FCC ‘Investigating’ Repeated Broadband Industry Coverage Lies

After years of criticism about their inaccuracy, the FCC recently spent another $50 million (on top of the $350 million they’d already spent) on supposedly better broadband maps. But the end result is still a bit of a mess, with entrenched telecom monopolies like Comcast being repeatedly caught claiming to deliver broadband in areas that can’t receive service. Often to glean subsidies the company doesn’t deserve.

And while the FCC has implemented a “challenge process” for those trying to correct the maps, numerous municipal leaders and telecom lawyers tell me that process has been a bit of a hot mess. That’s a problem, as folks line up to grab their share of more than $50 billion in new broadband subsidies made possible by Covid relief and the infrastructure bill.

Not too surprisingly, Comcast is hoovering up the lion’s share of new funding. And not too surprisingly, Comcast keeps getting caught lying about its own broadband coverage. ISPs have spent decades fighting against better maps, knowing full well that if data more concretely shows market failure and a lack of competition, regulators might get the crazy idea to actually do something about it.

The FCC says it’s investigating, for whatever that winds up being worth:

In response to questions about the FCC’s coverage map inaccuracies from members of Congress, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a Feb. 3 letter that “we have taken several steps to prevent systematic overreporting of coverage by broadband service providers.”

“In fact, we already have an investigation underway,” Rosenworcel wrote.

That said, Rosenworcel doesn’t have much of a reputation for making waves with major telecom giants. And keep in mind Comcast is one of several companies waging a sleazy smear campaign against FCC nominee Gigi Sohn to scuttle her nomination, ensuring that the agency lacks the voting majority to do anything deemed remotely controversial by industry. Including holding industry accountable.

Having covered this sector for longer than I’d like, I absolutely guarantee that while this funding is going to be a huge help in some areas (especially for municipalities, cooperatives and city-owned utilities), you’re going to see an unprecedented torrent of fraud complaints as the infrastructure money starts to flow. And without a reformer like Sohn pushing them to action, I suspect the FCC won’t have the kind of backbone required to hold anybody meaningfully accountable. Rinse, wash, repeat.