[RTC List] Hiding the Broadband Map

[Sean McLaughlin]

With all the resources being devoted to studies and research, this item 
from a progressive news source highlights some of the undertones...
note the reference near the end of the article to Senator Inouye's 
legislation to require FCC to provide better information (at the census 
block level) to policymakers.


FROM: http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/1081/1/

{Toward Freedom magazine}

HIDING THE BROADBAND MAP

Written by Megan Tady
Thursday, 19 July 2007


A "David and Goliath" battle is being waged in Washington over zip  
codes and the names of companies offering high-speed Internet access.  
A non-profit organization is seeking access to records that detail  
the companies that offer broadband access in every zip code to  
include in a public database of media services. But the Federal  
Communications Commission (FCC), with the backing of telephone and  
cable companies, is keeping consumers lost by not releasing an  
accurate map of broadband Internet deployment in the United States.

The Center for Public Integrity contends that the current map of  
broadband access is unreliable, and that a more precise picture will  
show which areas across the nation have consumers still tapping their  
feet as they wait for their dial-up Internet to load. As many  
Americans still have limited or no access to broadband, the Center  
says, "The spread of broadband is important for economic development,  
for sharing knowledge, for entertainment and for civic participation."


"People may be going to pay for broadband and have no options at  
all," said Scott Wallsten, senior fellow and director of  
communications policy studies at the Progress and Freedom Foundation.  
"But we don't really have a way to identify that right now because of  
the nature of the data."


Although the FCC already publicly releases a semi-annual report that  
details how many broadband providers operate in each zip-code, the  
agency does not name them. But a 2006 Government Accountability  
Office (GAO) analysis found a discrepancy in the FCC's reporting --  
while the FCC said the median number of broadband providers in each  
ZIP code was eight, the GAO concluded it was only two.


The FCC defines broadband -- or high-speed Internet access -- as data  
speeds of at least 200 kilobits per second (kbps) in at least one  
direction.


In 2006, after its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was  
ignored, the Center filed a lawsuit against the FCC to get the data  
released. The Center plans to divulge the information -- just the  
names of broadband providers and where they operate --- to the public  
through its Media Tracker website. Currently, consumers can use the  
Media Tracker to find which companies offer radio, newspaper and  
television services in their Zip codes.


Drew Clark, senior fellow at the Center, said consumers can hold  
Internet providers accountable when they have the tools to research  
them. "[Consumers] can be able to say, 'Hmm, why hasn't the telephone  
or cable company provided service out to this area? Do you just not  
make it a priority to bring service to that area?'"


The Center's request, however, has been met with fierce opposition  
from the FCC and Internet providers. The FCC denied the FOIA request,  
saying the records "contain commercially sensitive, competitive  
information and that release would cause harm to the entities that  
submitted the requested information."


The Center filed its final legal papers last month, and the presiding  
judge is expected to rule in the next several months.


AT&T, Verizon and three major telecommunications trade groups have  
objected to the release of the records. In it's declaration submitted  
to the court, AT&T said, "The specific insight into AT&T's presence  
in the marketplace -- and the precise type of facilities and service  
it is using to achieve that presence -- is commercially sensitive and  
would, if made public, cause substantial harm."


Wallsten agreed that there were some proprietary issues to consider.  
But he said the FCC is "erring on the side of holding too much secret."


"The question is whether the data the FCC is not giving out would  
have policy benefits that outweigh any of the costs to competition by  
releasing it," Wallsten said. "It seems to me that more information  
could be released, and it's not obvious how that would harm companies."


The FCC did not return an interview request.


One reason the companies may want to keep a close grip on their  
records is that it could threaten the monopolies they have in certain  
communities.


"I think there's a competitive edge to it,"' Clark said. "The big  
companies have more information about the small companies, than the  
small companies have about the big companies. Although they claim,  
'Oh, it's the small companies that are going to be hurt by [releasing  
the records],' my instinct is that's not likely."


Clark said consumer access to broadband is important on several  
levels. "You use countless applications you could not use if you  
didn't have broadband," he said, specifically mentioning programs  
like Vonage and VOIP.


Increasingly, as the nation relies more heavily on the Internet in  
the workplace and in schools, many consumers still using dial-up  
services are being left behind, and their economic development is  
being threatened.


Clark said while there is an economic justice component to the lack  
of broadband availability in some communities, the full picture of  
who is being left out, and who is doing the leaving, is still in the  
dark.


"One of the next things on our list is to start making correlations  
with demographic data -- income, education, and so forth," Clark said.  
This information will be much more valuable once you have the true  
names of the companies providing the services -- these are the areas  
in which Verizon is providing broadband service, and overlay that on  
top of racial and geographic and income levels, and say 'Verizon  
serves this percent income and Comcast does this percent.'"

Equally concerning, said Clark, is the impact on civil participation  
for consumers who can't access broadband. "As YouTube provides the  
window into politics and the Election 2008, there's going to be  
countless applications that rely upon broadband, and people are going  
to left out of not just economic development, but social discourse,"  
he said.


Identifying companies will also give consumers the power to track the  
political influence of the providers operating in their communities.  
"Once you have the names of those companies, you're able to see  
whether they're trying to do things to manipulate the policy agenda  
in Washington with regards to issues, whether it's net neutrality, or  
blocking certain traffic or services."


While the lawsuit has drawn the ire of Internet companies, it's also  
drawn the attention of lawmakers. Two pieces of legislation  
specifically tacking broadband deployment have been introduced since  
May.


One bill, spearheaded by Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI), would create  
online maps that allow consumers to search high-speed Internet  
services at the census-block level. The other, released by Rep. Ed  
Markey (D-Mass) would require the Commerce Department to publicize a  
nationwide map which consumers could use to search broadband  
provider's service locations.


Additional initiatives to spread broadband access, and information on  
who offers the service, are being led by a group called  
ConnectKentucky. By partnering with broadband providers, the group is  
now offering a "broadband inventory map," which the Center says may  
be the "first of its kind in the nation."


But while consumers in Kentucky are being given a bird's eye view of  
the spread of broadband, for the rest of the country, the map is  
still being hidden.


"The first step in an improved broadband policy is ensuring that we  
have better data on which to build our efforts," said Inouye in a  
press statement. "It is imperative that we get our broadband house in  
order and our communications policy right. But we cannot manage what  
we do not measure."


***





Megan Tady is a National Political Reporter for In These Times and a  
freelance journalist based in Western Massachusetts.


For more information on this issue and to take action, visit http:// 
www.savetheinternet.com/ <http://www.savetheinternet.com/>


-- 
Sean McLaughlin
Executive Director
Access Humboldt
P.O. Box 157, Eureka, CA 95502
tel: 707-476-1798
fax: 707-445-1956
cel: 707-616-2381
e: seanm at accesshumboldt.net
web:  accesshumboldt.net

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; 
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