Data & Mapping

The government’s $42.5 billion plan to expand internet service to underserved communities is stuck in a holding pattern nearly nine months after approval, largely because authorities still don’t know where gaps need to be filled.

The Federal Communications Commission released Form 477 data as of June 30, 2021. The top lines of the release are: 3.6 million housing units (as of 2019 projections) unserved by 25/3 broadband, which is 2.55 percent of the 141 million housing units nationally.

Gov Reynolds (R-IA) and the Department of Management Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) announced the release of a new broadband map of Iowa, reporting the conditions of broadband availability in accordance with federal grant guidelines at over 1 million locations throughout the state. The public can view the map here.

The Federal Communications Commission's Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA)—in conjunction with the Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) and the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB)—released updated data on fixed broadband deployment, and mobile voice and broadband deployment as of June 30, 2021. The data includes revisions made by filers through June 28, 2022, while the mobile deployment data include revisions made by filers through November 14, 2021 These data were collected through FCC Form 477 and will be made available on the FCC’s website.

The Federal Communications Commission launched its Broadband Data Collection (BDC) program on June 30, 2022.

Microsoft released a new Digital Equity Data Dashboard to help create better understanding of the economic opportunity gaps in towns, cities and neighborhoods across the United States. The new tool was developed by Chief Data Science Officer Juan Lavista Ferres and the Microsoft AI for Good Lab, and aggregates public data from the Census Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, BroadbandNow and Microsoft’s own Broadband Usage Data.

The Federal Communications Commission responded to a Petition for Declaratory Ruling or Limited Waiver filed by the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA). CCA requested that the FCC issue a declaratory ruling to clarify that Broadband Data Collection (BDC) filings may be certified by either an engineer licensed by the relevant state licensure board (i.e., a Professional Engineer) or an otherwise-qualified engineer. In the alternative, CCA requested that the FCC provide a limited waiver from the requirement that a Professional Engineer certify the data.

The Federal Communications Commission is revamping its Broadband Data Collection Program. Meanwhile, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is working to distribute tens of billions of federal dollars to support state and local broadband initiatives.

The Federal Communications Commission is in the midst of a multi-year, multi-million-dollar effort to update its broadband coverage map. But the gears of government turn slowly and rather than waiting for the new FCC maps, several states including Virginia, New York, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Florida have either already released or are developing their own maps. While this might seem like a duplicative effort on the surface, Anna Read, senior officer for Pew's Broadband Access Initiative, said the state-level maps will complement rather than compete with the new FCC map.

The Federal Communications Commission has been making admirable progress on its new broadband maps, and recently it opened up its system for internet service providers (ISPs) to input coverage data against the new Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric.