Accurate Broadband Coverage Data Still an Issue for BEAD, Experts Say

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2025 – Flawed broadband maps are still a major issue for the Commerce Department’s $42.45 billion broadband expansion program, experts said Wednesday.

The coverage maps that determined eligibility for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program were based on a database of every broadband serviceable location in the country, called the fabric, maintained by CostQuest. That was overlaid with coverage information reported by providers to the Federal Communications Commission, and states last year ran their own challenge processes, giving ISPs, local governments, and nonprofits the chance to contest that advertised coverage for the purposes of BEAD eligibility. 

State broadband offices had to update their maps again in June after the Trump administration instituted new rules for the program, checking again for new builds, changes to FCC data, and coverage from wireless ISPs on unlicensed spectrum.