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NTIA FABRIC FAQ

Get answers to critical questions regarding the licensing process and use of CostQuest’s Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric data for the NTIA’s BEAD and other federal broadband programs.

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What is the NTIA Fabric License developed for federal broadband programs?

CostQuest worked with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to establish Fabric License Tiers (Tier A, B, C, D, and E) to support the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program and other federal broadband programs available today or in the future to facilitate implementation and compliance with reporting obligations associated with such programs. If your organization currently participates or intends to participate in federal broadband programs, the NTIA license may support those activities, consistent with the terms of the License Agreement.

It’s important to note this is a different licensing process and allowable use of the Fabric data than the FCC Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric License developed for the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection (BDC) program and National Broadband Map. The FCC Fabric licenses (Tiers 1, 2, 3, and 4) are specific to FCC BDC purposes. Those agreements were developed under an agreement with the FCC, which restricts the use of Licensed Materials for FCC Broadband Data Collection (BDC) purposes. These purposes include submitting Fabric corrections as well as submitting broadband availability and availability challenges.

If you have any questions regarding the NTIA Fabric License, please email ifasupport@costquest.com.

Disclaimer: This FAQ does not constitute legal advice. CostQuest can’t provide legal analysis for Licensees. We recommend that any questions or concerns be discussed with your legal counsel after review of the appropriate License Agreement.

NTIA Fabric Licensing FAQ:

As of this date, five license tiers are contemplated. Not all of these licenses have been released. The tiers are described in the table below.

License TierLicenseeDescriptionAvailability
Tier ANTIANTIA, its agents, and any NTIA-established entitiesComplete
Tier BFederal Broadband Granting AgenciesIncludes any federal agency that administers a federal financial assistance program that supports or promotes broadband deployment, use, or adoptionAvailable on request through NTIA
Tier CPass Through EntitiesIncludes Broadband Grant Program recipients that are a State, local government, Tribal Entity, Institution of Higher Education, or nonprofit organizationAvailable on request through NTIA
Tier DProspective and awarded Recipients and SubrecipientsEntities that participate in Federal Broadband ProgramsAvailable
Tier ELicensee-Pass Through Entity ChallengersEntities that will challenge Pass Through Entity coverage maps.Available through States 

The FCC licenses (Tiers 1, 2, 3, and 4) are specific to FCC BDC purposes. Those agreements were developed under an agreement with the FCC, which restricts the use of Licensed Materials for FCC Broadband Data Collection (BDC) purposes. These purposes include submitting Fabric corrections as well as submitting broadband availability and availability challenges.


The NTIA licenses (Tier A, B, C, D, and E) were developed to support the BEAD program and other federal broadband programs available today or in the future and facilitate compliance with reporting obligations associated with such programs – including reporting associated with the FCC Broadband Funding Map established by section 60105 of the IIJA. If your organization currently participates or intends to participate in federal broadband programs, the NTIA license may support those activities, consistent with the terms of the License Agreement.

No. The FCC Licensed Materials are only for FCC BDC purposes. They can’t be used for purposes outside of the license agreement. If you are going to use FCC Licensed Materials for purposes other than BDC purposes, this is a violation of the FCC License Agreement.

NTIA has provided CostQuest with a list of state contacts. CostQuest sent an email to each contact. If you have not been contacted and believe you should have been, please contact CostQuest, ifasupport@costquest.com.

A contractor for a State can get the NTIA Fabric pursuant to the terms of the State’s Tier C license. The State should complete the NTIA Tier C license process. Once they are licensed, the State can share the Licensed Materials with you as an Authorized User, per the process outlined in the License Agreement. The Licensed Materials will be shared by the Licensee. They will not come through CostQuest. It is the Licensee’s responsibility to ensure Attachment B of their License Agreement is completed by Authorized Users.

Once you have received a Tier D license that covers the counties of your award, you can exchange the location_id(s) and broadband availability information corresponding to the reporting requirement. This same process can be used for other FBGA awards.

The NTIA Tier C license supports the distribution of Licensed Materials to a Licensee’s Authorized Users. An Authorized User may be a subcontractor or contractor working on the Licensee’s behalf to support the licensed purposes. The use of the Licensed Material by the Authorized Users must be in support of the Licensee’s intent and consistent with the terms of the license agreement. 

The NTIA Tier D license supports the distribution of Licensed Materials to a Licensee’s Authorized Users. An Authorized User may be a subcontractor or contractor working on the Licensee’s behalf to support the licensed purposes. The use of the Licensed Material by the Authorized Users must be in support of the Licensee’s intent and consistent with the terms of the license agreement.

If you have any questions regarding the NTIA Fabric License, please email ifasupport@costquest.com.

Download NTIA Fabric Licensing FAQ

Download the PDF version of the NTIA Fabric Licensing FAQ here.

Have questions? 

If you have any questions regarding the NTIA Fabric License, please email ifasupport@costquest.com.

Disclaimers

This FAQ does not constitute legal advice. CostQuest can’t provide legal analysis for Licensees.  We recommend that any questions or concerns be discussed with your legal counsel after review of the appropriate License Agreement. 

This communication does not reflect the opinion or the policy of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC is not responsible for the information or views in this communication and is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of such information or views.  

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