BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Americans can now see a detailed map of the country that shows, down to specific addresses, exactly where broadband internet service and 5G mobile service is available.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published the interactive maps online on Friday.
The maps also allow users to see detailed information on which residential and business providers are operating in their area.
In addition, the maps show the download/upload speeds of those providers and what type of technology they use.
For instance, there are 6 fixed broadband providers listed as offering residential service to a home in the Library Village neighborhood of west Toledo with various download speeds up to 1000 mbps listed.
Although most of northwest Ohio is shown to have 100% coverage, certain pockets in rural areas are shown to have limited coverage or only have access to slower technologies like satellite.
The map makes it clear that discrepancies in available coverage don't only exist between rural and urban areas.
By changing settings on the map to show only addresses that have access to speeds over 10,000 mbps, for instance, users can see exactly how addresses within the same city, and sometimes even the same neighborhood, can differ widely.
In Toledo, only certain pockets of the city have access to fiber internet with the highest speeds.
Information used to make the maps comes from internet service providers themselves, who are required to provide the information to the FCC twice a year.
Users are able to challenge the information presented on the map with the FCC in order to have it corrected.
Ohio 5th District Congressman Bob Latta says the maps will help identify areas that lack coverage and help congress know where federal funding needs to be allocated in order to close the digital divide between rural and urban areas.
Access to high speed broadband is increasingly important for creating higher standards of living, people's ability to get good paying jobs, and providing good educational opportunities to children.
The maps are required by the Broadband DATA Act which was introduced by Rep. Latta and signed into law in 2020.
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