Panel Urges Smarter Broadband Data Collection
Better ways to collect information for tracking broadband adoption in homes are needed to increase uptake, said speakers at a Broadband Breakfast sponsored by BroadbandCensus.com. The FCC is trying to improve its ways of collecting, studying and putting out data, Office of Strategic Planning Chief Paul de Sa said in a keynote speech. “It’s about getting data out in a way that is useful to people and industries,” he said.
The commission seeks to avoid a rush to rulemaking to fix problems, de Sa said. Instead, the FCC plans to identify a problem, come up with a hypothesis and “collect relevant data in a way that is focused to prove or disprove the hypothesis.”
Current methods like the use of Form 477 and ZIP code mapping can be improved, other speakers said. With the form, “it seems the data doesn’t answer the questions that we're trying to address,” said Jeff Campbell, Cisco senior policy director. “We should go down to address-level data.” Using a firm form of identification like Social Security numbers will help “identify a single carrier over time,” and “we can track entry and exit,” said Michelle Connolly, an associate professor of economics at Duke University. Congress’ requirements for information to be collected by more than one body is “strange,” she said. “I think we should have one entity do it properly, instead of 20 entities doing it improperly.” Collecting data from several sources is a best practice, said Wirelessmapping.com’s principal consultant, Brian Webster. “When you layer the data, you can see commonalities and point out the areas of disagreement, and focus on that disagreement.”
Since rules requiring data submission generally aren’t enforced “banging the drum loudly at trade associations … can increase compliance,” said John Horrigan, the consumer research director for the FCC’s broadband team. Getting the word out about mapping, and cross-checking data, is the best that can be done, de Sa said. “We can attack problems from different areas and look for inconsistencies.” Some smaller carriers expressed qualms about taking part in mapping and warned that it could have anti-competitive effects if sensitive information about them is identified. Lariat.Net founder Brett Glass said his company is worried because large incumbent local exchange carriers can “undercut us in a service area and offer a special deal to our subscribers.”
To continue the push for adoption, the commission has run consumer and business surveys, Horrigan said. In a study in October and November, more than 5,000 respondents disclosed “who is using broadband, who isn’t,” and “why they don’t have broadband.” The results are to be released in a few weeks, he said.