Cable ISP fined $10,000 for lying to FCC about where it provides broadband

An Internet service provider that admitted to lying to the Federal Communications Commission about where it offers broadband will pay a $10,000 fine and implement a compliance plan to prevent future violations.

Jefferson County Cable (JCC), a small Internet service provider in Toronto, Ohio, admitted that it falsely claimed to provide fiber service in an area where it had not yet expanded. A company executive also admitted that the company provided false coverage statements to prevent other ISPs from receiving government grants to serve the area. Ars helped expose the incident in an article published in February 2023.

Federal Communications Commission The result was announced In its investigation on March 15, it said that Jefferson County Cable violated requirements of the Broadband Data Collection Program and the Broadband Data Act, a U.S. law, “in connection with the reporting of inaccurate information or data regarding the company’s ability to provide broadband Internet access service.” “.

“To settle this matter, Jefferson Cable District has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $10,000 to the United States Treasury,” the FCC said. “Jefferson County also agrees to implement enhanced compliance measures. This action will help advance the Commission's efforts to close the digital divide by obtaining accurate data on locations where broadband service is available.”

We also published reports in February 2023 detailing false broadband claims made by Comcast, which initially insisted that the false statements it made to the FCC were true. It is not yet clear whether Comcast will face any punishment.

Inaccurate claims for 1,500 addresses

The FCC order last week said Jefferson County Cable initially reported submitting 8,178 addresses for the commission's data collection on June 30, 2022. It then reduced that number to 6,605 addresses in the FCC's next round of data collection on December 31, 2022. .

Even the second lower number was higher than Jefferson County Cable's actual coverage. Following a letter from the FCC's Enforcement Bureau in March 2023, “Jefferson County Cable corrected its inaccurate submissions for both data filings by removing approximately 1,500 signatories from each of the relevant data filings on May 19, 2023,” it said. The FCC order said.

“At that time, the company was unable to provide broadband service at those locations or connect to them within 10 business days of requesting service, as required under broadband data collection rules,” the FCC said. “Jefferson County Cable acknowledged to the office that it did not take the time and effort necessary to review and understand the Commission’s guidance on broadband data collection recordings before submitting these two requests.”

Jefferson County Cable's false claims came to light thanks to Ryan Greuel, who runs a small wireless Internet service provider called Smart Way Communications. He heard about false claims from his clients and used… FCC mapping system. To submit appeals at specific addresses.

Damned email

One of Grewell's challenges at an address in Bergholz, Ohio, led to the cable company admitting its false claims. The FCC order last week said that address was one of 1,500 that were incorrectly claimed.

As we reported, Grewell got a response from a Jefferson County Cable executive who mistakenly believed Grewell was a potential customer rather than a competitor. Jefferson County Cable did not yet serve the area, but wanted to prevent potential competitors from receiving deployment grants, the email said.

“You have disputed that we do not have service at your residence, and in fact we do not have that service today,” the January 2023 email from Jefferson County Cable CEO Bob Loveridge said. “With our huge investments in raising the level of our services to provide com. xgpon We informed the BDC [Broadband Data Collection] That we have service at your residence so the addition is not customized [sic] Broadband expansion money is gone [the] On top of our own investment in our factory.”