The long-awaited US broadband internet maps are here — for you to challenge

TL;DR

So if you think internet access is important, do every like-minded person a favor: type your address into the FCC’s long-awaited new broadband maps and see if internet service providers are lying about offering coverage to your home.Today, the FCC has finally put the first “pre-production draft” version of its new interactive broadband maps up on the web, and they’re absolutely better in one way — they no longer automatically assume you’re covered just because a single home somewhere in your census tract got internet.Because, as dedicated broadband reporters like Nicole Ferraro and Karl Bode have been warning, the new maps still rely on the ISPs to be truthful.“While today marks an important milestone in the effort to create more granular and accurate broadband maps, this work is far from over,” reads part of a statement from FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.“Releasing this early version of the new maps is intended to kickstart an ongoing, iterative process where we are consistently adding new data to improve and refine the maps.”And not only is the FCC accepting your individual challenges to the data, but it says it’ll also take “bulk challenges to the reported availability data from state, Tribal, and local governments and other stakeholders,” addressing fears that the FCC might just wind up throwing some of those other parties’ data away."

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