States Wait to See How Changes to FCC Broadband Map Affects Theirs

As the FCC considers changes to its national broadband map, states are waiting to see what ramifications those changes have on their own maps. Minnesota's broadband map shares some of the same shortcomings as the FCC's Form 477-centric map, and it's worked with providers on improvements, emailed state Office of Broadband Development Executive Director Danna MacKenzie. "We will gladly give it up if and when the federal map improves and meets our needs."

There's no uniform data collection among states, so an NTIA pilot program later this year with eight states will involve trying to use as many types of data to uniformly measure broadband penetration, acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Doug Kinkoph said Tuesday at a Senate Broadband Caucus panel. He said the agency has had dozens of meetings with companies and industry groups about layering other data atop FCC Form 477 data to try to get a clearer picture of trends. He said NTIA would love to see address-based broadband mapping and it has been talking with its mapping software vendor about building a new platform and what data sets could be pulled to incorporate.

Whether any of the proposed national broadband map changes affects BroadbandNow's own state-by-state mapping depends on the .gov data that continues to be openly released, the online mapping service emailed us. It said it's not clear if any of the proposals will result in publicly available data or if it will be privatized for grant and feasibility purposes only. The internet service comparison website that does multiple state maps said it's also unclear if any proposals will be nationally adopted for multiple years, as government has a history of starting and stopping mapping projects. It's vetting alternative sources for data to provide more useful rural maps than what it's able to do on the 477 backbone alone.

"We look at" the FCC broadband map, and sometimes use FCC data to figure out if any ISPs have submitted information to the federal agency but not to California, said Michael Morris, California Public Utilities Commission video franchising and broadband deployment group supervisor. The CPUC also uses information provided to the FCC about service providers' footprints and where they say they have service so California knows where to do verification testing, Morris said.

State maps are "sort of a hodgepodge," and accurate and precise data often hasn't been a priority, said Sascha Meinrath, Penn State University telecommunications chair and Measurement Lab co-founder. He said state officials increasingly understand that those official maps "are more of an advertisement than a reality." He said research shows a gap between what FCC mapping shows for rural America and what researchers actually find, and that gap is widening as ISPs increasingly overstate what exists.

The FCC didn't comment for this report.

States' Maps

Meinrath said states need to do their own mapping, instead of relying on national maps, and "start fresh" instead of relying on Form 477 data. He said any state approach needs to be a mix of advertised availabilities form ISPs, but also on-the-ground measurements of what customers experience. Meinrath is heading up research mapping broadband availability across Pennsylvania, and said efforts like that state's and California's are "three-quarters baked" as opposed to the FCC map or various half-baked state maps.

"Everyone's talking about mapping," but states won't see effective maps until they have granular ISP data and/or crowdsourced data, said University of Virginia assistant professor Christopher Ali. Every state struggles with getting granular data, such as house-by-house information that ISPs have but don't make public, he said.

A broadband mapping official in one state said state maps could be redundant if the FCC implemented best practices and open methodologies. That seems unlikely given complaints for years about the agency's current system. The official said states hopefully will go ahead on rigorous mapping methodologies.

Minnesota's MacKenzie said elements from all the various competing mapping proposals before the FCC could mean improvements. She said while states regularly talk to one another about their approaches, it's unlikely one standard will emerge unless the FCC "is ultimately forced to make a change." Each state has different variables, such as ability or willingness to fund state-level mapping or open data laws that affect what providers will share, she said.

Congressional aides expect significant criticism of FCC broadband coverage data collection practices at an House Communications Subcommittee oversight hearing Wednesday (see 1905140060). That's amid the agency's investigation whether top wireless carriers submitted incorrect coverage maps in violation of Mobility Fund Phase II rules. Broadband mapping issues are drawing lawmaker ire.

During the panel discussion, speakers largely discussed the need for better broadband mapping.

Broadband 'Core' at FCC

Broadband "is at the core of what the FCC is doing," and data about its deployment is used across the agency for everything from various reports to policymaking, said Wireline Bureau Chief Kris Monteith.

Sen. Shelley Capito, R-W.Va., said states left behind by the digital divide are "going to drag the rest ... down." She said she's been working with Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, on crafting legislation regarding more granular mapping.

"You can't make good policy without good data," said Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, who said maps show the capital of Augusta with good mobile service, but personal experience shows otherwise. He said the current approach based on whether a provider could easily serve an area isn't satisfactory because it's unclear if that service will be delivered.

Considering the Form 477-centric approach used to be based on ZIP codes, it's more granular than ever, but still limited, said USTelecom Senior Vice President-Advocacy and Regulatory Affairs Patrick Halley. "This is not the time for incrementalism" in improvements, he said. He laid out the two-step proposal central to an initiative being led by USTelecom (see 1903210041).

NCTA is focusing on shapefiles because of provider and government familiarity, meaning the biggest potential improvements in existing mapping in the shortest amount of time, said Executive Vice President James Assey. Halley said administrative process issues mean no mapping change can happen quickly. But USTelecom's pilot will be done by Q3, if not sooner, and implementation of its approach could be done in 18 to 24 months, he said. Both industry groups had positive things to say about the other's proposal, with Assey calling USTelecom's approach "great" and Halley saying the shapefile approach is "reasonable." USTelecom is a member of the Broadband Coalition, which previously had raised concerns about the shapefile approach (see 1904150059).

Assey pointed to demographics, as well as geography and technology, as hurdles to broadband adoption. None of the panelists mentioned broadband pricing in mapping data needs