The maps are coming the maps are coming! A draft FCC National Broadband Map is coming out on November 18th, 2022!
This will kick off an iterative process for the public, ISPs, government entities, and other key stakeholders to review and challenge the service availability data submitted by providers in the Broadband Data Collection (BDC), directly in the first draft of the FCC National Broadband Map. People can also submit challenges to the FCC Fabric data (the locations on which ISPs service availability data rests upon). CostQuest welcomes and encourages participation in the FCC Fabric Challenges on an ongoing basis!
The FCC said, “when published, the draft map will display location-level information on broadband availability throughout the country and will allow people to search for their address, and review and dispute the services reported by providers at their location.“
“As a result, this map will continually improve and refine the broadband availability data relied upon by the FCC, other government agencies, and the public. The pre-production draft map release is an important first step forward in building more accurate, more granular broadband maps, which are long overdue and mandated by Congress.”
Why should you submit feedback to the draft FCC National Broadband Map as soon as possible??
Feedback is critical within the next 8 weeks for the efficient allocation of billions in federal funding that has been enacted to expand broadband service to all.
NTIA announced the resulting maps after January 13th, 2023, will guide the allocation of their Internet for All funding programs, which includes the $42.5 billion from the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment program (BEAD). NTIA said they plan “to announce BEAD allocations, using the most up-to-date version of the FCC National Broadband Map as a guide, by June 30th, 2023.”
“The next eight weeks are critical for our federal efforts to connect the unconnected. The FCC’s upcoming challenge process is one of the best chances to ensure that we have accurate maps guiding us as we allocate major Internet for All awards in 2023. I urge every state and community that believes it can offer improvements to be part of this process so that we can deliver on the promise of affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service for everyone in America.”
Alan Davidson, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications, and Information
Now is the time for feedback on the FCC Map
The distribution of billions of dollars is riding on the FCC Fabric and the broadband service availability data submitted by ISPs in the FCC National Broadband Map, and it’s critical to not leave valuable funding dollars on the table. The Challenge Process on the FCC Map is a time for feedback. The quality of the FCC Fabric and FCC National Broadband Map is vastly improved when more stakeholders provide input to ensure funding is allocated appropriately for the general benefit of all Americans.
To put the importance of the quality of the FCC Fabric locations and ISP’s service availability data into perspective, for example, if we assume that there are 10 million unserved locations in the country. Each location will drive around $4,000 of funding. As such, if 1000 unserved locations are missed in your neighborhood, county, or state, $4M of BEAD funding will go to other areas. So, from the perspective of making sure, your community receives adequate funding for broadband buildout, good quality Fabric, and service availability data are vital to helping bring underserved and unserved communities online. The FCC Fabric and service availability data submitted by ISPs will benefit all parties involved (organizations and consumers) by being improved over time.
Now, please, help spread the word! We know our communities best. By submitting feedback, we can help reflect the on-the-ground reality of the structures requiring service and where broadband service is and isn’t for the benefit of all Americans. Now let’s close the digital divide together.
For more information, read the FCC’s and NTIA’s recent announcements through the links below
Disclaimer
This communication does not reflect the opinion or the policy of the Federal Communications Commission. 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.