costquest – Techdirt (original) (raw)

Why Isn’t Taxpayer-Funded U.S. Broadband Mapping Data Owned By The Public?

from the this-is-why-we-can't-have-nice-things dept

We’ve noted for decades how, despite all the political lip service paid toward “bridging the digital divide,” the U.S. doesn’t truly know where broadband is or isn’t available. The FCC’s past broadband maps, which cost $350 million to develop, have long been accused of all but hallucinating competitors, making up available speeds, and excluding a key metric of competitiveness: price.

You only need to spend a few minutes plugging your address into the FCC’s old map to notice how the agency comically overstates broadband competition and available speeds. After being mandated by Congress in 2020 by the Broadband DATA Act, the FCC struck a new, $44 million contract with a company named Costquest to develop a new map.

While an improvement, the new map still has problems with over-stating coverage and available speeds (try it for yourself). And the FCC still refuses to collect and share pricing data, which industry opposes because it would only work to further highlight monopolization, consolidation, and muted competition.

But there’s another problem. As broadband industry consultant Doug Dawson notes, the public doesn’t even own the finalized broadband mapping data. Costquest does:

“…the FCC gave CostQuest the ability to own the rights to the mapping fabric, which is the database that shows the location of every home and business in the country that is a potential broadband customer. This is a big deal because it means that CostQuest, a private company, controls the portal for data needed by the public to understand who has or doesn’t have broadband.”

In addition to the 44.9milliontheFCCpaidCostquesttocreatethemaps,Costquestreceivedanother∗∗44.9 million the FCC paid Costquest to create the maps, Costquest received another 44.9milliontheFCCpaidCostquesttocreatethemaps,Costquestreceivedanother∗∗49.9 million from the NTIA to provide the databases and maps for the $42 billion broadband subsidy and grant program (included in the 2021 infrastructure bill). Third parties (like states trying to shore up access to affordable broadband) have to pay Costquest even more money to access the data.

So it’s all been incredibly profitable for Costquest. But taxpayers are closing in on paying nearly half a billion dollars for broadband maps that not only still aren’t fully accurate, but which they can’t transparently access and don’t own despite paying for.

That’s fairly insane any way you slice it, and as Dawson notes, it’s a detriment to the cash-strapped folks who could be helping expand access to affordable broadband (and helping fact-check the data):

“Our industry is full of data geeks who could work wonders if they had free access to the mapping fabric database. There are citizen broadband committees and retired folks in every community who are willing to sift through the mapping data to understand broadband trends and to identify locations where ISPs have exaggerated coverage claims. But citizens willing to do this research are not going to pay the fees to get access to the data – and shouldn’t have to.”

For decades, feckless and corrupt state and federal regulators turned a blind eye as regional telecom monopolies dominated the market and crushed all competition underfoot, resulting in spotty access, high prices, and terrible customer service. Usually under the pretense that “deregulation” (read: very little real consumer protection oversight) had resulted in immense innovation.

Not only did government not address (or often even acknowledge) that problem, they’re still proving somewhat incapable when it comes to transparently mapping its impact.

The $42 billion in subsidies flowing to many states to shore up access is a good thing, but its impact will most assuredly be corrupted by feckless bureaucrats who can’t stand up to industry giants, aren’t keen on the idea of data transparency, and will lack the courage necessary to ensure giant monopolies with a history of fraud (like Comcast and AT&T) don’t pocket most of the funds.

Filed Under: BEAD grants, broadband, broadband mapping, competition, duopolies, fcc, gigabit fiber, high speed internet, mapping, subsidies, telecom
Companies: costquest

Senators Say The FCC’s New Maps Still Suck, Overstate Coverage

from the maps-to-nowhere dept

Fri, Jan 13th 2023 05:30am - Karl Bode

We’ve noted more than a few times that U.S. taxpayers have spent nearly $400 million on mapping U.S. broadband, yet the FCC still somehow routinely produces maps that greatly overstate broadband coverage, and greatly understate the obvious impact of monopolization and stunted broadband competition.

All U.S. broadband policy is then based on data that doesn’t reflect reality, and it shows.

The FCC’s original broadband maps cost around $350 million, and were blasted for years for hallucinating broadband coverage, speeds, and competitors. Those maps suffered from numerous methodical errors (like the FCC determining a census block “served” with broadband if ISPs claims they could service just one home in that block) that resulted in data that didn’t reflect reality.

After being mandated by Congress in 2020 by the Broadband DATA Act, the FCC struck a new, $44 million contract with a company named Costquest to develop a new map, just unveiled last November. I’ve been getting an earful from state broadband leaders about how these new maps still dramatically overstate coverage, rely on ISP claims of “advertised speeds,” and once again don’t reflect reality.

Senators hopeful to nab some of the massive $50+ billion in broadband subsidies made possible by the infrastructure bill aren’t particularly happy about it. Senators Jacky Rosen of Vermont and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada have written a letter to the FCC (hat tip, Ars Technica) stating concerns about the new maps:

“Despite a clear mandate from Congress, the draft maps are deeply flawed. As Senators representing Nevada, we are seriously concerned about the Nevada map’s accuracy and potential negative impacts on broadband infrastructure funding for our state,” wrote the lawmakers.

“These clear discrepancies may result in our state losing millions of dollars in federal funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that are critical to ensuring we are providing essential broadband service to Nevadans, as well as limiting the areas OSIT can invest federal dollars,” the lawmakers continued.

In Vermont, state officials say their own data indicates that a whopping 18.6 percent of state residents still lack access to any broadband whatsoever. The FCC’s new and updated broadband map claims that just 3 percent of state residents lack access to broadband, a huge disparity. You can’t fix what you can’t measure, and the FCC still can’t measure broadband gaps and muted competition.

For what it’s worth, the new maps demanded by Congress are an improvement. They rely more heavily on crowdsourced data, they discard the FCC’s flawed census block methodology, they require that the FCC is slightly more aggressive in terms of ensuring ISPs are providing accurate data, and they include a new system for third parties to challenge data that isn’t accurate.

But states tell me they find the challenge process to be a bit of a mess. Most states also say they aren’t going to be able to meet this month’s cut off challenge deadline before billions subsidies start flowing. They also say the system favors entrenched monopolies (with much fatter budgets and time to navigate bureaucracy), something the letter also rather vaguely hints at:

“In addition, our State Broadband Office has concerns with the current challenge process, through which states can challenge the draft maps, as it is based on assumptions that put the onus on consumers to proactively engage with providers, rather than practical access to high-speed internet for consumers or technological realities.”

It’s worth noting that the new maps, just like the old maps, also omit pricing data, despite the fact that affordability is the key obstacle to access, especially in marginalized communities.

Telecom giants have spent decades lobbying against better maps lest the press, public, and policymakers finally realized the sector has been broken by monopolists, resulting in somebody in power getting the crazy idea of actually trying to fix it.

All told, it’s absolutely wild that it’s 2023 and the U.S. government still can’t accurately tell you where broadband is or isn’t available after spending $400 million on the problem. That’s a direct reflection of our regulators, who, regardless of party, still somehow can’t even manage to publicly acknowledge that monopolization, and limited competition, is the root of the sector’s problems.

Filed Under: broadband, broadband maps, digital divide, fcc, gigabit, high speed internet, telecom
Companies: costquest