Senator Hassan and Bipartisan Colleagues Send Letter to FCC on Broadband Coverage Maps

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and colleagues from both parties last week sent a letter to Chairman Pai of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) advocating for an additional public feedback mechanism that would utilize crowdsourced data to empower consumers and states to help inform broadband coverage maps and report any lack of broadband access to the FCC. The letter was also signed by U.S Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), James Lankford (R-OK), Angus King (I-ME), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Kennedy (R-LA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Doug Jones (D-AL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).

The Senators’ letter said in part, “In order to get an accurate snapshot of the actual broadband services – mobile and fixed – available to people on the ground, we need to have more, not fewer, data points, and a dynamic, ongoing process that allows individual consumers and outside stakeholders to validate data that broadband providers submit.”

The letter adds, “We are not suggesting that crowdsourced data is perfect and that it alone will be enough to fix the greater challenges with broadband mapping, but it is an important tool we should have in the toolbox. We believe the creation of a public feedback mechanism is feasible and would be a critical first step toward creating more reliable and accurate broadband maps.”

To read the full letter, click here.

###