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Congressman Rick W. Allen (GA-12) led a bipartisan, bicameral group of Georgia lawmakers in sending a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel requesting an update on implementation of the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability (DATA) Act, which was signed into law last Congress.

Specifically, the letter requests an answer, in writing, from the FCC to whether they plan to integrate data from the Georgia Broadband Map program into their new mapping program. The accuracy of these updated maps is critical to expanding broadband access to rural communities.

In the letter, members write:

“As you noted in your announcement, the accuracy of the broadband maps provided by the FCC have long been in question. One of the biggest concerns we hear from telephone cooperatives, electric membership cooperatives, and private companies is that FCC mapping, from which distribution of federal grant and loan dollars is based, is inadequate and incorrect.

“We applaud your action to implement the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability (DATA) Act, which is an important step towards providing a more granular, publicly available, and comprehensive look at internet access in America. We urge you to include data from the Georgia Broadband Map program in the dataset used to develop these updated FCC maps. We also request an answer in writing as to whether you intend to use this data.”

The full letter can be read here.

In addition to Rep. Allen, the letter was signed by: Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA); Congressmen Buddy Carter (R-GA-01), Sanford Bishop (D-GA-02), Drew Ferguson (R-GA-03), Austin Scott (R-GA-08), Andrew Clyde (R-GA-09), Jody Hice (R-GA-10), and Barry Loudermilk (R-GA-11).