While the FCC issues their bi-annual report on broadband penetration and gleefully declares all is well, dysfunctional methodology means state leaders really have no idea how deeply connectivity runs in their communities. As leaders try to shape broadband legislation they're noticing they can't make effective policy without accurate data (hello FCC), so they're heading into communities to measure connectivity. That's the first order of business for NY Governor Eliot Spitzer, who plans to offer pole and easement discounts to providers who push into rural areas.

Maryland lawmakers too are working to improve measurement, mandating in one case that ISPs better report on deployment, which terrifies the "regulation is akin to cancer" crowd. A bill being proposed would classify broadband as 768kbps (the FCC classifies it as 200kbps) and would force ISPs to detail each quarter where they're offering service, including how fast it is. Verizon and Comcast obviously oppose the bill, with one Verizon rep in the piece saying selective broadband deployment is "not part of Verizon’s corporate DNA."

Verizon has to cherry pick to some degree in order to offer FiOS in neighborhoods where demand is high and ROI is maximized. That said, there has to be some fairly sophisticated statistical analysis that goes into making neighborhood by neighborhood determinations, and we'd love to get our hands on the meeting minutes and spreadsheets involved.