New FCC Map - file under failure…

The FCC has released a new National Broadband Map with the promise that it would shine a light on unserved and underserved areas of the United States. As you interact with the map, it becomes clear that it is broken. Take this location (redacted for privacy) of a resident of the rural unincorporated community of Bodega, CA.

Note that they are about 1 mile from the main road. Comcast has quoted them $150,000.00 to run fiber to their home. Also note the neighbors who have service (the green dots).

This is at zoom level 15. Now, click on the ‘-’ button to zoom out and guess what …

Suddenly the map switches to cells based on census blocks and now showing large blocks as 100% served, even pasture land where there is only a single home. Now zoom out one more time and the entire area is showing up mostly 100% served. It is important to note that our example address is still showing as unserved.

It is clear that the implementation of this map is broken leading to the wrong conclusion that this rural area of Sonoma County in California is well served when it is not. Finally, let's just zoom out to show the majority of Sonoma County, whose unincorporated areas are home to 146,739 residents, 30.1% of the total population. What is the real percentage of served versus unserved, clearly NOT this.

click on image to explore the FCC Broadband Map

This is just one example of how even the best efforts are failing. The funny thing is that the Map Legend includes “Served Units Percentage” to support degrees of service, but the underlying logic results in a 0% or 100% served. Clearly whoever developed this map failed.

As you can see, if even one home in a census block -- the smallest geographic area used by the US Census Bureau -- can get broadband service, the entire area is considered served. In rural areas, that home may be the only place with internet service for miles around. And the data only shows places service providers could provide broadband within 10 business days of a request, not areas that are actually connected. As of the 2010 census, there were 11.2 million census blocks in the US. By comparison, there are an estimated 150 million parcels -- the way land is divided for taxes -- in the country.

Even worse! To build the map, internet service providers twice a year give the FCC what's called Form 477 data that details coverage areas and speeds. But the FCC doesn't check the data; it just relies on the ISPs to report accurate information.

The flawed maps have presented a big problem as governments try to distribute broadband funding. If a census block is considered covered by the FCC map, it's not eligible for federal assistance. That's particularly worrisome as the US distributes billions through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, which the FCC has called its "largest investment ever to close [the] digital divide."

What is the solution? A mapping tool that consolidates all the address databases and then shows service relative to population, not by census block. Next, ISP’s should be providing addresses that either have service, or have had service in the past. Overlaying the two, we now have a true picture of how bad access to broadband in rural California really is.