MinnPost wrote about the recent MN Office of Broadband Development BEAD Challenge Information Session in New Ulm last week. Reporter, Ava Kian does a nice job outlining the reasons it’s important for Minnesotans to learn more and act on the challenge process…

Later this month, Minnesota will begin challenging the maps made by the Federal Communications Commission that will help determine what areas and projects would be eligible for funding through the federal Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) dollars.

Those maps show the areas still in need of broadband coverage, although many have said they severely undercount the need. Local and tribal governments, broadband service providers and nonprofits will be able to submit challenges to the map.

Certain areas of southern Minnesota, according to the maps, have coverage through internet service provider GigFire (formerly known as LTD Broadband). But residents at those addresses have said they don’t have internet access at the speeds the map claims.

A survey of 120 GigFire customers in Le Sueur County found average speeds of 9/1 megabits per second (Mbps). But on the map, it shows the provider is offering upload speeds of 250 Mbps, which advocates say simply isn’t true.

The dependability of the maps really depends on how accurate a provider is when stating their coverage area, said Perry Mulcrone, the fiber manager for Scott County, who said many spots in Scott County were also misreported as having coverage.