NTIA’s Alan Davidson Touts FCC Map, Expresses Worry About Challenge Deadline

WASHINGTON, December 16, 2022 – National Telecommunications and Information Administration chief Alan Davidson praised the first draft of the national broadband map, although he expressed concern at the short timeframe in which stakeholders can challenge its data before it will be used to allocate a massive tranche of federal funds.

“[The first draft is] a bit of a technical wonder,” Davidson said on Thursday at the 40th Annual Institute on Telecommunications Policy and Regulation conference. First released by the Federal Communications Commission in November, the map contains about 100 million locations and more than 800 million data points that chronicle broadband availability nationwide, Davidson noted.

The FCC has solicited challenges to the map’s data from state governments, service providers, the general public, and other stakeholders. Although the FCC will accept challenges on an ongoing basis, the NTIA has said challenges should be submitted before January 13, 2022, to be factored into the agency’s allocation of the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.

When questioned, Davidson admitted he was “incredibly uncomfortable” with the January-13 deadline, although he stated the NTIA is working with under-resourced states to facilitate their challenge participation.

The map’s first draft has faced heavy criticisms from lawmakers and industry players who say its data is deeply inaccurate. Many worry that its data will be insufficiently corrected by January 13, which could lead to a misallocation of BEAD funds. This concern is particularly acute in largely rural states.