Sen. Marshall Requests 90-Day Extension to Challenge Federal Communication Commission’s Broadband Map

(Washington D.C., January 11, 2023) – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall is requesting an extension to the deadline for Kansans to submit challenges to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) proposed broadband map. In a new a letter to Alan Davidson, Administrator for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Senator Marshall asked for the NTIA to delay by 90 days its January 13 deadline for submissions to the FCC’s broadband map. This 90-day extension would give Kansans, and all Americans, more time to ensure the FCC’s broadband coverage accurately reaches their respective communities. Senator Marshall wrote, in part,

“Too often I have visited with community leaders only to learn that broadband service is either unreliable or non-existent…Local broadband providers across Kansas have worked diligently to grow their networks and extend fiber to as many homes and businesses as possible. But inaccurate and incomplete broadband maps have prevented funding from flowing too many of the communities most in need of federal resources…Unfortunately, the timeline allowed by NTIA to submit challenges and improve the accuracy of the maps has proven too aggressive for many Kansas broadband providers, community leaders and residents…Kansas is a largely rural state, which makes connectivity to some communities and families both difficult and costly. Funding from the NTIA’s BEAD program will be vital in helping our state continue its efforts to connect homes and businesses…”

The FCC’s broadband maps will be funded by the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program once they are finalized.

You may click HERE to read Senator Marshall’s full letter.

Background:

Last November, when the FCC’s initial broadband maps were announced, Senator Marshall encouraged Kansans to challenge the map and provide corrections to inaccurate information. You may click HERE to read his full statement.

Senator Marshall has been an ardent supporter of the expansion of affordable, high-speed broadband. During a recent Senate Agriculture Committee hearing, Senator Marshall questioned USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development, Xochitl Torres Small on the agency’s efforts to extend broadband to rural and underserved communities.

In May 2022, Senator Marshall pushed for full funding of the USDA broadband programs. He previously joined bipartisan legislation reintroducing the Keeping Critical Connections Act to help small broadband providers ensure that rural broadband connectivity remains available for students and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kansans can click HERE or use the following link to access the new broadband maps and check for service accuracy at their home and/or business address: https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home.

To submit a challenge to the maps, follow the steps provided at this site: https://help.bdc.fcc.gov/hc/en-us.

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