STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER JESSICA ROSENWORCEL
Re: Demonstration of the New National Broadband Map (February 22, 2018)
To have a fair shot at 21
st
 century success, you need access to broadband.  This is true in 
urban areas, in rural areas, and in everything in between.  But according to the data from this 
agency, more than 24 million Americans lack access to broadband.  That is not acceptable.  It 
consigns too many of our fellow citizens to the wrong side of the digital divide.  It’s a problem 
we need to fix.  
So today we start with a map.  This is important because the old adage is true:  you 
cannot manage problems you do not measure.  With this tool, we can identify where service is 
and is not, where facilities are being built and where they are lacking, and how communities are 
connected and how they are at risk of falling behind.  In other words, we have a blueprint for 
action that will provide everyone from consumers to policymakers with more information.
This is good.  So thank you to our staff for the hard work that went into this update.  It 
represents a step forward and comes not a moment too soon.
But while this is good for starters, we can’t stop here.  For this effort to be truly 
meaningful, there are some serious shortcomings we need to address.
First, any responsible map should incorporate the availability of mobile broadband 
services.  This does not.  I think it does the country a disservice to have a National Broadband 
Map with only half the picture.  It is disappointing if our efforts end here with fixed 
technologies.  In other words, we still have work to do.    
Second, this map has errors.  How do I know?  I looked up my house and can tell you 
with good authority it lists service that is not available at my location.  You can go ahead and 
plug in your address and you might find the same thing.  
So I think it’s time for a public project.  It’s time to use the wisdom of crowds to fix 
deficiencies in our data.  It’s time to use crowdsourcing to improve this new National Broadband 
Map.  No matter who you are or where you live you probably have a story to tell—about how 
service stops short of your street, about how speeds are not what are commercially reported, 
about how you’re waiting for deployment that was promised long ago.  Or maybe you have tales 
to share about how another service not listed on our records is available at your location.  
I know our map would be better off if we had this data.  I know that slicing and dicing 
data in Washington conference rooms never gives you a truly accurate picture of what is really 
happening on the ground.  I think we can come together and do this.  And to get this effort 
started, I set up an e-mail box at the FCC: broadbandfail@fcc.gov.  It’s for those who want to 
relay to this agency their facts, their stories, and the difficulties they have had securing 
broadband.  It is a way for this agency to learn what is wrong with our map—and how we can 
make it right.  We can do this.  Let’s make it happen.  Let’s build the first Citizens Broadband 
Map.