https://www.wsj.com/articles/fcc-publishes-map-showing-broadband-coverage-gaps-11668795426?
The draft map has an estimated error rate of 1% to 2%, said Jim Stegeman, chief executive of CostQuest Associates, a federal contractor that helped create it.
“It’s 114 million locations across the U.S.,” Mr. Stegeman said. “Did we get them all right? No. That’s really what the challenge process is meant to do.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/bidens-42-5-billion-broadband-expansion-plan-is-challenged-by-lawmakers-1dded9b8?mod=djemCIO
The program, part of the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, gives money to states based on broadband maps under development at the Federal Communications Commission. Senators and other federal and state officials have criticized those maps, saying an initial version released last fall didn’t include a large number of unserved Americans in their states.
Any undercount could reduce the total dollar amounts each state receives when the Commerce Department determines state-by-state funding amounts, as it is expected to do midway through this year.
For example, new versions of the maps set to be published later this spring will add three million new locations where Americans live or work and might need service, on top of the more than 100 million already identified, she said.
The maps are based in part on internet-service providers’ self-reported data on what addresses they serve, and at what speeds.
Some state authorities believe that internet-service providers overstated their coverage—effectively reducing the number of locations counted as “unserved” with high-speed service.
The state has had to send teams to remote areas to map broadband infrastructure or conduct speed tests, often at great expense, he said. The Nevada broadband office submitted 20,000 challenges to reported service at individual homes and businesses by mid-January and is in the process of submitting another 600,000, he said.
The FCC is set to publish new maps later this spring, after which it will again accept challenges—but there may be only weeks before the Commerce Department is set to make state-by-state funding allocations, a decision expected around June 30.
Western Canada?
https://www.ic.gc.ca/app/scr/sittibc/web/bbmap?lang=eng#!/map
https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/high-speed-internet-canada/en/universal-broadband-fund/national-broadband-data-information
BC
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/connectivity-in-bc/20358
According to the CRTC, 95.5 per cent of households in B.C. have access to target speeds of 50/10 Mbps and are mostly in urban areas. In rural B.C., only 73 per cent of rural communities and 76 per cent of Indigenous communities have access to the recommended internet speeds, leaving the remainder under-served.
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/connectivity-in-bc/20530/20531
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/connectivity-in-bc/20601
On March 8, 2022, an agreement was announced between the provincial and federal governments to provide up to $830 million to support the expansion of high-speed internet services to the remaining rural and Indigenous communities who are underserved in the province. This funding supports a target to provide access to internet services for all households in B.C. with a minimum 50/10 Mbps by 2027, as well as a key item in the Declaration Act Action Plan to connect all First Nations communities to high-speed internet services by 2027.
https://www.northerndevelopment.bc.ca/funding-programs/partner-programs/connecting-british-columbia/
Alberta
https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-broadband-strategy.aspx
https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-broadband-fund.aspx
As part of the Alberta Broadband Strategy, we have committed $36 million to the Alberta Broadband Fund (ABF) to help ensure every rural, remote, and Indigenous household in the province can access high-speed internet.
This funding is part of Alberta’s overall $390-million commitment to improve access to high-speed internet. It will be used to implement solutions to connect rural, remote, and Indigenous communities that do not currently have access to federal target speeds of 50 megabits per second (Mbps) for downloads, and 10 Mbps for uploads.
https://www.alberta.ca/lookup/broadband-projects.aspx