Political Quotes

“Access to high-speed internet is absolutely essential in today's economy. It is the key component to our Nation's innovation infrastructure. Yet, on Tribal lands across this country, a digital divide exists. According to the estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau, only 53 percent of Native Americans living on Tribal lands have access to high-speed internet, compared to 82 percent of households nationally. A recent report by the Government Accountability Office examined how the Federal Communications Commission collects, validates, and uses data on broadband availability. It found that the FCC overstates the availability of broadband internet service on Tribal lands. For example, if a service provider reports that it could provide broadband service internet access to at least one location in a census block, the FCC considers broadband to be ``available'' in that census block. That doesn't make much sense, and the GAO agreed. It found that the FCC's available status is applied too broadly, sometimes including communities without infrastructure that connects homes to a service provider's network. It also found that the FCC does not collect information on factors such as affordability, quality, and denials of service. FCC data that accurately captures the availability of broadband is critical because the Federal Government relies on the data to make important investments.…”