The Individual FCC Map Challenge

Hopefully, the word is getting out that individuals can challenge the Federal Communications Commission's new National Broadband Map. Broadband providers often claim coverage and broadband speeds that are not actually available. The challenge process is built directly into the FCC broadband map. Anybody can zero in on the map and see the broadband options that providers say are available at their location. If you challenge any of these items for a given provider, the FCC will forward your challenge to said provider. If that broadband provider doesn’t respond or dispute the challenge, it must change its reporting for that location on the FCC map. For example, if it doesn’t offer service at your location, it must take you off its FCC map. If the provider doesn’t offer the speed claimed to the FCC, it would have to lower the claimed speed it offers. The real benefit of the challenge process will come if enough people in neighborhoods make the complaint to get the area maps corrected.