Previously, I have discussed the state of our domestic broadband offerings and the danger it poses to future generations’ ability to innovate and compete in the world market. Prices are high for services which are slow… and this is all compared to what you can get in Lithuania! In the process I directed your attention to this piece, written by FCC member Michael J. Copps in last November’s Washington Post which tells the story behind why the US ranks 15th worldwide in broadband Internet adoption.

Well, here is the next chapter, but this time it directly involves the FCC. Nate Anderson (from ArsTechnica), wrote on Monday about the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) taking the FCC to task in federal court to release their database of Form 477 filings.

“CPI wants the FCC database of Form 477 filings. These documents are filed with the FCC by every telecom company in the US, and they give the agency data on each company’s line deployments, broken down by ZIP code (and generally unaudited by the FCC).”

The FCC is protesting, saying this will reveal confidential competitive information about all carriers and their future plans. Every major telecommunications’ lobbying group agree. However, The CPI may have a good point here. They want to determine, for themselves, how competitive the broadband market really is and need to data to do so.

This is a crucial step in the process to increase competition, thus improving services while decreasing costs to consumers and companies. The problem is that the GAO (the federal agency in charge of internal auditing) has repeatedly chastised the FCC for its inaccurate reporting of actual broadband availability and adoption. However, without these filings, there is no way to hold the broadband providers accountable. If successful, the CPI hopes to publish the data on its telecommunications/technology/media information site.

IV works with all of these carriers on a daily basis and some of our revenue is derived from these partnerships. Why, you ask would be we want to encourage the release of this information? Because not only is widespread broadband adoption necessary, but crucial for the US to remain competitive in the global marketplace. This will help us all! I will say it again: The US is currently ranked 15th in the world in broadband adoption and will only drop in these standings if competition continues to remain stagnant (with the help of the FCC). Will we be hearing more about this or will it be swept under the rug with a handshake? Thanks to the CPI, I think it might have a chance in the national spotlight.