Critics say FCC report overstates broadband availability
5 years, 7 months ago

Critics say FCC report overstates broadband availability

Associated Press  

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Federal Communications Commission’s broadband report is being hammered by critics who say it paints too rosy a picture of high-speed internet availability in the U.S. U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia joined two dissenting FCC commissioners in criticizing the report released Wednesday. The FCC’s annual Broadband Deployment Report says the country’s digital divide has “narrowed substantially,” with the number of Americans without broadband dropping more than 18%, to 21.3 million people, between 2016 and 2017. The agency’s two Democratic commissioners issued dissenting statements along with the report that said it was at odds with the reality of internet availability on the ground. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks wrote that the agency should change its data collection policies, pointing out that a draft version of the report was found to have overstated broadband connections in an area where about 62 million people live.

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History of this topic

States contend with short timeline to correct broadband map
2 years ago

States contend with short timeline to correct broadband map

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — States are racing against a deadline to challenge the map federal officials will use to divvy up the nation’s largest-ever investment in high-speed internet. “There is no excuse that West Virginia — every nook and cranny, every person — if they’ve got electricity in their house, by God they can get internet in their house, too.” According …

FCC commissioner: Our agency says all Americans are gaining advanced Internet access. It’s wrong (opinion)
4 years, 8 months ago

FCC commissioner: Our agency says all Americans are gaining advanced Internet access. It’s wrong (opinion)

CNN  

Editor’s Note: Jessica Rosenworcel is a member of the Federal Communications Commission. Last week, the Federal Communications Commission released the nation’s 2020 Broadband Progress Report. For starters, the FCC concludes that there are only 18 million people in the United States without access to broadband. That’s because if a broadband provider tells the FCC that they serve a single customer …

With billions to spend, feds unsure who lacks broadband
5 years, 9 months ago

With billions to spend, feds unsure who lacks broadband

Associated Press  

There is a way around the notoriously sluggish internet in West Virginia. A $4.5 billion federal grant program earmarked to expand wireless internet in rural areas was supposed to address the problem, but it’s on hold while the Federal Communications Commission investigates whether carriers submitted incorrect data for the maps used to allocate grants. Federal lawmakers from New Hampshire sent …

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