Mapping FAQ

Why is the broadband map important for North Carolina? 

The Connect North Carolina interactive broadband map gives each North Carolinian a tool to understand which broadband providers offer service at his or her home.  To do so, go to the interactive broadband map to map your address and identify broadband providers that serve your home.

Just as importantly, the broadband maps will better equip North Carolina to compete for federal broadband stimulus funds.  By having access to comprehensive and detailed maps showing where broadband is and is not available, applicants for federal funding will be better positioned to offer effective solutions for providing broadband to unserved areas of the state.

How do I use the map to understand which broadband providers offer service at my home?

Go to the Connect North Carolina interactive map.  Follow the instructions to map your address.  The instructions will walk you through each step to generate a list of broadband providers that serve your address, along with their contact information.

Who funded and developed the Connect North Carolina broadband map?

Broadband providers across the state worked together to fund and develop the Connect North Carolina broadband map.  (Even market competitors!)  Connect North Carolina worked with all broadband providers to gather the necessary information and process that information to generate a map of broadband availability, current as of August 6, 2009.

Which broadband providers participate in Connect North Carolina’s broadband mapping?

All terrestrial and mobile broadband providers – large and small – were invited to be represented on the Connect North Carolina broadband inventory map.  Upon the initial release of the Connect North Carolina broadband map on July 9, 2009, a total of 35 North Carolina broadband providers were represented in the Connect North Carolina broadband inventory map.  Connect North Carolina is technology neutral and takes great care to represent all broadband technologies equally on the interactive map.  Every broadband provider has the same level of access to the statewide broadband maps.

How is broadband defined on the Connect North Carolina broadband map? 

Broadband is defined (at a minimum) in accordance with the federal definition of broadband, issued by the Federal Communications Commission and consistent with the federal rules for broadband stimulus funding, issued on July 1, 2009.  Broadband is defined as data transmission technology that provides two-way data transmission to and from the Internet with advertised speeds of at least 768 kilobits downstream and at least 200 kilobits upstream. 

How is Connect North Carolina staffed?

Connect North Carolina is a subsidiary of Connected Nation, a national 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to close the digital divide.  Connected Nation exists to help states, communities, families and individuals realize the great economic and social advantages that occur when broadband availability is accelerated in underserved areas and broadband use is increased in all areas – rural and urban alike. Connected Nation developed its first statewide broadband inventory map in 2005 in Kentucky. Since then, Connected Nation has developed or is in the process of developing broadband inventory maps in states across the nation, including Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Ohio, Tennessee, Illinois, South Carolina and West Virginia. Connect North Carolina works through Connected Nation staff to develop the broadband maps.  

What type of technology is used to develop the Connect North Carolina broadband map?

Connect North Carolina works through Connected Nation to employ geographic information systems (GIS) mapping technology in partnership with ESRI – the world’s leading developer of GIS software solutions.  Connected Nation and ESRI work in partnership to create and customize broadband mapping solutions to illustrate and analyze broadband service down to the street and household level.  The latest customization of this software is the platform for the Connect North Carolina broadband map.

How does Connect North Carolina verify the broadband service information represented on the map?

Connect North Carolina used a combination of methods to ensure transparency and verifiability of the broadband map:

• Connect North Carolina has established a transparent system for third-party verification of broadband availability data. All of the maps are available to the public online (e.g., www.connectnorthcarolina.org) so that consumers and local stakeholders can verify broadband availability down to the street and household level using the interactive web tools. Connect North Carolina offers a direct link on its web site, along with a telephone hotline, where third parties can provide instant feedback on any potential inaccuracies.
• Connect North Carolina also conducts continuous consumer surveys through its web-based technology assessment.  The primary purposes of the web survey are 1) To better understand demand for broadband applications across North Carolina, and 2) To verify broadband availability through consumer responses on whether broadband is offered at their home address.
• Connected Nation engineers conducted extensive field tests, and the results of those tests were documented and compared against North Carolina provider data to ensure accuracy. Connected Nation conducted random quality control checks across the state to validate the latitude/longitude of infrastructure such as digital subscriber line access multiplexers (DSLAMs), broadcast towers, and other vertical assets such as wireless towers. Quality control checks were also conducted via spectrum analyzer to verify the frequencies being used by known unlicensed WISPs or licensed providers. 

Source data verification is a critical component of effective broadband mapping for a number of reasons:

• Providers have every incentive to be truthful as they report their broadband service territory when there is a transparent, effective method of verification of such data. 
• More importantly, broadband inventory maps represent a visual, geographic estimation of broadband coverage at a given point in time.

What type of broadband information is kept confidential and why?

All broadband availability information, down to a street and household level, is fully transparent on the Connect North Carolina broadband map.  Consumers can search by address to generate a list of broadband providers that offer service at each address.  The only information that is not disclosed on the broadband map and protected via non-disclosure agreements is highly sensitive network infrastructure information, which is processed by Connected Nation to determine the broadband availability footprint and GIS maps.  This network infrastructure information includes the specifications of the network infrastructure and equipment, such as the frequencies and beamwidth of wireless signals, latitude/longitude coordinates of digital subscriber line access multiplexers (DSLAMs) or the specifications of fiber routes.  This level of confidentiality is consistent with the federal Broadband Data Improvement Act of 2008, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and the federal rules on the State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program released by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration on July 1, 2009.

The reasons why this data remains confidential are two-fold: 1) To protect the physical integrity of the backbone of the United States’ communications system - an issue of homeland security, and 2) To protect providers’ proprietary infrastructure and equipment information.

Note this recent network sabotage example in San Jose, California that left “tens of thousands of Silicon Valley residents with no phone, cell phone or Internet service.”

How does Connect North Carolina calculate household availability?

Connect North Carolina analyzes the broadband map in relation to the location of households across the state.  The methodology allows for analysis of broadband availability in comparison to households at the census block level, and distributed along the most logical physical attribute by which homes are typically built. This methodology allows for an accurate estimation of the number households that can be serviced by a broadband provider in each particular location.

Is mobile wireless broadband used in the calculation of broadband availability?

Connected Nation works with mobile wireless broadband providers to illustrate mobile broadband services on the Connect North Carolina map; however, this mobile broadband service is not included in the calculation of broadband availability.  Mobile broadband is depicted on the map in blue because it is important that consumers understand where mobile broadband services are available.  However, Connect North Carolina distinguishes between mobile and terrestrial services on the map, and conservatively includes only terrestrial broadband services in its percentage of North Carolina homes with broadband availability.

What is the Connect North Carolina Speed Test?

The Connect North Carolina Speed Test provides a tool for consumers to test the speed of their broadband connection.  This information is used to understand upstream and downstream speeds in different areas of North Carolina.