Free Press sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission requesting that the agency grant interested parties access to their semi-annual data reporting requirement, known as form 477, which is collected to determine the extent of local telecommunications competition and deployment of broadband services.

This data was reported by all U.S. broadband providers last in late 2008, and is the first data collected since the Commission made major reforms to its broadband data collection practices.

In the request, Free Press notes that despite collecting new data that could be used to portray a more accurate picture of local broadband market, competition, and the factors driving deployment and adoption, the Commission's recently issued analysis makes relatively little use of the new information and duplicates the past errors of overstating the level of broadband deployment and competition.

The request asks the Commission to make the underlying data available to researchers who will sign a protective order to assuage any concerns about disclosure of confidential information. It also asks the Commission to justify its finding that the public release of the underlying data or aggregates of the data would cause “substantial harm to competition,” and thus require confidential treatment under the agency's rules.

Free_Press_Request_for_Protective_Order_on_Form_477_Data.pdf

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