Editorial — Fact-checking the map: Website allows people to report lack of high-speed internet

Homeowners can then contact the listed providers to verify if service is available. If it’s not, the website allows users to correct this information. People will answer some questions on the purported broadband service by clicking on the “availability challenge” link.

“Lewis County Planning Director Casandra Buell suggested in an interview [Jan. 20] that anyone who believes there is a discrepancy should call the company in question first to verify whether they are now offering broadband at the address because there continues to be more options added,” according to a story published Jan. 23 by the Watertown Daily Times. “In places where there is at least one broadband company offering service but there are many listed that are not, the feedback is helpful to the FCC for accuracy and accountability, but Mrs. Buell said reporting errors is most important when the map indicates there is one or more company providing high-speed internet ‘but you know there are none.’ Challenges can also be made to the download speeds, not keeping connection appointments and connection fees that are higher than they should be, among others. The challenge form gives respondents an option to upload proof of the discrepancy, giving examples like correspondence with the company or screenshots of their website or marketing materials.

“The map is the primary tool the FCC is using to take a national broadband census that will be used to ensure funding is available for states to reach those who are still underserved or have no internet access at all,” the article reported. “Mrs. Buell said the state will receive thousands of dollars per address that is proven not to have broadband access despite being indicated as fully served on the map. Although the state’s deadline for submitting challenges was on Jan. 13, Mrs. Buell said she was informed by representatives of the Development Authority of the North Country and Hudson Valley Wireless — the provider hired by the county to provide wireless broadband in Diana and Lyonsdale — that submissions will continue to be accepted. Because of the short window for submission that began on Jan. 3, Mrs. Buell made a bulk challenge claim with a long list of addresses that are not served in her county based on data collected and maintained by her department and the Development Authority, but she still encourages individuals, especially those without any broadband access, to check the map.”

Expanding high-speed internet has proved difficult in rural parts of the state such as Northern New York. This map offers a practical way for residents to determine if broadband is now available in their area and to tell the federal government if the information it’s presenting is not correct.

We encourage people to make use of this website to check on the status of broadband in their communities. Visit broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home to get started.