After defending false data, Comcast admits another FCC broadband map mistake

Comcast has fessed up to another mistake on the national broadband map after previously insisting that false data it gave the Federal Communications Commission was actually correct. A report on February 9, 2023, showed that when residents in two Colorado cities objected to Comcast's coverage claims through the FCC challenge system, the company disputed those challenges even though it was impossible to order Comcast Internet service at the challenged addresses. Comcast only admitted to the FCC that it submitted false data in Arvada, Colorado, one day after Ars Technica contacted the company's public relations department. But Comcast hadn't yet admitted that it gave the FCC false data in Fort Collins, Colorado. That changed recently in a letter to the FCC. "Upon further review of the location ID in question, Comcast has determined that the location is currently not serviceable by Comcast," the company told the FCC. Comcast said it submitted an update to mark the challenged address as "not serviceable." The change hasn't taken effect on the public version of the FCC map yet, which is updated with corrections every two weeks. Correcting false data is important because the map will be used to determine which parts of the US are eligible for $42.45 billion in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants to expand broadband availability starting in mid-2023.