Editorial · May 13, 2023
FCC Broadband Map: Check Your Address for Rural Service
The FCC broadband map is a free federal tool that shows which internet providers say they serve your address. You type in your street address, and the map lists each provider, the type of service and the speeds it reports. If the listing is wrong, you can tell the FCC. This guide shows you how.
The Federal Communications Commission released the map on November 18, 2022. It calls this first release a “pre-production draft.” The agency says the draft is a first step and that public challenges are key to making the map more accurate.
Sources: FCC release as reprinted by Infodocket, November 18, 2022; Route Fifty, November 18, 2022.
What the map shows
The older maps counted a whole census block as served if just one location in it had service. That hid many rural gaps. The new map works at the level of single locations instead. It shows fixed services, such as cable, fiber or fixed wireless, that providers report at a given address. It also shows mobile coverage that cellular providers report.
Remember one point: the map shows what providers report. It is not a test of what you can actually get. That is why the FCC asks the public to check it.
Sources: Infodocket, November 18, 2022; Route Fifty, November 18, 2022.
How to look up your address
Go to broadbandmap.fcc.gov and search for your street address. When the map finds it, you can open the fixed broadband view and read the list of providers. A data download page is also on the site. The FCC also posted a video tutorial and challenge instructions on its consumer page, at fcc.gov/BroadbandData/consumers.
Check each item against what you know. Ask yourself a few plain questions:
Is the provider really available at your door? Is the type of service right? Are the download and upload speeds close to what you can actually buy? Is your home on the map at all?
Sources: Infodocket, November 18, 2022; National League of Cities, December 14, 2022.
Two kinds of challenge
The map lets you file two different challenges. They fix different problems.
An availability challenge is for service that the map says you can get but you cannot. Per the National League of Cities, it covers a provider that does not serve the location, a wrong technology type, or wrong download or upload speeds. Open the availability option in the right-hand menu. A form lists the providers at your location, their technology and their speeds.
A location challenge is for errors in the map's own record of your property. Examples include a wrong address, a wrong unit count, a pin outside the building, or a missing address. The FCC says you can fix a location or add yours if it is missing.
Sources: National League of Cities, December 14, 2022; Infodocket, November 18, 2022.
How to file a challenge
The steps for an availability challenge are short. Pick the provider you want to challenge. Fill in your contact details, state the dispute and describe your experience. Add any evidence you have. Then certify that what you wrote is true and correct.
A location challenge works much the same way. Fill in your contact details and the type of error. Add supporting papers, such as a short written description of what is wrong. Then certify the form.
Good evidence is simple. Keep any emails, quotes or letters from a provider that say it cannot connect your address. Write down the dates of your calls. Be factual and specific, because you are certifying the form.
You can file from any device that supports the web, so a phone works. People who want to check a phone carrier's claims can use the updated FCC Speed Test App, which the FCC says lets users send in mobile speed test data to challenge claimed wireless coverage. It is in the Apple App Store and Google Play. Existing users need to update it.
Sources: National League of Cities, December 14, 2022; Infodocket, November 18, 2022.
Why it matters for rural service
The map has real money tied to it. The Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment program, called BEAD, comes from the 2021 infrastructure law and carries about $42.45 billion. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration plans to give that money to states on June 30, 2023. The amounts depend in part on the data in the map, as the National League of Cities notes.
A rural address that the map wrongly marks as served can hide a real gap. NTIA asked for challenges by January 13, 2023, so they could reach the version used for those allocations. That date has passed. The National League of Cities notes that the FCC process stays open after the deadline so the map keeps improving, so a challenge filed today still helps the record.
Local leaders have also taken notice. On October 31, 2022, New York's governor announced that the state had sent the FCC more than 31,000 address locations missing from its data that the state says are unserved or underserved. The state argued that the FCC could not count those places as lacking service unless it updated the map.
Sources: Route Fifty, November 18, 2022; National League of Cities, December 14, 2022; Office of the Governor of New York, October 31, 2022.
A short checklist
Search your address at broadbandmap.fcc.gov. Read each provider line. Note anything that does not match your own experience. File an availability challenge for service you cannot get. File a location challenge if the address itself is wrong. Keep a copy of what you send. Ask a neighbor to check theirs too, since more checked addresses make a better map.
The map is a draft and will change. Check back from time to time, because providers and the FCC may update what it shows.
Sources: National League of Cities, December 14, 2022; Infodocket, November 18, 2022; Route Fifty, November 18, 2022.
Sources
Infodocket, “FCC Releases Draft of New National Broadband Maps and Begins Public Challenge Processes,” November 18, 2022, infodocket.com. National League of Cities, “FCC National Broadband Map: Challenge Process for Local Governments,” December 14, 2022, nlc.org. Route Fifty, “New National Broadband Map Offers Granular Look at Service and Gaps,” November 18, 2022, route-fifty.com. Office of the Governor of New York, “Governor Hochul Issues New York State Challenge to FCC Broadband Data,” October 31, 2022, governor.ny.gov.