Legislative Update: Broadband Data Improvement Act

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Legislative Update Broadband Data Improvement Act

• Drew ClarkExecutive Director
• BroadbandCensus.com
• FCC-NARUC Joint Summit, November 6, 2008

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• Presentation Outline
• What is BroadbandCensus.com?
• What is the background and political context for
  S. 1492, the Broadband Data Improvement Act?
• What is included in S. 1492?
• What is not included in S. 1492?
• What will happen with broadband data in the
  administration of President-elect Barack Obama?

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• About Broadband Census
• Launched in January 2008 by Drew Clark telecom,
  media and technology journalist in Washington
• BroadbandCensus.com is a consumer-focused rating
  service for business and internet end-users
• Core mission of the Broadband Census
• Public information and news about broadband
• Events and conferences, e.g. Broadband Breakfast
  Club
• Research about broadband, e.g. Pew Internet
  Project
• Best-practice broadband Wiki (under development)

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• Key Partners of BroadbandCensus.com
• The Pew Internet and American Life Project
  contracted with Broadband Census to gather
  information about internet users' broadband
  experiences for a Pew report about actual
  internet speeds.
• The Benton Foundation has provided financial
  support.
• Internet2 provided technical direction about
  deploying a speed test.
• The eCorridors Program at Virginia Tech provided
  technical advice.
• The Network Policy Council of EDUCAUSE provided
  technical advice.
• National Association of Telecommunications
  Officers and Advisors (NATOA) is helping to
  collect and verify county-based broadband data.
• Carnegie Mellon University, University of Texas
  at Austin, Virginia Tech and the Consortium for
  School Networking co-sponsored the Broadband
  Census for America Conference on September 26,
  2008.

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• Background for Broadband Data Legislation
• Criticism of FCC broadband data by Michael Copps
  and Jonathan Adelstein, agency commissioners
• Government Accountability Office Report on
  broadband data, June 2006
• Freedom of Information Act Lawsuit by Center for
  Public Integrity to get broadband data, Sept.
  2006
• Perceived value to broadband carriers to
  aggregating demand, if confidentiality is assured
• A National Broadband Strategy?

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• Freedom of Information Act lawsuit
• Disclosure could allow competitors to free ride
  on the efforts of the first new entrant to
  identify areas where competition is more likely
  to be successful.
• Defendant Federal Communications Commissions
  Opposition to Motion for Summary Judgment, Center
  for Public Integrity v. FCC, U.S. District Court
  for District of Columbia, May 15, 2007

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• Freedom of Information Act lawsuit (cont.)
• Standard under FOIA Exemption 4
• likely to cause competitive harm
• Plaintiff should be provided, at most, the
  information it now seeks, and nothing more the
  names of competitors serving customers in
  specific zip codes.
• Counsel for ATT, Verizon and the United States
  Telecom Association, August 2007
• Judge Huvelle Rules for FCC Aug. 2007, Oct. 2007

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• S. 1492, Broadband Data Improvement Act
• Purpose
• The measure will give us the baseline statistics
  we need in order to eventually achieve the
  successful deployment of broadbandto all
  Americans.
• Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye,
  D-Hawaii, September 16, 2008
• Nearly identical measure, by Sen. Richard Durbin,
  D-Ill., originally included in, but later
  stripped from, farm bill.
• Note FCC Data Collection Order issued March
  2008, and released in modified form in June 2008.

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• S. 1492, Broadband Data Improvement Act
• As passed
• FCC must make annual broadband report to
  Congress.
• FCC must compare U.S. to 75 cities abroad and
  conduct periodic public surveys of technologies,
  speeds and prices.
• Census Bureau shall expand American Community
  Survey to include broadband subscriber
  information
• GAO to submit a report comparing U.S. broadband
  availability, speeds, prices and quality
  internationally
• Small Business Administration to conduct study of
  speeds, prices and availability of broadband

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• S. 1492, Broadband Data Improvement Act
• As passed (cont.)
• FCC shall compile a list of geographical areas
  that are not served by broadband providers and
  determine, for each such unserved area
• (1) the population
• (2) the population density and
• (3) the average per capita income.
• Prior to FCC redefinition of broadband from 200
  Kilobits per second to 768 Kbps, this was a very
  small area indeed. (Look for green in the next
  slide.)

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• S. 1492, Broadband Data Improvement Act
• As passed (cont.)
• Encourages state initiatives to improve broadband
• Secretary of Commerce to award grants for the
  development and implementation of statewide
  initiatives to identify and track the
  availability and adoption of broadband services
  within each State.
• Must contribute matching Non-Federal funds of
  at least 20 percent of the project
• No federal funds included. (It had been 40
  million.)

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• S. 1492, Broadband Data Improvement Act
• Requirements for state initiatives to improve
  broadband
• Baseline assessment of broadband
• Areas of low deployment, adoption, possible
  suppliers
• Identify supply- and demand-barriers to adoption
• Identify speeds of broadband connections, using
  new FCC data as a minimum baseline
• Create technology planning teams

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• S. 1492, Broadband Data Improvement Act
• Requirements for state initiatives (cont.)
• Work with broadband service providers and tech
  companies to encourage in unserved areas
• Establish programs for improved computer
  ownership
• Collect and analyze detailed market data
  concerning the use and demand for broadband
  service
• Facilitate information exchange regarding
  broadband demand between public and private
  sectors
• Create state-wide geographic inventory maps of
  where service is and where there are gaps

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• Missing in Broadband Data Improvement Act
• Alternative legislation, Broadband Census of
  America Act, H.R. 3919, passed House Nov. 2007
• National Telecommunications and Information
  Administration to create a national broadband map
• Disclosure of the names of carrier-by-carrier on
  a ZIP4 code basis
• No funding for state-level initiatives

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• Missing in Broadband Data Improvement Act
• House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John
  Dingell, D-Mich., said he wanted a nationwide map
  of broadband infrastructure and remains hopeful
  we can work towards that goal as the legislation
  is implemented.
• Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey, D-Mass., said he
  wished the Senate bill contained the more
  rigorous data collection and disclosure of the
  Broadband Census of America Act.

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• Missing in Broadband Data Improvement Act
• Under Broadband Census of America Act
• (a) the NTIA shall develop and maintain a
  broadband inventory map of the United States that
  identifies and depicts the geographic extent to
  which broadband service capability is deployed
  and available from a commercial provider or
  public provider throughout each State.

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• Missing in Broadband Data Improvement Act
• Under Broadband Census of America Act (cont.)
• (b) The broadband inventory map developed and
  maintained pursuant to this section shall be
  capable of identifying and depicting
• (1) each area encompassed by a United States
  postal zip code of 9 digit level, census tract
  level, or functional equivalent in which
  broadband service capability is deployed at that
  time, including
• (A) each commercial or public provider of
  broadband service capability within such area.

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• What will happed with broadband data in the
  administration of President-elect Barack Obama?
• Reviving a National Broadband Map at the NTIA?
• Disclosure of carrier-by-carrier information?
• The Secretary of Commerce should create a
  website through the National Telecommunications
  and Information Administration (NTIA) depicting
  broadband inventory maps of all the States as
  outlined in the House-passed bill.
• Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Telecommunications and
  the Internet Subcommittee Chairman

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• Looking at Broadband Data Globally
• Not Just Availability/Adoption, but Speeds,
  Prices, Availability, Reliability Competition
  (SPARC)
• Existing Mapping Efforts
• State initiatives, e.g. California Broadband Task
  Force Massachusetts Broadband Initiative
• Virginia Techs eCorridors
• Irelands Broadband Information web site
• Connected Nation
• BroadbandCensus.com

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Information and News on BroadbandCensus.com

• Data about local broadband service, organized by
  ZIP code, city, county, state and nation.
• User-generated comments about the quality of
  individual carriers.
• Published under Creative Commons
  Attribution-Noncommercial License, allowing
  researchers and governments to freely take and
  reuse data.
• Washington-based reporting on core matters of
  broadband policy and deployment.

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The Broadband Census SPARC

• Understanding local availability (A) is one
  important facet of broadband.
• Also needed
• Broadband Speeds (S)
• Prices (P)
• Reliability (R) of service
• Competition (C) in marketplace
• The Broadband Census S P A R C

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Broadband Census
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• Events and Conferences by Broadband Census
• Broadband Census for America, September 2008
• Broadband Breakfast Club
• Inaugural event on October 14, 2008
• Except for holidays, held on the Second Tuesday
  of each month, at Old Ebbitt Grill in Washington
• Coming events on broadband investment,
  applications, universal deployment, wireless and
  competition
• Broadband Census for America The New
  Administration, March 2009 Conference

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Broadband Census in the States
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State-by-State Articles
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State-by-State Wikis
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