Broadband Census launches grassroots effort

A veteran journalist is attempting to determine for himself just how accurate the Federal Communications Commission’s rosy reports of competitive broadband services really are. Drew Clark set up his own limited liability corporation, Broadband Census LLC, to try to answer the question of how much broadband access is really available in the U.S.

Clark is doing that in three ways: First, by using the FCC data; second, by combing the Web sites of the service providers and noting what they say they are providing by ZIP code; and third, by asking consumers to log on to www.broadbandcensus.com and list their own broadband service provider, along with the speed of their service and a satisfaction rating.

“What we’re trying to do in some respects is fact-check or truth-check the FCC’s numbers,” Clark said. “They have been saying there’s lots of broadband available anywhere. On a ZIP code basis, they have said there are eight, 10, 25 different broadband providers. We want to see if that’s really true.”

What the FCC won’t provide, Clark points out, are the names of the broadband service providers, which might reveal how many are actually reselling local telephone or DSL lines. Nor has the agency gone beyond five-digit ZIP codes to the more specific nine-digit listings which could show residential areas with many fewer options than business districts.

“As the map gets finer and finer, business resellers that might operate in one part of the ZIP code will be eliminated,” he said.

By providing what Clark believes will be a more accurate picture of true broadband availability in the U.S., Broadband Census hopes to better inform the debate over whether the U.S. is falling behind the rest of the world.

“I am interested in the importance of broadband to our economy, our society, and our democracy,” Clark said.

Broadband Census has funding from the Benton Foundation and a contract with The Pew Internet and American Life Project to provide data for its reports. Broadband Census has been in beta mode, “working out some kinks,” Clark said, but will soon be making a bigger marketing push to attract people to its Web site. Also ahead will be speed testing, where the consumers who have registered on Broadband Census can check to see if they are getting their promised bandwidth.

“We see this as a consumer-generated site of information,” Clark said. “The Web enables the crowd to talk back to the providers.”