The Nebraska Broadband Office (NBO) has announced the next step in its work bringing the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funds to Nebraska.
Through April 14, 2024, all Nebraskans are being asked to review their homes’ and businesses’ addresses on the Nebraska Broadband Availability Map. If a location’s internet service information is wrong, you are invited to contact an advocate to request their help in submitting a challenge.
Internet service providers will be notified when they are named in a challenge and will have 30 days to rebut from the time of the notification. NBO then has another 30 days to review challenges and rebuttals and make final determinations. Their decisions will undergo a final approval process by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Challenges and their statuses will be published to the NBO website on a rolling basis.
The challenge process is especially important for Nebraskans, as it will be the final determination of the unserved/underserved locations funded by Nebraska’s BEAD program. After April 14, 2024, NBO will be unable to accept any further challenges to the map.
The goal of the challenge process is to ensure that the map is as accurate as possible. The map defines exact locations in Nebraska according to their high-speed internet (aka broadband) access. The outcome of the challenge process will determine which locations are eligible for BEAD funding to bring high-speed internet to those communities. Once the process is complete, changes to the map cannot be made and only locations marked as unserved or underserved will be able to be bid on by internet providers.
Questions or comments for the Nebraska Broadband Office can be sent to [email protected]
