Introduction of the ``Broadband Census of America Act of 2007''

INTRODUCTION OF THE ``BROADBAND CENSUS OF AMERICA ACT OF 2007'' -- (Extensions of Remarks - October 22, 2007)

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SPEECH OF
HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY
OF MASSACHUSETTS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2007

* Mr. MARKEY. Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the ``Broadband Census of America

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Act of 2007.'' The legislation introduced today reflects the version of the bill as approved by the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet less than two weeks ago. The bill will continue to undergo refinement in the Energy and Commerce Committee and my ongoing goal is to work toward a bipartisan, consensus bill.

* The objectives of this bill are two-fold. First, to gain a better assessment of how America is doing in broadband service deployment and adoption, the bill will obtain information on the types and speed of broadband service subscribers utilize and the extent of such adoption for the residential and business market in areas at the 5-digit zip code level. Second, the bill will seek to develop a national, interactive map of broadband service availability for use by consumers. This map will help to identify areas of the country where service does not exist and also assist consumers in ascertaining which broadband service providers are available in their neighborhood.

* I believe at this point there is growing consensus--if not unanimity--around the fact that current data collection methods used by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are inadequate and highly flawed. Currently, the FCC counts a single broadband subscriber in a 5-digit zip code as indicating the entire zip code has broadband availability, even if the sole subscriber is a business and not a residential consumer. This can lead to highly inaccurate and overly generous notions of actual broadband availability and use, particularly in rural areas where zip codes are quite large.

* In addition, under almost any set of measurements, the United States lags other nations not only in availability and speed but also in the value. The 50 Megabit per second service in Japan, for instance, is available to Japanese consumers for roughly $30. Here in the U.S., consumers typically pay $20 for about 1 Megabit of service and $30 to 40 for roughly 4 Megabits of service. This legislation will task the FCC with identifying tiers of increasing data transmission speeds, for both upstream and downstream attributes. These tiers will describe existing broadband service capability deployed in the Nation and are designed to the extent possible to correspond to a service's ability to support qualitatively different applications and services. Identifying such tiers and the services which apply to them will enable policymakers to gauge the broadband service speeds that are being subscribed to by residential consumers and by small and large businesses and will also allow for trends to be seen in such adoption over a period of time.

* The lack of such information today leaves policymakers largely in the dark about the nature and extent of broadband service deployment and adoption in urban, suburban, and rural areas of the country. The state of knowledge around the status of broadband services in the United States directly affects the ability of policymakers to make sound decisions. For instance, the Federal government can do a much better job in reforming multi-billion dollar grant and subsidy programs--whether at the Rural Utilities Service or at the FCC--if we have better data on where we truly need to target government assistance. Similarly, States can focus limited State resources for economic assistance, computer adoption, and broadband promotion if ample and accurate data is available indicating where such resources should be deployed.

* This is precisely what has happened in Kentucky. ConnectKentucky has been a wildly successful effort and has demonstrated the palpable benefits to mapping broadband for various public policy benefits.

* The risks of not developing national data will undermine our goal of achieving a national plan for universal, affordable broadband. This, in turn, adversely affects consumers and communities across the Nation. The benefits of higher speeds, lower prices, and more choices for broadband services include greater economic opportunity, job creation, worker productivity, access to health care and educational resources, promotion of innovation, and global competitiveness.

* Madam Speaker, I look forward to working with Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman JOHN DINGELL, Ranking Member JOE BARTON, Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee Ranking Member FRED UPTON, as well as my other House colleagues on this bill as the process continues.

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