CostQuest Breaks Its Silence on Broadband Map Issues

The Federal Communications Commission's update of the National Broadband Map has received considerable criticism. And some of that criticism has been leveled at CostQuest, the contractor that created the database of broadband serviceable locations nationwide that is a key underpinning of the map. “The Broadband Data Collection program is an iterative process,” said Cost Quest Vice President Mike Wilson. It’s a process that follows the Broadband DATA Act, he said and is designed to improve over time. CostQuest, which had previously created cost models that were used in earlier broadband funding programs, was chosen to create the locations database, known as the broadband serviceable location (BSL) fabric. “Addresses by themselves aren’t necessarily BSLs,” he said. “Rather, BSLs refer to a structure or building, which then may have an associated address. An address could be assigned to a parcel that has no building whatsoever. And addresses can be units within a structure or building.” When the providers began working with the fabric, reports emerged of missing locations and of boulders being misidentified as broadband serviceable locations. The company focused on “reducing the number of false positives — a structure or natural feature showing up as a BSL, and false negatives – we missed an actual BSL,” Wilson explained. Between the FCC’s efforts and CostQuest’s efforts, the second version of the map has 1.04 million locations that were not included in the first version, according to FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel.