WASHINGTON, July 10, 2025 – Enhanced federal data collection was needed to strengthen broadband program design and reduce connectivity barriers, a report published Tuesday by the Pew Research Center declared.
While the federal government has poured significant funding into broadband expansion – spending $44 billion from 2015 to 2020 alone to construct new networks, ensure internet affordability, and instill digital skills, per a 2022 Government Accountability Office report – broadband policy still lacks the tools needed to effectively target funding, pinpoint coverage gaps, and evaluate strategies for achieving universal access.
“Limitations in federal data collection make it more difficult for policymakers, researchers, and local-level broadband advocates and nonprofits to consistently identify and address gaps in broadband availability, adoption, and affordability,” the report authored by Colby Humphrey, an officer of broadband access at Pew, states. Furthermore, “incomplete information can make it difficult for lawmakers to understand the effects of policy, and for government entities to enforce grant recipients’ program requirements.”
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Currently, limited demographic data about broadband users is available through the U.S. Census Bureau, with information provided by the Federal Communications Commission, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and U.S. Department of Agriculture.
However, the study claims that a “pressing need” exists for national datasets about broadband pricing, network quality, consumers’ digital skills, and more, especially in light of the reporting requirements placed on state broadband offices as a part of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. The BEAD program requires states to collect data about broadband access and adoption, as well as demonstrate the impact of both on outcomes related to economic growth, education, healthcare, and civic participation by 2030.
Study identifies four major issues pertaining to broadband data collection
First, limitations in geographic and household data.
Federal data on broadband access and adoption is based on broad geographic units – such as counties, ZIP codes, or census tracts – rather than individual households, thereby excluding key information and resulting in misfit policies. Additionally, the way geographic regions are defined and the categorization of household data (i.e. income or number of residents) varies between data sources, making it difficult to combine or compare datasets for evaluation.
The report explains that, “this lack of standardization has led to inaccuracies in measuring the impact of broadband and the gaps in coverage, which is particularly problematic for federally funded projects that rely on accurate mapping data for broadband investment; these projects could misappropriate funds because of the data’s shortcomings.”
Second, a lack of reliability in federal data for evaluation purposes.
Because the federal government relies on information reported by internet service providers, there are concerns about bias and a lack of transparency in data pertaining to broadband availability and network performance. Most federal data also excludes a major measure – price – making it difficult to assess how affordable broadband service is for customers across the country.
Third, inconsistent definitions across agencies.
Different federal agencies and data sources use different definitions when collecting and reporting broadband data, limiting the usefulness of the data by making it more difficult to compare. Several federal sources do not specify which broadband technologies (like fiber, cable, satellite, or fixed wireless), making it hard to correlate network performance and household internet use.
Fourth, a lack of consistent impact assessments.
The current data limitations make it difficult to determine where affordable broadband is available, or how affordability is even defined. With no standardized approach for tracking how broadband adoption changes over time, researchers cannot fully understand the benefits of broadband access across key areas like economic growth, healthcare, education, and civic life.
The Pew report establishes that these gaps in data collection result in three broad shortcomings: the potential misallocation of public resources; limitations in connecting public investments to desired societal outcomes; and inefficiencies in program implementation and evaluation.
“Shortcomings in federal data suggest that more could be done at the federal level to equip implementation and evaluation efforts,” the report concludes. “By providing the tools needed to evaluate the relationship between connectivity and socioeconomic outcomes, policymakers could build broader consensus across government and industry on the importance of sustained investments in broadband.”