NTIA unveiled the National Broadband Map (as called for in the National Broadband Plan) yesterday – a searchable nationwide map of broadband Internet availability resulting from a nationwide survey on broadband adoption.

The website includes more than 25 million searchable records showing:

• where broadband Internet service is available,
• the technology used to provide the service,
• the maximum advertised speeds of the service, and
• the names of the service providers.

Users can search by address to find the broadband providers and services available in the corresponding census block or road segment, view the data on a map, or use other interactive tools to compare broadband across various geographies, such as states, counties or congressional districts.

RTG carrier members are advised to review the map and their individual coverage area(s) to ensure the that their service areas are accurately portrayed. Note that Broadband providers voluntarily provided a majority of the data and NTIA cannot guarantee the accuracy of all data. The map will be updated approximately every six months and NTIA welcomes and encourages input regarding the accuracy of the data.

NTIA’s Wireless Methodology

Wireless Technologies captured in the map include Terrestrial Fixed Licensed, Terrestrial Fixed Unlicensed, Terrestrial Mobile, and undefined or “Other” wireless technologies. The map does not display satellite data.

Wireless shapes given by broadband providers are amoebic and do not follow geographic boundaries. For the purposes of calculating broadband availability statistics for a particular geography, the National Broadband Map uses the latitude and longitude of a search to determine that point’s wireless availability. For points falling entirely within a wireless shape, it is assumed that the entire population has availability with the attributes (provider, technology, speed, etc.) assigned to that shape. For points falling partially within the shape, between 0 and 100% of the population has the attributes assigned to that wireless shape.

NTIA’s February 2011 Digital Nation Report

NTIA also released a new report previewing data collected through the Internet Usage Survey of 54,000 households, commissioned by NTIA and conducted by the Census Bureau in October 2010. The Current Population Survey (CPS) data show that while virtually all demographic groups have experienced rising broadband Internet access adoption at home, historic demographic disparities among groups have persisted over time.