Part of the plan to offer more broadband services across the nation and to see which areas are under-served by broadband was to map broadband use in America. Reuters reports that on Friday, the U.S. Commerce Department said that ISPs in America like AT&T and Verizon don't have to release information including how much they make on each customer and how fast their networks typically run.

Reuters reports that instead of giving broad specific data as was requested for the program, the companies will provide information by the block usually consisting of about twelve homes per block. The providers complain that releasing that information could provide business intelligence to their competition.

The catch for consumers is that by not forcing the ISPs to provide this information, there is no way for consumers to know if the speeds that are actually promised are delivered by ISPs. Telecom policy analyst Joel Kelsey from the Consumers Union said, "The actual speeds delivered to particular areas simply doesn't match up. The government gave a lot and received very, very little in return."

Naturally, the industry association for cable providers in the U.S., the American Cable Association, supports the ruling that doesn’t require cable providers and ISPs to release detailed statistics on their networks. ACA President Matthew Polka said, "The agency's modifications will improve and expedite (the mapping) effort."

The mapping effort is one of the first steps on the road to distributing the $4 billion in funds from the stimulus package that were earmarked for improving the nation's broadband infrastructure. Of the $4 billion, $350 million are set aside for the mapping project.