Consumer Broadband Test (Beta), and Dead Zone Report Privacy Statement

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) is soliciting this information under authority of the Broadband Data Improvement Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-385, Stat 4096 § 103(c)(1); American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 (ARRA), Pub. L. No. 111-5, 123 Stat 115 (2009); and Section 154(i) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, as part of its responsibilities that relate to the collection of personally identifiable information (PII) in the Commission’s “Broadband Dead Zone Report and Consumer Broadband Test.” As part of this collection, the FCC will collect street addresses and IP addresses.

As part of the Consumer Broadband Test, FCC, Ookla, and M-Lab are collecting and storing broadband performance information and IP addresses, which Ookla and M-Lab may release to the public. The FCC will not make individual IP addresses or street addresses available to the public except in the limited circumstances described herein. Street address of current testing location is required to participate in the Fixed Consumer Broadband Test. For more information, see the complete Consumer Broadband Test Privacy Statement, the Ookla Privacy Policy, and the M-Lab Privacy Policy.

The Commission’s survey will help determine the access of US residents to broadband (such as cable, DSL, fiber, and other broadband services, including mobile services). The test will provide individuals with a mechanism to measure the quality of their internet broadband connection at a given point in time. The FCC will not make individual street addresses or IP addresses public, but aggregated and/or anonymized (not disclosing individual location information of users) data from the database may be made public. The data may also be used to inform the progress of the National Broadband Plan, the National Broadband Map, and other proceedings related to the provisioning of broadband services.

The PII and other data that are contained in Commission’s “Broadband Dead Zone Report and Consumer Broadband Test” will be stored in the Commission’s information system that is covered by the FCC system of records notice (SORN), FCC/OSP-1, “FCC/OMD-1,” “Broadband Dead Zone Report and Consumer Broadband Test.”

The information about individuals covered by this system of records notice may routinely be disclosed under the following conditions for:

1. Where there is an indication of a violation or potential violation of a statute, regulation, rule, or order, records from this system may be referred to the appropriate Federal, state, or local agency responsible for investigating or prosecuting a violation or for implementing or enforcing the statute, rule, regulation, or order.
2. A record on an individual in this system of records may be disclosed, where pertinent, in any legal proceeding to which the Commission is a party before a court or administrative body.
3. A record from this system of records may be disclosed to the Department of Justice or in a proceeding before a court or adjudicative body when:
   1. the United States, the Commission, a component of the Commission, or, when represented by the government, an employee of the Commission is a party to litigation or anticipated litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and
   2. The Commission determines that the disclosure is relevant or necessary to the litigation.
4. A record on an individual in this system of records may be disclosed to a Congressional office in response to an inquiry the individual has made to the Congressional office.
5. A record from this system of records may be disclosed to GSA and NARA for the purpose of records management inspections conducted under authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906. Such disclosure shall not be used to make a determination about individuals.
6. A record from this system may be disclosed to appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when (1) the Commission suspects or has confirmed that the security or confidentiality of information in the system of records has been compromised; (2) the Commission has determined that as a result of the suspected or confirmed compromise there is a risk of harm to economic or property interests, identity theft or fraud, or harm to the security or integrity of this system or other systems or programs (whether maintained by the Commission or another agency or entity) that rely upon the compromised information; and (3) the disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist in connection with the Commission’s efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
7. The information collected through the Broadband Dead Zone Report and Consumer Broadband Test, with the exception of any personally identifiable information, may be shared with public-private partnerships and with the Telecommunications Program of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Agency. This sharing regime is described in the Commission’s Broadband Data Order of 2008 (FCC 08-89).
8. The information collected through the Broadband Dead Zone Report and Consumer Broadband Test, including the personally identifiable information (PII), may be shared with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the 56 State Designated Entities for the State Broadband Data & Development Grant Program, who are tasked with gathering broadband availability information that will be delivered to the FCC and NTIA for compilation into the National Broadband Map. Any PII shared with these entities will be disclosed under the rules of the agreement between NTIA and the state grantees governing the protection of sensitive, protected, or classified data collected pursuant to the grant program. The NTIA and the state grantees will not make any PII publicly available.

In each of these cases, the FCC will determine whether disclosure of the records is compatible with the purpose(s) for which the records were collected.