Data & Mapping

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration seeks feedback under the Paperwork Reduction Act on a set of questions for the November 2027 edition of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey. This collection of questions is known as the NTIA Internet Use Survey and is also referred to as the CPS Computer and Internet Use Supplement.

Since 2020, Congress has steered tens of billions of dollars, including more than $50 billion from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, through federal agencies to connect homes and businesses that lack high-speed internet access. Four agencies account for most of that money: the Federal Communications Commission, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Department of the Treasury.

Every unserved home and business deserves a broadband connection, and this notice gives states a new path to find the locations the first round of the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program missed. We support the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's effort to true up the Federal Communications Commission's maps and ensure funding follows the households and small businesses still waiting for service. Congress recognized that universal connectivity requires investment in both the physical and human infrastructure of broadband.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) provided new guidance to Eligible Entities (States, Territories, and the District of Columbia) regarding the next step in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program implementation.

Rep Richard Hudson (R-NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, led a markup of six bills to strengthen communications networks and modernize satellite regulations. 

• H.R. 8255, the Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act, was forwarded to the Full Committee.

• H.R. 9129, the GUARD Act, was forwarded to the Full Committee.

Access to broadband is critical for work, school, and healthcare. Federal programs have received billions of dollars in recent years to build broadband networks in remote or underserved areas. Some programs expect to complete these networks before the end of 2029—others in 2030 and beyond. Federal programs use Federal Communications Commission data to target funding to underserved areas. FCC accepts challenges from the public on the accuracy of its data and updates it as needed. But small communities and providers with few resources find the challenge process burdensome.

This monthly installment of the Broadband in America Report builds on the prior semiannual 

Before the Senate paused for recess, it passed a bill introduced by Senator Deb Fisher of Nebraska that would require the Federal Communications Commission to undertake a major review of its broadband mapping system. The bill is labeled the Modernization, Accountability, and Planning for Broadband Funding Act. It’s not hard to understand why there are folks who lobbied Congress to ask the FCC to pay more attention to the maps.

There has been a lot of talk about how AI is putting stress on broadband networks, and many analysts are claiming that we need faster broadband speeds to accommodate growing AI traffic. I was particularly struck by a comment from NTCA – the Rural Broadband Association in a filing at the Federal Communications Commission in the FCC docket looking at Universal Service Fund reform.

On August 14, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission released its 2026 Section 706 Report (also known as the Broadband Deployment Report), concluding that “advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.” But did the FCC fulfill its mandate with the report? The FCC did what Section 706 asks in one narrow sense: conducting an inquiry, compiling deployment data, and making a determination.