It’s been easy to criticize the Federal Communications Commission broadband coverage maps since they are still full of errors and fantasy. I don’t foresee the maps getting any better as long as internet service providers (ISPs) can continue to decide what they want to report in terms of broadband coverage and speeds. Too many ISPs have reasons for reporting maps they know are inaccurate, and it’s hard to think that’s going to change. Yet if the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program comes somewhat close to solving the rural broadband gap, the FCC maps will quickly lose relevance. The FCC is always going to need some version of the maps to report to Congress each year on the state of broadband. But when the maps stop being a tool for deciding who gets grant funding, most local and state governments will stop caring about the maps – and nobody is going to much care what ISPs report to the FCC. But I still think the FCC owes it to the public to provide a way to judge and compare the local ISPs. I think the FCC should buy the entire Ookla speed test database every month and make it available to the public in a portal where folks can see the speed tests actually reported for the ISPs working in their neighborhood.

ConnectLA launched the statewide challenge process on October 6, 2023. Per the requirements of the recently approved Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Initial Proposal Volume 1, the challenge process will determine locations that need broadband service through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The goal of the process is to fully understand which locations throughout the state are eligible for funding through NTIA's BEAD Program. Registration began Sept 29, and the formal challenge process began Oct 6. Only parish/municipal officials, non-profit organizations and internet service providers can submit challenges to locations that are marked as served but should be considered unserved. The challenge process will end on Jan 4, 2024. More information can be found here.

With the aid of federal funds, the Central Vermont Supervisory Union is busy giving its school buses an upgrade: equipping them with Wi-Fi, so students can turn long, idle drives into time to do homework. Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel and Sen Peter Welch (D-VT) toured one soon-to-be-minted Wi-Fi school bus at the Williamstown (VT) Middle and High School on October 10. The Central Vermont Supervisory Union used funds from the FCC’s Emergency Connectivity Fund — a COVID-19 era program intended to provide schools with tools to shift to remote learning — to jumpstart its Wi-Fi on school buses effort, said Trey Cates, technology director for the supervisory union. That pandemic-era program will sunset in June 2024. But Rosenworcel hopes to open up a new route for more schools to equip buses with Wi-Fi. Rosenworcel hopes to expand the E-Rate program’s reach to buses; the FCC will consider the matter at its next open meeting.