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FCC Form 477

We’re building a repository for 477 resources. This page is very incomplete and poorly organized. With time, hopefully, that gets corrected. Please provide feedback.



What is the 477?

The FCC form 477 is a form mandated by the US federal government that reports on broadband and voice services.

Who must file?

Directly from the FCC’s site:

  • Facilities-based providers of broadband connections to end-user locations
  • Providers of wired or fixed wireless local exchange telephone service
  • Providers of interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service
  • Facilities-based providers of mobile telephony service

What do I file?

Again, directly from the FCC’s site:

  • All facilities-based broadband providers are required to file data with the FCC twice a year (Form 477) on where they offer Internet access service at speeds exceeding 200 kbps in at least one direction.
  • Fixed providers file lists of census blocks in which they can or do offer service to at least one location, with additional information about the service.*
  • Mobile providers file maps of their coverage areas for each broadband technology (e.g., EV-DO, HSPA, LTE).  See Mobile Deployment Data.

How do I get the data?

Look to your billing\OSS system to get the subscriber – census tract mapping. The FCC calls this “subscription” data. A partial list of platforms that generate the correct information is:

Here’s a list of platforms that do NOT provide proper subscriber information:

  • MACC

Look to a GIS system to get your coverage information, based on census blocks. The FCC calls this “deployment” data. A partial list of platforms that generate the correct information is:

Here’s a list of platforms that do NOT provide proper deployment information:

Where do I submit the form?


Where can I find more information?

Where can I find the public data that has been submitted?

Who cares?

The FCC cares, very much. They fined a WISP for not filing. https://www.fcc.gov/document/rio-verde-wireless-penalized-repeated-failure-submit-form-477

What do they do with the data?

One of the things they use the data for is guiding policy. This data is how the government knows what ISPs are doing and where they’re doing it. This data is also used to determine how to subsidize your competitors.

What’s wrong with 477?

  • ISPs don’t submit any data.
  • ISPs unknowingly send wrong data.
    • They don’t know what they’re supposed to be sending and thus what they’re sending is wrong.
    • Their systems have bad or incomplete data, thus resulting in “garbage in, garbage out”.
  • ISPs intently send wrong data.
  • The FCC takes forever to release the information they collect.
  • Census blocks aren’t accurate enough.

What’s the FCC doing to fix what’s wrong?


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