FCC Expects 2021 Broadband Report to Rely on Flawed Data

The Federal Communications Commission released its recently adopted notice of inquiry to guide its annual broadband deployment report. One source of contention surrounding these analyses, of course, is the FCC’s reliance on shoddy data reported by the telecom companies, using metrics inclined to overstate coverage. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Congress have moved to improve the process via recent rulemaking and legislation. A March law requires the FCC to implement more granular data collection methods by Sept. 21, which it’s planning to do. But Congress still hasn’t approved the needed funds, and not many months remain before the next FCC report is due. So as “promising as our efforts to improve broadband deployment information are,” the existing form of mapping data is still “most appropriate” and probably most accurate for the 2021 deployment assessment, the FCC notice says. Both Democratic FCC commissioners dissented, citing this issue among other complaints. “We are setting ourselves up for making all the same mistakes,” Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said. She also raised concerns that the FCC won’t probe other areas she considers important, such as broadband affordability.