USTelecom Says Census-Centric Broadband Mapping Questionable; Free Press Urges 477 Caution
Relying on census block reporting for broadband availability is problematic, with 2011 census data for Missouri residential structures disagreeing with other census block data used for Connect America Fund modeling 64 percent of the time, USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter blogged.…
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He said USTelecom's pilot broadband mapping effort in the state found more than 4,000 census blocks with 100 percent more structures than the 2011 census data, and more than 13,000 census blocks where the structure count was between 81 and 100 percent less than 2011 census data. The FCC's Aug. 1 vote on new broadband mapping data-collection methods (see 1907110071), along with the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability (Data) Act (S-1822), are progress toward more accurate broadband mapping, he said in a post the association emailed Friday. He said USTelecom still expects to deliver findings on its mapping pilot project to the FCC by month's end, as expected (see 1906200048). In a docket 11-10 posting Friday, Free Press urged "caution" on reforms to the Form 477 reporting process that could result in less understanding of the U.S. broadband market. It worried about the USTelecom pilot being used to eliminate or lessen public access to the underlying data sets. It said Form 477's heavily criticized deployment data shouldn't be confused with its capacity and adoption data. It said 477 deployment data is generally "highly accurate and very useful," though there needs to be better geographic granularity in rural areas and a less-vague definition of deployment. It said FCC mobile broadband deployment maps contain "an unacceptable level of overstated availability," which its fixed broadband deployment maps don't, due largely to the differences in determining where a mobile signal is available vs. where a wireline is located. The group said telecom companies might claim address-level deployment data is competitively sensitive, while finished maps aren't: Remember that companies have "a history of ... non-disclosure requests." The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights said Friday the FCC should update Form 477 methodology specifically to ensure better measurement of broadband availability in underrepresented and marginalized communities where connectivity historically lagged. It said the form should include data on pricing, quality of service and actual speeds, race and other key demographics and usage and subscription rates.