Federal Communications Commission releases national broadband map 2.0, prepares to announce BEAD funding allocations by June 30

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has just released version two of its national broadband map, after a months-long process of updating the availability data on which the map is based.

As a reminder to readers, the national broadband map shows where internet service is – and is not – available, down to your residents’ neighborhood and home. Last fall, the FCC kicked off a public challenge process intended to gather accurate mapping data to inform the funding allocation process for the Broadband Equity, Access & Deployment (BEAD) program. The National Telecommunications and Information Administrations (NTIA) will use version two of the FCC map to make allocation decisions for its BEAD formula funds to the country’s 56 states and territories.

For more background on the challenge process, which is ongoing, read AWC’s previous coverage here.

Following are a few takeaways from the new map for Washington:

• The state was found to have more unserved locations and broadband serviceable locations than previously captured in version one of the map.
  • Unserved locations:
    • FCC map version 1: 167,391
    • FCC map version 2: 238,666
    • Change: +71,275
  • Broadband serviceable locations:
    • FCC map version 1: 2,506,609
    • FCC map version 2: 2,527,898
    • Change: +21,289
• We are in the top ten of states who gained the most unserved locations from version one to version two.

The accuracy of the map has improved since it was initially released in November thanks in part to engagement from readers. However, in aggregate, the changes to the national map have been relatively modest, suggesting that future changes will likely be minimal. For this reason, the NTIA believes it has the high-quality data needed to decide on BEAD funding allocations. The agency will announce the state allocation amounts by June 30.

Disclaimer: the numbers that were released are not considered final, as the FCC is continuing to adjudicate availability challenges. Readers should not use these numbers to attempt to run the state’s allocation as the calculation would be missing key pieces of data.

For more details and to find out what the new data means for BEAD funding, read NTIA’s Three takeaways from version 2 of the FCC’s National broadband map.