Commissioner Starks Statement on 2019 Broadband Deployment Report

The 2019 Broadband Deployment Report reaches the wrong conclusion. According to the report, the digital divide has narrowed substantially over the past two years and broadband is being deployed on a reasonable and timely basis. The rosy picture the report paints about the status of broadband deployment is fundamentally at odds with reality. While I would like to be able to celebrate along with the FCC’s majority, our broadband deployment mission is not yet accomplished. If you are 10 steps away from your goal and you move a step-and-a-half forward, you don’t have a victory party when your work isn’t done. You give yourself a pat on the back and put your head down to achieve the remaining eight-and-a-half steps. And that’s where we are – with over 21 million Americans without access to quality, affordable broadband, we are about eight-and-a-half steps behind and we must get back to work. The report masks the urgent need for continued and renewed action to address inequities in internet access in rural, tribal, and urban areas of the country. The fundamental disconnect between the report and reality is reason enough for my dissent.

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