Pew: Federal Broadband Data Has Too Many Holes
Despite an array of federal broadband programs and billions of dollars spent on connectivity and access, a pressing need remains for high-quality national datasets on broadband pricing, network quality and consumers’ digital skills, Pew said Tuesday. A review of broadband literature between 2008 and 2024 showed that researchers identified holes in available data, including a lack of household-level information on broadband access and adoption, Pew said. The absence of data standardization has also led to inaccuracies in measuring coverage gaps, it added.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
The report noted that federal data leans heavily on information from ISPs, raising questions about bias and lack of transparency in reporting on broadband availability and network performance. For example, some federal data doesn't specify the type of broadband technology available to consumers, making it difficult to correlate network performance and household internet use, Pew said. With better tools to evaluate the relationship between connectivity and socioeconomic outcomes, policymakers "could build broader consensus across government and industry on the importance of sustained investments in broadband."