WASHINGTON, March 23, 2023 – The head of the Federal Communications Commission said Thursday that the commission added just over one million net 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.”

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.”

WASHINGTON, March 2, 2023 – Advocacy group Next Century Cities pressed Federal Communications Commission officials in a meeting late last month to incorporate the average speeds of internet packages on the new broadband label instead of just “typical” speeds.

“An average speed allows consumers to understand the real speeds they can expect to receive, whereas typical speeds can only provide the potential speed a consumer might receive,” the group said in a Thursday letter summarizing the meeting. “Broadband speed estimates are typically higher than actual speeds delivered.”

The FCC is now in the process of gathering more input as to whether it should include more information on the label that is supposed to resemble nutrition panels on foods. The labels have been ordered by the commission in November after a consultation with the public.

The group also pushed for discounts consumers are eligible for and the state and local taxes that they would have to pay. “These data points enhance a consumer’s ability to understand the charges at the end of the month, which is also essential for the success of the CBNL.”

The point the group is pushing is that more granular data is required to get service to as many people as possible. “Absent granular data, the Commission will continue to have significant blind spots in broadband deployment, the success of its subsidy programs, and key areas that require digital discrimination investigations,” the NCC said in the letter.

Experts, however, have warned about the level of detail and additional information on the labels that may burden providers, including smaller outfits that have fewer resources than larger players.

In addition to the broadband speeds promised by the providers, the new labels must also display typical latency, time-of-purchase fees, data limits, and provider-contact information.

The NCC also recommended the FCC set up a “quasi-formal complaint process” for state and local governments, community anchor institutions like libraries, schools and health care facilities, and other organizations that collect digital discrimination data. This, it said, would allow for a less burdensome way to communicate issues without having to go through the “procedural burden” of a formal complaint.

“It would also promote collaboration between local officials, community leaders, anchor institutions, and the Commission which are all working to help end digital discrimination,” it said.

The commission is currently examining how to define digital discrimination when it comes to infrastructure builds.