Conexon releases Interactive Map to showcase Areas that are unserved defined by the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act

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We have created a state map, county by county, displaying unserved and underserved as well as areas where there has been CAF and RDOF funds, and the cost of building fiber to every unserved home in the state. We’ve also estimated the amount of funding that will be allocated to Oregon under the Senate Infrastructure broadband formula, which is more than the cost to build fiber everywhere. 

This interactive map has been prepared to engage policymakers and the public on the cost to build fiber optic networks to every unserved home in the nation. We are using FCC data by technology type and reported speeds for the display of unserved and underserved census blocks. Underserved are those census blocks lacking cable or fiber optic service. Unserved are those census blocks without cable or fiber and where no ISP reports DSL service of at least 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload. Our approach approximates the unserved/underserved definitions currently in use by the federal government for the American Rescue Plan funds. The map also displays areas where funding was auctioned by the FCC through the Connect America Fund and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auctions. We recognize that the FCC data has shortcomings and that the FCC is preparing new, more granular maps. We will use updated data as it becomes available, but at present the FCC is the source for the only consistent, publicly available national database. 

We have estimated the cost to construct fiber networks, based on a regression analysis we developed using the cost of constructing fiber networks that we experience in our business. We currently construct over 1000 miles per week, which is ever increasing as we have under contract to build fiber networks in approximately ten percent of the geography of the country. These are our cost estimates. We would welcome others to make their cost estimates public so that policymakers can base their decisions on publicly available data. 

Finally, we have calculated the state allocation for funding that may become available through the infrastructure bill making its way through Congress. Since the legislation requires as yet to be prepared maps, ours is an estimate based on the best data we have available. In short, we project that in addition to American Rescue Plan broadband funds, Oregon will receive over $500 million for broadband from the infrastructure bill and that it will cost less than $500 million to build fiber networks to every unserved home in Oregon. This is a unique opportunity in our nation’s history to eliminate the digital divide.

Interactive Map at https://conexonmaps.com/policy/arp/or#6.36/44.185/-120.583

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