Western Nevada County residents continuing to struggle with slow internet speeds and hoping to one day soon have options that will bring their connection into the 21st century have about 24 hours to make sure their neighborhood is among those on the books as underserved areas.
“The FCC’s new National Broadband Map shows internet availability at each household and small business around the nation and, for the first time, is asking for input from consumers!”Nevada County officials stated in a broadband update email sent Jan. 10. “Go to BroadbandMap.gov, and search for your address to see if the data they have is correct. If the reported service or speed is not actually available, submit a challenge to correct the map. These maps will drive future waves of federal funding for broadband expansion, so correcting any mistakes is crucial. The FCC is asking for corrections to be submitted by January 13, 2023, so please take action now.”
Even if the map shows providers claiming to provide the minimum requirements to be considered broadband — 25 megabytes per second download and 3 Mbps upload — it’s quite possible your location does not receive those speeds.
(Note: our own personal vendor is among those listed in our area as providing broadband at such speeds, but an online speed test shows we receive 12.5 Mbps download and 1.8 upload, which does not meet the definition of high speed broadband access. We challenged the map’s stated availability in order to correct the record in hopes of being correctly identified as an underserved area.) Nevada County encourages its residents to help improve the map.
“Check your address today at BroadbandMap.gov and look for the ‘Availability Challenge’ link if you want to submit a correction. (See above for an example.)”
Also included in the email update, Nevada County’s Chief Information Officer Steve Monaghan outlines the challenge ahead for rural counties seeking to get their residents connected to high-speed internet.