The Broadband Census of America Act (H.R. 3919), introduced by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), would have encouraged broadband deployment by creating a comprehensive nationwide inventory of existing broadband service. A companion bill, S. 1492, was introduced in the Senate. The bill was signed into law by President Bush in October 2008.

The bill would have produced a map to identify communities that are served by few or no broadband service providers. This data would then have been collected for every 9-digit ZIP code, census tract or “functional equivalent.”

Free Press strongly supported this bill.