NTIA Plans to Award $50 Million Contract to CostQuest, but Considers Competitive Procurement

WASHINGTON, October 24, 2022 – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration will gather public input until Wednesday on whether it should open a competitive procurement process for broadband mapping data or partner by default with CostQuest Associates.

On October 15, the NTIA publicized its intention to negotiate a sole source contract with CostQuest for access to the latter’s Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric – commonly called the “fabric” – and related products to support the agency’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment; Digital Equity; and the Access Broadband Act programs.

The NTIA estimates the price tag will be $49.9 million and says CostQuest’s data will be used for “identification and use of un and under Served Broadband Serviceable locations as identified by the [Federal Communications Commission] for the use in the BEAD program,” defining high-cost and extremely high-cost areas, tracking broadband-deployment projects, and other purposes.

After reviewing responses, the NTIA will determine if other firms have the “ability to successfully perform this effort” and whether a competitive procurement process should be initiated. Responses are due by 5 p.m. ET on October 26.

CostQuest owns the fabric’s data, but the company provides the dataset to various government entities – such as the NTIA and state governments – and other interested parties, largely for the purpose of correcting its errors through the FCC’s prescribed challenge process.

“CostQuest Associates (CQA) is uniquely positioned as the only entity capable of providing the standard location information, broadband availability information, and estimated cost to implement broadband as a single, linked source,” the NTIA notice said.

Pursuant to the Broadband DATA Act of 2020, the FCC selected a partner – CostQuest – to initially create the fabric, a location-level dataset of all broadband serviceable locations nationwide. CostQuest’s contract with the FCC netted the company $44.9 million. The FCC will overlay the fabric with broadband coverage data to create a national broadband map, the first draft of which the agency says it plans to release in November.

The NTIA is expected to allocate the BEAD program’s $44.45 billion among the states based on the FCC’s national broadband map.

See other Broadband Breakfast articles on CostQuest and broadband mapping:

After Controversial Panel on Mapping, FCC Confirms No Charges for Access to Fabric

FCC Broadband Data Task Force Emphasizes Need for Precision in Mapping Challenges

Communities Must Be Accurate in Fabric-Challenge Submissions, says Mapping Non-profit

Panelists at Broadband Breakfast Event Urge the FCC Mapping Fabric Be Made Public

Federal Court Denies Challenge to FCC Selection of CostQuest as Mapping Contractor

‘Not a Data Company’: LightBox Disappointed by Mapping Contract Denial