DRAFT: Streamlining the Engineering Review for Broadband Data Collection

This DRAFT Report and Order would eliminate the professional engineer certification requirement for the biannual Broadband Data Collection (BDC) filings and instead allow the biannual filings to be certified by a qualified engineer.  An engineer certifying BDC filings would be considered a qualified engineer if they meet minimum experience and educational requirements relevant to broadband network design.  The Report and Order also clarifies that a certifying engineer does not need to be a full-time employee of the company filing BDC data.  This item, if adopted, would eliminate a requirement for filers of BDC biannual data to have filings certified by a licensed professional engineer and instead permit them to have filings certified by a qualified engineer. The Federal Communications Commission anticipates this change will reduce for most filers the costs and burdens associated with procuring a licensed professional engineer to certify their biannual BDC filings.  The amended requirement, in combination with the BDC verification and audit processes and challenges from the public, provides the Commission with the necessary tools to ensure that BDC data are accurate and timely and ensures that filers have engaged in the analysis necessary to meet Congress’s objective of developing more accurate data.