January 18, 2023 3:00 a.m.

On Tuesday, Senator Ron Wyden said that top federal officials responsible for more than $42 billion in high-speed internet funding are proving responsive to concerns about ensuring that a new broadband map is accurate so rural Oregonians get the funding they need to expand internet access.

Last week Wyden spoke by phone with both Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Assistant Commerce Secretary Alan Davidson, the Administrator for the National Telecommunications Information Administration.

Wyden said he came away reassured that Oregon would be allowed to continue to submit challenges to the map, if needed, and still be counted in time for every community to get its fair share of the federal broadband investment that this map will determine. Wyden said, “It’s up to all Oregonians to call out any incorrect information so rural Oregon doesn’t fall through the cracks when it comes to closing the digital divide for schoolchildren, small business owners, health care providers and more”.

The release said the new National Broadband Map will replace the Federal Communications Commissions old maps, which Wyden claims are inaccurate and overstated how many Oregonians had access to high-quality internet service. The Infrastructure Law directs NTIA to use this new map to determine each state’s budget for federal high-speed infrastructure funding based on a state’s share of the total unserved locations in the country.

More information for this story is linked: https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-feds-responsive-to-oregon-concerns-about-new-broadband-maps