FCC's Broadband Map inaccurate, researchers say - Entrepreneur Generations

This past February, the Federal Communications Commission released the first version of its Broadband Map, which it said was a more accurate way of mapping broadband reach throughout the U.S. than previous efforts such as the National Broadband Map. But the new map was swiftly criticized for being imprecise, lacking pricing data, leaving out new internet providers or listing them twice, and only including fixed (not mobile) data. And as a Slate article pointed out, the new map tracks the maximum advertised broadband speeds, but not the actual speeds customers experience, Brian Whitacre, Sharon Strover and Colin Rhinesmith report for The Daily Yonder.

Whitacer, Strover and Rhinesmith discovered sometimes significant discrepancies between the FCC's map and customers' experienced speeds when they conducted focus groups with people who use rural library hotspot lending programs in Kansas and Maine. Further study supported those anecdotes: when the researchers compared Measurement Lab data with the FCC map, the differences in median, average and maximum download speeds were telling, as shown in accompanying charts. 

"Overall, the M-Lab data is a useful source of information for rural advocates who are concerned that the FCC’s Broadband Map does not paint an accurate picture of the connectivity situation in their area. Their data also should be useful for policymakers. Broadband is a hot topic in the rural arena, with implications for economic development, health care, civic engagement, and education," Whitacre, Strover and Rhinesmith report. "It is important for broadband activists and policymakers to be aware (and have data to prove) that the FCC’s 'maximum speed available' is generally not the same as the 'typical speed experienced.' These discrepancies also highlight the need to distinguish between 'enterprise' users’ speeds and household access and speeds. Much of the economic development literature correctly recognizes the needs of both businesses and individuals, but fails to distinguish what that means in terms of on-the-ground connectivity options for these two groups.

Whitacre is an agricultural economics professor at Oklahoma State University, Rhinesmith is an assistant professor in the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College, and Strover is a communications professor at the University of Texas, where she directs the Technology and Information Policy Institute. Their research was funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

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