Twice every year, US telcos and internet providers must submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) a form with information on their companies’ services. This is Form 477, for Local Telephone Competition and Broadband Reporting.
As the name suggests, Form 477 is FCC’s tool for gathering data and creating snapshots of broadband deployment and local competition in the US. These snapshots are an essential component in the FCC’s reports to the Congress, and thus aid in the discussion of regulations such as those on net neutrality and white space.

Internet providers can also directly benefit from the FCC’s reports as they provide insights on local competition in specific areas, and on the state of broadband deployment in general. Providers can use this as a tool in strategic business planning.

Facilities-based providers of broadband service to must submit their Form 477 on March 1 and September 1 every year. The March report should contain data as of December 31 of the previous year, while the September report is for data as of June 30.
FCC provides a blank copy of Form 477, as well as a tutorial, on their website, so acquiring and submitting the form are easy enough. But what can be a hassle for internet providers is the gathering of their business data needed in the report.

The FCC Report feature in the UBO software makes this easy for you. Here’s how you can file your report using this feature:

1. First, you’ll need to register and login to FCC’s electronic filing page. See this PDF for complete instructions.
2. You will have access to a blank copy of Form 477, and this is what you’ll need to fill out. The PDF linked above also has instructions for filling out the different pages of this form.
3. After completing the cover page of the form, you’ll reach the part where you have to provide your ISP data. At this point, go to your UBO software and open the Report Center.
4. Under the Report Center’s Categories, click on FCC, then on the upper-right corner of the window, select your State.
5. You will see your latest ISP data report on the main list of the window. Click on this report, then Generate XML. A web page will open containing your ISP data.
6. All you have to do now is to copy or import this data to the FCC form that you have been filling out.