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| For the record: Dave on Blogband about improving the 706 data |
| Tuesday, 10 August 2010 17:39 |
 Sharon Gillette, FCC Wireline Chief, blogged about the recent 706 report and asked for "comment on how we can sharpen our analysis and make the best use possible of our data." The U.S. is down to 5-10M unserved, which means the 2-5M "black swans" that may not be counted are a major issue. So I wrote in the comments: The 706 report conclusions are right on target, but there are several improvements possible to improve the data.
In particular, one to three million homes only can get satellite because of local network conditions such as pairgain equipment or remote terminals that have not been upgraded. I believe most of these homes are not included in the current analysis.
In addition, major cable operators have about 1M homes that cannot get cable modems. They have refused many requests to identify which homes they are and why they remain unserved. The broadband plan was not able to get the data either. As we get closer to universal coverage, these "black swans" have become a huge percentage of the "unserved," probably 25-50%. So it's essential they be identified and regulations established to reach them. For most of the country, the data is readily available in the "prequalification databases" maintained by the leading carriers. The $100M in state mapping money certainly is enough to identify most of these homes.
How can we make sure the next report is as accurate as practical?
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