{ "id": "R45962", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "number": "R45962", "active": false, "source": "Federation of American Scientists, CRSReports.Congress.gov, EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "Federation of American Scientists", "sourceLink": "https://sgp.fas.org/crs/", "id": "R45962_FAS", "date": "2021-05-21", "retrieved": "2021-05-21T18:08:18", "title": "Broadband Data and Mapping: Background and Issues for the 117th Congress", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20210521_R45962_35429e38bd3b462ffd10782d42c6e1063b41b84a.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20210521_R45962_35429e38bd3b462ffd10782d42c6e1063b41b84a.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "summary": null, "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R45962", "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "type": "CRS Report", "formats": [ { "sha1": "35429e38bd3b462ffd10782d42c6e1063b41b84a", "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R45962/7", "filename": "files/2021-05-19_R45962_35429e38bd3b462ffd10782d42c6e1063b41b84a.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2021-05-19_R45962_35429e38bd3b462ffd10782d42c6e1063b41b84a.html" } ], "title": "Broadband Data and Mapping: Background and Issues for the 117th Congress", "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "retrieved": "2021-06-09T04:03:14.772963", "date": "2021-05-19", "typeId": "R", "id": "R45962_7_2021-05-19", "active": true }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 606348, "date": "2019-10-16", "retrieved": "2019-10-21T22:20:39.385873", "title": "Broadband Data and Mapping: Background and Issues for the 116th Congress", "summary": "Access to high-speed internet, also known as broadband, is increasingly important in the 21st century, as more and more aspects of everyday life, such as job applications and homework assignments, become digital. Some areas of the United States\u2014particularly rural areas\u2014have limited or no access to broadband due to market, geographic, or demographic factors. The gap between those who have access to broadband and those who do not is referred to as the digital divide.\nThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and Rural Utilities Service (RUS) have developed maps to help guide resources toward closing the digital divide. Since 2018, the FCC has had the responsibility for developing a comprehensive map of broadband access in the United States. However, the data available to determine where to invest resources may be incomplete or inaccurate. For example, the FCC\u2019s current methodology considers a census block served if at least one home or business in that census block has broadband access. In addition, the data is self-reported by broadband service providers and not independently verified outside the FCC.\nOn August 1, 2019, the FCC adopted a Report and Order introducing a new process, called the Digital Opportunity Data Collection (DODC), for collecting fixed broadband data. The new process would require broadband service providers to provide geospatial broadband coverage maps\u2014which provide greater granularity than census blocks\u2014indicating where fixed broadband service is actually made available. The new process would also implement a crowdsourcing mechanism for public feedback, as individual consumers will likely know whether they have access to broadband. The FCC also adopted a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM), seeking comment on issues including the need for additional granularity and the potential sunset of the current data collection process upon complete implementation of the DODC.\nAs the FCC implements the DODC process, Congress has a wide variety of options for oversight and legislation. For example, Congress may continue to consider issues such as the optimal level of data granularity, the process for independent validation, and costs and burdens of broadband data collection on both consumers and broadband service providers. Congress could consider providing federal funding for a broadband mapping pilot to thoroughly assess these factors and assist in determining how to strike the desired balance, as well as exploring what funding levels for ongoing broadband map maintenance would be sustainable and where the necessary funding would come from.\nCongress may debate whether to leave factors within the proposed DODC, such as the current delegation of broadband data collection authority to the Universal Service Administrative Company, to the discretion of the FCC, or Congress may wish to enact legislation to keep broadband data collection efforts under the purview of the FCC. To assist with future federal action, Congress may take into consideration successful state broadband mapping efforts, which could provide additional insight into models that could be replicated on a national scale.\nCongress may continue to debate potential short-term and long-term broadband mapping solutions, including whether federal funding for rural broadband expansion should be withheld until mapping issues are resolved. In conjunction, Congress may also contemplate whether to provide oversight over federal agency broadband activities or enact legislation regarding interagency coordination efforts on broadband deployment to reduce the potential for duplicative funding. Another consideration for Congress may be whether the FCC\u2019s Fixed Broadband Deployment Map could be updated more frequently so that data reflects continuing network changes and, if so, whether that would impose a significant burden on broadband service providers. \nBills addressing many of these broadband mapping issues have been introduced in the 116th Congress, including the Save the Internet Act of 2019 (H.R. 1644), passed by the House on April 10, 2019, and the ACCESS Broadband Act (H.R. 1328), passed by the House on May 8, 2019.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R45962", "sha1": "849d638a76496e30cc745b93ee230c2f9c648eba", "filename": "files/20191016_R45962_849d638a76496e30cc745b93ee230c2f9c648eba.html", "images": {} }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R45962", "sha1": "2164021e45871a55744fd716b9f9dd6ea14e1bee", "filename": "files/20191016_R45962_2164021e45871a55744fd716b9f9dd6ea14e1bee.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4871, "name": "Telecommunications & Internet Policy" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Economic Policy", "Internet and Telecommunications Policy" ] }