The FCC today released their latest statistics on both broadband (pdf press release, report pdf) and local phone (pdf press release, report pdf) services. According to the report, there are now 50.2 million broadband lines in service, a 33% increase over last year. FCC stats show DSL "won" the year in net additions for the first time ever, adding 5.7 million new subscribers to cable's 4.2 million.

The FCC classifies broadband service lines as anything faster than 200kbps in at least one direction. A connection offering at least 200kbps in both directions is deemed an "advanced service line." "Of the 42.8 million advanced services lines reported as of December 31, 2005, 62.3% were at least 2.5 mbps in the faster direction and 37.7% were slower than 2.5 mbps in the faster direction," the agency reports. The low 200kbps water-mark has annoyed critics who suggest it should be raised to at least 1Mbps.

The FCC's measure of geographical (particularly rural) coverage has also been a sore point. The General Accounting Office recently issued a report (pdf) on broadband deployment in the United States, that criticized the FCC's determination of just how wired America is. The report recommended improvements that still have yet to be implemented.

"For its zip-code level data, the FCC collects data based on where subscribers are served, not where providers have deployed broadband infrastructure," the report noted. "Although it is clear that the deployment of broadband networks is extensive, the data may not provide a highly accurate depiction of local broadband infrastructures for residential service, especially in rural areas."

In other words, calling a zip-code "broadband wired" because one user in that zip code has service - then concluding from that data that 99% of the country is wired - might just not be an effective measurement of broadband penetration. Go figure.

While the report is slightly more nuanced this year, the FCC continues to use this criticized method:

"Providers list the Zip Codes in which they have at least one high-speed connection in service to an end user, and 99% of Zip Codes were listed by at least one provider. Our analysis indicates that more than 99% of the nation’s population lives in those Zip Codes. The most widely reported technologies by this measure were satellite (with at least some presence reported in 88% of Zip Codes), ADSL (in 82% of Zip Codes), and cable modem (in 57% of Zip Codes). ADSL and/or cable modem connections were reported to be present in 87% of Zip Codes."

As for incumbent coverage, the FCC states that DSL Is available to 78% of telco customers, and 93% of cable customers. As we recently reported, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas and Kentucky are in the worst shape when it comes to deployment, Nebraska having a paltry 52% DSL penetration rate.

These FCC reports were required as part of the 1996 Telecom act. If they show penetration issues (to say oh, rural America) the FCC is expected to "take immediate action to accelerate deployment of such capability." Critics (like Harvard's Scott Bradner) yearly argue that FCC statistics are skewed "up and to the right" in order to mask the results of deregulatory policy that is primarily aimed at benefiting incumbent provider pocketbooks.