Johnson County residents are encouraged to review their broadband availability and provide input through a new map released by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The FCC National Broadband Map identifies advertised broadband service coverage at individual address locations. Johnson County residents are invited to review the reported coverage at their home and/or workplace on the map and submit a challenge by Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, if they feel that the advertised broadband information is incorrect.

The map is available at https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home. Residents may challenge the map at their home or business address to report broadband service that is unavailable or customer service that is unreliable or unresponsive. The following reasons are available to challenge the data on the map:

• Provider failed to schedule a service installation within 10 business days of request;
• Provider did not install the service at the agreed-upon time;
• Provider requested more than the standard installation fee to connect service;
• Provider denied a request for service;
• Provider does not offer the technology reported to be available at this location;
• Provider does not offer the speed(s) reported to be available at this location;
• The actual speed of this service does not match its advertised speed.

The FCC will use the information from the map for future broadband funding allocations.

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors has identified broadband as an important area of needed infrastructure investment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many Johnson County residents needed to or were required to work from home. Additionally, a number of area schools suspended in-person instruction and transitioned to online or hybrid learning. Many healthcare providers moved to online appointments to conduct non-emergency medical appointments. The increase in online use and demand caused a significant strain on area broadband internet capabilities.

Johnson County has invested $50,000 in ARPA Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to assess the broadband internet capabilities, needs, and deficiencies in the county. This map will help leverage those dollars with further state and federal funding in broadband infrastructure.