FCC has obtained detailed broadband maps from ISPs for the first time ever

guest · Sep 6, 2022

By Jon Brodkin @jbrodkin - September 6, 2022

The Federal Communications Commission has collected precise broadband availability information from Internet service providers for the first time and aims to release a first draft of a new broadband map in November, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel wrote Friday.

The FCC last week "completed the first filing window for submitting data on where broadband service is and is not available," a milestone in the years-long process of creating an accurate US broadband map, she wrote. "For the first time ever, we have collected extensive location-by-location data on precisely where broadband services are available, and now we are ready to get to work and start developing new and improved broadband maps."
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The resulting map should show whether fixed broadband service is available at each residence or business location. The FCC's inaccurate broadband maps have long made it difficult to distribute deployment grants where they're needed most.
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FCC: Another Step Toward Better Broadband Maps

By Jessica Rosenworcel - September 2, 2022
On June 30, the Federal Communications Commission opened the first ever window to collect information from broadband providers in every state and territory about precisely where they provide broadband services. I announced the opening of the window with a Note to put this milestone in context and to explain in detail the Commission’s work over the previous 18 months to update and improve our broadband maps. Today marks the close of this first data collection window—the next important step forward in our efforts to build more accurate broadband maps, which are much-needed, long overdue, and mandated by Congress.

I wanted to give everyone a quick update on what we’ve done, what we’re announcing today, and what people can expect in the months ahead.
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guest · Sep 8, 2022

State broadband official expects closer look from new FCC data
by Benjamin Freed - September 8, 2022

The Federal Communications Commission’s announcement last Friday that it’s finished collecting granular, geolocation-based data from internet service providers marked a major turning point in its long-running quest to build a new nationwide map of broadband coverage.

It was also a milepost for state broadband officials, who have spent the past few months prepping themselves to claim a chunk of the federal government’s $42.5 billion Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment fund, the distribution of which will be in part dictated by information gleaned from the new map.
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FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel wrote Friday that she’s aiming to publish a first-draft map in November. First, though, comes a challenge period — beginning next Monday — during which state, local and tribal officials, as well as internet carriers can examine and potentially correct the underlying data.

For Nate Denny, deputy secretary of broadband and digital equity at the North Carolina Department of Information Technology, this phase represents an opportunity to further hone its plan for the BEAD grants, which are being distributed by the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and other programs.

“We’ll be very active in reviewing the map,” Denny said in a phone interview. “We are certainly interested in getting more granular understanding of who’s served, who’s underserved and who’s unserved.”
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But during the FCC’s challenge period, Denny said, he expects to see layers of data the state hasn’t had on file. “I think they’ll have new data we don’t have access to yet,” he said.
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guest · Nov 16, 2022

FCC to release new broadband maps, teeing up BEAD grants
by Benjamin Freed | Statescoop - November 15, 2022

The Federal Communications Commission is preparing to on Friday finally publish the initial draft of its long-awaited high-speed internet coverage maps, marking a major signpost for a $45 billion grant program that’s set to distribute broadband development funds to states and localities beginning next year.
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The new maps, which the FCC has been developing for years, will use geolocation-based data rather than census blocks, which allowed internet service providers to vastly overstate their coverage areas. (FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said at her confirmation hearing that the old maps “stink.”) But by requiring internet providers to submit more detailed data, officials believe they’ll get a sharper picture of which communities do not have access to high-speed internet.

State, local and tribal governments — as well as the service providers — started reviewing the data in September. The public challenge period will run from Friday through next Jan. 13, the FCC said.

“The next eight weeks are critical for our federal efforts to connect the unconnected,” NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson said in a press release.
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FCC has obtained detailed broadband maps from ISPs for the first time ever

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