Wicker, Manchin Urge FCC to Expand Broadband Access Using Accurate Coverage Maps

Press Release

U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., today sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging the newly-created Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force to ensure the broadband coverage data it collects is consistent, reliable, and robust. The Senators noted that accurate data that reflects the real mobile coverage experience of consumers in rural America is critical to expanding rural broadband access.

"I commend the Commission's efforts to expand broadband access to rural America," said Wicker. "Collecting and using accurate coverage data are important steps to ensuring every American has access to broadband and the opportunities it provides, no matter where they live."

"Coverage data that accounts for the actual consumer experience in our rural communities is a necessary step in the effort to close the digital divide," Manchin said. "I look forward to working with the FCC to ensure this funding accurately and effectively targets the unserved and underserved communities in West Virginia and throughout rural America."

Earlier this year, the FCC answered Senators Wicker and Manchin's bipartisan call to move forward with Mobility Fund II, which will provide mobile broadband service to unserved and underserved rural areas. Wicker and Manchin were joined by 28 Senators in calling on the FCC to prioritize new mobile broadband deployment in these communities.

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