Texas Seeks 60 More Days for FCC Map Challenges
Extend by 60 days the Jan. 13 deadline for challenges to the FCC’s national broadband map, said Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar (R) in a Tuesday letter to the FCC and NTIA. Hegar sought to extend the challenge deadline until March…
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14 and to postpone the final map’s release until July 14. Broadband, equity, access and deployment program (BEAD) allocation announcements should also be extended by 60 days, he said. Align BEAD award announcements with final maps' release, he added. “States and stakeholders need additional time to submit challenges to the proposed national map to provide critical, accurate information on the availability of broadband in their communities,” Hegar said. “This will ensure every dollar is fairly allocated using the most reliable data.” The FCC map is flawed, the Texas official said. “Some of the responsibility lies with the service providers who are overstating the coverage they provide in their territories. This practice has become so routine that we often don’t notice it, but it will substantially limit competition as well as our ability to accurately allocate resources to those Texans whose access is inadequate. Some of the responsibility lies with our federal partners who have assumed that public spaces like schools and libraries have access.” Other states including Maine, Pennsylvania and Vermont also sought an extension to challenge the FCC map (see 2212020063).