Utah's Long-Lived Broadband Map is a Big Asset

At a time when state and federal governments are funding numerous broadband deployment projects, Utah’s long-lived broadband map has been a big asset. Utah was more successful than any other state in challenging the locations database for the Federal Communications Commission's broadband map, explained Rebecca Dilg, Director of the Utah Broadband Center. The state is well positioned to determine eligible locations for the upcoming Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, Dilg noted. Utah was one of multiple states that used funding from the broadband stimulus programs created in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to create a broadband map. The state also created a broadband office back at that time to administer federal funding that came in, and when that funding ran out, the state legislature continued to fund the program for a few years, but eventually closed the office down in 2018. At that time, Dilg was working for the state in rural economic development, and when the first broadband office closed, she was asked to handle the remaining responsibilities that the office handled, including maintaining the broadband map – or, more correctly, the broadband maps, as various overlays enable users to display various parameters, including provider, speed, and more. Moving forward, the office will be responsible for administering $317 million in BEAD funding that has been allotted to the state. The office is now in the process of putting its initial BEAD proposal together, which must be approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Dilg is hopeful that the BEAD funding, in combination with required provider matching funds, will be sufficient to make broadband available to all eligible locations in the state.