Senate passes bill to improve broadband access in rural Maine, U.S.

A man speaks to a crowded room of people

Photo / Maureen Milliken Franklin County residents crowded into the conference room at Franklin Memorial Hospital in January 2018 to listen to a presentation about increasing broadband access in the rural county of 30,000 residents. A federal bill that would require the FCC to more accurately collect broadband data has passed the Senate.

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By Staff

A bill that would improve how broadband data is collected, making efforts to improve access in rural areas more reliable, has passed the U.S. Senate.

The bipartisan Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act would change the way the Federal Communications Commission collects, verifies and reports broadband data.

U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, co-chair of the Senate Rural Broadband Caucus, and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, are among the 66 cosponsors of the bill in the Senate, where it passed by unanimous consent late last week. The Senate approval is the first step; the bill must be approved by the U.S. House of Representatives before it goes to the president to be signed.

"If we don’t have good data to work from, we won’t know where to make the right investments” for rural broadband, King said in a news release. “We need to improve and modernize the FCC’s method of data collection so rural communities in need aren’t left behind in an increasingly digital world.

"This is a critically important step that will make sure we’re investing in the right places to close the digital divide and bring all of the internet’s opportunities to rural Maine people," he said.

Collins said in the release the legislation will help bridge the divide between urban and rural communities through improved data collection.

“As a native of Aroostook County, I know how important access to high-speed internet is to the vitality of rural communities," she said. "Broadband helps unlock the internet’s economic benefits by allowing residents to work from home, upgrade their skills through online education, stay connected to their families as they age in place, and access health care through advances in telemedicine."

Detailed, accurate data gathering

The Broadband DATA Act:

Requires the FCC to collect highly detailed service availability data from wired, fixed wireless and satellite broadband providers;
Requires strong parameters for service availability data collected from mobile broadband providers to ensure accuracy;
Asks the FCC to consider whether to collect verified coverage data from state, local and tribal governments, as well as from other entities;
Creates a process for consumers, state, local, tribal governments and other groups to challenge FCC maps with their own data, and requires the FCC to determine how to structure the process without making it overly burdensome on challengers.

King, in September 2018, wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture seeking specific provisions in the ReConnect broadband pilot program, including the acquisition of up-to-date broadband mapping data. USDA incorporated the provisions in its regulations for the program that it issued in December 2018. King also renewed a push for up-to-date broadband maps in a February letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, which was co-signed by a bipartisan group of 10 senators.

Collins, too, is a supporter of legislation that increases rural access to broadband. Earlier this year, she and U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama, introduced the American Broadband Buildout Act of 2019, which aims to ensure that rural Americans have access to broadband services.