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Oct. 3, 2008

The United States Congress confirms that it has approved the Broadband Data Improvement Act S. 1492.

The new bill is designed to help the government collect better information about the presence and quality of wireless and broadband services in the U.S.

The Congress' new legislation would require the Federal Communications Commission to issue an annual report on the availability of Internet broadband access across the United States.

As it stands now, the FCC is only required to provide regular reporting and according to its various regulatory rules.

The FCC reports are to deal with various complaints that the U.S. has fallen way behind other countries such as Canada, the U.K., Germany, Japan and Taiwan.

It is reported that the U.S. currently ranks No. 15 among developed countries, which some observers think is a national disgrace.

The FCC said it didn't disagree and is willing to cooperate.

The new law was proposed by Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, and requires the FCC to conduct consumer surveys about the availability of broadband and to compare the availability, speeds and price of broadband in the United States to at least 25 other developed countries.

Additionally, the new bill is meant to correct what are considered specific flaws in the current reporting system.

For example, the last FCC report considered broadband available if only one household within a Zip code had broadband. It subsequently reported that about 98.9 percent of all U.S. Zip codes had Internet broadband service available!

NARUC (National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissions) Telecommunications Committee Chairman Ray Baum of Oregon said “as an early supporter of this bill, NARUC is particularly pleased with the provisions that both acknowledge the important role states play and provide matching grants that will help states develop and implement data collection efforts."

He added "all the information gained as a result of this bill will greatly accelerate broadband collection programs and help bring the power of the Internet to as many citizens as possible.”

Act S. 1492 now awaits President Bush’s signature to make it a new law.

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Source: CFI Group.