CostQuest Associates has been chosen by the FCC to provide nationwide broadband location data, reported Telecompetitor. The service, known as Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (BSLF), will be used to update the National Broadband Map.
The BSLF will be available later this year and will provide the precise location of all broadband serviceable locations across the U.S. According to CostQuest, the BSLF “will be used to match broadband provider submissions of service availability, and other information, to build more granular broadband location maps.”
Since the current FCC broadband availability map has been widely criticized for lack of accuracy, the BSLF is meant to provide an “accurate database of broadband serviceable locations.” Telecompetitor reported the FCC received funding last year after the Broadband DATA Act, signed in 2020, directed the FCC to fix broadband map inaccuracies.
The FCC recently gave providers a September 1, 2022 deadline for submitting their service availability data. This data and an accurate map are critical as the government has made an “unprecedented amount of funding available” to expand broadband to unserved areas.
The BSLF project was delayed due to protests by a CostQuest competitor. LightBox, another company that bid on the BSLF contract, challenged the government’s decision to partner with CostQuest. Telecompetitor reported that the U.S. Government Accountability Office denied the protest late last month, and CostQuest signed on as the official provider.
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