§1303 Improving Federal Data on Broadband

Summary

Require the Federal Communications Commission to include in its section 163 report a comparison of broadband service (including data speeds and price) in 75 communities across at least 25 countries. The comparisons must cover each data-rate benchmark the Commission uses to show different speed tiers. The chosen communities should, as much as possible, match U.S. places by population size, density, land features, and demographics, and must come from a geographically diverse set of countries and include their capital cities. The FCC must note key similarities and differences like market structure, number of competitors and facility-based providers, technologies used, the services those technologies enable, regulatory models, how businesses and homes use the services, and other media available. The FCC must also run public surveys of urban, suburban, and rural consumers and businesses to collect data on technology used, monthly price, actual speeds, common apps, reasons some do not subscribe, other sources people use, and any other needed items. Survey results must be published at least once per year. The Commerce Department, with the FCC, must add questions to the American Community Survey about computer ownership and whether households use dial-up or broadband, including households on native lands. The FCC must still protect proprietary information and is not forced to make confidential data public.