COUNTY News:

Today, Friday, Jan. 13, is the last day for citizens to challenge any inaccuracies on the broadband map issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The pre-production draft maps, published by the FCC on Nov. 18, 2022, show the availability of high-speed Internet service across the nation based on data that the FCC acknowledges may not be the most accurate, according to its website. 

Los Alamos County Broadband Manager Jerry Smith encourages residents and businesses to take a moment today to check the map and submit a challenge if the information is incorrect. He indicates that the process takes less than ten minutes and could help the community’s eligibility for possible grants with better, more accurate map.  

The steps are as follows:

• Visit the FCC website at https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home
• Type in an address (include, city, state and zip code).
• Identify if it is a residential or a business location.
  Toggle between fixed broadband and mobile broadband to view the providers.
• Select the “Location Challenge” link to the right of the property address to correct information associated with the address. For additional assistance view the FCC video on challenging a location: Fabric Challenge demo (mobile browser)
• Select the “Availability Challenge” link to the right and above the list of providers to challenge issues with Internet providers or Internet access. For additional assistance view the FCC video on challenging availability: Availability Challenge demo (mobile browser)
• Use the scroll bar to answer all the questions and select “Submit”, when challenging the map accuracy.

Smith thanks the community for improving the FCC maps, to assist the county in its process to get reliable, affordable, high-speed Internet. He reminds everyone that today is the last day.