Millions of Americans can't get broadband because of a faulty FCC map. There's a fix

The faulty Federal Communications Commission national broadband map has essentially made millions of Americans without fast internet "invisible," as Microsoft put it, and unless the data improve, they're likely to remain so. But there's reason to be hopeful. Thanks to $65 million in funding from Congress in Dec, the FCC now will require internet service providers to share more detailed data, giving a better picture of what areas are unserved by broadband. It will also have to open the map to public feedback, letting people flag when something is wrong and providing more data points on gaps. On Feb 17 at the FCC's monthly meeting, Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel launched a new task force to fix the data, saying "it's no secret that the FCC's existing broadband maps leave a lot to be desired."

But some experts say the new mapping parameters still aren't granular enough, and the new maps almost certainly will arrive too late to help people during the pandemic. The updated data likely won't be available until at least 2022, acknowledged the Broadband Data Task Force's chair, Jean Kiddoo. The FCC still hasn't "gotten rid of the 'could provide service' versus 'does provide service,'" said Benton Senior Fellow and Public Advocate Gigi Sohn. That hides areas where people may be disconnected for affordability reasons or other factors that contribute to the digital divide. Under the new rules, ISPs can only count an area as covered if it could set up a connection within 10 business days of a customer's request and without requiring resources or construction costs higher than an ordinary service activation fee.

While the maps may be better than what came before, they likely will still not be enough to truly give an accurate picture of where broadband exists, experts say. Unwilling to wait for the federal government, Maine, Pennsylvania, Georgia and other states have set out to build their own maps, drawing on speed test data, specific information from ISPs about what homes they serve, and other resources to find out where their gaps are.