Nevada Asks FCC to Reconsider ‘Deeply Flawed’ Broadband Maps

Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NM) and Jacky Rosen (D-NM) sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission asking the body to reconsider maps drafted for the Silver State's broadband Internet connectivity, calling the drafts "deeply flawed" and warning that such maps could perpetuate the digital divide among the state's urban and rural areas. The senators detailed concerns from state and local leaders after the Nevada Office of Science Innovation & Technology found more than 20,000 purported "broadband-serviceable" locations the agency believes overstates coverage. They asked for the FCC to coordinate with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to give the state's broadband office and other entities 60 days to verify and submit more accurate data. The Office of Science, Innovation & Technology's most recent comprehensive broadband connectivity report states that over 99 percent of Nevadans living in urban areas have access to broadband access at or above 25 megabit per second download speeds and upload speeds of three megabits per second, the current FCC standard. In the state's rural areas, however, access to broadband is at just 66 percent.