• September 30, 2008

Congress has passed the Broadband Data Improvement Act which requires the government to keep closer tabs on who has access to the Internet and who does not, according to The Associated Press.

The bill passed both houses of Congress, with the Senate approving a final version Tuesday on a voice vote. The legislation requires the FCC to conduct consumer surveys of broadband use in urban, suburban and rural areas, as well as large and small business markets. Survey questions will include the cost of access and data transmission speeds. The agency must then compile a list of locales that lack broadband service and determine population and income levels in those areas.

The bill also requires the Census Bureau to add questions about Internet. It also orders the Government Accountability Office to study broadband speeds and costs and to compare the ''availability and quality of broadband offerings'' in the U.S. to other industrialized nations.--Tanya Irwin