Tonko Calls On FCC Chair For Access Innovation: ‘We Are Still Seeing The Effects Of Unreliable Data’

last month

On Tuesday, Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) questioned the FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel on broadband maps durign a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing.

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00:00of the subcommittee, who is a member of the full committee.

00:05Thank you, Chair Lata and Ranking Member Matsui

00:07for holding this hearing, and the chair and commissioners

00:11for your service in being here today.

00:13Before I go on with my questioning,

00:15Chair Rosenworcel, I think you wanted

00:17to make a statement in response to the AI issue yet.

00:22I just think transparency is a good thing.

00:24Disclosing when AI use is a good thing,

00:26and the FCC has authority in this area

00:28and has had authority since the 1930s.

00:31Throughout my tenure in Congress,

00:33I have championed efforts to extend broadband access

00:37to unserved and underserved areas.

00:39Last Congress, I was proud to support

00:40the bipartisan infrastructure law, which

00:43allocated over $42 billion for high-speed broadband

00:46deployment nationwide.

00:48With these historic investments, accurate broadband maps

00:51are essential for the equitable and effective allocation

00:54of federal funds.

00:55Chairman Worsel, I appreciated your work

00:58on behalf of my district, visiting the district

01:01and listening carefully to what my constituents

01:04had to say about this issue, and I

01:06appreciate your written testimony

01:07on the national broadband map and commend

01:09the FCC for the substantial progress made

01:12in updating these maps over the past few years.

01:15However, in the capital region of New York,

01:17we are still seeing the effects of unreliable data.

01:19Communities often struggle with slow speeds,

01:22unreliable connections, or no service,

01:25despite being designated as having access.

01:28This disparity can hamper economic development

01:31and perpetuate systemic inequalities,

01:33widening the digital divide.

01:35So can you speak, please, Commissioner, Chair?

01:38Can you speak to how the FCC is incorporating

01:42consumer-reported data on broadband availability

01:45and quality into its mapping efforts

01:47and the role public feedback plays in efforts

01:49to refine our broadband maps?

01:53Yeah, public feedback is so important.

01:56We built maps based on the Broadband Data Act,

01:58which was bipartisan work of this committee.

02:01Those maps are light years ahead of anything

02:03we've ever had before, and they're iterative.

02:05They're improving all the time.

02:07The primary way that they improve

02:09is when consumers and state and local officials

02:12go onto that website and register a complaint

02:16or a criticism that says, you say there's service here,

02:18I'm standing right in that location, and no, there's not.

02:21I would encourage you to encourage your constituents

02:23to work with that map, and I'd be happy to set up times

02:26for them to discuss it with our broadband mapping team,

02:29because I know feedback from local individuals

02:31is the way we get this data right.

02:33Thank you so much.

02:33And can you discuss how the FCC collaborates

02:36with other federal agencies, state governments,

02:38and industry stakeholders

02:40to streamline broadband mapping efforts

02:42and ensure a cohesive approach

02:45to improving nationwide broadband access?

02:47Yeah, it's a really, really big task to be candid with you.

02:51When I got to the agency and I took over,

02:53one of the first things I did was said,

02:54okay, we're gonna do better maps, and then I studied it,

02:57and I instantly understood why nobody had done it before.

03:00We had to build a data set of tax records,

03:03property records, satellite images

03:05that indicated where every single household

03:07is in the United States.

03:08And then we had to build a system

03:10that was capable of taking in data from all of our carriers

03:13and then feedback and crowdsourced information

03:15from local, state, tribal, and consumers,

03:18all telling us what's going on.

03:21The system right now is terrific.

03:23We've got 115 million households

03:26that we indicate where broadband is.

03:28We know that in six million of them, it is not present,

03:31but it can always be improved.

03:33That's why we update it every six months.

03:35And coming out this week, in fact,

03:37is another rulemaking from the FCC

03:39that all my colleagues supported,

03:40which asks questions about

03:42how we improve this process further

03:43to make sure we take into account

03:46smarter approaches to things like fixed wireless

03:49and technologies that may not have been at the forefront

03:51when the Broadband Data Act was passed by this committee.

03:54Additionally, earlier this year,

03:55I was pleased to see your proposal

03:57to improve routing for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

04:01As a co-lead of the bipartisan 988 Lifeline Improvement Act,

04:05I am committed to ensuring that callers in crisis

04:08receive access to locally relevant mental health resources.

04:12In May, the KFF released an analysis

04:15of the utilization of 988's Suicide and Crisis Lifeline's

04:19LGBTQ service, showing that 10% of all 988 outreach

04:24was made via the LGBTQ service,

04:27but only 20% of LGBTQ adults

04:30were even aware of the 988 service.

04:32So, could you discuss any initiatives

04:34the FCC is undertaking to raise public awareness

04:37about the availability and purpose of 988,

04:40especially among vulnerable populations

04:42that may benefit most from the service?

04:46Yeah, well, first things first,

04:47we are seeing substantial increases in the use of 988,

04:50this simple three-digit number.

04:52More people understand it, more people know about it.

04:54We're getting many more calls than we previously did

04:57under the 10-digit number.

04:58That was hard for folks to remember.

05:01We're gonna have to work on publicizing it

05:03with mental health authorities.

05:05My colleagues and I have a lot of skills,

05:07but we are not mental health experts.

05:09So, we've been coordinating

05:10with the Health and Human Services Department

05:13and the Substance Abuse

05:14and Mental Health Services Agency there.

05:16And going forward, we're gonna work with them

05:17to make sure that calls are geo-routed.

05:20In other words, we get information off the cell tower

05:23so that when we send that 988 caller to a help center,

05:26they'll be sent to assistance that's nearby.

05:29Thank you so much, and Mr. Chair, you're back.

05:33Gentleman yields back.

Tonko Calls On FCC Chair For Access Innovation: ‘We Are Still Seeing The Effects Of Unreliable Data’

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