Data & Mapping

Twenty-six US senators—led by Sens Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Roger Wicker (R-MS), John Thune (R-SD)—sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel highlighting important next steps in ensuring that the National Broadband Map provides a reliable depiction of broadband availability across the country. The senators are calling on the FCC to:

Before the US can accomplish the important task of connecting all Americans, it is important to understand where broadband already exists in both rural and urban areas. Having accurate data about existing broadband networks will enable billions of federal and state funding and other resources to be dedicated where they are needed most (communities without service). The newly released Federal Communications Commission Broadband Map is just the first iteration and needs to be further refined through the challenge process.

Billions of dollars are up for grabs to expand broadband availability across the country. But the Federal Communication Commission maps that will determine where the money goes are inaccurate, according to the Texas comptroller, because internet service providers inflated their coverage areas. The Texas office charged with challenging and improving those maps at the state level says it can’t.

More fiber was deployed in 2022 than ever before. Research performed by RVA LLC Market Research & Consulting (RVA) shows that fiber providers passed 7.9 million additional homes in the US in 2022—the highest annual deployment ever, even with challenges in the materials supply chain and labor availability. According to RVA, there are now a total of 68 million fiber broadband passings in the US, up 13% over the past 12 months and up 27% over the past 24 months. Excluding homes with two or more fiber passings, 63 million unique homes have now been passed.

I suspect that there are already a lot of communities and other folks who are in violation of the license agreement to view and use the new Federal Communications Commission mapping fabric and associated data. CostQuest, the firm that created the mapping fabric, has provided communities and others with a basic license to view and utilize the mapping data strictly for the purpose of the Broadband Data Collection (BDC) process – for reviewing and challenging the FCC maps. Anybody that wants to use the mapping data for any other purpose must sign a different agreement and pay to utilize the da

In November 2022, the Federal Communications Commission released our pre-production draft of its new broadband maps. For the first time ever, the maps reflect broadband availability at the physical location level. In fact, prior FCC maps only provided this information at the census-block level. That means these new maps provide the best picture available to date of where broadband is and is not available across the country, and the maps will only get better over time as the FCC gets input from stakeholders across the country.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Illinois received its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Indiana received its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Vermont received its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Oklahoma received its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative.