The fifth version of the National Broadband Map, which featured data as of June, continued to track significant reductions in the number of unserved and underserved locations, according to analyst Mike Conlow.
Conlow, writing on Substack, highlighted the finding that the number of unserved or underserved locations dropped from 8.8 million to 7.5 million between fourth and fifth iterations of the map. That translates to a decrease of 15% over six months and 37% from when the first map was released 18 months ago.
The drop in unserved and underserved locations has an economic impact on the dollars available to reach each location.
“Here’s another way to think about it:” Conlow wrote, “when NTIA made the formal allocation, there were 11.9 million unserved locations. That was $3,341 per location. On the basis of less eligible locations alone, since the available funding stays the same, now there’s $5,662 per location — a 69% increase.”
Conlow pointed to progress made in individual states, many of which eliminated more than 20% of their unserved and underserved locations. For instance, South Carolina went from 116,296 such locations to 85,991, a 26% reduction.
The analysis offered examples of how the changes came to be: Victor, Montana was shown — in the previous broadband map — as served only by DSL and fixed wireless providers. Now, Rocky Mountain Internet claims to offer 250/100 Mbps internet, considered acceptable speeds by the National Telecommunications and Information Association (NTIA).
Similarly, the town of Muldoon, Texas was covered only by unlicensed fixed wireless in the map’s earlier iteration. Now, Resound Networks has added a licensed fixed wireless showing 300/150 Mbps speeds.
The National Broadband Map is a key tool in the race to bring unserved and underserved locations up to speed. Other steps are ongoing. For instance, in mid-November the NTIA said it had approved Texas’ Initial Proposal for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.
This means that all 56 states, territories and the District of Columbia have gotten the approval go-ahead on their projects. This means that they can move to the next step in the mammoth $42.45 billion program that is part of the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The program is moving along more speedily in other states. Louisiana became the first state to name the winners of its first of BEAD Program the day before the NTIA approved Texas’ Initial Proposal.