FCC's latest broadband report

The FCC releases regular reports on broadband penetration. The latest installment can be found here, and the press release and summary, here. The report shows a 33% increase in broadband connectivity in 2005 over previous years. In their summary, they point out

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

This raises some questions ... for example, how good is "at least one high speed connection in service to an end user" in a zip code as a measure of penetration, or as a measure of closing the digital divide? Also, the FCC includes satellite service as a broadband technology ... can you provide equivelent services over satellite as you can over terrestrial technologies? Why or why not?

As it happens, the CRTC (Canada) released a similar report today. How do the reports compare? Does one report provide better information than the other? How is this information differential useful for policy makers?

Technorati Tags:
FCC, broadband, digital divide, Internet, Canada