Fears Grow Over Plan to Distribute Billions in Broadband Dollars
Source: Route Fifty, Kerry Murakami
State and local officials are raising alarm about what they say are major flaws with a federal map that will guide where the infrastructure money is sent. They want the Biden administration to extend a timeline for flagging the problems.
In several states around the country, officials say they are finding major problems with a crucial, new federal map meant to show the adequacy of internet service at the household level.
The Federal Communications Commission map, released last month, is critical in determining how the Biden administration will distribute billions of dollars in federal broadband funding from last year’s infrastructure law around the country. But state and local officials say they’re seeing discrepancies that have them concerned the money will not go to the places where it’s most needed to give Americans improved access to high-speed internet.
With a deadline looming in just over a month for states to find inaccuracies in the map that could affect how much of the money they’ll get, some heads of state broadband offices and local officials are saying the federal government should offer more time to find and report problems.
Each state in the nation is guaranteed to receive at least $100 million from the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to build or improve broadband networks in areas that lack service.
The concern among state and local officials is that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will use the FCC’s map to decide by June 30 how to spread around the rest of the money, which is the bulk of what’s available. The agency will determine how much each state will get based on the extent to which they have poor internet access.
State and local officials acknowledge that the latest map more accurately shows what parts of the country have, or do not have, adequate service compared to a previous version. But still, state broadband directors and others see significant flaws.