Press Release
Free Press Blasts FCC for Asking Questions Already Answered
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
WASHINGTON -- Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski released his proposal to revamp the Universal Service Fund and a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to update its broadband data collection efforts at the agency’s open meeting Tuesday.
The FCC began its efforts to reform its broadband data collection practices in 2007. After receiving input from industry, consumer and public interest advocates, state utility commissions and independent researchers, the FCC concluded in 2008 that it should collect granular data on where broadband is available and committed to moving to a final rule by fall 2008.
However, despite repeated calls to collect this data, the FCC has failed to do so, and today's announcement proposes the same questions that were first asked in 2007.
Free Press Research Director S. Derek Turner made the following statement:
"Today's FCC meeting agenda finally makes it clear that Chairman Genachowski's oft-repeated mantra of running a 'data-driven' agency is nothing more than an empty slogan that he's unwilling to back up with actual policy.
"It is simply stunning that on the same day the FCC is proposing to hand over billions to industry to build broadband networks, it is still asking whether it’s a good idea for the agency to collect basic data about where broadband is deployed and how much it costs. Chairman Genachowski needs to explain why, nearly three years after the FCC concluded it should collect broadband deployment data, his staff is issuing a notice full of the same questions that already have been asked and answered numerous times.
"And while we're pleased the FCC is taking another baby step toward reforming the Universal Service Fund, the agency still cannot answer the basic question of where subsidies are actually needed to ensure services are available at reasonable prices. The companies that profit from USF subsidies and monopoly interconnection charges don't want that question answered. This disconnect and the FCC's fealty to AT&T and the telecom industry lie at the heart of why the current USF system is broken.
"Unless Chairman Genachowski takes steps to reverse his trend of releasing bold-sounding proposals only to retreat in the face of industry pressure, we fear the reforms proposed today will fail to bring rural America the benefits of broadband."
The FCC began its efforts to reform its broadband data collection practices in 2007. After receiving input from industry, consumer and public interest advocates, state utility commissions and independent researchers, the FCC concluded in 2008 that it should collect granular data on where broadband is available and committed to moving to a final rule by fall 2008.
However, despite repeated calls to collect this data, the FCC has failed to do so, and today's announcement proposes the same questions that were first asked in 2007.
Free Press Research Director S. Derek Turner made the following statement:
"Today's FCC meeting agenda finally makes it clear that Chairman Genachowski's oft-repeated mantra of running a 'data-driven' agency is nothing more than an empty slogan that he's unwilling to back up with actual policy.
"It is simply stunning that on the same day the FCC is proposing to hand over billions to industry to build broadband networks, it is still asking whether it’s a good idea for the agency to collect basic data about where broadband is deployed and how much it costs. Chairman Genachowski needs to explain why, nearly three years after the FCC concluded it should collect broadband deployment data, his staff is issuing a notice full of the same questions that already have been asked and answered numerous times.
"And while we're pleased the FCC is taking another baby step toward reforming the Universal Service Fund, the agency still cannot answer the basic question of where subsidies are actually needed to ensure services are available at reasonable prices. The companies that profit from USF subsidies and monopoly interconnection charges don't want that question answered. This disconnect and the FCC's fealty to AT&T and the telecom industry lie at the heart of why the current USF system is broken.
"Unless Chairman Genachowski takes steps to reverse his trend of releasing bold-sounding proposals only to retreat in the face of industry pressure, we fear the reforms proposed today will fail to bring rural America the benefits of broadband."
