FCC Seeks Comment & Information to Guide Annual Inquiry Under Sec. 706, Whether Advanced Telecom Has Been Reasonably and Timely Deployed

Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended (1996 Act), requires the Commission to determine and report annually on “whether advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.” With this Notice of Inquiry we initiate the next annual assessment of the “availability of advanced telecommunications capability to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion,” and solicit comment and information to help guide our analysis.

The Commission released the 2016 Notice of Inquiry on August 4, 2016, asking a number of questions about broadband deployment, but did not issue a subsequent report. In light of the changes in the industry and our recent actions to encourage broadband deployment, we propose to start this Inquiry afresh, with updated data and questions focused on the current progress of deployment of advanced telecommunications capability. In response to this Inquiry, we seek objective data and other evidence reflecting the state of broadband deployment and availability.

We encourage individual consumers, providers of broadband services, consumer advocates, analysts, companies, policy institutes, governmental entities, and all other interested parties to help us determine the most effective ways to complete this statutorily mandated task. We also encourage commenters to bring to our attention new issues concerning the deployment and availability of advanced telecommunications capability and recommend new ways to measure and evaluate deployment and availability. The information we gather in this proceeding will help ensure that our broadband policies are well-informed and backed by sound data analysis as we strive to encourage the deployment of broadband to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn did not vote to launch the proceeding saying, “While the structure of this item may look similar to past years, and I appreciate the Chairman accepting edits that I proposed, for several reasons I must respectfully concur.” He complaints include: 1) proposing a speed benchmark that is way too low, 2) deeming an area as “served” if mobile or fixed service is available, and 3) NOI seeks to measure deployment in terms of year-over-year progress rather than whether the service is actually meeting the needs of consumers.