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fcc-ecfs-data

What?

This repo contains data from the Federal Communication Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System. The data was most recently updated on March 13, 2013.

Why?

  1. There currently is no official API for comments filed at the FCC.

  2. This is a good use-case to experiment with the idea that a Github repo can be used as an open data API.

  3. I already have this data (it powers Dokket.com), and publishing it is no sweat.

How?

All data is JSON-encoded. Because it's just an export from a Parse.com database, the format should be similar to MongoDB. Each datatype is in its own file with the format Datatype.json.

To get the data from one of these files, parse the JSON and get the value of the "results" key.

Datatypes

Docket

A Docket represents a proceeding by the FCC. Sample:

{
  "bureau_name": "Wireline Competition Bureau",
  "date_created": {
    "__type": "Date",
    "iso": "2012-12-26T00:00:00.000Z"
  },
  "filings_in_last_30_days": "49",
  "number": "12-375",
  "prepared_by": "Aleta.Bowers",
  "status": "Open",
  "subject": "Implementation of the Pay Telephone Reclassification and Compensation Provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 et al.",
  "total_filings": "75",
  "createdAt": "2013-01-29T23:31:34.991Z",
  "updatedAt": "2013-03-13T23:41:34.698Z",
  "objectId": "nwzgZVTGhg"
}

Filing

A Filing belongs to a Docket and represents a filing made by a party (or parties) at the FCC for a given proceeding. Sample:

{
  "docket": {
    "__type": "Pointer",
    "className": "Docket",
    "objectId": "nwzgZVTGhg"
  },
  "date_posted": {
    "__type": "Date",
    "iso": "2013-01-22T00:00:00.000Z"
  },
  "date_received": {
    "__type": "Date",
    "iso": "2012-12-24T00:00:00.000Z"
  },
  "docket_number": "12-375",
  "document_urls": [
    "http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022093344",
    "http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022093345",
    "http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022093346",
    "http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022093347",
    "http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022093348",
    "http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022093349"
  ],
  "lawfirm_name": "FCC",
  "md5": "a5dab4a3df0525102a4949aa48ee6a2d",
  "name_of_filer": "Wireline Competition Bureau",
  "type_of_filing": "NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING",
  "createdAt": "2013-01-29T23:32:51.494Z",
  "updatedAt": "2013-01-29T23:34:00.232Z",
  "objectId": "lPdoEukAcs"
}

To get the actual text of a filing, view the URLs in the document_urls field. These are almost always PDFs.

Warranty

There is no warranty for this data. Moreover, this data is far from comprehensive.