Oregon Broadband Office Seeking Help in Correcting FCC Broadband Map
By Garrett Christensen on Tuesday, January 10th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
UNION COUNTY – (Information from the Oregon Broadband Office) The Oregon Broadband Office is seeking assistance in the updating and correcting of the FCC’s national broadband map. The map shows the coverage areas and quality of internet access throughout the United States based on information from internet services providers and users. However, coverage and quality data may be incorrectly displayed on the map and ultimately hinder efforts to improve Oregon’s broadband access. As written by the Oregon Broadband office, “Knowing where broadband is available (and more importantly, where it is not) is critical to secure federal funding and improve broadband access for Oregon’s unserved and underserved communities. We need everyone’s help to make sure the FCC has the most accurate picture of what we need in Oregon.”
Inconsistencies on the map can be challenged directly by broadband users within the incorrectly displayed areas. The Oregon Broadband office has provided the following guide to assist in updating the map:
HOW CAN I IMPROVE THE MAP?
• Go to BroadbandMap.FCC.gov.
• Search for your address and review the results.
• If the information about your home or small business is inaccurate, submit
a challenge. An accurate map is extremely important to identify those
communities most in need of funding for high-speed broadband.
WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF CHALLENGES?
• Availability Challenges: If the information about the internet services
available at your home or other location is incorrect, you can dispute it by
clicking on the Availability Challenge link on the right side of the map and
submitting the form.
• Mobile Challenges: If the map of mobile coverage submitted by your
provider seems incorrect, you can dispute that by taking speed tests on your
mobile phone with the FCC Speed Test App, available for both Android and
iOS. Make sure to select the Challenge Speed Test option and to take the test
while either outdoors or in a vehicle.
• Location Challenges: If the information about the location point of your
home or other location seems to be incorrect, you can submit a Location
Challenge to correct the information on the location. The link to do this is
to the right of the address on the map. To add a location, click on the place
on the map where the location should be and then click the “Challenge
Location” button.
