Today, I testified before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce regarding broadband deployment – particularly to under-served and unserved areas – and the nation’s inventory of existing broadband service.

There is growing bi-partisan consensus on the importance of broadband investment, deployment, access and adoption. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Innovation Agenda and the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force both identify broadband deployment as a key national objective.

I told the House committee that I fully support their initiative to create a map to illustrate where Americans have access to advanced communications services and where they do not. This legislation - the proposed Broadband Census of America Act of 2007 - is aimed at pinpointing those areas. It’s a practical way to identify where resources need to be targeted.

In my testimony, I offered suggestions to the Committee on ways to accomplish this goal. These suggestions include:

1. The more comprehensive the map, the more useful it will be. Don’t redefine broadband and arbitrarily exclude some technologies, and, therefore, some areas from the mapping. The map should identify all the various offerings and providers so that policymakers can get a full picture of the marketplace.
2. Use models that are proven to work. ConnectKentucky, a group that also testified today, built a broadband map at the state level through public-private partnerships. This is the best approach to mapping.
3. We believe the Nine-digit ZIP codes won’t get the job done since they don’t correspond to service territories. What’s needed is to identify gaps, as was done in Kentucky.
4. International comparisons are important, but must be clear “apples-to-apples” comparisons that take into account geography and demographics.

I believe that efforts to better illuminate currently unconnected areas of the country are imperative to achieve universal broadband deployment. Truly universal access is a classic example of a national priority that takes public-private partnerships, commitment and innovation.

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