FCC Complaint Accuses AT&T of Refusing to Upgrade Poor Areas AT&T is facing a formal FCC complaint after reports emerged suggesting AT&T refused to upgrade lower-income areas in Cleveland. Last month, The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) and a group called Connect Your Community (CYC) issued a report using FCC data to highlight AT&T's refusal to upgrade poor areas of Cleveland. The groups state that AT&T is simply refusing to to upgrade to VDSL across the majority of Cleveland Census blocks, "including the overwhelming majority of blocks with individual poverty rates above 35%."

The groups argued that compiled FCC data in map form, like the one to the left, speaks for itself. Now AT&T is facing a looming lawsuit over its alleged "redlining," and a new complaint filed at the FCC on the behalf of three low-income African American residents of Cleveland. The three complainants state that "wealthier and predominantly white areas have gotten premium upgradable high speed broadband access at bullet speed," while the three complainants "receive slow speeds at a rate as low as 1.5 mbps downstream or less, although they pay AT&T for high speed access." They're asking for a hearing at the FCC in front of an Administrative law Judge. AT&T, as you might expect, insists it has done nothing wrong. "The report does not accurately reflect the investment we've made in bringing faster internet to urban and rural areas across the U.S.," an AT&T spokesperson said when the initial allegations were leveled. "While we are investing in broadband, we’re also investing in technologies that will mitigate some of the infrastructure limitations.” The groups discovered AT&T's avoidance of low-income areas when digging into the company's "Access," program, a condition of its DirecTV megrer purportedly providing discounted $10 broadband to low-income communities. But there too the groups say AT&T over-promised and under-delivered, intentionally refusing to provide the discounted option to users on DSL lines slower than 3 Mbps -- in order, purportedly -- to limit the total volume of potential applicants. That said, another study out of California several months ago also argued that AT&T's doing the same thing in that state when it comes to its deployment of next-generation gigabit-capable fiber. "The findings show that the early deployment of the company’s “gigapower” all-fiber service is concentrated in wealthier communities, relegating lower-income neighborhoods to less advanced technologies that offer markedly slower speeds," notes the report. "Drawing on newly-released FCC data, the report highlights income-based disparities in service across 71 percent of California, or 56 California counties in which AT&T provides wireline phone and internet service." ISPs have long vehemently denied that income or race plays any role in determining which areas get upgraded, but just as consistently refuse to "show their math" when it comes to how they determine the best ROI for future targeted deployments. ISPs have long vehemently denied that income or race plays any role in determining which areas get upgraded, but just as consistently refuse to "show their math" when it comes to how they determine the best ROI for future targeted deployments.







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Most recommended from 32 comments



TIGERON

join:2008-03-11

Boston, MA 23 recommendations TIGERON Member Pathetic Considering that AT&T takes taxpayer funds to expand broadband to all areas it serves, and the CEO makes nearly $25 million a year this does not surprise me. existenz

join:2014-02-12 14 recommendations existenz Member KC has a good case study..



Select ISP in the legend icon to center left of map..

»kcdigital.xaqt.com/#/KC/ ··· nclusion Here is a map of Kansas City area (Missouri side) that shows various ISP speeds down to block level and income levels. Charter/TWC and Google Fiber has upgraded/installed in the lowest income areas but ATT only has 3-6Mbps available while upgrading to Gigapower in higher income areas.Select ISP in the legend icon to center left of map.. Sircolby45

join:2010-12-03 10 recommendations Sircolby45 Member Well... I mean...this one actually kind of makes sense to me. It doesn't make a whole lot of business sense to spend a bunch of money on infrastructure in areas that probably can't afford the product anyway. If you have X amount of dollars per year to invest in infrastructure you are obviously going to spend it where you are most likely to get a return on your investment.

battleop

join:2005-09-28

00000 5 recommendations battleop Member ENOUGH! I'm fed up with every thing being turned into some sort of race issue. There are more poor white people than poor black people. Stop trying to make everything look like it's some decision based on any other color than green.