KUAR | By Daniel Breen
Federal officials are asking for Arkansas residents’ help identifying which parts of the state still lack access to high-speed internet.
Arkansas is receiving more than $1 billion from the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment, or BEAD, program, administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
Evan Feinman, director of the BEAD program, says the state first needs to identify which areas are currently lacking access.
“Every single home and business is on a map the [Federal Communications Commission] publishes. And the FCC’s map shows whether those homes and businesses have broadband service, or don’t. The problem is, that map’s not always accurate,” he said. “What we’re doing… is offering folks the opportunity to challenge that map and make sure their home or business is properly categorized.”
Arkansas to begin identifying areas lacking broadband internet access
Ted S. Warren/AP
Carl Roath, left, a worker with the Mason County (Wash.) Public Utility District, pulls fiber optic cable off of a spool, as he works with a team to install broadband internet service to homes in a rural area surrounding Lake Christine near Belfair, Wash., on Aug. 4, 2021.
