By Martin H.
Bosworth
ConsumerAffairs.com
July 20, 2007
One of the primary obstacles to improving America's woeful state of broadband deployment is the odd way the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) measures it.
The agency utilizes data gleaned from the number of subscribers in a particular ZIP code. If even one Internet user has cable or DSL access, the agency deems the broadband availability sufficient.
A new Senate bill, unanimously approved by the Commerce Committee yesterday, would mandate changes to the FCC's measurement system in order to more accurately determine just how available broadband access is across the country.
The "Broadband Data Improvement Act", introduced by Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI), would require the FCC to set a new minimum standard for "second-generation" broadband speeds capable of delivering video content, as opposed to the 200 kilobits per second (kbps) it currently uses.
Broadband communications are fast becoming the great economic engine of our time, Inouye said. The first step toward securing broadband for all Americans is getting better broadband data.
The bill would also require the FCC to use the more accurate ZIP + 4 postal codes for its measurements, and would authorize the GAO to conduct its own measurements of broadband availability and access across the country. The bill was co-sponsored by nine Senators, including net neutrality supporter Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-IL).
He Said, She Said
The broadband availability debate has become increasingly politicized, with each side pointing to studies that prove--or disprove--their conclusions.
A recent report on broadband penetration by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found that while the United States had the largest total number of broadband subscribers in the group, it ranked 15 out of 30 for actual availability of broadband services, owing to the heaviest broadband adoption taking place in cities and urban clusters.
In response, the Phoenix Center, a Washington, D.C. think tank with ties to major telecom companies, argued in a recent publication that broadband adoption was more complex than simple raw data of active connections and availability.
The Center's analysts offered a new broadband measurement index that would factor in age of the subscriber, income level, and other demographic statistics.
But Derek Turner, research director for the media advocacy group Free Press, argues that all of the discussion about statistics and arguing over which side's data is right is just "shooting the messenger."
"All of the excuses offered to explain away Americas performance on the international broadband stage are just that: excuses," he wrote in his recent report on America's broadband status.
"It is clear that our current do-nothing policy is a failure," Turner wrote. "Policymakers who are serious about Americas economic and social wellbeing should reject the excuses and focus on policies that bring real broadband competition to American consumers."
