FCC’s Rosenworcel promises broadband map this fall

With an accurate broadband map still the critical missing piece in the United States’ plan to close the digital divide, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told a House subcommittee that the new map will “absolutely” be ready by the fall.

“My goal is to build the kind of maps that are not just good for the moment we’re in but provide a framework and a structure that people can use five to ten years from now,” said Rosenworcel last week during a House Energy and Commerce hearing called Connecting America: Oversight of the FCC.

In March – following a review by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) – it was announced that CostQuest would fulfill the FCC’s contract for the national broadband location serviceable fabric. While the FCC tapped CostQuest for the project in November, another bidder, LightBox, protested the award. As per the Broadband DATA Act mandating the creation of the new FCC map, the agency was required to pause for 100 days while the GAO reviewed the protest.

“We got slowed up in that process because federal contracting rules required us to put our pencils down for 100 days. But we were victorious earlier this month,” said Rosenworcel. “Now it’s all systems go.”

The chairwoman also referenced other work the agency has done to facilitate the mapping process, including bringing in a broadband and data architect, acquiring systems “to make sure we have the capacity to manipulate this data” and beta testing those systems with wireless broadband maps and new propagation models.

According to Rosenworcel, carriers will begin submitting data in June and that data will be converted into maps in the fall.

Challenge process

Rosenworcel also confirmed that the agency will start a “challenge process” once the maps are ready. The process, she said, will “let states, localities, tribes and consumers take a look at our maps and tell us what we got wrong and then make the carriers respond to that.”

To read the complete article, visit Light Reading.