IP Democracy: Group Files Data Quality Act Complaint Against FCC

Somehow this slipped passed me, but last week a group called Teletruth filed a Data Quality Act complaint against the FCC, claiming the Commission is politically driven to inflate the number of U.S. broadband connections in support of President Bush’s goal to deliver universal broadband service.

The Data Quality Act was a two-page bill passed in 2001 that gave the OMB authority to develop standards ensuring that federal agencies implement data quality standards and public correction mechanisms for the information they disseminate and has been criticized by many scientists as serving the interests of business.

The TeleTruth filing contends that the FCC’s 200 kbps definition of broadband inflates true broadband penetration (which Teletruth seems to argue is 45 Mbps. Have they read the Ensign Bill, which defines broadband as 64 kbps?)

By calling one-directional 200K services “broadband”, the FCC has essentially inflated the number of connections, but at the detriment of America’s economy. We can now claim we have more connections than the rest of the world, but the truth is embarrassing. We’re technologically behind on every front that would prove to be important — speed matters.

Posted by Cynthia on August 2, 2005 08:56 AM to IP Democracy