Broadband Mapping: Treasure for a New Age

In the olden days, explorers paid a lot of money for maps that they hoped would lead to buried treasure. Things apparently haven’t changed too much from the days of Hernando Cortez and Ponce de Leon, as broadband mapping companies hope to find their pot of gold – or at least a respectable return -- from creating maps that the government will use to judge broadband stimulus applications.

The issue is highly contentious, however. While broadband mapping has been ongoing for years, it became a far more interesting industry segment when The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 became law. ARRA includes $7.2 billion to extend broadband access to areas – mostly rural – that are underserved or unserved today. ARRA also mandates $350 million for creation of broadband maps that can nail down more precisely where the billions of dollars should go.

This makes perfect sense, of course. It’s illogical to try to fix a problem or meet a challenge if the precise nature of what is in play isn’t known. “If you want to develop the right broadband technology, you have to do a thorough needs assessment,” says Craig Settles, a consultant who works in the sector. “To walk into some place and spend a bunch of money to build or buy technology without understanding the needs of the people involved is a crap shoot.”

It’s a vital job, and much of the effectiveness of the broadband stimulus will depend on how well the mapping is done. “If it is not worked out right, it will be a mess. There’s no doubt about that,” says Art Brodsky, the communications director for Public Knowledge, an advocacy group.

The maps will be created on a state-by-state basis and integrated into a single national broadband map. A fight has broken out among companies that want to provide the state-level mapping services. The battle pits the biggest of the mapping firms – telecommunication industry-backed Connected Nation – against many of the other organizations and companies that want a slice of the business.

Tight Timeframes

It is important to consider the context. The ARRA assigns fulfillment of the mapping requirements to the National Telecommunication Information Administration (NTIA, which is part of the Department of Commerce). The NTIA’s Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) also sets a tight timeframe for such a big job: Data for the map is to be collected by March 1, 2010, and the national broadband map is to be finished by February 17, 2011.

So the states are scrambling, and the company with the biggest profile – quite an advantage in a chaotic environment – is Connected Nation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that grew out of a project early in the decade called ConnectKentucky. The organization, according to National Policy Director for Finance Phillip Brown, has been designated or is working with designees in 12 states and one territory. That number will grow as the industry states try to meet the deadlines set by the NOFA.

Connected Nation is allowed to apply for broadband mapping under ARRA because it is a public/private partnership that runs its mapping business as a non-profit. The criticism is that major carriers and industry groups – including Verizon, Comcast, AT&T, the CTIA – The Wireless Association, the National Cable Telecommunications Association, the TIA, and the US Telecom Association  – are on the board of directors and the organization’s advisory council. Indeed, Settles calls Connected Nation “essentially a PR group for the telecom industry” that was able to tilt the legislation in its favor.

In addition to its board and advisory council membership, Connected Nation is partially funded by telecommunications companies. In an e-mail response to an inquiry, a Connected Nation press contact wrote that the organization’s funding sources are half public and half private. The e-mail says that less than 6 percent of private funding comes from the telecommunications companies. “The perception has been put out there that the bulk of our funding comes from the private sector and broadband providers. That’s not true,” Brown says.

Critics say that the relationships suggest a conflict of interest, since the incumbent telecommunications companies would benefit by the amount and speed of broadband connectivity being overstated. The idea is that the higher the data rates and more extensive the footprint are in a certain area, the less likely it is that NTIA will approve of a project. Thus, relying on maps from a provider closely aligned with companies with a keen interest in the findings raises eyebrows.

Indeed, the critics are not shy about saying that something untoward is going on. Vince Jordan, the president and CEO of broadband engineering, construction and management firm RidgeviewTel, says that Connected Nation isn’t doing a thorough job. “These guys basically are taking whatever the telco and cable guys feed them and regurgitate it, and say that’s where the coverage is,” he says.

Data that is given by carriers to the broadband mapping companies is protected under non-disclosure agreements. Thus, actual cases in which speeds are overstated are impossible to identify. But appearances are vital. Drew Clark, the editor and executive director of BroadbandCensus, a news and commercial data services organization, says he believes that the telecommunications carriers shouldn’t be in the broadband mapping business, even indirectly.

“I personally believe that broadband data needs to be collected independently of the carriers and incumbent interests,” he says. “You need to have an alternative to a group that is focused on the incumbents to get independent measures of broadband data.”

The fear is that the good intentions of the broadband element of the stimulus can be waylaid by the intricate political maneuvers. Brodsky doesn’t pull his punches. He says that the effectiveness of the broadband stimulus hangs in the balance, and that whether applications from Connected Nation are accepted will be the key. “If the NTIA accepts Connected Nation’s applications – with their caveats and hidden data – I fear for the worst,” he says.

Connected Nation: Standing on Its Record

Not surprisingly, Connected Nation thinks the criticisms are unfounded. Brown defends the relationships with the carriers as the best way in which to get them to agree to the NDAs. “For us, it has not been necessary to use a stick,” he says. “Because we have always worked on demand creation, the carrot has worked.”

Brown stands behind Connected Nation’s track record. He says mapping organizations are mandated to grant NDAs to telecommunications companies that ask for them under rules set by the NTIA. Brown adds that information contributed by the telecommunications firms is verified in a number of ways, from information provided by customers on their broadband speeds to engineering tests by Connected Nation engineers.

In the bigger picture, Brown says he sees the smoke but has trouble finding the fire in the criticisms: “If the critics are not directly saying that Connected Nation misrepresented information on its maps, I am trying to figure out exactly what we’re being accused of. What’s the criticism?”

The next few months will be vital to the success of the broadband element of the stimulus package. It is certain that some people in rural and underserved areas will be helped. The effectiveness of the broadband mapping project will go a long way to determining if the $7.2 billion investment is maximized.