Broadband:Intended Outcomes and Effectiveness of Efforts to Address Adoption Barriers Are Unclear

While broadband is available to a majority of Americans, barriers have kept some from subscribing and enjoying its benefits. In 2010, the Federal Communications Commission published the National Broadband Plan, which noted that some demographic groups lagged behind others in adopting broadband and called on FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to take action to address these barriers. The Government Accountability Office was asked to examine progress in addressing broadband adoption barriers. This report examines (1) benefits of home broadband adoption, (2) barriers to adoption and approaches to address them, and (3) the extent to which FCC and NTIA have assessed efforts and set goals to address barriers. GAO reviewed literature on benefits and barriers, documentation on the performance of efforts to address adoption barriers, and interviewed FCC and NTIA officials, 14 of the 42 BTOP grantees, and 21 public and private stakeholders selected based on GAO's prior work and recommendations from other stakeholders.

GAO recommends that NTIA include an outcome-based goal and measure for its broadband adoption work in its performance plan. NTIA stated that such metrics are not appropriate for its efforts because these efforts are advisory. GAO believes measuring outcomes is key to demonstrating results. GAO also recommends that FCC revise its strategic plan to more clearly state if broadband adoption is a priority, and if so, what outcomes FCC intends to achieve. FCC noted that to the extent its plan is unclear, it will take steps to address the recommendation.