September 29, 2021 – The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) efforts to improve broadband mapping by creating a digital Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric.[1] The “fabric” will be a common dataset of all locations in the U.S. where fixed broadband internet access service can be installed, and is a key component of the FCC’s new Broadband Data Collection program. Broadband service providers will provide the FCC with granular and detailed coverage data which will be layered on top of the Fabric, thereby giving the FCC an accurate picture of broadband coverage in the U.S.

The GAO report – FCC Is Taking Steps to Accurately Map Locations That Lack Access – assesses key data sources that may be used to develop a location fabric by describing (1) the FCC’s progress in developing a location fabric; and (2) challenges identified by stakeholders that the FCC faces in developing a location fabric. To create the report, “GAO reviewed relevant documents; surveyed officials in 54 states and territories; and interviewed officials from data companies, broadband providers, federal agencies, and states.”

The report first explains that the FCC has made progress toward developing the fabric by taking a number of steps, including by establishing the Broadband Data Task Force within the agency, requesting public comment from industry stakeholders, and reviewing responses to a Request for Proposal to create the fabric.

The key challenge to creating the fabric, according to stakeholders interviewed by the GAO, “will be addressing limitations in the location data for the location fabric.” Stakeholders believe this “can be overcome by using multiple sources of data.” The GAO report covers four types of specific data that can be used to address the problem: address data, parcel data, county property tax assessor data, and building footprint data.

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[1] U.S. Government Accountability Office, FCC Is Taking Steps to Accurately Map Locations That Lack Access, Report to Congressional Committees, GAO-21-104447 (Sep. 2021), https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-21-104447.pdf.