What Is the FCC’s New Broadband Map and Why Does it Matter?

The Federal Communications Commission released an updated map detailing broadband availability nationwide that will be used to allocate $42 billion in federal funds to states and territories to help expand access to affordable high-speed internet. The agency will update the map every six months with data supplied by internet service providers (ISPs) and allow states, local communities, and the public to submit challenges to its accuracy. As required by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will use the map to allocate Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funds. The agency’s previous attempts to track broadband availability showed only census block-level data and, as a result, broadly overstated who had service. To improve the accuracy of these data sets, the FCC also created a process for states, local communities, and the public to challenge the location fabric and service availability data. For example, New York announced in October 2022, that it had submitted a bulk challenge for more than 31,000 locations that were missing from the first iteration, compared with the state’s own map of unserved locations. Importantly, the FCC’s newly published map does not yet include these challenged locations. Three concerns that the current FCC map faces are as follows

• First, as New York’s challenge suggests, the initial location layer used by providers was missing a significant number of locations, and providers could not report service at a location if it did not appear on the map. 
• Second, although public challenges to the map will be accepted on a rolling basis, there is a short window when a challenge can affect NTIA’s funding allocation formula. Further, the process for submitting challenges can be complicated and time-consuming, making it difficult for stakeholders to submit valid challenges in time. 
• Lastly, because of its design, the new map displays only where broadband service is “available,” without capturing the affordability or quality of the service offered. This binary definition of internet access is insufficient for what NTIA and states will need to ensure that every American has access to reliable, affordable high-speed internet.

Once location fabric challenges are resolved, the updated data will be distributed to providers before the next round of reporting, which will start on Dec. 31. The window to challenge the service availability data is now open and submissions will be processed on a rolling basis.