New York’s ConnectALL Program has submitted over 31,000 addresses from across the state to the Federal Communications Commission under the Broadband Data Collection challenge process.
The federal challenge process, which allows states to propose changes or updates to the FCC’s broadband maps, helps to better locate areas unserved or underserved by broadband. In doing so, these proposed changes inform federal funding decisions regarding broadband access and help to ensure that high-speed internet is available at every address in the country.
“Affordable, reliable broadband is an absolute necessity for accessing work, education, and important government services, and we can no longer afford to treat it like a luxury,” Governor Hochul said. “Thanks to our first-of-its-kind broadband mapping tool we have a clearer picture than ever about New York’s broadband needs and we are better able to advocate for federal funding and program support to fill those gaps. My administration remains committed to ensuring that families and businesses are well-connected to broadband, and I look forward to a continued partnership with local, state, and federal authorities to make high-speed internet available to all New Yorkers.”
The Commerce Department is expected to begin disbursing broadband funding from the IIJA to states and territories in late 2023 based largely on the proportion of unserved and underserved homes and businesses in each state, using maps created by the FCC. The FCC has begun by issuing a “map fabric” that is meant to include all addresses in the country, which they shared with all states and other stakeholders to challenge and improve.
This challenge was made possible due to New York’s first-of-its-kind, interactive broadband map launched earlier this year, which contains detailed information of the State’s broadband infrastructure down to the street-level. The challenge process is a critical step in determining New York’s funding allocation for broadband from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). ConnectALL will continue to analyze the FCC maps. The 31,798 records in the State’s challenge are all among the 138,598 addresses identified as unserved or underserved by the Department of Public Service’s (DPS) Broadband Assessment Program and include evidence that they meet the FCC’s definition for inclusion in the federal map. The ConnectALL Office collaborated with DPS and the Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) to analyze and challenge the FCC maps.
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