Fun news from the Institute for Local Self Reliance…

Today, we unveil our predictive map which was created by our Senior GIS Analyst Christine Parker.

The map provides a multi-layered look into the near future of community broadband networks.

It not only shows where existing community-owned fiber networks are located but also highlights how those networks will expand in the coming years based on formally announced plans and secured funding to complete network builds.

A few things to note about the map (below at bottom):

• The map only shows community-owned fiber networks.

• The darkest shaded layers show the footprint that is already built representing data from the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection.

• Lighter shaded layers show the footprint that has not been built yet but where federal funding has been secured to expand, based on the FCC’s Broadband Funding Map.

• The lightest shaded layers indicate the “predicted” areas – everywhere electric and telephone cooperatives could build, if they wanted. This layer is based on FCC Study Area Boundaries & HIFLD Retail Service Areas. (It should also be noted that this predictive layer does not include municipal networks or tribally-owned networks.)