Congress Okays Broadband Data Bill
Sep 30, 2008
As you've undoubtedly noticed, the last several days have been particularly contentious for members of Congress who, thus far, have failed to reach agreement on legislation to address the credit crisis that's been battering Wall Street.
The financial meltdown has dominated recent reports about Capitol Hill, to say the least. Still, in the midst of that chaos, there is good news for supporters of the Broadband Data Improvement Act. The Senate and the House of Representatives both managed to pass their versions of the bill, on Friday and Monday respectively, and the legislation is now headed to a conference committee where members of both chambers will address the differences before sending it to the President for signature.
As its name implies, the purpose of the Broadband Data Improvement Act is to improve the quality of broadband data that is collected in the United States so state and national policymakers are better informed about the state of broadband deployment.
The bill's passage coincided with the Broadband Census for America conference, which was held in D.C. last Friday. The 1/2 day event focused on best practices for collecting and sharing public data about broadband access. You can read more from conference attendees, Susan Crawford and Cynthia Brumfield.
Data measurement and collection will also be one of the topics we examine at our first-ever Regional Broadband Innovation Summit & Expo, which will take place in Silicon Valley on April 22, 2009.
Tags:
broadband, Broadband Census, broadband data, broadband speed, RBI Summit
