Having Accurate Broadband Data... Will Slow Down Broadband Growth?
from the but-of-course dept
Many broadband providers have resisted providing detailed broadband penetration data, since it would suggest that things aren't as rosy as the FCC insists with its bizarre counting system that everyone knows doesn't paint an accurate portrait of broadband in the US. However, with Congress looking to force the collection of more accurate broadband availability data, some broadband providers are protesting. Apparently, the American Cable Association is claiming that providing such information would harm broadband growth. Why? Because collecting that info would take time and effort away from providing more broadband. Of course, that suggests that these providers don't already know where they provide broadband, which is hard to believe. It also ignores that one of the suggestions for getting better broadband data is to provide a user-generated mapping tool that won't require the broadband providers' involvement at all.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
You gotta love the Government
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Combine the Map Overlay feature with the Connection Speeds feature. Make a nice map of what area has what speeds.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Employee: "I don't want to do that."
Boss: "Just give me a report on what progress you made last year."
Employee: "If you make me do that my performance will suffer."
Boss: "WTF?!? Your fired."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
You'd Like To Think That
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Spy Script Blocking Is Easy
They could but I'm not so sure it would be accurate. On this page alone, in Firefox on Linux with the NoScript Add-on, I'm blocking the following scripts:
1. google-analytics.com
2. mybloglog.com
3. fmpub.net
4. googlesyndication.com
5. quantserve.com
I don't know what they're meant to do but blocking them does no harm (to me!) whatsoever.
By the way, that's not a lot of scripts to block on a single page. I've seen other pages with over a dozen hidden, secret scripts, all recording something or other for someone or other.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
oh by the way thanks to fred for sharing more items to be blocked.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Of course it's the government's business, it gives a HUGE chunk of information about our economy vs other countries. The problem is Telco's are trying to make themselves look much better than they actually are to make a HUGE profit at very little cost, while other countries Tel & Cable Co's infrastructure's are FAR superior to ours.
It's sad that the "richest" country in the world has one of the worst communications systems in the modern world.
Believe it or not, SOME agencies actually do *try* to do good things in this government.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Actually, as the government has been giving huge subsidies to the telcos, and has been allowing the telcos to collect huge amounts of money in additional fees, on the (unfulfilled) promise of FIOS to every doorstep, this is precisely the government's fucking business.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Blocking Transmissions
oh by the way thanks to fred for sharing more items to be blocked
Thank you. Apropos of nothing, I check every page I visit and I block anything I don't perfectly understand.
In the case of Techdirt, there's not too much to block, really. In their case, it's just a habit.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
stupidity vs malice
Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by incompetence....
So does it really make any difference if they are stupid or just arrogant? The result to the end users is the same.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Seriously, they just don't want people to know what they are doing or the fact that even they don't have a clue what they are doing it. I guess that makes it easier to screw over their customers and then claim at the congressional hearing that they had no idea that they were doing. Can't subpoena records if there aren't any...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]