Federal Communications Commission	DA 26-630


DA 26-630
Released: June 26, 2026 

BROADBAND DATA TASK FORCE AND OFFICE OF ECONOMICS AND ANALTYICS ANNOUNCE OPENING OF BROADBAND DATA COLLECTION FILING WINDOW, FABRIC CHALLENGE DEADLINE, AND BDC DATA ARCHIVAL POLICY

WC Docket Nos. 11-10, 19-195

By this Public Notice, the Broadband Data Task Force (Task Force) and the Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA) announce that the Broadband Data Collection (BDC) filing window for submitting broadband availability and other data as of June 30, 2026, will open on July 1, 2026, and close on September 1, 2026.  The Task Force and OEA also announce that the deadline for filing challenges to the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (Fabric) to be considered for inclusion in the December 2026 revision is September 1, 2026.  Lastly, the Task Force and OEA announce the data archival policy for BDC submissions and data display and download availability via the National Broadband Map (NBM).
I. Biannual Data Collection
Opening of June 2026 Broadband Data Collection Filing Window.  Beginning on July 1, 2026, facilities-based broadband service providers may submit data into the BDC system at https://bdc.fcc.gov/, specifying where they made mass-market broadband Internet access service available as of June 30, 2026. Establishing the Digital Opportunity Data Collection; Modernizing the FCC Form 477 Data Program, WC Docket Nos. 19-195, 11-10, Third Report and Order, 36 FCC Rcd 1126, 1130-31, 1133-34, 1116-17, paras. 10-11 & n.42 (2021).  Facilities-based broadband providers must have one or more end-user connections in service.  The Broadband DATA Act requires the Commission to collect broadband Internet access service data from each “provider of fixed or mobile broadband Internet access service.”  Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act, Pub. L. No. 116-130, 134 Stat. 228 (2020) (codified at 47 U.S.C. §§ 641-646, § 641(11)).  See Broadband Data Task Force and Office of Economics and Analytics Announce Inaugural Broadband Data Collection Filing Dates, Public Notice, 37 FCC Rcd 2392 (BDTF/OEA Feb. 22, 2022).
  Such entities, as well as providers of fixed and mobile voice services, must also submit their June 30, 2026, subscription data required as part of Form 477 into the BDC system at https://bdc.fcc.gov/. While broadband providers are no longer required to file broadband deployment information using FCC Form 477, we remind providers that they must also continue to file Form 477 subscribership and voice service availability data in the BDC system at https://bdc.fcc.gov/. 
  All availability and subscription data must be submitted no later than September 1, 2026.
We encourage filers to submit their availability data as of June 30, 2026, as early as possible in the filing window.  This will give filers an opportunity to address any problems with their data identified by the BDC system and make any necessary corrections in advance of the September 1, 2026, deadline.  Failure to timely file required data in the new BDC system may lead to enforcement action and/or penalties as set forth in the Communications Act and other applicable laws. See All Facilities-Based Broadband Internet Access Service Providers Must File Complete and Accurate Data in the Broadband Data Collection, WC Docket Nos. 19-195, 11-10, Enforcement Advisory, 37 FCC Rcd 7341, 7342-43 (EB June 15, 2022).

Coverage Restoration.  Providers are required to submit broadband availability data for all locations where, as of June 30, 2026, they have a subscriber or can otherwise provide fixed broadband service within 10 days at a standard installation charge or, in the case of mobile service providers, maps depicting their mobile broadband coverage area(s) as of that date.  We remind providers that these availability data must include locations or areas that were previously removed through the challenge, verification, or audit processes if broadband service was available at such locations or areas as of June 30, 2026. Establishing the Digital Opportunity Data Collection; Modernizing the FCC Form 477 Data Program, WC Docket Nos. 19-195, 11-10, Fourth Report and Order, Declaratory Ruling, and Fourth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 39 FCC Rcd 7539, 7543-49, paras. 11-26 (2024).
  On April 29, 2026, Commission staff released data specifications and announced the establishment of an initial coverage restoration process by which reported coverage at these removed locations or areas could be restored on the NBM based upon the submission of infrastructure data. See Broadband Data Task Force and Office of Economics and Analytics Establish Process for Service Providers to Restore Removed Coverage in the Broadband Data Collection, Public Notice, DA 26-420 at 2 (BDTF/OEA, Apr. 29, 2026) (Restoration Public Notice).  In response to concerns raised in the record for the Fourth FNPRM about the burdens of the coverage restoration process, in the Fifth FNPRM the Commission seeks to refresh the record and seeks comment on a variety of options that may help ensure the accuracy of the data depicted on the NBM while streamlining the coverage restoration process and reducing burdens on providers.  Establishing the Digital Opportunity Data Collection; Modernizing the FCC Form 477 Data Program; Delete, Delete, Delete, WC Docket Nos. 19-195 and 11-10; GN Docket No. 25-133, Sixth Report and Order and Fifth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 26-33 at 12, para. 29 (2026) (Fifth FNPRM).  The Commission specifically notes that it “generally expect[s] these options would be alternative mechanisms to the existing coverage restoration process based upon provider submission of infrastructure data or would apply in scenarios where infrastructure data may be inapplicable and seek comment on this assumption.”  Id.

Coverage restoration is a separate filing process and does not need to be completed prior to submitting and certifying as of June 30, 2026, availability data.  A coverage restoration request is created when a provider uploads and certifies broadband availability data in the BDC system that includes locations or areas previously removed based on the outcome of fixed and mobile availability challenges or the outcome of a verification or audit for individual locations or areas.  After a coverage restoration request is created in the BDC system, the provider will see a new link on the Submission Overview page and will be able to submit the appropriate reason code(s) for the coverage it wishes to restore, along with required infrastructure data. See Broadband Data Collection, Data Specifications for the Coverage Restoration Process (Apr. 29, 2026), https://us-fcc.box.com/v/bdc-coverage-restoration-spec; Broadband Data Collection, Data Specifications for Provider Infrastructure Data in the Challenge, Verification, Audit, and Coverage Restoration Processes (Apr. 29, 2026), https://us-fcc.app.box.com/v/bdc-infrastructure-spec.

We remind providers that they will have until the opening date of the next filing window after they initiate a coverage restoration request to complete and certify the response data required in the coverage restoration request. Restoration Public Notice at 3.
  If a provider does not complete a coverage restoration request before the opening of the next filing window, that request will become moot and the provider may seek to restore coverage in a subsequent biannual filing round, which would create a new coverage restoration request. Id.  Coverage restoration requests attach to the vintage of data associated with the broadband availability data submitted in the BDC system that created the request.  If a restoration request is successful, the provider’s broadband availability would be restored on the map from that data vintage onward, but any vintages prior to the restoration request would continue to reflect the outcome of an earlier challenge, verification, or audit.
  For information on resources to assist providers seeking to restore coverage, please refer to the Restoration Public Notice. Id.

Resources for Filers.  A recorded webinar demonstrating how to use the BDC system is available at the “Education” tab at https://www.fcc.gov/BroadbandData/resources.  More information on how to log in, navigate the BDC system, and submit data can be found in the BDC System User Guide.  Related video tutorials and help articles are available in the BDC Help Center at https://help.bdc.fcc.gov/.  Information about the categories of broadband providers that must file availability data, the types of entities that may submit verified availability data, and what data must be filed can be found at https://www.fcc.gov/BroadbandData/filers.
II. Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric
June 2026 Fabric Data.  The Fabric serves as the foundation for the collection of fixed broadband availability data in the BDC.  The updated Fabric is being made available to Fabric licensees and must be used by filers of fixed broadband availability for reporting their availability data as of June 30, 2026.  Entities that have a current Fabric license (including providers, state, local, and Tribal governmental entities, and other third-party entities) will receive an email from CostQuest, the FCC’s Fabric contractor, providing them with links to access the June 2026 Fabric data.  Entities that have not yet entered into a license agreement with CostQuest for Fabric data (including broadband service providers, state, local, or Tribal governmental entities, or other entities wishing to use the Fabric data for purposes of participating in the BDC or non-commercial academic/public policy broadband research) may do so by following the instructions for obtaining access to the Fabric in the BDC Help Center. Information about the Fabric and how broadband service providers, governmental entities, and third parties can access this dataset may be found in the BDC Help Center at https://www.fcc.gov/BroadbandData/FabricHelp.
  Updated methods manuals for each Fabric update are published at https://us-fcc.app.box.com/v/FabricMethodsManuals.
December 2026 Fabric Challenge Deadline.  Each revision of the Fabric incorporates data from updated data sources along with other improvements made by the FCC and CostQuest, as well as the results of Fabric challenges submitted by state, local, and Tribal governments, broadband service providers, and the public through the NBM.  Changes from previous versions of the Fabric include additional Broadband Serviceable Locations and corrections to addresses, unit counts, building types, land use, and geographic coordinates. Information about the Fabric and methodology can be found at https://www.fcc.gov/BroadbandData/resources by clicking on “key reference documents.” 
  In order to be reviewed ahead of the next update of the Fabric in December 2026, fabric challenges must be submitted no later than September 1, 2026.
III. BDC Data Archival Policy
Consistent with existing delegated authority to implement BDC processes adopted by the Commission, See Establishing the Digital Opportunity Data Collection; Modernizing the FCC Form 477 Data Program, WC Docket Nos. 19-195, 11-10, Second Report and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 35 FCC Rcd 7460, 7496, para. 86 (2020).
 the Task Force and OEA announce the BDC data availability and archival policy:  
· The four most recent vintages of BDC data will remain published and available to view on the NBM (i.e., data from the past two years);
· The final revision of all vintages of BDC data prior to the four most recent vintages published on the map will remain publicly available only as data exports downloadable from the NBM;
· Filers may continue to submit and revise biannual submission data for the six most recent vintages of BDC data (i.e., data from the past three years) through the BDC system filer interface;
· Filers may continue to view and download biannual submission data for the eight most recent vintages of BDC data (i.e., data from the past four years) through the BDC system filer interface;
· Filers may continue to access read-only summaries of their biannual submission data for all vintages of BDC data prior to the eight most recent vintages (i.e., data from more than four years ago) through the BDC system filer interface; and
· All data not otherwise made available to the public or to filers after archiving will be maintained in accordance with the Commission’s record retention policy for broadband data.
Additional Information.  For additional information and questions regarding the Broadband Data Collection, please visit the BDC website at https://www.fcc.gov/BroadbandData.

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