Data & Mapping

Penalties for FCC Mapping

On August 22, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) threatened significant fines for eleven internet service providers (ISPs) that failed to participate in the FCC broadband data collection and mapping process. These ISPs have been issued several warnings from the FCC to begin complying with the broadband mapping rules.

Here's why Cox is suing Rhode Island's broadband office

Cox Communications has a beef with the Rhode Island broadband office. The operator fears Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funds will be used to overbuild its network in areas of the state that it said it already adequately serves.

Broadband Connectivity and Maternal Health

The United States has the highest level of maternal mortality of any industrialized country.  And deaths from pregnancy-related causes strike women of color and those who live in rural communities especially hard.  This is a crisis.  It requires everyone to identify how they can help because so many studies show that most pregnancy-related deaths are preventable.... We used authority under the Data Mapping to Save Moms’ Lives Act to update the agency’s Mapping Broadband Health in America platform to include maternal health data.

Bridging the Digital Divide: Our Enduring Commitment to Global Connectivity

We’re launching a refresh of the Microsoft Digital Equity Data Dashboard with current data from the Federal Communications Commission, the United States Census Bureau, Code.org, Broadband Now, and Microsoft to help federal, state, and local policymakers gain a better understanding of the factors contributing to the digital divide in communities across the United States.

Impact of the Election on the Broadband Sector

Let’s discuss the current Broadband Policy State of Play and how the election may affect it. There are four fundamental goals of broadband policy:

Building Infrastructure for a Better-Connected World

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's mission is to build a better-connected world. That work includes connecting everyone in America to reliable, affordable high-speed Internet service. The Internet for All initiative is historic. As such, we would be remiss if we failed to learn lessons from the recent history of other federal broadband programs. Top of mind are the failings of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, or RDOF.

NRECA Files Comments with FCC on their Annual State of Broadband Availability Report

​​​​​On October 7, 2024, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) filed in the Federal Communications Commission’s Annual 706 Report on Broadband Availability. NRECA's comments focus on six main points:

CostQuest ‘gerrymanders for good’ to help states create BEAD biddable locations

If you know CostQuest at all you probably think of it as the company that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) hired to help the FCC clean up and refine its national broadband map. But the company is also working with state broadband offices on their Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) programs.

How the 50 U.S. States Stack up in Broadband Speed Performance

Affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband is considered a necessity in the U.S.

Brookings Fellow Blair Levin thinks BEAD is being handled better than RDOF

Blair Levin, non-resident senior fellow with The Brookings Institution, has some opinions about the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. He thinks it’s being run a lot better than the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). Levin recently testified at a House subcommittee hearing where Republican Congresspeople tried to slam the BEAD program. He contrasted BEAD with the RDOF program, which set up a reverse auction to award broadband grants under the former Republican Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai.