The Knox County Broadband Steering Team is asking county residents to go online to the new National Broadband Map to verify the location of their home or business and the accuracy of the information regarding the availability of high-speed internet service.
If the location and availability information is not accurate, residents can use the interactive map to lodge a challenge with the Federal Communications Commission, which is seeking this feedback to improve the accuracy of the map.
“We’re asking as many county residents as possible to check out the map and verify their information,” said David Amor, convener of the Steering Team and outgoing Knox County Board vice chair. “Just as with the census, the greater the accuracy of the map, the greater the chance that we will be successful in getting the funds to improve broadband throughout the county.”
“We know from our community broadband survey last May that many locations are still unserved with reliable fixed internet service and also that many residents cannot regularly get the connection speeds advertised by their providers.”
The information in the map about unserved and underserved locations will be used by the federal government to determine the allocation to the states of the $42.45 billion in the recent Infrastructure Bill intended to bring high-speed internet throughout the nation. The accuracy of the Knox County information, in turn, will impact the County’s ability to successfully secure funding to extend and improve broadband in Knox County.
The FCC is asking individuals, counties, and states to submit challenges by mid-January 2023, in order to have a final version of the map completed by June 30, 2023, when the allocation of funds to the various states will be decided.
The broadband availability data on the map was submitted by internet service providers as of June 30, 2022. Residents can see what providers and speeds are claimed for their location and can report issues such as services refused, additional fees demanded or service delays. They can also report inaccuracies in the location points identified for their home or business. In addition, the map also shows mobile broadband availability (3G, 4G, 5G) claimed, which can be challenged through a downloadable FCC Speed Test app.
Residents without internet service can access the map and file challenges through public access computers at their local public library.
More information about the verification and challenge process can be found at BroadbandMap.fcc.gov.
The Knox County Broadband Steering Team was created in January 2022 to prepare Knox County to compete successfully for state and federal broadband funds. The Team participated in Round 2 of the State of Illinois’s Accelerate Illinois program and conducted a community broadband survey in May that garnered more than 1000 responses across the county.
Led by Amor, the Steering Team includes community leaders dedicated to expanding broadband access, particularly in the unserved rural areas of the county. Members include Knox County Board chair Jared Hawkinson, County Board member Robert Bondi, KCAP president Ken Springer, and Director of Communications and Development Abby Colvin, Knox County Farm Bureau executive director Hailey Hennenfent, Galesburg Community Foundation president and CEO Joshua Gibb, Knox County Southern District Multi-Township Assessor Rebecca Friedrich, West Central FS CEO Jim McNelly, and Williamsfield school superintendent Tim Farquer.
