The FCC’s National Broadband Map Determines Where Millions Of Dollars In Federal Funding For High-Speed Internet From Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Are Allocated
Senator Rosen Helped Write Broadband Section Of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law And Has Led Push To Fix This Map
WASHINGTON DC – Today, U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and John Thune (R-SD) introduced the Accurate Map for Broadband Investment Act, bipartisan legislation to ensure that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has time to update and fix the deeply flawed National Broadband Map before the Department of Commerce fully allocates broadband infrastructure funding. This mapping plays a major role in determining state-by-state allocation of broadband infrastructure funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $42 billion Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, and the current version of the map could cause many states, including Nevada and South Dakota, to lose out on potentially hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funding they are owed under the law.
“When I helped write the broadband section of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, I worked to make sure that communities across Nevada got their fair share of funding to increase access to high-speed internet. The FCC’s failure to fix their deeply flawed broadband map and the Department of Commerce’s refusal to wait to allocate broadband funding until the map is fixed puts hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for high-speed internet in Nevada at risk,” dijo el Senador Rosen. “My bipartisan bill would ensure the FCC can fix this map before money goes out the door, so that all states receive their fair share of federal dollars to provide communities desperately needed access to high-speed internet.”
“It’s critical that NTIA distributes its unprecedented amount of new broadband funding to areas that are truly unserved,” said Senator Thune. “In order to ensure these new dollars are being accurately allocated, NTIA must use up-to-date FCC broadband maps that account for a robust challenge process for states and individuals. Failing to do so could result in significant overbuilding, which would ultimately fall on the backs of hardworking taxpayers.”
Senator Rosen has been at the forefront of the fight to get Nevada federal funding to increase access to high-speed internet. She helped write the broadband section of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, securing $65 billion in overall investment to make high-speed internet available and affordable to Americans. She has also repeatedly led the push to make sure the flawed broadband map is fixed and Nevada gets its fair share of broadband funding. In December, during a hearing, Senator Rosen raised the alarm on this map and called on the FCC to fix them.
###
