Data & Mapping

Digital economic activity and its impact on local opportunity

Online businesses and platform work can create the impression that the digital economy is ephemeral and placeless. But the digital economy is experienced locally, and its effects are spatial. Measuring them requires better community-level data on economic activities online. While new government data measures broadband subscriptions down to neighborhoods, existing public data do not measure how broadband is used in local communities, and whether this digital activity affects economic outcomes.

Five Million Households Enrolled in Broadband Discount Program

Over five million households have enrolled in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program since its launch in mid-May. The Federal Communications Commission released more granular enrollment data to inform its evolving awareness efforts, increase transparency in the program, and empower its outreach partners to better target awareness and enrollment efforts.

The Major Obstacle Preventing Americans from Getting the Emergency Broadband Benefit

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in our country, millions of Americans cannot connect to the internet because they can’t afford to, preventing them from going to school, working, accessing government benefits and connecting with friends and family. To remedy this problem, Congress created the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB), which offers low-income consumers a $50 discount on their internet bills.

Senate’s internet access plan rests on better broadband maps

The Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure bill makes a $42.5 billion bet that the government will overcome an obstacle that has long plagued efforts to connect most Americans to the internet: notoriously inaccurate maps showing where they can get a signal – and where they can’t. That’s the amount of grant funding that the legislation would provide to states to fund broadband projects in areas currently considered unserved or underserved. To qualify, proposals would have to comply with new broadband maps drawn by the Federal Communications Commission.

Fiber ecosystem gets stoked about the infrastructure bill

People involved in the deployment of fiber in the United States are getting pretty excited about the potential $65 billion for broadband in the bipartisan infrastructure bill. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will develop the program to manage and dispense the funding, with consultation from the Federal Communications Commission.

NTIA and States Get Say Over Broadband Funds in Senate Infrastructure Bill

Under the Senate infrastructure bill, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) would distribute $42.5 billion in new broadband subsidies through grants to eligible states. Local authorities would then competitively award that money to broadband service and infrastructure providers.

Texas Launches Broadband Development Office

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced the creation of a Broadband Development Office (BDO), which will award grants and loans and provide other incentives in the interest of expanding access to broadband in underserved areas.

FCC Launches New Mobile Broadband Map

The Federal Communications Commission published its brand-new map showing mobile coverage and availability data in the US from the country’s largest wireless providers. This is the first public map showing updated mobile coverage released by the FCC and represents a significant improvement over other data previously published by the agency.

Broadcasters oppose higher fees and funding broadband data collection

Broadcasters are pressing the Federal Communications Commission to change course and not force TV and radio stations to pay for a portion of FCC broadband data collection, from which they do not claim to benefit.

Understanding Broadband Speed Data in NTIA’s Indicators of Broadband Need

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recently released a new public map, the Indicators of Broadband Need. This publicly available resource accompanies the National Broadband Availability Map (NBAM), pulling together public and private broadband internet access service datasets.

Kentucky, Louisiana, and some Tribal areas lead early uptake of Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

Kentucky, Louisiana and Tribal areas have the largest shares of households signing up for the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program subsidy. The Technology Policy Institute's (TPI) Broadband Map uses EBB data from the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) to display program usage and overall progress across the country.

Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel's Response to Rep. Good Regarding Broadband Data Collection

On May 3, Rep Bob Good (R-VA) wrote to Acting Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel with a request for a handful of information:

FCC Seeks Input on Mobile Challenge, Verification Technical Requirements

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB), the Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA), and the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) are implementing the requirements of the Broadband DATA Act to improve the FCC's data on broadband availability. To implement the Broadband DATA Act’s requirements and obtain better mobile broadband availability data, these Bureau and Offices are developing: (1) technical requirements for a challenge process that will enable consumers and other third parties to dispute service providers’ coverage data; (2) a process

Sen Wicker Asks NTIA to Reassess Data Collection Processes

Ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee Roger Wicker (R-MS) sent a letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) asking the agency to reassess its data collection processes and sources, and to use only the most up-to-date and accurate data as it updates its map.

Tribal communities in Colorado may gain better broadband access with new bill

Colorado's official broadband map does not paint an accurate picture of internet access for Tribal communities according to leaders.

​​R​eviewing S​tates' ​S​trategies for ​I​mproving​ Broadband​ ​Access

States differ in how they manage broadband deployment and which agencies or offices they task with identifying challenges, charting goals, and encouraging investment. Some states have a centralized office responsible for managing or coordinating broadband efforts. In others, multiple agencies have jurisdiction over broadband. More than half of states have established dedicated funds to support deployment of high-speed internet, and many have developed goals, plans, and maps for expansion of access.

Current proposals are not enough to close the digital divide

The Federal Communications Commission and the Biden administration have taken significant steps to fill the broadband gap in the United States, but bridging the divide is not easy. Figuring out where the broadband gaps are is no small task, and current mapping efforts fall short by overstating the amount of broadband in given locations—a product of relying on industry-reported data which is inherently incomplete.

FCC, NTIA, USDA Sign Interagency Agreement on Broadband Deployment Funding

The Federal Communications Commission, the Department of Agriculture, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will share information about and coordinate the distribution of federal broadband deployment funds.

House New York Launches Affordable Housing Broadband Initiative

House New York (HNY), an affiliate of the New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH), and the Broadband Equity Partnership are launching an initiative to create a comprehensive dataset of building-based connectivity solutions that will support the City and State in achieving universal broadband adoption in its affordable housing stock. The Affordable Housing Broadband Initiative (AHBI)–the first of its kind in the nation–is made possible by support from the Ford Foundation and Schmidt Futures.

Guidance on Proposals for NTIA’s Broadband Infrastructure Program

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Notice of Funding (NOFO) for their new Broadband Infrastructure Progam provides a complicated definition for eligible service areas. Here is our analysis of the NOFO protocols on data usage and mapping for program proposals:

NSF and USDA fund rural broadband test site in Iowa

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the US Department of Agriculture are spending $8 million to build a rural broadband testing site in Ames, Iowa, that both industry engineers and researchers from Iowa State University plan to use for developing wireless technologies and piloting rural connectivity strategies.

Cable providers push back against Biden's new broadband need map

Cable broadband operators represented by NCTA - the Internet & Television Association are no fans of the Biden Administration's new "Indicators of Broadband Need" mapping tool recently unveiled by the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA). NCTA reiterated its longstanding support of federal efforts to create broadband mapping tools, but said that the NTIA's new map takes from unreliable and inaccurate data sources.

Industry contests Biden's new broadband map

Groups representing broadband providers questioned the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's new "Indicators of Broadband Need" map, with various statements on its efficacy. Cable trade group NCTA - The Internet and Television Association argues that the interactive tool has "obscured, rather than clarified, the true state of broadband with [a] mashup of disparate, and often inaccurate, data sources." NCTA also supports federal efforts to create a "relia

NTIA Creates First Interactive Map to Show the National Digital Divide

This digital map displays key indicators of broadband needs across the country.  The “Indicators of Broadband Need” tool is the first interactive, public map that allows users to explore different datasets about where people do not have quality Internet access. It contains data aggregated at the county, census tract, and census block level from the US Census Bureau, the Federal Communications Commission, Measurement Lab, Ookla, and Microsoft.