10th and Final NTIA Data Submission Complete

10th and Final NTIA Data Submission Complete

National Broadband Map data submission completed, maps updated over coming months

 

Nearly 99% of Illinoisans have access to broadband Internet according to data collected by Partnership for a Connected Illinois. The organization, also known as Broadband Illinois, is responsible to the state and the federal government to collect and publish information from providers of high-speed Internet service. 

The data, which includes information on broadband coverage areas and local broadband centers, is part of the tenth and final semi-annual submission to the U.S Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Information from each State Broadband Initiative is used to update the National Broadband Map, which has been available online since February 2011 at http://broadbandmap.gov. Despite the recent submission being the last, the National Broadband Map will remain active.

“This historic, final submission to NTIA signifies that PCI has collected the top data from providers across the state—data that is not only used for the National Broadband Map but has functionality for homeland security purposes, community anchor institutions datasets, and e-rate discussions,” said Phil Halstead, Executive Director of the Partnership for a Connected Illinois.

“Our team of geographic information systems experts contact each Illinois broadband provider,” stated Halstead. “We take pride in our process of gathering and sharing the most detailed information possible related to infrastructure, speeds, and expanded service territory.”

In this round, Partnership for a Connected Illinois submitted data for 170 Illinois broadband providers. Sixty four of these providers reported changes to their service area from the previous round of data submission—this includes data from seven new providers. The remaining 106 providers reported no status change in their service area.

The Partnership for a Connected Illinois also submitted a 40-page narrative that details the data collection process, carrier outreach process, methods for generating census block level datasets as requested by the NTIA, five methods of data verification the organization uses to ensure accuracy, and how data is used and published on the Broadband Illinois website. The Data Narrative can be downloaded as a PDF at the bottom of this article.

Broadband Illinois wants to ensure all Illinoisans have access to broadband Internet. The ‘Find & Request Broadband Tool’ on the www.broadbandillinois.org homepage allows users to input their address and auto-populates broadband providers that service their location. If limited or no options are available, citizens can submit a data request for broadband service in their area. Complete updated maps will be available on Broadband Illinois’ website in the coming months.

Officially known as The Partnership for a Connected Illinois, we are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Springfield, Illinois. Our missions are to ensure broadband access throughout the State of Illinois, maximize broadband’s impact and use, and collect and publish broadband-related data, information, and research. 

Full submission data narrative found HERE.

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Contact Heidi Bruce, Director of Marketing at marketing@broadbandillinois.org for more details. 

Tags: data, GIS, mapping, NTIA, providers, submission

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Partnership for a Connected Illinois 1337 Wabash Ave. Springfield, IL 62704 Phone: (217) 886-4228 Fax: (217) 718-4546 info@broadbandillinois.org