SEND AN EMAIL: Put Libraries on the FCC Broadband Map

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The FCC issued the National Broadband Map in November 2022. Even though it includes the location of the anchor institutions, it generally grays them out and says that they are not a "broadband serviceable location".  As a result, broadband companies do not have to provide information about what broadband is or is not available to these locations. This means that libraries and smaller community anchors will not be eligible to obtain upgraded broadband connections from the $42.5 B BEAD investment program.  

Help us reach more Americans with this important call to action.  
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The EveryLibrary Institute is a proud member of the Schools, Health, and Libraries Broadband Coalition (SHLB Coalition). SHLB urges stakeholders to contact their Congressional representatives to demand that every eligible community anchor institution be included in the next version of the broadband map. When Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in November 2021, they dedicated $65 billion for broadband deployment and digital equity. Before this funding is distributed, the FCC must generate a map showing where broadband networks exist so that funding can be targeted to unserved and under-served locations. 

Although most anchor institution locations are displayed on the map, they are grayed out and designated as not “broadband serviceable locations” because they do not purchase “mass market” broadband services. The SHLB Coalition told the FCC that this assumption is factually incorrect – many libraries and smaller anchors DO purchase regular “mass market” broadband service from Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

The FCC Broadband Data Task Force told SHLB that the map is “locked in” and cannot be changed, even though the current map is in draft form and the FCC is expected to issue a new map early next year.

SHLB filed this important information with the FCC in November 2022. We need your help today contacting both the House and the Senate to urge them to exercise oversight of the FCC and include all community anchor institutions - small CAIs and libraries alike - in the final map. The EveryLibrary Institute stands with dozens of other SHLB Coalition members in asking the FCC to ensure that all CAIs are designated (“flagged”) as “broadband serviceable locations” unless an ISP shows otherwise. The burden to make this change should be on the industry, not the anchor institution.

Please view the National Broadband Map and type in the addresses of your institutions, to see how the map represents your CAI. The FCC is only likely to change the map if it receives messages from Congress that the FCC is not complying with Congressional intent in the IIJA. SHLB has put together a detailed fact sheet for your review (opens PDF). For more information, please contact Kristen Corra, SHLB Policy Counsel, at [email protected].