Legislation would require the FCC to provide more detailed measurements of broadband availability in the U.S. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation that would provide for more detailed measurements of broadband availability in the U.S., a move applauded by groups that say current statistics are inaccurate.The Broadband Census of America Act, approved by the House Tuesday, would require the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to collect information on the number of broadband subscribers in each postal ZIP code. It would also require the FCC to separate broadband service into speed tiers when it reports broadband availability in annual reports, instead of classifying everything above 200Kbps as broadband.The bill, along with similar legislation pending in the U.S. Senate, addresses long-time criticisms about the FCC’s measurements. Currently, the FCC counts a ZIP code as served by broadband if just one residence has service, but critics say many ZIP codes are only partially served by broadband. In January, the FCC reported that broadband providers offered service in 99 percent of U.S. ZIP codes. The U.S. had 64.6 million broadband lines in mid-2006, up 24 percent from the end of 2005, according to the FCC.Critics, particularly Democrats in Congress and some consumer groups, have suggested that the statistics paint a rosier picture of broadband availability than actually exists. Representative Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat and chief sponsor of the Broadband Census of America Act, has also suggested that the FCC should classify broadband as connections of 2Mbps or faster.An FCC spokesman has noted that Chairman Kevin Martin launched an inquiry into the broadband measurement methods in April. The FCC has not yet completed its work in that inquiry. Markey’s bill would require the FCC to create a national map of broadband availability and it provides money for states to contribute to the broadband map. The bill includes $20 million a year for three years for the broadband maps and $50 million in 2008 for states to conduct assessments of broadband demands. The amount of the assessment grants would rise to $125 million in 2010.The bill would also require the FCC to make international comparisons to the speed and price of broadband available in the U.S.The Telecommunications Industry Association, a trade group representing telecom carriers and equipment vendors, and Public Knowledge, a public interest group, both praised the House passage of the legislation. “This bill is a vital building block to a more informed broadband policy,” said Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge. “The FCC for too long has used antiquated measurements to give an unrealistic picture of which areas have access to needed broadband services and which do not.”This story was updated on November 14, 2007 Technology Industry