Broadband Mapping & Data
After Controversial Panel on Mapping, FCC Confirms No Charges for Access to Fabric
Some third parties are wondering about the terms on which they will be able to access the FCC’s mapping fabric.

CRYSTAL CITY, Va., October 13, 2022 – Representatives from the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration on Wednesday dodged questions regarding the licensing agreements that will govern access to the national broadband map’s fabric’s data.
But responding to a question from Broadband Breakfast following the non-responsive answers, an FCC spokesperson on Thursday said that state, local and Tribal governmental entities, along with broadband service providers, are able to license broadband fabric data – including any changes to fabric data that have been made as a result of challenges – at no cost.
The FCC spokesperson also said that the agency will make broadband fabric data available soon, also at no cost, to other parties for the purposes of their participation in the Broadband Data Collection process.
The spokesperson did not explain what other parties, and what purposes, will be deemed sufficient to access broadband fabric data at no cost.
Wednesday panel discussion at AnchorNets
Kirk Burgee, senior counsel for the FCC’s Broadband Data Task Force, and Nick Alexander, telecommunications policy specialist for the NTIA’s Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth, discussed broadband mapping and funding issues at AnchorNets 2022, a conference of the non-profit Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition.
The panel covered a range of topics, including the release of the FCC’s broadband map, the treatment of speed test data in the agency’s fabric-challenge process, and the funding-allocation process for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. BEAD is the $42.5 billion program of the NTIA for allocating last-mile broadband funds.
During the talk’s question-and-answer section, Jase Wilson, CEO of Broadband.Money, asked the panel to specify who owns of the fabric’s data. Broadband.Money is a sponsor of Broadband Breakfast.
The fabric is a location-level broadband dataset created by contractor CostQuest Associates. It is the basis for the FCC’s forthcoming national broadband map, which will in turn determine the allocation of BEAD to particular states.
The fabric’s data is not public: It is available only to state and local and Tribal governments, and to internet service providers, who may challenge its accuracy on a rolling basis.
The panel didn’t directly address Wilson’s query. “In terms of who owns [the fabric’s data], I have some thoughts on that,” said Burgee. “I don’t know if there is a succinct answer to that question,” he added. “It’s probably pretty complicated.”
Burgee continued, saying the FCC has a “strong ownership in [the fabric data]” but did not provide specifics.
“Under the terms of the license agreement that the commission has with CostQuest, to the extent that there is data that comes through the FCC’s process, that data is held by the FCC but CostQuest… should use it in the production of the fabric,” said Alexander.
Alexander did not mention that CostQuest owns the initial fabric’s data and may use FCC-owned, challenge-generated data in its own private-market products.
Will states need to pay to use the fabric’s data?
Alexander declined to answer a question – from Dustin Loup, project manager of the National Broadband Mapping Coalition – about whether fees had to be paid to CostQuest to use the data for BEAD-related purposes, but suggested states could use BEAD funds to pay for “the tools they need.”
He didn’t specify whether that statement directly referred to potential state payments to CostQuest for use of the fabric’s data.
When Loup reiterated his question, Alexander answered, “It’s a completely reasonable question. It’s also one that I can’t answer.”
Will proprietary data be safeguarded?
Broadband Breakfast asked the panel if the FCC placed limitations on CostQuest’s use of challenge-generated data.
Alexander responded that “limitations” on CostQuest’s data use exist but offered no specifics. He didn’t acknowledge CostQuest’s ability to use challenge-generated data for commercial purposes.
In response to Broadband Breakfast’s inquiry regarding CostQuest’s licensing agreements, the FCC spokesperson did not address whether the usage limitations of those licenses or the contractual limitations on CostQuest’s commercial use of challenge data would impact other parties’ ability to access fabric data.
Broadband Mapping & Data
FCC Added Just Over 1 Million Locations in Broadband Map Fabric Slated For Spring Release: Chairwoman
Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the second version of map fabric ‘largely completed.’

WASHINGTON, March 23, 2023 – The head of the Federal Communications Commission said Thursday that the commission added just over one million new broadband serviceable locations after processing challenges and improving data models in its second round of data collection that ended March 1.
In a mapping update blog post, chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel noted that the net additions to the map – where fixed broadband could be installed – came after it added 2.96 million new locations and removed 1.92 million locations from the first version of the fabric released in November.
The chairwoman also said the second version of the fabric, which underpins the broadband map, is “largely completed” and is slated for a release later this spring. The map will be used by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to spread among the states by June 30 the $42.5 billion from its Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.
“In the past four months, our mapping team has processed challenges to availability data for over 4 million locations,” Rosenworcel said in the post. “In other words, on average, we are addressing availability challenges to tens of thousands of locations every single day. Every two weeks, our public map is updated to reflect all availability challenges that have been resolved. In other words, the system is working.”
The chairwoman noted that the one-million-location difference suggests that the net adjustment from the last version of less than one percent in the number of serviceable locations “says that, on balance, the November pre-production draft of the National Broadband Map painted a helpful picture of where high-speed Internet service could be available.”
Previously, the chairwoman said challenges that sought corrections to the data corresponded to less than one percent of the total number of locations identified.
Rosenworcel also noted Thursday that important corrections and additions to the data were made, including “data refreshes to more sophisticated tools” that helped remove structures like garages and sheds. The most significant additions were in Alaska, U.S. territories and tribal lands, she said.
The challenge process led to nearly 122,000 new location additions, she noted, but also added that the majority of location adds were due to the updates and dataset model refinements by the agency’s contractor CostQuest.
“While over time we expect future versions of the Fabric to require fewer refinements,” Rosenworcel added, “these ongoing efforts to improve the Fabric outside of the challenge process will continue and will remain an important tool for the improvement of the National Broadband Map.”
Broadband Mapping & Data
Association Says FCC Not Budging on Identifying Anchor Institutions on Broadband Map
SHLB said FCC officials recommended a workaround that risked penalties.

WASHINGTON, March 22, 2023 – An association representing anchor institutions said in a letter Wednesday that officials from the Federal Communications Commission conveyed that they will not be changing the methodology that excludes schools and libraries from the broadband map and instead recommended a “work around” that the group said could risk penalties.
The Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition has repeatedly told the FCC that its broadband map incorrectly leaves out anchor institutions because they are categorized as non-broadband serviceable locations by virtue of the fact that they are treated as businesses that purchase commercial service rather than subscribers to “mass-market broadband internet access service,” which is what the FCC maps. SHLB has said this means institutions may not be able to get enhanced connectivity.
While SHLB has said that many small and rural libraries and other institutions subscribe to mass market service, it said in meeting notes from a Monday rendezvous with officials that the commission is “locked into” their current methodology and even recommended a “work-around” that the association said risked penalties.
According to SHLB, officials said the institutions could challenge their status on the map by representing that “they are not anchor institutions in order to change their designation.
“This recommendation is not feasible,” SHLB said. “Anchor institutions are not about to risk penalties by mis-representing themselves in such a way.”
The map, which has been extensively challenged by local governments and is updated every six months, is relied on to provide the most accurate picture of connectivity in the country and to assist federal agencies in divvying out public money. In fact, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will use the map to determine how much each state will get from tis $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program by June 30.
SHLB said it commissioned a study that found the “vast majority” of 200 libraries on the FCC map were “grayed out” as not broadband serviceable locations.
“If states base their funding decisions on the Map, they will not be able to provide funding to ensure that anchor institutions receive gigabit level service as called for” in the BEAD program, SHLB said in the letter.
The association also said that information presented to it by the FCC during the meeting suggests the map “significantly overstates the areas that are served.”
Broadband Mapping & Data
Alex Kerai: The Rise of Digital Nomads Highlights Fast Broadband Needs
The top cities for remote work all have something in common: fast internet speed and free connection spots.

Companies across the United States are offering remote work, providing the opportunity for employees to become digital nomads and travel the globe while working. But where should these ‘digital nomads’ go?
The team at Reviews.org came up with a list of the 10 best cities for digital nomads and found that the key to living life as a digital nomad is fast internet speed. In fact, all but one of the top 10 cities for digital nomads have average internet speeds of over 100 Megabits per second (Mbps).
Why do digital nomads need fast internet?
Digital nomads have been around for decades, but they gained in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic when it was possible to work from anywhere in the world.
But you can’t just pack your bags and set off on your journey. The most important things digital nomads need are a laptop, a cell phone and a strong internet connection. While it can be easy to find the first two things, a strong internet connection is dependent on where you move.
However, it can be hard to find a strong enough connection for Zoom calls and Google Docs while you’re in the middle of nowhere. So the big thing digital nomads need to consider before embarking on the trek of a lifetime is finding a place with a strong connection.
The top cities all have one thing in common
At Reviews.org, we decided to find the best U.S. cities for digital nomads. Forty percent of the weighted score was given to average download speed and the number of free WiFi hotspots. Internet connectivity was key to ranking the best cities.
And what did we find? All of the top cities have fast internet speed and free connection spots.
- Atlanta, GA: 114.1 Mbps average speed and 138 free WiFi hotspots
- Portland, OR: 106.2 Mbps average speed and 153 free WiFi hotspots
- Austin, TX: 104.2 Mbps average speed and 134 free WiFi hotspots
- Seattle, WA: 111 Mbps average speed and 164 free WiFi hotspots
- Phoenix, AZ: 96.2 Mbps average speed and 114 free WiFi hotspots
- Houston, TX: 115.7 Mbps average speed and 105 free WiFi hotspots
- Dallas, TX: 117.1 Mbps average speed and 96 free WiFi hotspots
- Chicago, IL: 104.1 Mbps average speed and 143 free WiFi hotspots
- Las Vegas, NV: 116.2 Mbps average speed and 65 free WiFi hotspots
- San Francisco, CA: 124.2 Mbps average speed and 119 free WiFi hotspots
These metro areas were determined to have the fastest speeds thanks to Federal Communications Commission data compiled by HighSpeedInternet.com, which discovered that the average internet speed is 89.3 Mbps and the fastest metro is separated from the slowest metro by over 95 Mbps!
So, where you decide to live can have a huge impact on how you work. If you live in Myrtle Beach, North Carolina (number 98 on our list), you might have gorgeous weather and views, but its average internet speeds are over 65 Mbps slower than metros in our top 15.
Overall, digital nomads need to have fast internet speed and numerous provider options in their metro area. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to have some WiFi spots available when you want to work outside of the house.
Becoming a digital nomad
Digital nomads have the freedom to travel and work from anywhere. With the increasing prevalence of remote work plus the ubiquity of mobile, wireless technology, anyone is able to become a digital nomad and move somewhere new. And honestly, it’s pretty awesome having the ability to travel the world without worrying about commuting to an office.
But to be a digital nomad, you need to have internet access and broadband equity is key. Without it, there’s no way you can stay connected to your work while living away from the office. Some places have better internet access than others, but overall US metros share strong internet connection and lots of WiFi hotspots.
So what are you waiting for? Pick a city from our list and start your life as a digital nomad today!
Alex Kerai is the Consumer Trends Reporter for Reviews.org where his writing and research help users tackle what lies ahead. He has spent his career writing for small businesses, entertainment companies, nonprofits, and higher education institutions, helping them align their mission and attract consumers. This piece is exclusive to BroadbandBreakfast, but the research was originally published by Reviews.org on February 7, 2023.
Broadband Breakfast accepts commentary from informed observers of the broadband scene. Please send pieces to commentary@breakfast.media. The views reflected in Expert Opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the views of Broadband Breakfast and Breakfast Media LLC.
-
Fiber3 weeks ago
‘Not a Great Product’: AT&T Not Looking to Invest Heavily in Fixed Wireless
-
Broadband Roundup2 weeks ago
AT&T Floats BEAD in USF Areas, Counties Concerned About FCC Map, Alabama’s $25M for Broadband
-
Big Tech3 weeks ago
House Innovation, Data, and Commerce Chairman Gus Bilirakis to Keynote Big Tech & Speech Summit
-
Big Tech2 weeks ago
Watch the Webinar of Big Tech & Speech Summit for $9 and Receive Our Breakfast Club Report
-
Big Tech2 weeks ago
Preview the Start of Broadband Breakfast’s Big Tech & Speech Summit
-
#broadbandlive2 weeks ago
Broadband Breakfast on March 8: A Status Update on Tribal Broadband
-
#broadbandlive1 week ago
Broadband Breakfast on March 22, 2023 – Robocalls, STIR/SHAKEN and the Future of Voice Telephony
-
Broadband Mapping & Data4 weeks ago
Tribal Ready Wants Better Broadband Data to Benefit Indian Country