Check accuracy of new map to help WA preserve federal broadband money

OLYMPIA — The Washington State Department of Commerce is asking state residents to help check the accuracy of the Federal Communications Commission’s new National Broadband Map, which notes which parts of the country have and do not have access to broadband internet service.

At stake is the state’s share of $900 million in federal funding to help expand broadband service, according to Department of Commerce officials.

The new online map, available at broadbandmap.fcc.gov, allows users to enter an address and see if both fixed and mobile broadband are accessible.

Statewide, the regions with the least access are state and national forests, the Cascade Mountains, federal lands like the Hanford Reservation and the military’s Yakima Training Center, and Native American lands like the Yakama Indian Reservation and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

Residents who believe the information on the map is incorrect can submit a challenge online by clicking on either “location challenge” or “availability challenge” for both fixed and wireless broadband when the summary of internet access is displayed on the map.

“We want Washington to be represented accurately on the FCC map,” Washington State Broadband Office Director Mark Visconi said in a Department of Commerce news release. “This is an opportunity for individual residents to let their voice be heard. It is also a time for organizations and government agencies to work together for Washington’s future.”

According to the Department of Commerce, the FCC will give priority to challenges to its map received before Jan. 13.