Thursday, December 31st, 2009
By Drew Clark, Editor, BroadbandCensus.com
WASHINGTON, December 31, 2009 – The Commerce Department agency responsible for the mapping component of the broadband stimulus program
announced, on the last day of the year, that it had funded five more states’ broadband data programs.
With the announcement – of funding for broadband data and mapping in Iowa, Montana, New Hampshire, Utah and the U.S. Virgin Islands – the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has awarded 41 grants totaling $78 million.
There remain 15 awards still to be made – rounding out the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories that submitted applications and are eligible for grant funding.
The agency said that it planned to make those awards early in 2010.
NTIA has been relatively parsimonious in its approach to funding broadband data-collection efforts.
Although the “Notice of Funds Availability” released on July 1, 2009, said that the agency would accept applications for funding of up to $3.9 million per state, plus $500,000 for “broadband planning activities,” in practice the NTIA has cut that amount by more than half. The average award has been $1.9 million.
Up to $350 million of the $7.2 billion allocated for broadband-related activities by the American Recovery and Reinvestment...
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Sunday, October 25th, 2009
By the Staff of BroadbandCensus.com
The Federal Communications Commission will hold a staff workshop at 10 a.m. on October 28 to explore possible revisions to the FCC’s current ex parte rules. The stated aim is to increase transparency of the Commission’s actions, while at the same time not scaring regulated interests away from sharing information that they have traditionally shared in closed-door meetings.
This workshop follows an internal study of the current ex parte rules by FCC staff which identified a number of areas in which the current rules might be improved or updated. The workshop, which is open to the public, will also explore new issues posed by the increasing use of internet-based media for communication. Panelists will provide their perspectives on the successes and shortcomings of the current rules and suggest alternatives to better balance the goals of fairness, openness, and efficiency. The moderators of the event are FCC General Counsel Austin Schlick, FCC Associate General Counsel Joel Kaufman, and MaryBeth Richards, Special Counsel to the Chairman for FCC...
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Friday, October 23rd, 2009
By The Staff of BroadbandCensus.com
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced on Friday it would award approximately $1.4 million to the state of West Virginia for broadband mapping and planning activities. The grant comes from NTIA's State Broadband Data and Development grant program, which is funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.
Data collected by the West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey will be collected between 2009 and 2011, and will be made part of NTIA's national broadband map which will be used by policymakers and consumers to gauge information on broadband internet service availability.
"Broadband access is the gateway to the modern economy and a key factor in bringing jobs to more Americans," said Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. "This program will further efforts to increase broadband deployment and adoption in West Virginia and nationwide, helping to chart the course for sustained economic...
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Sunday, October 11th, 2009
By Christina Kirchner, Reporter-Researcher, BroadbandCensus.com
WASHINGTON, October 11, 2009 – Current measures of broadband comparisons between the United States and the rest of the world – and within the country – have limitations, according to a study by the Government Accountability Office released on Friday.
Under the Broadband Data Improvement Act, passed in October 2008, GAO was asked to conduct a study about broadband metrics and standards, including comparisons of international broadband services.
These limitations including the “lack of comprehensive measures from the government to compare price, actual delivered speeds, and service reliability data from providers,” and information that was gathered through international broadband comparisons that are not comparable across countries.
Based on the information that it received, the GAO said that data collected from the Federal Communication Commission from its semiannual report constituted another setback, as information collected from providers does not include information pertaining to speeds, price, availability and service reliability.
According to the report, Form 477 used by the FCC used to gather their data does not require “broadband providers to report on price or actual delivered speeds.” This effects the comparisons used on other parts of the country, which then affects policy positions or investment decisions.
Even after the National Telecommunications...
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Friday, October 9th, 2009
By Andrew Feinberg, Deputy Editor, BroadbandCensus.com
WASHINGTON, October 9, 2009 - An advisory board to the Federal Communications Commission consisting of state utility regulators has developed a new web portal for tracking and referencing broadband expansion projects nation-wide.
The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act has allocated more than $7 billion towards broadband deployment and adoption projects, and the site,
http://broadbandbestpractices.org, provides an easily searchable database for programs being established across the country.
Users of the site will be able to research different projects and add their own information to collaborate on letting the best projects rise to the top, said the Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Services in a press release. The site will be maintained by the National Regulatory Research Institute, an independent research agency specializing in utility regulation.
"BroadbandBestPractices.org will be the place to go for those responsible for pursuing greater broadband deployment in their State,” said NARUC President Frederick Butler. “The site will be an interactive, dynamic atmosphere that will embody the spirit of Web 2.0: Collaboration.”
And State Chair of the Joint Conference Larry Landis said the site will be a "crucial resource" for State commissions as they determine how best to utilize ARRA grants.
“The intent is to provide...
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Thursday, October 1st, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW ORLEANS, October 1, 2009 – Top officials from Connected Nation, BroadbandCensus.com and One Economy will discuss key issues in broadband data and mapping – including controversial questions about public disclosure of carrier information on broadband maps – here on Thursday.
The debate will take place at the annual conference of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and will feature Phillip Brown, National Policy Director of Connected Nation; Drew Clark, Executive Director of BroadbandCensus.com; and Ken Eisner, Managing Director of One Economy Ventures.
The
description for the panel reads as follows:
It has been said that you can't analyze what you can't measure. Broadband mapping has the potential to provide policy makers and citizens with information needed to develop effective strategies around broadband deployment and adoption. Mapping projects in a number of states have raised concerns about transparency, conflicts of interest, and the accuracy and usefulness of the information developed. Speakers representing a variety of interests will discuss pros and cons of the nation's mapping projects and will evaluate the Federal Government's efforts to date.
BroadbandCensus.com has long urged that broadband mapping be conducted in a public and transparent matter, and that broadband data must also serve the...
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Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
By Drew Clark, Editor, BroadbandCensus.com
WASHINGTON – September 29, 2009 – From the beginning, BroadbandCensus.com has aimed at providing academics, consumers, government officials and industry with the high-quality data needed about the state of broadband throughout the country.
We believe in public and transparent broadband data. Without public and transparent broadband data, each of these constituents are lacking in what they need.
It is heartening that the highest levels of the Obama administration see and espouse the virtues of transparency and of a data-driven approach to broadband policy.
Again today, it came clear that the FCC now seeks to do that which BroadbandCensus.com has been doing since February 2008 – comparing actual speeds with advertised speeds – on an even more finely grained basis.
Now comes the hard part: translating the rhetoric and positive feelings about public and open broadband data into concrete decisions that will drive better-quality broadband data.
Last week I began this five-part series during One Web Week. I focused on the Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to obtain broadband data in 2006, and on the founding of BroadbandCensus.com in the fall of 2007.
Much has happened on broadband data in the past week: FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced a new...
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Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
By Andrew Feinberg, Deputy Editor, BroadbandCensus.com
WASHINGTON, September 29, 2009 - Current broadband mapping data is not specific enough in detail to help the Federal Communications Commission produce a national broadband plan, despite recent revisions to agency data-collection practices, staff members said Tuesday.
That assessment came during presentations at the agency’s marathon open meeting, which lasted more than three hours and included presentations from many members of the broadband task force, which is responsible for crafting a strategy by February 2010. The workshoprepresented an opportunity for a "mid-course correction" after numerous open workshops and public meetings - an open process that chairman Julius Genachowski (D) called "unparalleled in FCC history."
The most important part of the process is starting by examining the facts already in the record, said Omnibus Broadband Initiative Managing Director Eric Garr. But while Garr welcomed the numerous participants in the process so far, he asked for more information and less rhetoric.
"Bring opinions, but also bring your data," he said.
Outside data is especially important to the process because the commission lacks needed information, said broadband task force head Blair Levin. "The task we are being asked to do cannot be done with the resources we have," he said.
The commission's lack...
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