In 2018, Congress directed the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to develop a National Broadband Availability Map to highlight which areas of the country remain truly unconnected from high speed broadband. NTIA began working with eight partner states to develop a pilot version which was made available to state and federal authorities for the first time this week.
California was among the eight states selected to partner with NTIA on the pilot program, and state officials will have a unique opportunity to leverage cutting edge broadband coverage data to better understand the availability of internet broadband in rural California. While the map is not publicly availability, the state should coordinate with local partners to take advantage of the new data from the pilot program.