Broadband Stimulus ‘Vindicated’ by Gaps in New Broadband Map, NTIA Chief Says

President Obama’s broadband stimulus program was “vindicated” by new NTIA findings that up to two-thirds of America’s schools can’t get broadband at speeds they need, NTIA Administrator Lawrence Strickling said Thursday, after NTIA unveiled its new broadband map. The map indicated that up to 10 percent of Americans can’t get broadband. The map is based on more than 125 million searchable records in the new mapping database, with information from some 1,600 broadband companies. “All of these records can be analyzed in countless ways,” Strickling said. “But the data continues to show that a digital divide continues to exist.”

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski called the map “an important step to advance our broadband agenda” that “will continue to evolve,” during Thursday’s digital news conference. His spokesman said the broadband map buttresses the case for quick FCC action. “It’s critical that we undertake reforms to ensure that we provide Americans across the nation with the real opportunity to access broadband services,” the spokesman said in an e-mail. “The fact that millions of Americans still do not have access to Broadband today is unacceptable and we are working to address that.”

Industry generally was enthusiastic about the broadband map. “We shouldn’t get lost in pointing out the map’s flaws, or what we consider its flaws, and forgetting the positive direction the map takes us,” said AT&T Vice President Jeff Brueggeman on the company’s blog. “While we tend to focus on national broadband policies here within the beltway, the map will support ongoing broadband initiatives at the state and local level.” USTelecom President Walter McCormick sent a statement “commending” NTIA on its efforts. “The results of these efforts should contribute to the important dialogue on how best to achieve universal access to broadband, a goal our industry fully supports,” it said. Rural Cellular Association President Steve Berry, however, said he has some “reservations that NTIA’s map is not yet fulsome enough to provide meaningful and verified data to be useful.”

NTIA’s data is “incomplete” because the study relies on “advertised” speeds, said Successful.com analyst Craig Settles. “The map, in terms of features, is excellent,” Settle said. But “it’s $200 million and it’s not based on the one thing any map that’s worth a damn needs to be based on, which is accurate speeds.” Citing the FCC’s overhaul of the Universal Service Fund and the intercarrier compensation regime, he said: “You are making $8 billion decisions on data that is incomplete.”

There are also political concerns with the data, Settles said. ILECs “aren’t going to give that information … because it'll show off their weaknesses,” Settles said. And rural and small carriers have “a clear perception” that Connected Nation -- the nonprofit group that helped NTIA in the mapping -- is too close to big telcos, Settles said.

Connected Nation spokeswoman Jessica Ditto said Settles’ accusation “is simply not true.” “We independently verify the information that we receive from all providers. This includes having a team of engineers whose job is to visit locations, investigate actual service availability, measure strength of wireless signals, and engage in spot checks,” Ditto said in an e-mail. “In 2010 this field team drove 72,000 miles to verify the location and capabilities of broadband infrastructure.” As for “advertised” speeds, at least it “is a starting point for analysis,” Ditto added. “Right now there isn’t a solid, consistent methodology for testing by actual speeds. It doesn’t mean that we can’t do it in the future, but right now … the requirement is to collect ‘advertised’ speeds.”

The broadband map is likely to buttress the case of satellite companies trying to get universal service subsidies, Bingham telecom lawyer Andy Lipman told us. Satellite broadband has been improving in strength and efficiency and satellite firms will have a compelling case that they're best suited to fill in the glaring gaps in remote parts of the country, he said.