Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 232 / Friday, December 2, 2016 / Rules and Regulations
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subscribed to by any customer of a telecommunications carrier, and as such constitute CPNI when a BIAS provider acquires or accesses them in connection with its provision of service: • Broadband Service Plans • Geo-location • MAC Addresses and Other Device Identifiers • IP Addresses and Domain Name Information • Traffic Statistics • Port Information • Application Header • Application Usage • Application Payload • Customer Premises Equipment and Device Information 54. We will first give a brief overview of the structure of Internet communications, to help put these terms in context, and then discuss why each of these types of information, and other related components of Internet Protocol packets, qualify as CPNI. (a) Background—Components of an Internet Protocol Packet 55. The layered architecture of Internet communications informs our analysis of CPNI in the broadband context. While the concept of layering is not unique to the Internet, layering plays a uniquely prominent role for Internet-based communications and devices. For that reason, we begin with a brief technical overview of the layered structure of Internet communications. 56. Multiple layers—often represented as a vertical stack—comprise every Internet communication. Each layer in the stack serves a particular logical function and uses a network protocol that standardizes communication between systems, enabling rapid innovation in Internet-based protocols and applications. Within one device, information is typically transmitted vertically through the various layers. Across all devices, equivalent layers perform the equivalent functions. This compatibility and interoperability is typically represented as horizontal relationships. When an application sends data over the Internet, the process begins with application data moving downwards through the layers. Each layer adds additional networking information and functionality, wrapping the output of the layers above it with a ‘‘header.’’ The communication sent out over the Internet—consisting of the application data wrapped in headers from each layer—is called a ‘‘packet.’’ When a device receives data over the Internet, the reverse process occurs. Data moves upwards through the layers; each layer unwraps its associated information and passes the output
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upward, until the application on the recipient’s device recovers the original application data. As a component of their provision of service, BIAS providers may analyze each of these layers for reasonable network management. 57. Common representations of the Internet’s architecture range from four to seven layers. To highlight design properties relevant to the broadband CPNI analysis, we describe a five-layer model in this explanation. From top to bottom, the layers are: Application payload, application header, transport, network, and link. We will briefly describe each of the five layers, from top to bottom: 58. Application Payload. The information transmitted to and from each application a customer runs is commonly referred to as the application layer payload. The application payload is the substance of the communication between the customer and the entity with which she is communicating. Examples of application payloads include the body of a Web page, the text of an email or instant message, the video served by a streaming service, the audiovisual stream in a video chat, or the maps served by a turn-by-turn navigation app. 59. Application Header. The application will usually append one or more headers to the payload; these headers contain information about the application payload that the application is sending or requesting. For example, in web browsing, the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of a Web page constitutes application header information. In a conversation via email, instant message, or video chat, an application header may disclose the parties to the conversation. 60. Transport Layer. Below the application header layer is the transport layer, which forwards data to the intended application on each device and can manage the flow of communications from one device to another device. Two transport protocols are widely deployed on the Internet: the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), which ensures that data arrives intact, and the User Datagram Protocol (UDP), which provides fewer guarantees about data integrity. Port numbers are an example of data within the transport layer header; a port number specifies which application on a device should handle a network communication. 61. Network Layer. The network layer is below the transport layer, and contains information used to route packets across the Internet from one device to another device. Almost all Internet traffic uses the Internet Protocol
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(IP) at the network layer. IP addresses are the most common example of data at the network layer; an IP address in a network header indicates the sender or recipient of an Internet packet. 62. Link Layer. The final layer is the link layer, which is below the network layer. Link layer protocols route data between devices on the same local network. For example, devices on the same wired or wireless network can usually communicate directly with each other at the link layer. MAC addresses are an example of data at the link layer, and a wide range of link technologies (Ethernet, DOCSIS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, among others) use them. A MAC address functions as a globally unique device identifier, ensuring that every device on a local network has a distinct address for sending and receiving data. (b) Specific Examples of CPNI in the BIAS Context 63. With this understanding of the architecture of Internet communications, we can now examine how the components of an IP data packet map to the statutory definition of CPNI. In this section, we provide guidance on what data elements constitute CPNI; this is distinct from the question of whether a data element constitutes individually identifiable CPNI and is thus ‘‘customer proprietary information.’’ Below, we provide guidance addressing how various data elements constitute CPNI under section 222. 64. Broadband Service Plans. We find that broadband service plans meet the statutory definition of CPNI in the broadband context because they relate to the quantity, type, amount of use, location, and technical configuration of a telecommunications service. We agree with NTCA that ‘‘information related to a customer’s broadband service plan can be viewed as analogous to voice telephony service plans,’’ which the Commission has long considered to be CPNI in the voice context. These plans detail subscription information, including the type of service (e.g., fixed or mobile; cable or fiber; prepaid or term contract), speed, pricing, and capacity (e.g., data caps). These data relate to the ‘‘type’’ of telecommunications service to which the customer subscribes, as well as how the BIAS provider will adjust the ‘‘technical configuration’’ of their network to serve that customer. Information pertaining to subscribed capacity and speed relate to the ‘‘quantity’’ of services the customer purchases, as well as the ‘‘amount’’ of services the customer consumes. Service plans often include the customer’s
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