FCC Broadband Map Challenges Must be Made by Friday January 13th
Ruthana Beezley, on behalf of the Pocahontas County Broadband Council; the WV Broadband Enhancement Council; and WV Office of Broadband is urgently asking the residents of Pocahontas County to check the accuracy of the information provided by their internet service providers to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) new National Broadband Map.
That map shows the broadband availability at every address in the state and that information will be used to calculate the funds allocated to the State of West Virginia by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) which will provide historic amounts of funding for broadband deployment nationwide under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The accuracy of the map information and broadband speed at your address is important to ensure that the state receives the correct funding for broadband expansion through the NTIA. The FCC has set a deadline of January 13th -that’s THIS Friday – for you to challenge any inaccuracies on the map.
Since the current information on the FCC’s Broadband Map is based upon the claims of internet service providers (ISPs), it is important for every household and business in West Virginia to visit the map’s webpage, search up their address on the FCC’s map, check to see if your address is accurately located on the map, and determine whether the broadband speeds actually provided to you by your ISP match the broadband speeds your provider has told the FCC it provides to your address, and if not, there is a mechanism to challenge any inaccurate information currently on the map, but again, you need to do this immediately as the deadline to enter your challenge is Friday, January 13th.
To go to the FCC National Broadband Map, use this address: https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home#/ enter your location and it will take you to your address on the map.
You should file a challenge if:
- A provider denied a request for service at your location,
- A provider does not offer the technology reported to be offered at your location,
- A provider does not offer the speeds reported to be available at your location,
- A provider needed to build new equipment at your location,
- A wireless or satellite signal is not available at your location,
- A provider failed to schedule a service installation within ten business days of a request,
- A provider did not install the service at the agreed-upon time, or
- A provider requested more than the standard installation fee to connect the service.
To challenge the accuracy of your address’s location on the map or the accuracy of your internet service indicated on the map, go to: https://www.fcc.gov/BroadbandData/consumers which has instructions and videos on how to submit challenges.
See below the full email from Ruthana Beezley which has all of this information and links in it, but again remember challenges have to be submitted online to the FCC by this Friday, January 13th.
Help: Challenge FCC Broadband Maps by 1/13/23
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Jan 7, 2023, 10:43 AM (3 days ago) |
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The Pocahontas County Broadband Council needs your help again! Not a speed test this time, instead, the FCC is gathering new data about your internet provider and service they claim they provide your address! You can check this on the maps and file a challenge. More participation will support broadband efforts. Below is information from the WV Broadband Enhancement Council and WV Office of Broadband about the importance of challenging the updated FCC Maps, which can also be found here: https://broadband.wv.gov/news/west-virginians-encouraged-to-challenge-the-fcc-broadband-map-before-january-13/. You can submit from anywhere for your address – you don’t need internet (or good internet) from home to verify services or file challenges. DEADLINE TO HELP January 13th 2023. ___________________________________________ West Virginians Encouraged to Challenge the FCC Broadband Map before January 13 The West Virginia Office of Broadband and the West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council ask that all West Virginians review their data as listed on the new National Broadband Map. The map was released by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on November 18, 2022. West Virginia residents are encouraged to review the new National Broadband Map to help ensure accuracy. Challenges must be submitted to the FCC before January 13, 2023. According to the FCC, the new National Broadband Map is a “pre-production draft.” The map currently identifies broadband availability at the address level. Users can search a specific location, like a home or business address, to view details on available broadband services. What it means for West Virginians The FCC map will be used to calculate the funds allocated to the State of West Virginia by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. This program will provide historic funding for broadband deployment nationwide under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The FCC map includes a variety of functions, including a summary of the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that may serve a specific location. Other details on the map include
When to file a challenge West Virginians should submit a challenge if:
How to file a challenge Challenge a Location Challenge Availability The West Virginia Office of Broadband appreciates your participation in the challenge process to help ensure that all West Virginians are accurately represented on the FCC map. Challenges must be submitted by January 13, 2023. For assistance, please call the FCC Consumer Affairs Hotline (800) 622-4496. The deadline to challenge the data is January 13, 2023. For video instructions on how to file a challenge, go to How to Submit an Availability Challenge. Attachments area Preview YouTube video How to Submit an Availability Challenge
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