National Broadband Map: It Keeps Getting Better

The Federal Communications Commission is taking another step forward in its iterative effort to develop the best and most accurate broadband maps ever built in the US. The map we are releasing reflects challenges and improvements to the data. It has a lot of updated information about both locations and availability. Here are a few key takeaways:

• More than 8.3 million US homes and businesses lack access to high-speed broadband. If we want everyone, everywhere to have access to high-speed internet service, we will need to deploy broadband service to 8.3 million new locations. On net, the improvements to the map since November helped to identify nearly 330,000 more unserved locations.
• Our challenge processes are powerful tools to improve accuracy. Stakeholders have stepped up to provide lots of information and challenges to our data. Our mapping team has reviewed challenges to the availability of data for more than 4 million locations. Over 75% of those challenges have already been resolved and the majority have led to updates in the data on the map showing where broadband is available.
• Collaboration is key. Our mapping team met individually with representatives from every state at least once, and, in total, hosted over 200 individual sessions with state, local, and Tribal governments. These discussions were crucial to helping all stakeholders understand what we were showing on the map, how to submit—and respond to—challenges, and how this first-of-its-kind map could be improved. We also responded to more than 7,600 technical assistance requests from internet providers and challengers.
• We’re using all the data quality tools at our disposal. Beyond the challenge process, the FCC has built automated checks into the new system to validate submissions from internet providers. FCC staff have also begun to use the verification and enforcement tools available to ensure accurate availability of filings, initiating over 800 verification inquiries thus far. More stringent verification resulted in updates to over 600 submissions from providers and a clearer picture of broadband availability in every state and territory.
• Our maps are continuously becoming more accurate, and will only continue to improve. The FCC has a duty under the law to develop these maps in an iterative fashion. We are going to continue to release a major update twice a year, which overlays availability data from providers onto the tens of millions of serviceable locations. In addition to those major bi-annual updates, we have been making minor updates to the availability data in the map regularly for most of 2023. These incremental updates reflect both challenge outcomes and any corrections providers make to their filings.