UPDATE Thirty states are now represented in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s National Broadband Availability Map. Alaska, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Montana, New York, Oklahoma and Vermont were recently added to its growing roster of state participants. The mapping platform provides users, including administrators from the 30 participating states, with access to the map and its data to better inform broadband projects and funding decisions in their states, according to NTIA.
Four federal agencies also take part in the map project: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Economic Development Administration and the Appalachian Regional Commission. The project is a geographic information system platform which allows for the visualization and analysis of federal, state, and commercially available data sets. This includes data from the FCC, U.S. Census Bureau, Universal Service Administrative Company, USDA, Ookla, Measurement Lab, and state governments.
NTIA received funding from Congress in 2018, to update the map in coordination with the FCC. Lawmakers required NTIA to acquire and use data from available third-party datasets. NTIA did so by building on existing partnerships to identify data from federal, state, local and tribal governments, broadband network operators and owners, schools, nonprofits and cooperatives.
The FCC too, has been working to improve its broadband availability maps. Under former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, the agency last summer adopted rules to improve data collection for the maps. However $3.2 billion to fund the effort as part of the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program didn’t come from Congress until late December. The EBB is a COVID-related program to help low-income households afford broadband, Inside Towers reported.
As one of her first actions as Acting Chairwoman of the Commission, Jessica Rosenworcel last month established a task force to improve the maps. The agency passed rules to begin the EBB program last week and hopes to begin accepting applications in 60 days. Improved broadband availability maps are part of the program, to better target scarce government dollars.
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