CCA, NTCA Say Better Data Needed on Broadband Deployment in Rural America
Government needs to get a better handle on the continuing lack of broadband competition in rural America, the Competitive Carriers Association told NTIA and the National Science Foundation. NTCA also urged the government to develop new data sources to more accurately gauge the status of broadband deployment. NTIA posted the filings made in response to a September request for comment on a national broadband research agenda (see 1610120045).
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“CCA’s members tirelessly work to deploy mobile wireless and advanced broadband services across the nation, including unserved and underserved areas,” it commented. “Despite this, as of December 2015, only 56 percent of the rural population was covered by at least four LTE service providers, while 96 percent of the non-rural American population had LTE coverage by four or more service providers.”
The government needs better data, CCA said. “Policymakers cannot continue to rely on non-standardized, incomplete and inaccurate data collection methods that overstate the extent of mobile broadband deployment, especially in rural areas,” the group said. “While current data sources paint one picture of the telecommunications ecosystem, more specific and standardized figures are needed to fully understand how to improve and facilitate competitive opportunities for advanced network deployment in this current landscape.”
NTCA reminded the agencies its members serve markets that are sparsely populated and where broadband is expensive to deploy. NTCA conducts an annual member survey, the association said. “Availability of additional data would most certainly prove helpful as carriers seek to deploy broadband to those currently lacking service.”
The group counterbalanced its plea for better data with a warning that small carriers shouldn't be subject to onerous new filing requirements. Members must already file Form 477 data with the FCC twice a year, the group noted. “Survey respondents reporting spending, on average, a total of 76 hours completing the FCC Form 477, submitted in March and September annually. For small providers with limited resources, this represents a significant commitment.”
USTelecom encouraged a focus on digital literacy. One recent study found 33 million households didn’t use the internet at home and 26 million households were offline entirely, the group commented. “USTelecom recommends that NTIA and NSF broaden the analysis to further study of the ‘why,’ in terms of barriers to adoption, and ‘how,’ in terms of how people are using their connections and whether they have the requisite skills to harness the power of broadband,” it said. “Digital literacy is significantly under-studied and therefore, the research agenda should focus more on these issues, ideally in partnership with experts working to connect and train the unconnected. In particular, more group-specific studies should be conducted to tease out community-specific barriers, concerns, etc.”
Chicago also made a plea for better data. “Additional research is needed to better understand broadband deployment and access patterns generally and at the neighborhood-level,” the city said. “Having access to more open, granular data on wireline and mobile subscriptions and pricing would help target improvements and address policy questions. In addition, there is also a need for research regarding how best to facilitate broadband deployment in dense, urban environments like Chicago where ROW [right of way] space is limited.”
Seattle said policymakers there are still finding their way and would benefit from additional research. “Cities are interested in the best possible networks, but also need better information on the requirements, opportunities, and how to maximize current infrastructure, and equitably manage access to City facilities such as utility poles and rights of way as new technologies are deployed,” the city commented. “Research in this area could help inform to what degree new technology deployments will change how cities use fiber and how existing infrastructure can best be leveraged for these upcoming deployments.”
The U.S. approach of light-touch regulation of intermodal competition has worked well, but the nation can’t “rest on our laurels” and must push technology forward, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said. “Developing an agenda for the next generation of technology and policy-guiding research is an important, long-term endeavor,” the group said. “Government-supported research should generally focus on high-risk projects that are costly to develop and do not have immediate avenues to monetization,” ITIF told the agencies. “This type of early stage research can be too risky or have too long a time-horizon for industry to undertake, but is needed to fuel continued innovation.”