Consumers, businesses and other interested parties can now see different data about broadband access via the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) new Indicators of Broadband Need interactive broadband map. Broadband mapping is a hot button issue, given the role…
A new report from BroadbandNow quantifies problems with FCC broadband map data that have been a major issue for policymakers for several years. According to the researchers, FCC data over-reports broadband availability by 6.5% of the U.S. population. The report…
The FCC is encouraging citizens to download and use its Speed Test app, which is part of the commission’s broadband data collection initiative. Currently, the app is used to collect speed test data in the Measuring Broadband America program, which…
Consumers now have the opportunity to tell the FCC about the quality of their broadband connections, or lack thereof. The commission created an online form where people can “share their broadband experience” as part of a broader effort to update…
Thirty states now are now participants in the National Broadband Availability Map (NBAM), a geographic information system (GIS) platform run by the National Telecommunications Industry Association (NTIA). The goal is to create “a national platform that can help inform policymakers…
In this episode of the Broadband Bunch, we speak with Jason Hart, Partner Manager at ESRI. Jason shares with us his unique start in GIS Mapping as a 13-year old boy down a cave in the mountains of West Virginia….
The new COVID-19 relief plan agreed to by Congress over the weekend includes several funding initiatives for important broadband issues. A total of about $7 billion was earmarked for broadband issues, according to several media reports. The $7 billion in…
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai told the Senate Committee on Appropriations yesterday that complying with the Keep Americans Connected pledge could be a hardship for some broadband providers and offered to help legislators if they should choose to make funding available…
President Trump has signed the Broadband DATA Act, and with the signing, the act now becomes law. The act aims to improve FCC broadband availability data, which has been widely criticized for inaccuracy, and it’s an important development as policymakers…
The FCC is seeking comment on bidding procedures for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction, which will award funding for rural broadband. The first of two auction phases would have a budget of $16 billion and is expected to…
How bad is FCC broadband availability data? Researchers at BroadbandNow estimate that at least 20.7 million people considered to have broadband available to them can’t get service. The total unserved population nationwide is at least 42 million – about twice…
The top broadband stories of 2019 involved a range of technologies and a range of key players. In no particular order, here’s our recap, with a look at what the big stories of 2019 will mean for 2020. Policymakers wake…
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