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Telecommunications: Current Broadband Measures Have Limitations and New Measures Are Promising but Need Improvement

GAO-10-49 Published: Oct 09, 2009. Publicly Released: Oct 09, 2009.
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Highlights

The Broadband Data Improvement Act, enacted in 2008, established a variety of initiatives intended to improve the quality of state and federal data on broadband (i.e., high-speed Internet) services and promote the deployment (the building of infrastructure over which broadband services can be provided) of affordable broadband services to all parts of the nation. The act required GAO to conduct a study to consider and evaluate additional broadband metrics or standards. This mandated report addresses (1) the measures generally available to consumers, industry, government and others, and (2) the limitations, if any, of the measures and how they could be supplemented or improved. To identify and evaluate the measures, GAO conducted a review of literature and related laws and interviewed and reviewed related documentation from stakeholder groups.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Commerce To increase the data quality and subsequent results from the State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program, including a searchable nationwide inventory map of existing broadband service capability and availability in the United States, the Secretary of Commerce should examine the first round of data collection and determine whether to develop specific guidance for grantees to improve the consistency and accuracy of the data collected under the program.
Closed – Implemented
In fiscal year 2010, GAO found that the Department of Commerce (Commerce) did not provide specific guidance to grantees to verify the data collected to develop a national broadband inventory map through its State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program. This could result in inconsistent data and limit the effectiveness of the effort. GAO has previously reported that consistency and data verification are important for reducing the risk of producing inaccurate data. At the completion of GAO's audit work, Commerce was still in the process of awarding grant funds and receiving the first round of data collection. Therefore, GAO recommended that Commerce examine the first round of data collection and determine whether to develop specific guidance for grantees to improve the consistency and accuracy of the data collected under the program. In August 2014, GAO confirmed that Commerce, in collaboration with the Federal Communications Commission, reviewed the first round of data collection and (1) developed a set of broadband availability business rules; and (2) established a data comparison process to help ensure data integrity for each round of data submitted by grantees. The broadband availability business rules frame expectations for data submissions and serve as guidance for the grantees by providing a range of expected values for advertised upload and download speeds by technology type. Officials from Commerce and the Federal Communications Commission review each grantee's data submission to determine if the grantee used common mechanisms of collection and verification and followed the business rules, which are updated periodically to reflect new knowledge, technology advances and best practices. If a data submission does not meet quality guidelines, Commerce returns it to the grantee for revision and provides technical assistance as needed. As part of the data comparison process, which was updated in December 2012, the agency officials conduct a record-level assessment of all data submitted by grantees by comparing the data to other government and third-party datasets to help solidify confidence in the results. As a result of the business rules and data validation process, Commerce helped reduce the risk of producing inaccurate data and ensure the quality of the National Broadband Map dataset, which was critical to the distribution of funds to grantees and their data collection efforts.

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Topics

BroadbandData collectionData transmissionDocumentationElectronic data interchangeFederal regulationsInformation technologyPerformance measuresReporting requirementsTechnologyTelecommunicationsTelecommunications industry