NTCA Members Warn of 'Years-Long Implications' Without Better FCC Broadband Maps

NTCA urged the FCC to further refine its broadband mapping process “before bad decisions are locked in and have years-long implications,” Cassidy Hjelmstad, SRT Communications CEO-general manager, and Roger Nishi, Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom vice president-industry relations, wrote in NTCA’s Advocacy Spotlight series (see 2405200065). Current maps encourage companies to overstate coverage areas, and it's "almost impossible" to correct data if an individual provider overstates coverage for thousands of locations, the NTCA members wrote. They recommended the FCC “take a step back and get coverage claims right.” The system “wasn’t built to handle overstatements on a widespread basis," they added.