FCC makes flabby broadband victory claims in a thin press release

21 February 2019 by Steve Blum
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Sumo suits

In a press release heavy on spin and very light on data, the Federal Communications Commission claimed broadband “is being deployed on a reasonable and timely basis” because the number of people without access to service at a minimum of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds decreased by 25% in 2017. The reason for this stunning achievement? “FCC reforms”.

But a closer look at the cherrypicked data in the release shows that this feat isn’t so amazing after all.

The “more than 25% drop in Americans lacking access to fixed broadband” claim doesn’t mean that the percentage of unserved dropped from, say, 50% to 25%. The way the press release states it kinda makes you think that’s the case, but when you crunch the numbers you realise that the 6.5 million people who gained access represents about 2% of the population – overall, the number of unserved people dropped from 8% of the U.S. population to 6%.

That’s if you take the FCC’s numbers at face value. Which isn’t a smart thing to do. Yet. The full report, with supporting data, hasn’t been released. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a democrat, has seen it, though. Her tweeted response is “I beg to differ”.

One key question is where did the data come from?

If, as is likely, it comes directly from the availability reports filed by providers, it might represent increased reporting, rather than increased availability. The number of existing providers filing FCC availability reports – particularly fixed wireless operators of dubious performance – has increased over the past few years, and incumbent wireline operators have become more creative in their claims.

Another bit of manifest nonsense is that policies adopted by the republican majority on the FCC have much to do with actual improvements. The FCC’s claims are based on data that is current as of December 2017, less than a year after the Trump administration was sworn in, and the same month that the republican majority approved its first major policy change, the repeal of network neutrality regulations. For nearly all of 2017, the broadband industry played by Obama era rules.

A 2% increase in the number of people with access to moderately fast broadband would be a notable achievement. We won’t know if that number is legitimate until the FCC publishes all the data its claim is based on. According to the press release, that’s expected “in the coming weeks”.