Broadband Mapping May Get Worse if FCC Axes More Reporting Duties, OTI Associate Says
The FCC's "inaccurate broadband mapping" could worsen if the agency scraps more industry filing requirements, as it just did in eliminating cable Form 325 duties, blogged Amir Nasr, New America Open Technology Institute program associate, Thursday. He said the "flimsy…
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data maneuvering" could lead to "misallocated" funds, undermine federal agency efforts to improve broadband deployment and adoption, and even "harm the accuracy of the 2020 Census -- and all the activities that depend on it." The FCC gets much broadband data from ISPs through Form 477 filings that have "significant flaws" and "two large caveats," he said: a census tract is deemed "served" if an ISP deploys to one household or location there, and ISPs are only required to report potential, not actual, broadband speeds. "[T]he best way for the FCC to fact-check ISPs’ reports is to supplement that data with broadband performance data," he said: The agency also should "collect data on how much broadband really costs" across the nation, and "clarify, through its Form 477 reporting requirements, that a census block shouldn't be considered 'served' unless it's truly served." Parties filed comments and replies (see 1710110038, 1710250033) on an NPRM that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said seeks to make Form 477 data more accurate and less burdensome.