No One Trusts Big Telecom to Build a Better Broadband Access Map

After spending the better part of the last decade fighting against more accurate broadband mapping data, the broadband industry recently proclaimed the sector was now “leading the charge” for better data. But industry experts are skeptical of the industry’s sudden about face, and worry the effort’s real goal is decreased broadband data transparency. The week of March 18, USTelecom, a lobbying organization representing AT&T, Verizon, and other Internet service providers, launched a PR campaign insisting the nation’s phone companies are now taking the lead on improving the country’s terrible broadband maps. The problem: USTelecom and the broadband industry have a very long history of lobbying to scuttle efforts to improve broadband mapping, raising more than a few eyebrows. While the US desperately needs better broadband mapping and availability data, that data’s not going to be useful if it can’t be independently verified. And given the industry’s long history of denying the nation’s broadband competition and availability problems, experts say skepticism about the industry’s real intentions is warranted.