The cable and wireless industries joined phone companies in oppos...
The cable and wireless industries joined phone companies in opposing a petition on broadband data collection by state regulators. The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners had asked the commission to decide that federal rules don’t limit states’ collection…
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of information from broadband service or infrastructure providers (CD Nov 4 p5). In reply comments Monday, NCTA said states don’t have jurisdiction over broadband Internet because it’s an interstate service. The states’ role “is limited to the functions assigned by Congress under the Broadband Data Improvement Act (BDIA) and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA),” the cable association said. CTIA rejected the petition in separate reply comments. “While the FCC may need to take steps to improve the timeliness of the data it provides to states, states already have access to federal data,” the wireless association said. “The petition cites no specific problems regarding access to needed datasets or lack of cooperation from providers.” States have received resistance when trying to collect data for NTIA grants, the D.C. Public Service Commission said. “We don’t believe that voluntary efforts on the part of broadband service providers will be sufficient to achieve” universal broadband. Some providers -- including Verizon and AT&T -- “simply” don’t respond to data requests, and others provide incomplete and sometimes inaccurate data, it said. “Certainly this is what NTIA was trying to avoid when it set out the requirements” in its July 8 notice of funding availability.