Yet another report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) shows that the federal broadband funding apparatus continues to be fragmented, likely wasting a significant amount of taxpayer money in the process.

This is the third time in the past decade that the GAO has examined the issue, finding much inefficiency in how taxpayer funds are used to expand high-speed internet access. In its 2022 report, the GAO found that 15 agencies administer more than 100 different broadband programs.

Some of the broadband programs primarily focus on broadband deployment while other programs provide funding that can be used for multiple purposes, including offering internet devices, making service more affordable, and building digital skills.

That GAO report indicated that the billions of taxpayer dollars already spent on broadband haven’t been very effective. “Despite numerous programs and federal investment [of] $44 billion from 2015 through 2020, millions of Americans still lack broadband, and communities with limited resources may be most affected by fragmentation.”

The latest report indicates that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Treasury, which administer the bulk of federal broadband funding, have only generally followed two and partially followed six of eight leading collaboration practices suggested by the GAO. 

Those agencies got positive marks from the federal auditor for written agreements to guide coordination and regularly meeting and leveraging maps to share data and help avoid duplicate funding.

But, the GAO found the agencies lacking in several other areas. The office noted that:

•  The agencies have not clearly defined key areas of their collaborations, including what data to include about their broadband deployment projects.
•  Clear timelines have not been established by the agencies for providing data on funded projects.
•  The agencies have not documented a formal process to avoid duplicate funding of broadband projects.
• The FCC needs to better ensure the data it collects to identify unserved areas is complete, accurate, and reliable, given that the FCC and other agencies use that data to determine broadband funding decisions.

GAO said implementing such measures would “help ensure that billions of dollars in federal funding are spent efficiently and effectively to expand broadband access, including to areas with the greatest need.”

Better coordination is key to minimize taxpayer waste, especially given the current implementation of the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which is administered by the NTIA.

Some movement is afoot at the FCC and in Congress to help tackle some of the issues brought up by the GAO, although progress has proven slow among lawmakers.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has begun a deregulatory initiative called “Delete, Delete, Delete” to eliminate some of the regulatory red tape that has hampered efforts to close the digital divide. Carr’s March notice pointed out that “unnecessary rules may stand in the way of deployment, expansion, competition, and technological innovation in communications that the Commission is directed to advance.”

The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) filed comments in the proceeding, suggesting changes by the FCC that include the elimination of broadband labels, which have proven more cumbersome than useful for consumers.

On Capitol Hill, Reps. August Pluger, R-Texas, and Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., introduced the bipartisan PROTOCOL Act, which aims to increase coordination and transparency by enhancing and aligning the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Locations Map with the NTIA’s Broadband Infrastructure Funding Database.

Aligning those maps would provide a searchable and filterable database for national broadband investments. The bill would require the FCC to collect a variety of information to help stakeholders and the public to easily access a wide range of data, better identify unserved or underserved areas, and pinpoint programs that are running inefficiently.

In its support of the bill, TPA and other groups noted that “as stakeholders, we know that the roots of duplication take hold when agencies fail to communicate and coordinate their efforts. With so many programs and agencies involved, it is crucial to enact legislation that creates an information clearinghouse.”

Congress has yet to act on PROTOCOL. It was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce after being introduced last September, but no further action has been taken. In that way, it is unfortunately similar to the lack of action by federal agencies on previous GAO recommendations.

Both efforts aim to eliminate waste, but both endeavors seem stuck on neutral. For the sake of taxpayers and those Americans still on the wrong side of the digital divide, hopefully positive traction will occur during the remainder of 2025.

Johnny Kampis is director of telecom policy for the Taxpayers Protection Alliance