FCC’s new broadband map greatly overstates actual coverage, senators say – January 10, 2023 at 02:42PM

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Nevada’s US senators say the Federal Communications Commission’s new, more detailed broadband maps have tens of thousands of mistakes in their state alone.

“Nevada’s Office of Science, Innovation, & Technology (OSIT) has found over 20,000 purported broadband-serviceable locations on the map that they believe overstate coverage. They also have found incorrect information on the quality of service available to some locations and in some cases, missing serviceable locations,” Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) wrote in a letter to the FCC last week.

The FCC’s new broadband-availability information shows which addresses have service based on data submitted by Internet service providers, so mistakes would indicate that broadband companies are claiming to serve more homes and businesses than they actually do. The senators’ reference to “missing serviceable locations” also suggests the FCC failed to include every home or business location in its list of addresses.