Illinois Congressional representatives ask FCC to improve rural broadband

The entire Illinois Congressional Delegation in the US House of Representatives sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission urging it to improve the nation’s broadband maps. The delegation asked Chairman Ajit Pai and the four FCC commissioners to reform the mapping process for broadband services. “As we work to repair and rebuild our nation’s infrastructure, we must ensure that those in rural America have access to high-quality and reliable fixed or mobile broadband,” the representatives said in the letter. “In addition to developing our nation’s rural economy, broadband helps expand educational horizons for students and allows rural health providers to offer more flexible and cost-effective delivery approaches.”

The members said they were concerned with the “significant lack of detail, accuracy and granularity of these broadcast maps.” They argued that one concerning example was that a geographic area may be considered served even though only a single location within it has access to fixed broadband service. This, they said, could result in a lack of important funding that could be used for those underserved areas.