Op-Ed: NTIA Foolishly Ignores Calls for Extension of Broadband Map Challenge Deadline

This piece was originally published in Townhall.com on January 20, 2023.

Despite calls from many observers (including the Taxpayers Protection Alliance) to do so, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) decided to not push back its January 13 deadline for states to challenge the accuracy of the national broadband map.

The January 13 date was established for states to provide feedback about discrepancies in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) map for the purposes of funding from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. NTIA published a blog the date of the deadline, putting its foot down on its stance. The administration reiterated its June 30 date for allocating BEAD funding to each state and territory, and emphasized it needed to keep that January 13 deadline to ensure that goal is met.

The NTIA said that since the map was released in November, it has held one-on-one sessions with dozens of states and territories and their broadband offices, as well as engaged with more than a dozen advocacy organizations to discuss how to submit challenges. 

The full piece can be read here.