Broadband mapping in the United States
Encyclopedia
Broadband mapping in the United States are efforts to describe geographically how Internet access
service from telephone and cable TV companies (commonly called "broadband") is available in terms of available speed and price. Mapping has been done on the national as well as the state level. The efforts are seen as preliminary steps towards increased broadband service nationwide but funding has been caught up in political infighting.
s (often called "speeds") vary considerably across the US. Generally, rural Internet
users have fewer options and slower service. American consumers often spend more money for slower service than in other countries.
Former Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) commissioner Rachelle Chong floated the idea of broadband mapping while working for the Bush administration.
In 2008, the FCC approved a broadband mapping plan which would examine availability by speed and "provide a more granular look at where broadband is available," according to a report in the Washington Post.
The Broadband Data Improvement Act was introduced by Senator Daniel Inouye
in 2007 and became law on October 10, 2008.
The act's section 106 created a legal framework for the United States Department of Commerce
's State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program, but did not fund it.
The Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) was funded as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(known as a "stimulus package") under the Obama administration
. Funds were allocated by the Commerce department and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA) in February 2009.
The NTIA was to create and release a National Broadband Inventory Map by February 17, 2011.
Initially an estimated 350 million dollars would be spent on the map. The $350 million figure was reduced over time to about $293 million. The mapping project was part of a much larger project perhaps involving seven billion dollars for a National Broadband Plan
that had, among other goals, bringing high speed Internet service to rural areas.
State governments such as New Hampshire
Massachusetts
and North Carolina
and Minnesota
attempted broadband maps, as did nations in Africa
.
s, there is no standard for mapping information. Rather, different studies have been done using different geographic and data rate parameters. Geometric units such as census tracts as well as zip code
s have been used.
Although the term broadband
once had a technical meaning, it is used in marketing and policy to generally apply to relatively high data rate (and thus more expensive) Internet access, while technology changes over time.
One 2007 estimate used five speed ranges, with the lowest being from 200 kbit/s to 768 kbit/s, and the highest was more than 6 Mbit/s.
to do a separate mapping effort unconnected to the congressional effort.
Internet providers, including telephone and cable firms, according to a report in The New York Times
, are reluctant to disclose to government whether it offers service to some regions, how much it costs, and other parameters of availability. Lobbying firms and nonprofits geared up to battle for funding since there could be lucrative government contracts in the future.
Connected Nation is a non-profit group which was involved in an effort to get the state of Kentucky
mapped regarding its available Internet service. It is funded by AT&T
, Verizon, and other telecom firms. Art Brodsky, Communications Director at Public Knowledge, a public interest organization which focuses on telecoms, wrote several articles in the Huffington Post criticizing the efforts of Connected Nation which, in his view, represented the interests of the telephone and cable industries and not the interests of consumers or other Internet-using publics. According to Brodsky, the nonprofit has board members who work for leading telecom and cable firms, and the nonprofit is heading efforts to keep the broadband map information "confidential" by deeming it "proprietary". Brodsky used the term broadband bullies to describe telephone and cable efforts to impede the mapping project.
Behavioral economics expert Sara Wedeman who has studied broadband mapping methodologies criticized the politics behind the mapping efforts and suggested that efforts by cable and telephone companies could undermine choices for consumers. Wedeman lauded the methodologies by states such as North Carolina
and Massachusetts
and noted that when studies were done properly, the reports found that broadband speed and availability were below those reported by similar efforts by affiliates of Connected Nations.
Internet access
Many technologies and service plans for Internet access allow customers to connect to the Internet.Consumer use first became popular through dial-up connections in the 20th century....
service from telephone and cable TV companies (commonly called "broadband") is available in terms of available speed and price. Mapping has been done on the national as well as the state level. The efforts are seen as preliminary steps towards increased broadband service nationwide but funding has been caught up in political infighting.
Background
Internet access and bit rateBit rate
In telecommunications and computing, bit rate is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time....
s (often called "speeds") vary considerably across the US. Generally, rural Internet
Rural Internet
Rural Internet is the access to the Internet from rural areas , which are settled places outside towns and cities. Inhabitants live in villages, hamlets, on farms and in other isolated houses...
users have fewer options and slower service. American consumers often spend more money for slower service than in other countries.
Former Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) commissioner Rachelle Chong floated the idea of broadband mapping while working for the Bush administration.
In 2008, the FCC approved a broadband mapping plan which would examine availability by speed and "provide a more granular look at where broadband is available," according to a report in the Washington Post.
The Broadband Data Improvement Act was introduced by Senator Daniel Inouye
Daniel Inouye
Daniel Ken "Dan" Inouye is the senior United States Senator from Hawaii, a member of the Democratic Party, and the President pro tempore of the United States Senate making him the highest-ranking Asian American politician in American history. Inouye is the chairman of the United States Senate...
in 2007 and became law on October 10, 2008.
The act's section 106 created a legal framework for the United States Department of Commerce
United States Department of Commerce
The United States Department of Commerce is the Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with promoting economic growth. It was originally created as the United States Department of Commerce and Labor on February 14, 1903...
's State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program, but did not fund it.
The Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) was funded as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
(known as a "stimulus package") under the Obama administration
Presidency of Barack Obama
The Presidency of Barack Obama began at noon EST on January 20, 2009 when he became the 44th President of the United States. Obama was a United States Senator from Illinois at the time of his victory over Arizona Senator John McCain in the 2008 presidential election...
. Funds were allocated by the Commerce department and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that serves as the President's principal adviser on telecommunications policies pertaining to the United States' economic and technological advancement and to regulation of the...
(NTIA) in February 2009.
The NTIA was to create and release a National Broadband Inventory Map by February 17, 2011.
Initially an estimated 350 million dollars would be spent on the map. The $350 million figure was reduced over time to about $293 million. The mapping project was part of a much larger project perhaps involving seven billion dollars for a National Broadband Plan
National Broadband Plan (United States)
Connecting America: The National Broadband Plan, unveiled March 16, 2010, is a FCC plan which deals with improving broadband Internet access throughout the United States. One goal was providing 100 million American households with access to 100 Mbit/s connections by 2020...
that had, among other goals, bringing high speed Internet service to rural areas.
State governments such as New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
attempted broadband maps, as did nations in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
Lack of mapping standards
As with other thematic mapThematic map
A thematic map is a type of map or chart especially designed to show a particular theme connected with a specific geographic area. These maps "can portray physical, social, political, cultural, economic, sociological, agricultural, or any other aspects of a city, state, region,nation , or...
s, there is no standard for mapping information. Rather, different studies have been done using different geographic and data rate parameters. Geometric units such as census tracts as well as zip code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
s have been used.
Although the term broadband
Broadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
once had a technical meaning, it is used in marketing and policy to generally apply to relatively high data rate (and thus more expensive) Internet access, while technology changes over time.
One 2007 estimate used five speed ranges, with the lowest being from 200 kbit/s to 768 kbit/s, and the highest was more than 6 Mbit/s.
Politics and controversy
Politics influences the allocation of funds. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration in 2009 said it would reassess the program to ensure the funds are used in a "fiscally prudent" manner, after private firms claimed they could make the map for much less. In addition, there is an effort by the FCCFederal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
to do a separate mapping effort unconnected to the congressional effort.
Internet providers, including telephone and cable firms, according to a report in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, are reluctant to disclose to government whether it offers service to some regions, how much it costs, and other parameters of availability. Lobbying firms and nonprofits geared up to battle for funding since there could be lucrative government contracts in the future.
Connected Nation is a non-profit group which was involved in an effort to get the state of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
mapped regarding its available Internet service. It is funded by AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, Verizon, and other telecom firms. Art Brodsky, Communications Director at Public Knowledge, a public interest organization which focuses on telecoms, wrote several articles in the Huffington Post criticizing the efforts of Connected Nation which, in his view, represented the interests of the telephone and cable industries and not the interests of consumers or other Internet-using publics. According to Brodsky, the nonprofit has board members who work for leading telecom and cable firms, and the nonprofit is heading efforts to keep the broadband map information "confidential" by deeming it "proprietary". Brodsky used the term broadband bullies to describe telephone and cable efforts to impede the mapping project.
Behavioral economics expert Sara Wedeman who has studied broadband mapping methodologies criticized the politics behind the mapping efforts and suggested that efforts by cable and telephone companies could undermine choices for consumers. Wedeman lauded the methodologies by states such as North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and noted that when studies were done properly, the reports found that broadband speed and availability were below those reported by similar efforts by affiliates of Connected Nations.