Tips for Beating BDC Burnout
Dan Timmer
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The FCC requires broadband providers to file their Broadband Data Collection (BDC) reports every six months, with the last round filed on March 1. With BDC fresh on everyone’s minds, NRTC Managed Services VP and CrowdFiber cofounder Bailey White recently led a webinar giving broadband providers guidance to better prepare for upcoming BDC reports, which the Commission will use to build its National Broadband Map and various agencies will use to determine broadband project funding.
White began the webinar with a poll of the audience, which showed a majority of BDC time tends to be on submission creation and entering. Forty percent of the audience said “evaluating fabric and your data” was the most difficult part of the submission; 75 percent said it was too early to tell if BDC results in more accurate data and leads to better decisions and policies.
Jessica Epley, VP of Regulatory and External Affairs for Ziply Fiber, joining White on the webinar, said her company’s reporting was particularly complex since its network includes fixed wireless, copper, legacy DSL, and fiber-to-the-premise. Ziply, a Kirkland, WA-based telecommunications company, worked with the CrowdFiber team to complete its submission.
“It was a night and day difference for us,” she said, adding that her company benefitted from using the BDC data for strategic planning as well as BDC. The process has revealed details about competitors and helped Ziply identify geographic areas to expand. Tools within the CrowdFiber platform make FCC regulatory compliance easier.
White offered his top 5 tips for generating your next BDC report. Among them, he advised, “take a total quality management approach … that means building quality into your process and having continuous feedback loops. It is not just a downstream thing, and it is a great opportunity to improve your serviceability data and other things as well,” he said.
A recording of the BDC Burnout? 5 Tips for Generating Your Next BDC Report webinar is available on the NRTC website. For more information, existing CrowdFiber customers may contact support@crowdfiber.com; or contact sales@crowdfiber.com to learn about BDC tools and consulting options.
