By Kelcee Griffis

Law360 (April 27, 2020, 3:59 PM EDT) -- The Federal Communications Commission has declared once again that broadband internet is being deployed reasonably and quickly across the country, prompting backlash from agency Democrats who say the assessment is simply not accurate and masks a lingering "digital divide" in which rural areas and low-income urban areas remain underserved.

The annual report, which updates Congress on the state of nationwide broadband deployment, found that the number of Americans lacking fixed internet service at baseline speeds decreased almost 15% during 2018. Coupled with those gains, the FCC said internet service providers "set consecutive records for new fiber deployment" during 2018 and 2019, reaching millions more Americans at home.

"Under my leadership, the FCC's top priority is to close the digital divide, and I'm proud of the progress that we have made," FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a Friday statement. "Despite these gains, the job isn't done — we'll continue our work until all Americans have access to digital opportunity."

The FCC released the conclusions as part of its obligation to complete a so-called Section 706 report, which updates Congress annually on whether internet service is being effectively extended to all Americans. The report is based on carrier-submitted data collected via Form 477, which has produced notoriously inaccurate results.

Last year, the FCC had to issue a revised annual report that removed inflated figures erroneously submitted by a new internet service provider, BarrierFree. The company had incorrectly informed the agency that it covered millions of customers it did not in fact serve, but the error didn't surface until the FCC released its preliminary conclusions.

Republican FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly called the conclusions in this year's report "undoubtedly accurate," but emphasized that "this finding does not suggest that we have succeeded in our mission to bring broadband access to all Americans."

However, Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel called the report "baffling" for grossly understating the number of people who still lack internet access. The majority's report finds only 18 million people are left out, but other sources indicate that number is actually between 42 million and 162 million, she said.

Further, Rosenworcel asserted the report doesn't control for other barriers to internet access, such as service prices and communities' ability to integrate digital tools.

"If the agency is serious about living up to its duty under the law to report on the state of broadband in this country, these omissions render its conclusions suspect," she said.

Rosenworcel said the coronavirus pandemic has made the costs of the digital divide "painfully clear."

"This crisis is exposing what has long been obvious: Too many Americans across the country do not have access to broadband," she said. "In this disaster, parking-lot Wi-Fi has become a thing. So many people in so many cars sitting in front of shuttered libraries and coffee shops, just to pick up a free Wi-Fi signal. It is the only way they have to connect."

Democratic FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks also dissented from the findings, saying that "it is especially perplexing and disturbing that the majority would cast this report as a victory lap" when it's evident that too many Americans are struggling amid quarantine without basic internet access.

"We know that the digital divide is not just a rural issue. Census Bureau surveys show that three times as many households in urban areas remain unconnected as in rural areas," Starks wrote in his dissent. "When it comes to making sure all Americans can access affordable, high-quality broadband, we have a long way to go."

--Editing by Adam LoBelia.

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