Broadband industry trade groups are hopping mad about a government report that says fast Internet service isn't being deployed to Americans quickly enough.

The Federal Communications Commission is required by Congress to determine annually whether broadband "is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion" and to take action to encourage deployment if the answer is negative. The FCC's latest report finds that access to broadband—defined as 25Mbps downstream and 3Mbps upstream—has improved significantly but still isn't reaching the whole country.

That's not what Internet service providers wanted to hear.

“Despite the significant, year-over-year advances in broadband capabilities underscored in the Commission’s own data, the conclusions of the FCC’s [Broadband Progress] Report continue an alarming trend of ignoring objectivity and facts in order to serve political ends and maximize agency power," the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) said today. The NCTA represents Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and many other cable companies.

The FCC says its conclusion is easily backed up by data. Since the latest data shows 10 percent of Americans live in areas where they can't buy home Internet service at broadband speeds, it's clear that broadband isn't being deployed to all Americans as the law requires, the commission says. The problem is even worse in rural areas and tribal lands, where about 40 percent lack access.

Broadband shortages helped justify an FCC decision to preempt state laws that limit municipal Internet projects last year. By again concluding that broadband isn't being deployed fast enough, the FCC may be paving the way for further actions.

USTelecom, a trade group that represents telcos of all sizes including AT&T and Verizon, also blasted the FCC for its latest broadband report.

“It would seem that the FCC’s report should carry the headline ‘our policies have failed’ since it concludes that six years after adoption of the national broadband plan, the commission’s actions haven’t produced even so much as a ‘reasonable’ level of broadband deployment," the group said. "But, of course, with more than $75 billion a year being invested by broadband providers, network capacity burgeoning, and speeds increasing exponentially... no one actually believes that deployment in the United States is unreasonable. Unfortunately, this annual process has become a cynical exercise, one that eschews dispassionate analysis, and is patently intended to reach a predetermined conclusion that will justify a continuing expansion of the agency’s own regulatory reach.”

AT&T claimed that "the FCC keeps moving the goal posts on their definition of broadband, apparently so they can continue to justify intervening in obviously competitive markets."

The FCC found that 20 percent of Americans could not buy 25Mbps/3Mbps broadband in 2012. That number dropped to 10 percent by the end of 2014, and that 10 percent represents 34 million Americans.

Both USTelecom and NCTA pointed out that another FCC report released December 30 found that ISPs are generally delivering the speeds they advertise.

"Private industry has invested over $1.4 trillion to build robust networks that reach most Americans and, as the Commission found just ten days ago, continue to significantly increase in speed and performance every year," the NCTA said. "The fact that the Commission released the positive Measuring Broadband America report without fanfare during the quietest week of the year while trumpeting its [broadband access] findings far and wide just two weeks later confirms that this report is more theater than substance.”

The findings of the two reports don't conflict, however. The first measured whether Internet providers deliver the speeds they advertise, and the second determined whether fast Internet speeds are being deployed to all Americans.

Consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge agreed with the FCC's conclusion.

"The Report looked at hard evidence and declines to ‘rubber stamp’ carriers’ claims of accessibility," Public Knowledge Staff Attorney Meredith Rose said. "This finding, and the data gathered for it, will allow policymakers to take an honest look at the broadband landscape and what needs to be done to ensure that all Americans have access to the quality broadband we need to ensure our digital future."

The FCC will vote January 28 on whether to issue the report as currently written.