From the moment the FCC announced in 2022 that its new and improved Broadband Data Collection was ready for Internet Service Providers to submit information about where and how they could deliver broadband service to American households, policy analysts and researchers around the country knew we would be in for a rough ride.
The federal government is capable of collecting good, useful data — just not, it seems, when it comes to Internet service.
For the 22 years prior, the FCC's Form 477 existed only as a vague gesture towards what could be done if only we cared.
But, it was mostly a reminder instead of the regulatory capture that prevented location-level service, pricing, and a host of other — actually useful — data to inform better policy.
Four years later, it's become clear that the new federal broadband data collection is slightly better in some ways, still refuses to collect basic metrics that would create a more competitive marketplace for citizens, and as a whole is a complex animal hamstrung by complexity, arbitrary decisions, and operability problems that make this work difficult in manifold of new ways.
And so, when researchers and analysts go to use those data that describe infrastructure funding programs, Internet availability, Internet performance, service providers, and even the universe of locations where high-speed Internet could be served, they often run into problems large and small. At the same time, despite working with the same data, researchers can be found across many different environments and roles — from city information systems departments, to university scholars, to consultants, to policy wonks - and rarely have the opportunity to interact with each other.
This policy space is calling desperately for a formal community of practice, where broadband data researchers across all sectors can compare notes, share tools, and troubleshoot with one another. Even with attempts by Congress to force improvement, it's clear we shouldn't expect them anytime soon, if ever.
Therefore, ILSR is happy to announce the launch and first meeting of the Broadband Data and Policy Forum (BDPF), hosted by the Institute and formed by members of the Broadband Commons, to work towards this goal.
The group will host monthly meetings, workshops, and annual networking events. It is free and open to anyone who works with broadband — or nearby — datasets. We'd love to have you join!
Each monthly virtual meeting will be organized around a theme — such as a new dataset, an analytical challenge, or relevant policy issue. These meetings will include presentation and discussion sessions. The first meeting is September 9th at 3pm ET.
Find the join link and add yourself to the listserv. Check out the page for resources, updates, and more.
We’re planning to offer live workshops (beginning in 2027) with Q & A to provide guided, hands-on training on working with broadband data. Workshop leaders will be experts within the broadband data ecosystem, and training will be designed to meet folks where they are in their technical capacity.
