For Immediate Release
Contact: Carolyn Just, 703-351-2015, [email protected]
Arlington, Va., (July 24, 2019) – NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association issued the following statement from Chief Executive Officer Shirley Bloomfield regarding today’s markup of the Broadband DATA Act.
"NTCA thanks Chairman Roger F. Wicker (R-Miss.) and the other sponsors of the Broadband DATA Act for their continued leadership to make meaningful reforms to our federal broadband mapping systems and their efforts to engage those small businesses that deliver rural broadband in crafting solutions. Providing high-speed broadband in rural territories presents unique challenges, including the role mapping plays in the distribution of critical resources needed to build and sustain broadband in rural America.
Currently, maps show services as available where consumers cannot get them at all, and in other places they show speeds available at levels that cannot consistently be delivered. It is a serious concern when 'false positives' can result in a denial of funding, while 'false negatives' can result in a waste of funding on duplicative networks. By improving these maps, we ensure that public resources and private investment efforts can be better focused on the mission of closing the digital divide.”
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