Broadband Transparency and Accountability Act of 2019

Broadband Transparency and Accountability Act of 2019

This bill addresses how internet service providers report data on the availability of broadband across the country and how the federal government verifies and shares such data.

Specifically, the bill requires providers to report to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) data for each covered household in a census block showing

• average speed and price of broadband service;
• latency, or the delay before a transfer of data begins following an instruction for its transfer;
• denials of service and their reason; and
• type of broadband technology available.

Providers must also report data measuring the characteristics of broadband service as advertised and as delivered.

The FCC must make the collected data available to certain governmental entities, nonprofit organizations, and researchers.

Further, the bill requires the FCC to develop a searchable map of existing broadband service capability and availability.