National Broadband Availability Map Reaches 40 States and US Territory Participants

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s National Broadband Availability Map (NBAM) now includes 38 states, two US territories, and five federal agencies: US Department of Agriculture (USDA), US Department of the Treasury, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The NBAM is a geographic information system platform which allows for the visualization and analysis of federal, state, and commercially available data sets. This includes data from the Federal Communications Commission, US Census Bureau, Universal Service Administrative Company, USDA, Ookla, Measurement Lab, BroadbandNow, White Star, and the state governments. The mapping platform provides users, including administrators from the 40 participating states and territories, with access to the NBAM and its data to better inform broadband projects and funding decisions in their states. In June 2021, the US Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) also released a publicly available digital map that displays key indicators of broadband needs across the country. With more states joining NBAM, NTIA is another step closer to creating a national platform that can help inform policymakers and expand Internet coverage across the United States.