It’s past time for Congress to improve the accuracy of broadband mapping, U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) said during a Sept. 11 congressional hearing on Capitol Hill.
“This is an issue I’ve been working on for two decades,” said Rep. Walden during a U.S. House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing entitled, Legislating to Connect America: Improving the Nation’s Broadband Maps.
“While market incentives have expanded broadband access and made communicating and participating in the 21st-century economy easier than ever before, much work remains to connect all Americans to high-speed broadband,” said Rep. Walden, ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “It’s past time to get accurate mapping data.”
During his opening comments, Rep. Walden highlighted some of the discrepancies that still exist around the country.
“Take the community of Weston in eastern Oregon as an example,” he said. “Mayor Jennifer Spurgeon describes their internet service as dial-up, just without the modem noise. They frequently experience sub-megabit speeds. You can imagine they are surprised to learn they have 100-megabit service according to the FCC’s map.”
The congressman also discussed the bipartisan progress that was made while he was chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, such as his bill, the Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services (RAY BAUM’S) Act, which was signed into law by the president in 2018.
Among numerous provisions, the bill improved the methodology for the collection of mobile service coverage, access to easements, rights-of-way, and lease requests for developing communications equipment on federal property, and improved the efficiency of spectrum allocations, according to his office.
“As we continue our oversight of RAY BAUM’S Act, as well as our efforts to spur broadband deployment in rural America, we must also ensure that the Universal Service program is efficiently and effectively reaching truly unserved areas,” he said.