Ajit Pai touted false broadband data despite clear signs it wasn't accurate
Ajit Pai touted false broadband data despite clear signs it wasn’t accurate

          
          
Although the FCC is trying to fine BarrierFree for submitting inaccurate data, the commission is not penalizing the ISP for failing to submit over 10 years' worth of required Form 477 reports.
"The Pai FCC slept on BarrierFree's repeated violation of FCC rules," Free Press Research Director Derek Turner told Ars, calling the FCC's attempt to downplay its own role in spreading inaccurate data "shameful."
FCC staff flagged “inaccurate” data in 2018
BarrierFree began serving customers in Suffolk County, New York, in May 2004 but did not submit any of the required Form 477 filings for more than a decade because, it later told the FCC, it thought the filings were voluntary unless an ISP was applying for government grants, the FCC said in the Notice of Apparent Liability.
FCC staff emailed BarrierFree in November 2015, saying that the ISP's attempt to finally submit a Form 477 report was incomplete and "further action is needed." FCC staff contacted BarrierFree again in January 2016, saying that "For filings that are valid and remain un-submitted, please keep in mind that your company may be referred to the Enforcement Bureau for non-compliance."
BarrierFree finally submitted a complete Form 477 filing in March 2018, reporting widespread deployment in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states despite only serving customers in one part of New York. The filing set off alarm bells among FCC staff for several reasons, such as the ISP claiming that it had more residential broadband connections in one Long Island census tract than the number of actual household units in the tract.
Here's what happened next, according to the FCC:
On June 5, 2018, [FCC] staff notified BarrierFree of "certain items in your filing which are unusual and potentially inaccurate, and corrections may be necessary." On July 31, 2018, staff repeated that admonition.
On July 11, 2018, Commission staff issued a Public Notice reminding Form 477 filers that the next filing would be due no later than September 4, 2018. On August 29, 2018, staff emailed BarrierFree that there was a "FILING DUE DATE APPROACHING." On September 18, 2018, staff again informed BarrierFree that "FILING DUE DATE MISSED... POTENTIAL ENFORCEMENT ACTION: Please note that the Commission tracks filers who consistently file Form 477 after the deadline. Failure to file FCC Form 477 in a timely manner may result in fines and penalties." And on October 15, 2018, staff reiterated that admonition.
BarrierFree did not make the required September 2018 filing, the FCC said. FCC staff sent another warning to BarrierFree on February 19, 2019 about the upcoming March 2019 deadline. Yet on the very same day, the FCC chairman's office issued a press release touting the draft report that included deployment data inflated by BarrierFree's incorrect March 2018 filing. "This report shows that our approach is working," Pai said in the press release.

          
                  