Beaver State News

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on June 1 announced that a new version of the National Broadband Map fixed significant inaccuracies that could have cost Oregon hundreds of millions in federal funding to expand access to broadband. 

The new map added 48,000 unserved locations in Oregon, among the top ten states in the nation with corrected locations. The map will be used to determine how much funding for high-speed internet that states receive from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $42 billion Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. States with more unserved locations are in line to receive more BEAD funding. State funding allocations will be announced on June 30. 

“My bottom line is 100 percent of Oregonians need broadband access so every corner of the state can access jobs, education and telehealth opportunities that depend on high-speed internet. This updated map will help our state achieve that goal,” Wyden said. “Thank you to Secretary Raimondo in particular, as well as Assistant Secretary Davidson and Chairwoman Rosenworcel for creating a more accurate National Broadband Map. While these maps are a big improvement, there’s more work to be done and I’ll continue to work with the Oregon Broadband Office and communities statewide to ensure every unserved location is registered by the federal government. Based on my conversations in town halls and other settings across rural Oregon, I’m particularly focused on ensuring the FCC proactively audits claims by ISPs, and putting a special focus on internet access on remote and tribal lands. Oregon deserves its fair share of federal broadband funding, and I’m in DC to make sure our state gets every penny it is owed.”

Wyden received a commitment from Secretary Raimondo in January to fix out-of-date broadband maps before federal BEAD grants were distributed to states. He had previously hosted an open-to-all Oregonians forum on improving the maps, alongside the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA), and he worked on a bipartisan basis to highlight ongoing concerns. He has long championed expanding broadband access to rural and underserved areas of Oregon and across the United States. 

Original source can be found here.