Broadband providers: Negative FCC report would ‘strain credulity’

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sources tell The Hill that the agency will soon release a report to Congress arguing that the nation has fallen off track in broadband deployment, a first since the report began 11 years ago.

The FCC’s “706 report,” mandated by communications law, looks at whether broadband is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.

U.S. Telecom, the association for broadband providers, raised concern on Monday about the pending report after it came to light that the FCC will give broadband a failing grade.

“It is puzzling that the commission would take the data from its own National Broadband Plan showing U.S. broadband deployment to be an unprecedented American success story, turn it on its head, and conclude that broadband deployment is neither reasonable or timely,” the association’s president and chief executive Walter McCormick said in a statement.

But a senior FCC official reponded that McCormick's remarks simply politicized the issue. 

“Congress requires the FCC to assess whether broadband has been reasonably and timely deployed to every American – no matter where they live.  For U.S. Telecom to suggest that every American has that kind of access is patently false. This press release is more of the same:  lobbyists who care more about scoring political points than working with us to find ways to get broadband to the 14 to 24 million Americans who simply do not have access.  Broadband is an American success story for many – but not yet for all Americans," the official told The Hill.

“We should instead be talking about finding solutions to getting broadband out to where there is no business case to provide it.  So, while others are playing the Washington game, we at the FCC will be working hard to reform USF and to continue to foster an environment conducive to innovation and investment throughout the country,” the official added.

Democrats and Republicans are often split over whether the state of American broadband access is satisfactory.

Republicans, including two commissioners at the FCC, routinely point to the figure of 95 percent, which is the share of the country that has access to broadband. The Republican commissioners are expected to dissent from the report's findings.

But Democrats, who have three votes at the FCC, draw attention to the fact that this means 14 million to 24 million Americans remain without access.

A poor broadband report would “strain credulity,” McCormick added. “Clearly, our country is in the middle of a broadband explosion.”

Broadband providers see a negative report as something the Democratic commissioners could use to justify more stringent regulations on their businesses.