Research

USTelecom met with FCC Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Jessica Rosenworcel and their chiefs of staff on August 7 and 8, 2019 to discuss preliminary findings from the Broadband Mapping Consortium Pilot Project that USTelecom is leading along with ITTA and WISPA. USTelecom said structure counts per census block in the pilot states versus 2011 census housing structure data are incorrect for nearly 50% of census blocks, and the 2011 census housing structure data is both over-inclusive and under-inclusive.

Measuring broadband is an ongoing challenge for policymakers and, for many participants in broadband policy debates, often a source of frustration. The frustration about broadband measurement emanates from what seems knowable – at least it is about other infrastructure. We know where our roads and highways run. Today it is easy to know when they are clogged, where there are tolls, and how much those tolls cost. Electric infrastructure is essentially ubiquitous and it isn’t hard, in most places, to find out the cost of a kilowatt hour and compare prices among providers.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai sent letters to Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Joni Ernst (R-IA), Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Jon Tester (D-MT), and Rep. Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ) on July 31, 2019, and August 1, 2019, in response to their letters expressing concern with broadband mapping.

Not so long ago, “closing the digital divide” primarily meant getting people online, and a steady upward trend in adoption is evidence of progress on that front. Yet gaps in broadband adoption remain – particularly for low-income households – and closing those gaps is about more than simply offering a low-cost internet service. Even with the availability of low-cost offers, it remains a challenge to encourage the remaining disconnected people to sign up for broadband service.

In 2017, Dr. Brian Whitacre was approached by Attorney Daryl Parks, who was preparing to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission based on the National Digital Inclusion Alliance's study of AT&T’s Digital Redlining of Cleveland (OH). Parks asked Whitacre to conduct an expert assessment of NDIA’s Cleveland research and provide sworn testimony about his findings, which he did.  Parks also asked Whitacre to conduct a similar analysis of AT&T broadband services in Dallas County (TX).

Recent insights into successful broadband partnerships:

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration sent guidance to executive branch departments and agencies for reviewing current spectrum frequency assignments. NTIA is requiring agencies to initially review two bands: 3100-3550 MHz and 7125-8400 MHz. The agencies must provide the information over the next six to nine months. NTIA will then solicit input from the agencies and other stakeholders on the next set of bands to be reviewed on a recurring and rolling basis. The data collection efforts include four components.

The Federal Communications Commission initiated a new process for collecting fixed broadband data to better pinpoint where broadband service is lacking. The Report and Order and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concludes that there is a compelling and immediate need to develop more granular broadband deployment data to meet this goal, and accordingly, creates the new Digital Opportunity Data Collection. To provide the data required by the FCC, the Report and Order, among other steps:

The Kansas City Fed launched a project in early 2018 to outline issues of the digital divide and identify innovative approaches that communities were taking to narrow it. This report provides a summary of what we learned and opportunities for narrowing the divide. It is not intended to be a technical report.

The Pew Charitable Trusts’ state broadband policy explorer lets you learn how states are expanding access to broadband through laws. Categories in the tool include: broadband programs, competition and regulation, definitions, funding and financing, and infrastructure access. As you choose categories, a 50-state map illustrates which states have adopted such laws, which includes state statutes related to broadband as of Jan. 1, 2019.