The FCC Needs More Fixes, Fewer Excuses for the National Broadband Map
[Commentary] Our critique of the National Broadband Map, "Map to Nowhere," has caused quite a stir over at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Yet the response from Steven Rosenberg, chief data officer with the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau, offers PR spin and damage control rather than substantive ideas. Rosenberg begins by saying that we "miss almost entirely the real story regarding broadband data and the FCC [and that] the National Broadband Map is the largest and most detailed map of broadband ever created." However, Mr. Rosenberg sidesteps our fundamental critique -- if the map contains wrong data or excludes key information (for example, price), then it doesn't matter how large it is—a massive number of inaccurate details is no more helpful than a more modest heap of misinformation. While the map did get some things right, our critique is that the map is ineffective as a meaningful resource for U.S. residents.
[Sascha Meinrath is is the Director of the New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative]
The FCC Needs More Fixes, Fewer Excuses for the National Broadband Map