Research

USTelecom is leading the charge on a new, more precise, approach to broadband reporting and mapping. We have proposed to Congress and regulatory agencies a method to create a public-private partnership to map America's broadband infrastructure so policymakers and providers can better target scarce funding to communities with limited or no service options. Currently, the Federal Communications Commission collects some deployment data from broadband providers by census block.

USTelecom, an industry group representing carriers like AT&T, CenturyLink, and others serving rural America, says it may have the fix for broadband mapping that will provide far more granularity in the data than ever before. The lobbying group will work with other telecom industry groups, including WISPA, which represents fixed wireless providers, and ITTA, which represents smaller rural carriers, to pilot a new mapping program in two states: Virginia and Missouri. They say the program will lead to the creation of a better, more accurate nationwide broadband deployment map.

Microsoft met with Federal Communications Commissioner Starks’ legal advisor on March 11, 2019, to discuss broadband mapping. Microsoft asserted the FCC’s broadband availability data appears to overstate the extent to which broadband is actually available throughout the nation. Microsoft suggested the FCC’s effort to accurately measure broadband could be improved by drawing on the FCC’s subscription data, along with other broadband data sets from third parties such as Microsoft, to complement survey data submitted under the current rules.

Vantage Point Solutions (VPS) met with the Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau staff on March 14, 2019 to discuss Form 477 broadband data. VPS said broadband providers need an opportunity to analyze Form 477 reports to identify potential errors and correct them before the FCC makes key decisions on the 477 data, like Alternative Connect America Cost Model (A-CAM) II offers.

Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said the “rosy picture” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai gave on broadband access needs to be reworked before the agency votes on its annual deployment report. Chairman Pai first teased the report in Feb 2019, saying he’d circulated it to his fellow commissioners and hoped to get a vote on it soon (commissioners can vote in favor of adopting the annual report or can dissent if they disagree with its findings).

Developing countries typically have significantly lower levels of internet penetration and usage. Market power in respect of internet access looks quite different given that mobile is the predominant means of connection and there are often three or more mobile operators. In South Africa, there is a quasi-monopoly in the paid satellite broadcasting market and broadband providers zero-rating content from third parties (such as Netflix) may bring about more competition.

The Federal Trade Commission’s privacy and security enforcement actions in 2018 included shutting down revenge porn website MyEx.com, approving a settlement with peer-to-peer payment service Venmo over deceptive privacy settings, approving an expanded settlement with Uber Technologies to resolve data security and privacy allegations, and approving a privacy and data security settlement with mobile phone maker BLU Products, Inc. The FTC also obtained a $3 million

Nielsen says set-top-box/return-path data coming from pay-TV providers and other sources can underrepresent certain viewer groups -- in particular Hispanic and African-American homes, compared to other household types. Compared with official US Census estimates and Nielsen’s representative national panel, these homes -- many coming from cable, satellite and telco platforms -- underrepresent Hispanics by 33%, Spanish-language dominant Hispanics by 49% and African Americans by 34%.

After more than a decade of studying the spread and impact of digital life in the United States, Pew Research Center has intensified its exploration of the impact of online connectivity among populations in emerging economies – where the prospect of swift and encompassing cultural change propelled by digital devices might be even more dramatic than the effects felt in developed societies.

In recent years, and in line with European Commission plans, telecommunication operators have been facing the need to deploy high-speed, fiber-based infrastructure. What is the socio-economic impact of these new investments on growth and local development? What are their effects on the labor market outcomes, in terms of firm productivity and entrepreneurship? What is the role of regulation and competition in spurring the deployment and the adoption of ultra-fast broadband networks?