List of cellular telephony information measured during the speed test. 

Note: the specification for each Cell Object 

element is described in Section 0. 

4. Upload Test Object 

Field Data type Example Description/notes 

timestamp ................................. Datetime ................................. 2021–07–08T09:02:51–08:00 Timestamp of the time at which the test metric commenced. 

—Value must match valid ISO–8601 format 

including seconds and timezone offset, i.e.: 

YYYY–MM–DD[T]hh:mm:ss±hh:mm. 

duration .................................... Integer .................................... 5000085 .................................. Duration that the test metric took to complete 

in microseconds. 

bytes_transferred ...................... Integer .................................... 15129062 ................................ Measured total amount of data in bytes that 

the test metric transferred. 

bytes_sec ................................. Integer .................................... 3025761 .................................. Measure number of bytes per second that 

the test metric transferred. 

locations ................................... Array .......................................

[Location Object] ....................

................................................. List of geographic coordinates of the locations measured during the speed test. 

Note: the specification for each Location Object element is described in Section 0. 

cells .......................................... Array .......................................

[Cell Object] ............................

................................................. List of cellular telephony information measured during the speed test. 

Note: the specification for each Cell Object 

element is described in Section 0. 

5. Location Objects 

Each element of the ‘‘locations’’ array 

contains the geographic coordinates of 

the locations measured at the start and 

end of the speed test, as well as during 

the test (if measured). 

Field Data type Example Description/notes 

timestamp ................................. Datetime ................................. 2021–07–08T09:02:58–08:00 Timestamp of the time at which the location 

was recorded. 

—Value must match valid ISO–8601 format 

including seconds and timezone offset, i.e.: 

YYYY–MM–DD[T]hh:mm:ss±hh:mm. 

latitude ...................................... Decimal (3,7) .......................... 63.069168 ............................... Unprojected (WGS–84) geographic coordinate latitude in decimal degrees of the reported location where the test was conducted. 

—Value must have minimum precision of 6 

decimal places. 

longitude ................................... Decimal (3,7) .......................... ¥153.248195 ......................... Unprojected (WGS–84) geographic coordinate longitude in decimal degrees of the 

reported location where the test was conducted. 

—Value must have minimum precision of 6 

decimal places. 

6. Cell Objects 

Each element of the ‘‘cells’’ array 

contains telephony information about 

the cell/carrier. 

Field Data type Example Description/notes 

cell_id ....................................... Numeric .................................. 32193025 ................................ Measured cell identifier. 

physical_cell_id ......................... Integer .................................... 192 .......................................... Measured Physical Cell Identity (PCI) of the 

cell. 

Note: this value is only required for LTE and 

5G network generations and may be null 

for 2G/3G network generations. 


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Field Data type Example Description/notes 

cell_connection ......................... Enumerated ............................ 1 .............................................. Connection status of the cell. 

—Value must be one of the following codes: 

0—Not Serving. 

1—Primary Serving. 

2—Secondary Serving. 

Note: this value may be null if connection 

status returns unknown. 

network_ ...................................

generation ................................

Enumerated ............................ 4G ........................................... String representing the network generation of 

the cell. 

—Value must be one of the following: 

{2G/3G/4G/5G/Other} 

network_subtype ...................... Enumerated ............................ LTE ......................................... String representing the network subtype of 

the cell. 

—Value must be one of the following: 

{1X/EVDO/WCDMA/GSM/HSPA/HSPA+/

LTE/NR} 

rssi ............................................ Decimal (3,1) .......................... ¥57.2 ..................................... Measured Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) in dBm of the cell. 

Note: this value is required for all network 

generations and subtypes. 

rsrp ........................................... Decimal (3,1) .......................... ¥92.1 ..................................... Measured Reference Signal Received Power 

(RSRP) in dBm of the cell. 

Note: this value is only required for LTE and 

NR subtypes, and may be null for all other 

network subtypes. 

rsrq ........................................... Decimal (3,1) .......................... ¥12.5 ..................................... Measured Reference Signal Received Quality 

(RSRQ) in dB of the cell. 

Note: this value is only required for LTE and 

NR subtypes, and may be null for all other 

network subtypes. 

sinr ............................................ Decimal (3,1) .......................... 21.3 ......................................... Measured Signal to Interference and Noise 

Ratio (SINR) in dB of the cell. 

Note: this value is only required for 2G, LTE, 

and 5G network generations, and may be 

null for 3G. 

ec_io ......................................... Decimal (3,1) .......................... ¥8.3 ....................................... Measured Energy per Chip to Interference 

Power Ratio in dB of the cell. 

Note: this value is only required for CDMA 

1X, EVDO, WCDMA, HSPA, and HSPA+ 

network subtypes, and may be null for all 

other network subtypes. 

rscp ........................................... Decimal (3,1) .......................... ¥87.2 ..................................... Measured Received Signal Code Power in 

dBm of the cell. 

Note: this value is only required for WCDMA, 

HSPA, and HSPA+ network subtypes, and 

may be null for all other network subtypes. 

cqi ............................................. Integer .................................... 11 ............................................ Measured Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) of 

the cell. 

Note: this field is only required for WCDMA, 

HSPA, HSPA+, LTE, and NR network 

subtypes, and may be null for all other network subtypes. 

spectrum_bandwidth ................ Numeric .................................. 15 ............................................ Total amount of spectral bandwidth used by 

the cell in MHz. 

arfcn ......................................... Integer .................................... 66786 ...................................... Absolute radio-frequency channel number, 

measured absolute physical RF channel 

number of the cell. 

III. Appendix B: Drive Test 

Procedures—Technical Appendix 

A. Introduction 

This technical appendix provides 

information about the proposed mobile 

certification process for Alaska Plan 

providers subject to drive testing. The 

Alaska Plan requires such testing to 

include ‘‘a statistically significant 

number of tests in the vicinity of 

residences being covered’’ to 

demonstrate that plan participants have 

met the commitments in the 

performance plans approved by the 

Wireless Telecommunications Bureau 

(Bureau). 

Remote Alaska is extraordinarily 

sparsely populated; virtually all its 

county-level geographies have 

population densities of three or fewer 

people per square mile. Accordingly, 

testing every location for a provider’s 

coverage would be unduly burdensome, 

and testing a sample of locations is 

required. 

For the sampling required to 

implement the testing procedures under 

the Alaska Plan, staff proposes to use 

stratified random sampling. When 

properly implemented, this sampling 

methodology can achieve an optimal 

balance between the statistical 

significance required by the Alaska Plan 

and the burden on providers to conduct 


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1 Staff proposes to use this particular type of grid 

because census blocks are not of uniform 

geographic size, which could require a different 

number of speed tests for each block, and, in turn, 

could increase the testing burden on providers. 

Grids of smaller sizes and shapes were less likely 

to provide easily accessible areas for testing given 

the nature of roads and population distribution in 

remote Alaska, and grids of larger sizes and shapes 

would provide more heterogeneous wireless 

performance, which would require more 

cumbersome rules for actually conducting drive 

testing to ensure geographic diversity of the sample 

within each grid. 

tests from a sufficient number of 

locations. 

The following sections describe the 

details of the proposed testing process. 

These technical details serve as a guide 

to both the Bureau and the providers 

doing the testing in determining: 

• Where, within the geographic 

boundaries of the coverage map, a 

provider should conduct testing; 

• how many locations a provider 

must test; 

• what speed test measurements will 

be accepted for staff analysis by the 

Bureau; and 

• how Bureau staff will evaluate the 

test data and adjudicate whether the 

provider has passed or failed the testing 

process. 

B. Sample Frame Construction 

To select locations for testing, one 

must first construct a list (known as a 

‘‘sampling frame’’ or ‘‘frame’’) of 

possible locations to select from. The 

construction of this frame is a multi-part 

process. First, we propose creating a set 

of ‘‘eligible populated areas.’’ Census 

blocks eligible for frozen-support 

funding would be included, and these 

census blocks would be merged with the 

populated areas of the Alaska 

Population Distribution model. Second, 

the Form 477 reported coverage for 

which a provider committed to deploy 

subject to testing would be merged with 

the eligible populated areas to create a 

set of ‘‘covered populated areas.’’ Third, 

a grid of 1 km x 1 km squares would be 

overlaid onto the covered populated 

areas.1 Due to the fact that the Alaska 

Population Distribution model 

uniformly distributes population within 

the populated area of a block, the 

covered populated areas of a block 

would likewise have a uniform 

population distribution. The total 

population of each grid cell is the sum 

of the populations of the covered 

populated areas contained within a 

given grid cell. For example, if a grid 

cell contains 25% of the covered 

populated area of a census block, that 

grid would be credited with 25% of that 

block’s covered population. That same 

grid cell might also contain 100% of a 

second census block’s covered 

populated area. So all of that census 

block’s covered population would be 

credited to that grid cell, and the grid 

cell’s total population would be the sum 

of these two populations. Lastly, any 

grid cell that contains fewer than 

100,000 square meters of covered 

populated area, or 10% of the grid cell, 

would be excluded from the frame. This 

ensures that all grid cells have a 

reasonable testable area, reducing 

burden on providers. Grid cells with 

smaller levels of covered populated area 

were less likely to have areas that were 

publicly accessible or large enough to 

conduct mobile testing. Figures 1–4 

below detail this process. 


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For commitments that do not promise 

different speeds for different middlemile technologies, the frame would 

utilize the most recent Form 477 

submissions from the provider, which 

currently is the provider’s deployment 

data as of December 2020. For areas 

served by more than one technology, the 

area would only be included in the 

frame for the latest generation 

technology. For example, if an area is 

covered by both 2G and 3G, then the 

area would only be included in the 3G 

frame. As no commitments were made 

for 5G service, any 5G coverage will be 

included within the LTE frame. Where 

a provider has committed to different 

speeds in different areas due to different 

middle-mile technologies, the frame 

would rely on additional data submitted 

by the provider to differentiate the 

covered areas of a given technology 

(e.g., LTE) with multiple middle-mile 

types. 

If a provider wishes to submit data 

that better reflects the December 2021 

Form 477 data that it is likely to submit 

in March 2022 than the December 2020 

data that the Commission currently has, 

then it should notify the Bureau within 

the Public Notice comment cycle and 

submit the updated coverage data 

within 10 days of the adoption of the 

Order. The Bureau will create a 

stratified random sample for the 

provider to test within 15 days of 

receipt of updated data, or, in the event 

of no new data submitted, 10 days of the 

adoption of an Order. 

C. Frame Stratification 

Frame stratification is the process of 

dividing a frame into subsets of similar 

characteristics, called strata. This 

methodology allows fewer grid cells to 

be selected for testing while producing 

the same level of accuracy as sampling 

the entire frame, thus reducing testing 

burden. 

The number of strata for each frame 

depends on the number of grid cells in 

a given frame. To create the strata, the 

Bureau proposes to use the cumulative 

square root of the frequency (CSRF) 

method, based on grid-level estimates of 

covered population. CSRF is a standard 

stratification method used to define the 

breaks between strata. It creates equal 

intervals not on the scale along the 

stratification variable (in this case, 

covered population) scale, but rather on 

the scale along the cumulated square 

root of the count (frequency) of grid 

cells belonging to equal intervals of the 

stratification variable. 

Based on the data staff currently has, 

it is expected that each frame will 

contain between two and eight strata. 

Staff analysis has found that this 

stratification method produces strata of 

more equal sizes than other potential 

stratification methods (e.g., based on 

census tracts), which reduces the 

number of grid cells that need to be 

selected for testing. 

Further, staff proposes to select 

certain grid cells with probability 1 (grid 

cells that are called certainties) within 

each stratum. This ensures that grid 

cells that have a high population within 

a given stratum are tested; this should 

prevent the testing results of the stratum 

from being skewed by outlier results 

from low-weighted grid cells. 


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Fig. 1: Eligible Blocks and Populated Areas Fig. 2: Eligible Populated Areas and Coverage 

Fig. 3: Covered Populated Areas with Grid Fig 4: Grid Cells Eligible for Selection 
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 143 / Thursday, July 29, 2021 / Notices 40835 

D. Sample Size Calculation and 

Allocation and Sample Selection 

The Bureau proposes to decide the 

number of grid cells that the provider 

has to test (that is, the sample size, n), 

based on a set of statistical and logistical 

assumptions. The statistical assumption 

is that the variance of the desired 

estimate of average population served 

cannot exceed a specified value, V. The 

logistical assumption is that the cost of 

drive testing is constant in every grid 

cell selected in the sample. Under these 

assumptions, a theoretical value for the 

sample size can be calculated as 

detailed below. 

Let L denote the number of strata in 

the frame and let the index h 

distinguish these L strata. Further, 

denote or define the following 

quantities: 

Guided by the allocation scheme from 

the previous section, staff proposes to 

use geographic information systems 

(GIS) tools to randomly select grid cells 

in each stratum, including options 

within these tools that ensure 

geographic dispersion for selected grid 

cells within a stratum. The provider 

subject to testing would then be notified 

of the sample grid cells in which it 

would be required to conduct on-theground speed tests. 

E. Drive Testing Data Collection 

We propose that, within each selected 

grid cell, a carrier would conduct a 

minimum of 20 tests, no less than 50% 

of which are to be conducted while inmotion from a vehicle. This is the 

minimum number of tests to support the 

use of the binomial distribution to 

approximate the normal distribution 

that is needed in calculating the gap in 

coverage based on a one-sided 90% 

confidence interval, as discussed later 

in Section VII. 

To be considered valid, each test 

should be conducted between the hours 

of 6:00 a.m. and 10 p.m., within the 

selected grid cell, and report all relevant 

parameters defined in Appendix A. 

Each component of a test (i.e., download 

and upload speeds) should have a 

duration between 5 and 30 seconds. 

Mobile tests are considered to be located 

within the grid cell containing the 

starting location, as a tester has full 

control over the starting location of a 

test but may not always be able to 

control the ending location of a test. 


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• Number of grid cells in the stratum = Nh (thus, N = Lt=i Nh) 

• Weight of the stratum = Wh = Nhf N 

• Mean of X in the stratum = xh = :h rf:!11 xh,i where xh,i is the value of committed population 

X in the ith grid cell of stratum h 

Under our proposal, the theoretical minimum sample size is given by: 

Once determined, n would be allocated among the different strata. Specifically, if nh is the 

number of sample grid cells allocated to the stratum, then: 

This method of apportioning the sample among the various strata is called Neyman allocation. 
40836 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 143 / Thursday, July 29, 2021 / Notices 

2 For 2G tests, the applicable minimum speeds 

would be 22.8 kbps for both download and upload 

tests, as this is the minimum equivalent data rate 

for voice service, accounting for the voice codec 

rate and channel coding rate requirements. See 

ETSI, CODECs, https://www.etsi.org/technologies/ 

codecs (last visited July 14, 2021). 

Testers should, however, attempt to 

conduct a mobile test within a single 

grid cell as much as is reasonably and 

safely possible. A mobile test should 

initiate when moving away from the 

location of a stationary test after having 

reached the speed of the surrounding 

traffic, or a safe and reasonable 

operating speed in the event no traffic 

is present. 

F. Statistical Analysis of Testing Results 

Upon receipt of drive testing 

submissions, the Bureau will perform a 

statistical analysis of the data to 

estimate the desired total population 

covered. Because the sample is selected 

using stratified random sampling, 

estimation techniques appropriate for 

this particular sampling method must be 

used. 

Stratified random sampling requires 

an aggregate measurement from a 

sampled grid cell that will be combined 

with measurements from the other 

sampled grid cells to calculate stratumlevel estimates of total covered 

population. These estimates will, in 

turn, be combined to produce an overall 

estimate of covered population. Drive 

tests conducted in a sample grid cell 

will be aggregated based on the 

following rule: 

Let p be the percentage of drive tests 

that meet or exceed the applicable 

minimum.2 If p is at least 85%, then the 

full population of the sample grid cell 

will be deemed as covered; otherwise, 

0% will be deemed as covered. 

To calculate the stratum-level 

estimates and the overall estimate of the 

covered population, the Bureau 

proposes to use the estimation method 

appropriate for stratified random 

sampling, described next. 

To more accurately reflect coverage at 

the time of deployment and to fulfill the 

Alaska Plan’s requirement to evaluate a 

provider’s commitments based on 

December 2021 Form 477 coverage data, 

we propose to adjust the covered 

population of the sample frames Nh

relative to covered population according 

to the December 2020 Form 477 data. 

For frames where coverage would be 

reduced, we would proportionally 

reduce population, and, for where 

coverage would increase, we would 

proportionally increase population. 

Finally, the overall covered 

population total, Xˆ , is estimated as 

Xˆ = Nx ̄. 

G. Adjudication of the Outcome of the 

Testing Process 

Because the estimate of the total 

covered population Xˆ comes from a 

sample, direct comparison of Xˆ against 

the committed covered population is 

not appropriate. Instead, staff proposes 

to construct a confidence interval that 

takes into account the variability arising 

from the estimate Xˆ , and use this 

confidence interval to adjudicate the 

outcome of the testing process. 

Because the Alaska Plan calls for a 

tiered approach in levying penalties for 

providers failing the testing process, the 

Bureau proposes to use a one-sided 90% 

confidence interval for Xˆ to quantify the 

gap in coverage. In particular, the 

Bureau proposes to use the upper limit 

of this confidence interval, which is 

calculated as 


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Let xh,i be the (deemed) covered population in the ith grid cell of stratum h, where i = 1, ... , nh. Based 

on the rule above, xh,i = Xh,i if p ;;::: 0.85, and xh,i = 0 if p < 0.85. The stratum sample mean covered 

population, :ih, is calculated as :ih = L~='.\ xh,i fnh; the stratum sample total covered population is 

Combining these stratum-level estimates, we arrive at the overall covered population mean, :i, 

calculated as: 

with variance: 

X + 1.28N V(:i). 
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 143 / Thursday, July 29, 2021 / Notices 40837 

The gap in coverage is then calculated 

as: 

Gap in Coverage = Total Population 

Coverage Commitment ¥ 

If the gap in coverage is no more than 

5% of the total population of a given 

commitment, no penalties will apply. 

Otherwise, penalties will apply 

according to the tiers adopted by the 

Commission. 

Additionally, it is possible to have a 

negative gap in coverage if the upper 

limit of the confidence interval is 

greater than the total committed 

population. If a provider has committed 

to multiple tiers of technology (i.e., 2G, 

3G, and 4G LTE), then any excess 

coverage, as defined by a negative gap 

in coverage, can be applied to the next 

lowest tier of technology. For example, 

if a provider has committed to cover 

25,000 people with 4G LTE and the 

upper limit of the confidence interval 

shows adequate coverage for 30,000 

people, then the remaining 5,000 

coverage can be applied to its 3G 

commitment. This process is iterative, 

so any further excess coverage can be 

applied to its 2G commitment. 

Accordingly, the formula above would 

be re-written as: 

Gap in Coverage = Total Population 

Coverage Commitment¥( Xˆ + 

1.28N√V(x ̄) + Excess Coverage from 

Higher Technology) 

This methodology therefore will not 

punish carriers for improving coverage 

beyond what they committed. 

IV. Procedural Matters 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility 

Certification. As required by the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act, the 

Commission certifies that the proposals 

in this Public Notice, if adopted, will 

not have a significant impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

This Public Notice seeks comment on 

the drive testing proposals required by 

the Alaska Plan for those wireless 

participants receiving more than $5 

million in annual Alaska Plan support, 

excluding the smaller wireless 

participants that receive less than that 

in annual support. The proposals, if 

adopted, would apply to only two 

entities, one of which does not qualify 

as a small entity. 

Ex Parte Presentations. This 

proceeding shall be treated as a ‘‘permitbut-disclose’’ proceeding in accordance 

with the Commission’s ex parte rules. 

Persons making ex parte presentations 

must file a copy of any written 

presentation or a memorandum 

summarizing any oral presentation 

within two business days after the 

presentation (unless a different deadline 

applicable to the Sunshine period 

applies). Persons making oral ex parte 

presentations are reminded that 

memoranda summarizing the 

presentation must (1) list all persons 

attending or otherwise participating in 

the meeting at which the ex parte 

presentation was made, and (2) 

summarize all data presented and 

arguments made during the 

presentation. If the presentation 

consisted in whole or in part of the 

presentation of data or arguments 

already reflected in the presenter’s 

written comments, memoranda or other 

filings in the proceeding, the presenter 

may provide citations to such data or 

arguments in his or her prior comments, 

memoranda, or other filings (specifying 

the relevant page and/or paragraph 

numbers where such data or arguments 

can be found) in lieu of summarizing 

them in the memorandum. Documents 

shown or given to Commission staff 

during ex parte meetings are deemed to 

be written ex parte presentations and 

must be filed consistent with rule 

1.1206(b). In proceedings governed by 

rule 1.49(f) or for which the 

Commission has made available a 

method of electronic filing, written ex 

parte presentations and memoranda 

summarizing oral ex parte 

presentations, and all attachments 

thereto, must be filed through the 

electronic comment filing system 

available for that proceeding, and must 

be filed in their native format (e.g., .doc, 

.xml, .ppt, searchable .pdf). Participants 

in this proceeding should familiarize 

themselves with the Commission’s ex 

parte rules. 

Legal Basis. The Bureau is authorized 

to propose the drive test parameters and 

model pursuant to the authority 

delegated in the Alaska Plan Order, 31 

FCC Rcd 10139, 10160, 10166, paras. 67, 

85 (2016) and 47 CFR 54.317, 54.320– 

54.321. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Amy Brett, 

Acting Chief of Staff, Wireless 

Telecommunications Bureau. 

[FR Doc. 2021–16125 Filed 7–27–21; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

MB Docket No. 18–349; DA 21–851; FR 

ID 40028] 

Media Bureau Extends Comment and 

Reply Comment Deadlines To Update 

the Record in the 2018 Quadrennial 

Review 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the 

Commission grants a motion for 

extension of time in the 2018 

Quadrennial Review record update to 

extend the comment and reply comment 

deadlines. 

DATES:

Comment Date: September 2, 2021. 

Reply Comment Date: October 1, 

2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ty 

Bream, Media Bureau, Industry Analysis 

Division, Ty.Bream@fcc.gov, (202) 418– 

0644. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Media Bureau’s Public 

Notice in MB Docket No. 18–349, DA 

21–851, that was released on July 16, 

2021. The complete text of this 

document is available electronically via 

the search function on the FCC’s 

Electronic Document Management 

System (EDOCS) web page at https://

apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/ (https://

apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/). Documents 

will be available electronically in ASCII, 

Microsoft Word, and/or Adobe Acrobat. 

Alternative formats are available for 

people with disabilities (Braille, large 

print, electronic files, audio format, etc.) 

and reasonable accommodations 

(accessible format documents, sign 

language interpreters, CART, etc.) may 

be requested by sending an email to 

fcc504@fcc.gov or calling the FCC’s 

Consumer and Governmental Affairs 

Bureau at (202) 418–0530 (voice), (202) 

418–0432 (TTY). 

Synopsis 

1. By this Public Notice, the Media 

Bureau extends the deadlines for filing 

comments and reply comments in the 

above-captioned proceeding. On June 4, 

2021, the Media Bureau released a 

Public Notice, 86 FR 35089 (July 1, 

2021), seeking to update the record in 

the 2018 Quadrennial Review 

proceeding, in which the Commission 

has sought comment, pursuant to its 

obligation under Section 202(h) of the 

Telecommunications Act of 1996, on 

whether its media ownership rules 

remain ‘‘necessary in the public interest 


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(f? + 1.28N V(x) ).