Thousands Of LIers Not Getting Internet They Pay For: Schumer

Hundreds of thousands of Long Islanders are likely not getting the internet speeds they are paying for, according to Sen. Charles Schumer and a study conducted by Microsoft.

At a press conference on Sunday, Schumer said that a recent report by Microsoft calls into question the way the FCC reports on broadband coverage, collects the information that delivers the data and regulates broadband provider’s advertising of internet speeds. In response, Schumer wants internet providers to accurately report their speeds and provide better coverage to customers.

“While we live in an era of faster and faster, the reality of internet speed across New York is that it may move more like molasses than lighting,” Schumer said.

Schumer is urging the FCC to conduct a thorough review into the huge disparity between the provider-supplied data and the data generated by specific households and their internet devices via the Microsoft study. Specifically, Schumer is calling into question federal policy that allows providers to account for areas where they are not actually providing service. In fact, service providers can use the coverage of one household in a census block to account for coverage throughout the entire area, Schumer said. The FCC then uses this data, which is self-reported by providers, to assess the state of broadband access in America and complete its annual broadband report.

The disparity between the numbers the FCC reports and the numbers from the Microsoft study is huge, Schumer said. According to the FCC, there are no customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties without true broadband, or who are getting speeds at less than advertised.

The Microsoft study, however, paints a very different picture. It says that 9 percent of Nassau residents and 20 percent of Suffolk residents aren't getting the speeds they're paying for. That comes out to 436,000 people.

“The FCC needs to account for the massive disparity in reported speeds and the real frustration of many New Yorkers who are at a net loss all around when their internet service is slow, possibly paying for speeds that are not as advertised and losing out on their own productivity," said Schumer. "The bottom line here is that if this is a problem in New York City, then this is a real issue across America.”