Conexon executive flags impending Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program mapping issues

Conexon Partner and former Federal Communications Commission planner Jonathan Chambers warned that the FCC’s broadband mapping effort is headed for disaster—flagging potential issues with state-level mapping efforts which he said could slow or bias the funding allocation process for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program support. There are two primary problems at the federal level. The first is the method Congress has chosen for calculating the ratio of BEAD funding given to each state on top of the baseline $100 million allocation that has been granted across the board. Under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the amount of funding will be allocated proportionally based on the amount of un- and underserved locations in each state as determined by new maps being developed by the FCC. However, the vast majority of un- and underserved locations tend to be in rural areas and the FCC’s new maps aren’t expected to be 100 percent accurate anyway. The second issue relates to the challenge process the FCC is planning for its new maps. Given there are millions of serviceable locations across the country—which the agency will likely have to implement some measure of “materiality” to determine what disputes are prioritized for review—one can anticipate a muddled and inefficient review process that will hamper meaningful BEAD funding allocation. The solution, according to Chambers, is to put the onus of mapping responsibilities on the states, not the FCC.