National Broadband Plan - Broadband Maps

The National Broadband Map was launched on February 17, 2011 and is available at www.broadbandmap.gov. The National Broadband Map is an unprecedented searchable database of information on high-speed Internet access. NTIA created the National Broadband Map in collaboration with the FCC, using data that each state, territory and the District of Columbia (or their designees) collected from broadband providers or other data sources. The map was created at the direction of Congress, which recognized that economic opportunities are driven by access to 21st Century infrastructure.

Mapping broadband in America connects consumers and industry with useful information about broadband where they live and work. Use the interactive map below to learn more about a range of issues related to broadband deployment as discussed in the National Broadband Plan . You can browse detailed information by clicking on "Tabular Data" at the bottom of the page. The map is based on the FCC's best estimate today, and is built on public and commercial data sources. Read More...

Map View: About this Map View

State: County:

View Data View Data Print Map Print Map Download Download

Tabular Data

Percentage of Housing Units with 4 Mbps Broadband Availability

This map shows the percentage of housing units with available download speed of at least 4 mbps for each county.

Broadband Investment Gap

This map presents the gap for each county in the country. The gap in each county is calculated by adding the gap of all census blocks in that county. Since most counties have at least some census blocks with an investment gap (i.e., areas where the NPV less than 0), most counties have an investment gap. Census blocks with a positive NPV (i.e., blocks where the gap is negative) offset losses in census blocks that are NPV negative. Thus, counties can have no gap if they are currently fully served (i.e., have no unserved), or if the total NPV in the county is positive. Note that dark blue counties have a gap at least 20 times higher than the gap in the light green counties.

Broadband Investment Gap per Housing Unit

Examining the gap per housing unit, as shown in this map, highlights counties where the average gap per home is particularly high. This calculation simply takes the total gap in each county, and divides by the number of unserved housing units in that county. The dark blue counties have a gap per home at least 10 times higher than the gap per home in the green counties.

Gap per Housing Unit by Lowest Cost Technology

In this map, areas in blue are more economic to serve with wireless; and areas in red are cheaper to serve with DSL. For each, darker colors indicate counties with a higher gap per unserved housing unit. This technology comparison is made at the county level, not at a more granular level.

Ongoing Support for Each Housing Unit

The map shows the distribution of counties requiring ongoing support across the country. Ongoing support is the monthly annuity required per unserved housing unit to offset ongoing losses (i.e., the amount by which ongoing costs exceed revenues assuming the network buildout is paid for in its entirety). The darkest colors indicate areas where the highest levels of ongoing support are needed; counties shaded in pink will not need ongoing support.

Number of Housing Units Without Access to 4 Mbps Broadband

This map shows the absolute number of housing units without access to 4 Mbps download, 1 Mbps upload broadband service. Note that even counties with a high percentage of served homes can have large absolute numbers of unuserved housing units, particularly if the area is dense; and counties with a low percentage of served homes, if sparsely populated, may not have a large number of unserved housing units.

About the data

These maps are based on data from a variety of public and commercial sources and represent the Commission's best estimate today on the availability of broadband service that meets the National Broadband Availability Target and the finances associated with providing all homes access to broadband service that meets the Target.

The methodology used to create the maps of availability relies on statistical methods to fill-in data that are otherwise not available. Please see Chapter 2 of The Broadband Availability Gap , a Technical Paper published as part of the Omnibus Broadband Initiative, for more information. By definition, the output of any statistical model includes a margin of error - in this case, a possibility of over-stating or under-stating availability in any small geography. Aggregating results up to the county level, as in these maps, will mitigate but not eliminate the impact of the statistical predictions. Because these maps are based, in part, on statistical modeling of broadband availability, they should not be used as a definitive resource for broadband availability in any specific county.

Maps showing the Broadband Investment Gap or Ongoing Support are based in part on the data for availability of broadband service that meets the Availability Target. See The Broadband Availability Gap for more information. Because of the reliance on a statistical model for availability data, these financial estimates may over- or under-state the funding shortfall in any small geography.

Over time, the Commission plans to improve data collection and mapping of broadband availability. In addition, the Commission is working with the NTIA and state grantees under the Broadband Data Improvement Act to develop a detailed interactive map of the availability of 768 kbps service that will provide more granular geographic availability information for consumer use. The first (full) version of this National Broadband Map will be made public in early 2011.