Free Press: Broadband Deployment Plan Demands Better Data

Free Press Research Director Derek Turner plans to tell Congress that the broadband deployment figures in the national broadband plan are "suspect," probably overstate deployment in rural America, and suggests the FCC's deployment strategy is based on a "house of cards."

In prepared testimony for a House Communications Subcommittee hearing, Turner commends the commission for its goal of universal service, but counts the "flaws" it in its proposed execution, which include incorrect assumptions about what cable modem technology is being deployed and the capabilities of DSL, he says, and "ignorance of middle-mile data transport constraints" that translate into overstatement of the quality of last-mile (customer-facing) service. Turner says his group has concerns about "the assumptions that underlie the analytical foundation of this transition plan." In particular, he is concerned about the report's finding that "95% of U.S. housing units" have access to broadband at speeds of at least 4 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream. "If true," he says, "this would mean that our broadband infrastructure challenges are far more manageable than previously thought." But it is not true, he charges. "Upon close examination, it is quite apparent that this determination of broadband deployment is built upon a house-of-cards of assumptions."