GOP Senators: Biden Deliberately Excluding Satellite, Wireless From Broadband Count

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2, 2024 – Three Senate Republicans claim the Biden Administration is deliberately undercounting the number of U.S internet subscribers by adopting a methodology designed to exclude satellite and wireless users.

The GOP Senators – Ted Cruz of Texas, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee – said they discovered the alleged undercount in the fine print of Project LEIA (Local Estimates of Internet Adoption) under development by the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Census Bureau.

"While the Project LEIA website claims its estimates offer reliable data on internet adoption for all U.S. counties, it fails to mention the exclusion of millions of American households who rely on wireless and satellite technologies for internet access," said the GOP lawmakers, all members of the Commerce Committee. "This omission results in systemic undercounting and data bias. When the data are wrong, policy outcomes will inevitably suffer."