Residents urged to check FCC’s broadband map
Marathon County residents are being asked to review new broadband maps developed by the Federal Communications Commission to see if the maps reflect their actual access to high-speed internet coverage.
Concerned about the accuracy of the maps, the Marathon County Broadband Task Force is urging property owners to check the data for themselves and submit challenges if necessary.
The nationwide maps, located at https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home, allow people to type in a specific address to check on the availability and quality of broadband internet service. A draft version, based on data provided by internet service providers, was released on November 18, and the FCC is asking people to submit challenges to the coverage maps by January 13.
Each address has an “Availability Challenge” link that allows property owners to submit challenges to the coverage claimed by internet companies.
Task force chairman John Robinson said the maps will be used to determine where over $40 billion in federal grants go in the future, so it’s important for Marathon County to ensure the data is accurate. Based on preliminary reviews of the maps, he said the coverage data is “not necessarily reflective of what’s really there.”
“If you look at it at a high level, it looks like the entire county is served, but when you start drilling down, there are pockets that are underserved,” he said.
“Unserved areas” are those with download speeds of less than 25 megabytes per second (Mbps) and under 3 Mbps upload speeds, and “underserved areas” are those with speeds less than 100 Mbps download/25 Mbps upload.
Robinson said the county doesn’t have the time or staff to submit challenges on a large-scale basis, so it’s relying on individual homeowners and businesses to suggest corrections to the FCC based on their own experiences with broadband access. However, at some point, he said the county may look at hiring someone with expertise to help make sure the FCC maps are accurate.
The FCC plans on reviewing and updating the map on an ongoing basis, Robinson said, so people can still submit challenges after the January 13 deadline. The maps contain blueshaded areas to reflect where broadband is available via “fixed” sources such as fiber, cable or satellites and by mobile services. Individual locations are marked with a green dot if they are considered “covered” by fixed broadband service.
Gerry Klein, director of the City-County I.T. Commission, said the maps have several technical issues that make it difficult to get a good overview of broadband coverage for the entire county.
Klein said the county would have to sign a license contract with the company that made the coverage maps if it wants to contest the data – a process that takes more than a month. He said that doesn’t allow enough time for the county to submit challenges by the January 13 deadline.
“We, as a government entity, are not allowed to contest it at a larger level, like across multiple addresses,” he said.
Task force member Erick Budleski said it’s “super frustrating” that the FCC has published potentially inaccurate coverage data and is relying on individuals to correct it.
“It’s counterproductive to all the things that we’ve tried to do and move forward with,” he said.
Task force members discussed ways of getting the word out, especially to rural citizens, about how to check the FCC maps and challenge any inaccuracies.
Robinson said the task force can also express concerns to county leadership and Wisconsin’s congressional delegation about the accuracy of the maps and the difficulty in challenging them.
“I think it would be in the county’s interest to spend some resources to try to get those maps as accurate as we can,” he said.
Other business
n The task force was updated on the progress of the $25 million Bug Tussel broadband project, which has three towers up and running near Little Chicago, Leather Camp and Bevent. Thirteen other towers are under construction, and eight more are in the zoning or site acquisition stages.
The company’s goal is to have all of the fiber optic cable installed by the end of next summer.
“I think we were hopeful, at one point, that they would be done this year,” Robinson said. “They seem to have slowed down, relative to their construction and installation of conduit and fiber.”
n Task force members reviewed a map of internet speed test results from throughout the county. Robinson said about 2,900 tests have been done, representing about 3.3 percent of the county population, and the results show 56 percent of test takers have less than 25 Mbps in download speeds, and 75 percent have uploads speeds under 25 Mbps.
“There’s probably a skewing on those tests towards people who have poor internet service,” Robinson said. “People with good internet service tend not to take the test.”
The speed test map will help guide the task force as it pursues continued broadband expansion in underserved areas, Robinson said. He also noted that the map is not “all-inclusive,” as it focuses on the Bug Tussel project and other internet service providers that have applied for grants from the Wisconsin Public Service Commission.
n Robinson said the state recently announced that it has $14.1 million available for broadband expansion grants, which is the lowest amount in years. Applications are due in February.
“It’s enough money to be interested, but not enough to be excited about,” he said.
n Robinson told the task force about the FCC’s “Affordable Connectivity Program”, which provides subsidies to internet service providers on behalf of households that cannot afford internet. He said 11 percent of county residents have identified lack of affordability as the top reason they don’t have internet service, so he thinks the county should do what it can to promote the program.
