WASHINGTON—Spurred by the coronavirus pandemic, federal policy makers are pushing to spend billions of dollars to close gaps in America’s high-speed internet network.
There is one big obstacle: Government officials say they don’t have a clear picture of where service gaps exist, meaning parts of the country will be left out when it is time to distribute the funds.
While the Federal Communications Commission estimates more than 94% of Americans—or about 309 million people—have access to high-speed internet services, it acknowledges that number is based on flawed data from internet-service providers.
The FCC requires these companies to report that they serve a census block if they can reach even a single home or business there. That means if one of your neighbors has a broadband connection, the FCC might count your house as having broadband, too—even if the local internet-service provider can’t reach you.
Citing concerns about the data, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel wants to delay plans to auction $16 billion to internet-service providers this October to upgrade broadband infrastructure in rural areas.
“You don’t manage problems you cannot measure,” Ms. Rosenworcel said in an interview. She wants the auction delayed until the FCC has accurate maps of existing service areas.
As a Democrat on the Republican-controlled commission, Ms. Rosenworcel is unlikely to prevail. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai says even with the data problems, the auction will benefit many communities and should move forward on schedule.
“The choice we face as a nation is simple: Do we help them now, or do we delay relief until we can determine who else needs help, too? To me, rural America has waited long enough,” he said in a statement, adding that the FCC can fill in remaining service gaps when it has better data.
The flawed service data has persisted through multiple administrations. Twenty years ago, when the FCC began collecting the broadband data, it was designed as a big-picture tool for monitoring the market for voice and internet service, said Carol Mattey, a telecom consultant and former FCC official. “It was never intended at its inception to be the tool for deciding which areas got funding,” she said.
Congress passed a law earlier this year ordering the FCC to start collecting better data. But the law removed the agency’s preferred funding source for the work and didn’t appropriate new funding.
Lawmakers say they want to get the FCC the money it needs. The HEROES Act, House Democrats’ pandemic-response bill passed on May 15, would give the agency $24 million to improve broadband data. The bill would also speed up funding to some areas.
Separately, House Democrats have proposed an additional $80 billion for broadband infrastructure. The GOP-controlled Senate hasn’t taken up any of the proposals.
Brandon McGowen is among the many Americans clamoring for broadband who could miss out as a result of the flawed data.
The bank technology officer has struggled to work from his Puxico, Mo., home during the pandemic, adding to his longtime frustration with the speeds AT&T Inc. offers him via DSL technology, which sends internet signals over copper telephone wires.
SEMO Electric Cooperative, a power company serving southeast Missouri, is planning on seeking FCC funding this fall to build a high-speed fiber cable that would reach Mr. McGowen and many others. Mr. McGowen says he would subscribe in a heartbeat.
But a competing company, BPS Networks, has told the FCC it is serving Mr. McGowen’s area with high-speed broadband, along with many other census blocks across rural Missouri and Arkansas, via tower-mounted “fixed wireless” signals. BPS is owned by FDF Communications Co.
Mr. McGowen said he recently called BPS inquiring about service. The company surveyed his property, and the service technician’s report confirmed the problem, according to a copy viewed by The Wall Street Journal: “No signal, too many trees,” it reads.
Nevertheless, BPS’s claim to serve the area could mean SEMO Electric can’t seek federal dollars for a fiber line down Mr. McGowen’s street. The project could be delayed for years, said SEMO Electric CEO Sean Vanslyke. “The impact on our region would be devastating,” he said.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office sent BPS a letter on May 7 questioning its claims.
Reached for comment, BPS President W.F. Provance pointed to a May 6 letter the company sent to the FCC, saying BPS is following the agency’s directions and is capable of providing broadband in the census blocks where it is claiming service.
The FCC is reviewing BPS’s claims as well as those from other companies about changes in their service territories since the middle of 2019. If the agency accepts all the claims, that could reduce the size of the October auction by about 9%, according to Conexon LLC, a consulting firm that helps electric cooperatives build fiber networks.
In Chisago County, Minn., about a 40-minute drive from Minneapolis, many residents are desperate for faster internet. One local internet provider, Frontier Communications Corp., has a reputation among residents for poor service, said Nancy Hoffman, executive director of the county’s economic development authority.
Frontier, which filed for bankruptcy in April, told the FCC that it covers much of Chisago County with 25-megabit-per-second download speeds, the FCC’s minimum for advanced broadband.
Data from Ookla LLC, owner of Speedtest.net, show some consumers experienced that speed but the average download speed for Frontier customers in Chisago County was just 12 megabits per second since June 30, 2019.
In a statement, Frontier said it has been upgrading its infrastructure and stands by its service claims, which it said are “consistent with FCC requirements.”
Frontier’s service report to the FCC could end up blocking parts of Chisago County from receiving funding in the October auction, though the company told the FCC in a letter Saturday it would welcome including the areas in the auction. It made similar reports across 29 states.