The General Accountability Office (GAO) says the FCC needs to be more transparent with industry and the public about how it sets benchmarks for broadband speeds so they don’t appear to be inconsistent.
The FCC is required by law to assess the deployment of broadband across the U.S. The agency uses its discretion to set a minimum fixed broadband speed that it uses as a benchmark. Since 2015, the Commission has set this benchmark at 25 Mbps downloads and 3 Mbps uploads. As part of its annual assessment of broadband deployment, the agency determines whether to change its broadband speed benchmark by soliciting public comment and analyzing information.
Congress asked the GAO to conduct the study. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires the FCC to assess annually whether advanced telecommunications capability— including broadband—is being deployed in the U.S. in a reasonable and timely fashion. The law also requires the agency to take action to accelerate deployment if the FCC finds deployment is lacking.
The Infrastructure Law includes a provision for the GAO to review the FCC’s establishing, reviewing, and updating of the broadband speed benchmark. The report examines the extent to which the Commission has accomplished these goals.
The GAO reviewed six reports issued between 2015 and 2021. It found inconsistencies in the reports of the FCC’s analysis of benchmark speed and its reported rationale for updating or not updating the benchmark. “Without consistently communicating the scope of its analysis and its rationale for setting the benchmark, FCC’s reporting lacks transparency,” concluded the GAO. “Reporting on these issues in a more consistent manner year to year would provide stakeholders’ better assurance that FCC’s conclusions are not arbitrary.”
The GAO recommended that the FCC’s Chair provide consistent communication in reporting on how the Commission determines whether advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed as well as relaying what metrics the agency uses to assess broadband speeds. “For example, the FCC could report to the public the scope and steps of its research and analysis, the data and analysis used to support its assertions, and the rationale for why it agrees or disagrees with stakeholder comments it receives,” notes the GAO. The agency agreed with this recommendation.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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