Phoenix Center Calls for Reforming Section 706 Reports
The FCC should reform and refocus its annual reports on broadband availability required by Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act, the Phoenix Center said in an analysis released Wednesday. Historically, the FCC’s Section 706 reports “have been plagued by partisan interpretations and have failed to address the core issues behind broadband deployment gaps,” the center said in a separate news release. The FCC hasn’t created consistent definitions of when a deployment timeline is “reasonable” and “timely,” as required by the statute, and what actions should be taken when deployment doesn’t meet those requirements, the Phoenix Center said.
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The “classification of ‘reasonable and timely’ deployment under Section 706 should be a question of whether government policy effectively and promptly enhances economic incentives in areas where the market alone won’t support deployment,” said Phoenix Center Chief Economist George Ford in the analysis. “Since the government identifies unserved areas and sets the subsidy level, a deployment gap is a policy failure, not a market failure,” he added in the release. “Future Section 706 Reports would better serve policymakers and the public by providing a clearer picture of where government intervention is succeeding or failing in bridging the digital divide.”