The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that its National Broadband Availability Map (NBAM) now has 20 participating states. In a July 10 statement, NTIA confirmed that Wyoming and Washington State have been added to the NBAM.
“This positive momentum will better equip policymakers as we work together to expand broadband internet coverage across the United States,” NTIA said in a statement.
NTIA explained that the NBAM is geographic information system platform that brings together Federal, state, and commercially available datasets, including data from the Federal Communications Commission, U.S. Census Bureau, Universal Service Administrative Company, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ookla, Measurement Lab, and the state governments. The map is intended to help broadband decision-makers analyze existing data to “better inform broadband projects and funding decisions in their states.”