Senators Express Concern with FCC's Broadband Coverage Maps

Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and James Lankford (R-OK) led a bipartisan letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai advocating for a public feedback mechanism to allow consumers and states to help inform broadband coverage maps and report any lack of broadband access to the FCC.  “While we are glad the FCC is trying to address some of the issues with their mapping though the ongoing Form 477 proceeding, this alone will not solve everything. As long as we continue to rely solely on carrier-reported Form 477 data, we will never have a complete picture that accurately depicts the real world experiences of Americans.” The senators write, “We are not suggesting that crowdsourced data is perfect and that it alone will be enough to fix the greater challenges with broadband mapping, but it is an important tool we should have in the toolbox. We believe the creation of a public feedback mechanism is feasible and would be a critical first step toward creating more reliable and accurate broadband maps.”

The letter was also signed by Sens Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Angus King (I-ME), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Kennedy (R-LA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Doug Jones (D-AL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).