FCC claims on broadband access under scrutiny

The Federal Communications Commission is being scrutinized over its claims that its deregulatory agenda has led to record gains in the private sector’s efforts to expand access to high-speed internet in rural and underserved communities. In Feb, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai circulated a draft of the agency’s annual progress report on broadband deployment. He touted data showing that the number of Americans without access to broadband fell by more than 25 percent and that a record number of homes had received new fiber connections in 2017. Chairman Pai’s conclusions and the numbers that he based them on quickly came under scrutiny. “This is just not credible. Studies show that 162 million Americans do not use the internet at broadband speeds,” FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said. “The simple fact is that the FCC needs to come clean about its numbers — serious questions have been raised about the FCC’s data that demand answers.”