Map Information
The map uses several different public data sources to show information on broadband adoption, availability, and costs to serve unserved and underserved areas within the United States. Layers in this map were created using data sourced from the American Community Survey collected by the U.S. Census and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Cost data is derived from a broadband cost model available on the Vernonburg Group Broadband Funding Optimization Tool site.
Disclaimer
The data presented is “as is”, “as available” for informational purposes. The Vernonburg Group does not warrant the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of this information and expressly disclaims liability for any errors or omissions.
Data Sources
Broadband Adoption
American Community Survey (ACS)
The American Community Survey (ACS ) is a yearly survey conducted by the U.S. Census with information collected from approximately 3.5 million American households. The ACS layer (Households Subscribing to Fixed Broadband and Demographics) shown on the map is based on the collective results of the U.S.Census American Community Survey taken over 5 years from 2018-2022. This data is released on a yearly cycle with an approximate 12-month lag time.
The “Households Subscribing to Fixed Broadband” layer is taken from the Internet Connectivity portion of the ACS. This data provides census block group responses to the ACS question: “At the house, apartment, or mobile home do you or any member of this household have broadband such as cable, fiber optic or DSL?”
The “Households Below Federal Poverty Line” and “Population Without a College Education“ layers were built using the ACS estimates for 2018-2022 and show census block group data from residents who report living below 100% of the U.S. Census poverty threshold and report not having a college education. The “African American or Black Population” and “Hispanic or Latino Population” layers were built using the ACS estimates for 2018-2022 and show census block group data from residents who self-identify as African American or Black and self-identify as being of Hispanic origin or not.
We have processed this data to extract aggregate summaries at census block group, census tract, county, and state level.
Data shortcomings: ACS 5-year estimates are the only datasets that include the whole of the US, whereas more current 1-year estimates only cover areas with populations of 65,000+. However, relative comparisons are likely to still have sufficient precision. Race, ethnicity, poverty, and education levels are unlikely to have changed much whereas fixed broadband adoption levels are likely to be understated.
Broadband Availability
FCC BDC (2024)
This layer was created using FCC BDC data collected from U.S. Internet service providers (ISPs) every 6 months, with regular accepted challenge data providing updates approximately every 2 weeks. FCC data collected through the BDC system provides a comprehensive database of serviceable broadband locations (the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric) and a list of service providers providing service to these locations together with technology type, speed, and latency information. A Broadband Serviceable Location can be either a single residential or business dwelling or a multi-dwelling unit. The number of dwellings per Serviceable Locations is kept by the FCC and made available to ISPs in their service area, but has not yet been made public. FCC BDC data is available for download at the FCC's website using this link.
We have processed this data to extract aggregate summaries of the percentage of the population with specific fixed broadband speed tiers (>=25/3 Mbps, >=100/20 Mbps, and >=100/100 Mbps) and fixed broadband technology types (copper, cable, fiber, and fixed wireless) at census block, H3 hexagons, census tract, county and state level for locations labelled as residential or labelled as both residential and business. The fraction of the population with a specific service being studied in a census block is roughly assumed to be the fraction of residential Serviceable Locations that have the specific service being studied. Note that FCC BDC data makes use of the most recent 2020 census delineations.
Data shortcomings: Without detailed data on the number of dwellings per serviceable location, partially connected census blocks with unserviced multi-dwelling units will overstate the level of service in the census block. Partially connected census blocks with serviced multi-dwelling units will understate the level of service in the census block. This problem will particularly skew data in urban areas with multi-dwelling apartments.
Additional Layers
Tribal Lands
This layer shows areas designated as American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Areas (AIANNH) by the U.S. Census in 2020. This dataset is updated on an annual basis as part of the Census TIGER program and is available for download on the program's website. Areas shown include: Alaska Native Regional Corporations, Tribal Subdivisions, Federal American Indian Reservations, Off-Reservation Trust Lands, State American Indian Reservations, Hawaiian Home Lands, Alaska Native Village Statistical Areas, Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Areas, State Designated Tribal Statistical Areas, Tribal Designated Statistical Areas, and American Indian Joint-Use Areas.
Map Scales & Census Boundaries
The map uses five sets of geographic boundaries from the U.S. Census as reference layers: states, counties, census tracts, census block groups, and census blocks. In addition, the map uses H3 – a Hexagonal Hierarchical Spatial Index used by the FCC for their broadband fabric and developed by Uber. Users are able to choose from either census blocks or H3 hexagons for highest resolution layer. As users zoom in and out on the map these boundary reference layers will turn on and off automatically to match the current map scale.
The boundaries used for the broadband adoption, demographics, and broadband availability (FCC BDC) data layers are taken from the 2020 Census block boundaries andUber’s H3 geospatial indexing system.
Cost Model
All costs for fiber, fixed wireless access are calculated based on the Vernonburg Group cost model that maps housing density to average cost per household. Satellite costs are fixed at $3,750 per household. More details on the cost model can be found on the Vernonburg Group Broadband Funding Optimization Tool site. The suggested values for the maximum spend on fiber and the maximum spend on fixed wireless are based on state-level suggested values from the optimization tool. These are calculated by first removing 10% of the available BEAD and other funding for digital equity programs and then checking the optimal mix of fiber, fixed wireless, and satellite that ensures that all unserved and underserved locations are served with remaining available deployment funds.