Oklahoma Farm Bureau members are encouraged to check and verify the listed broadband internet service available in their areas on a coverage map recently released by the Federal Communications Commission.
The Oklahoma Broadband Office is encouraging all Oklahomans to check the services available at their address for accuracy to ensure the state will receive the grant money needed to provide adequate high-speed internet access to all of Oklahoma.
“We have reason to believe that some of the information listed on the site, especially in rural areas, is not accurate,” said Kirk Martin, interim director of the Oklahoma Broadband Office, in a press release on Dec. 1. “In many cases, the map lists service that is simply not available.”
To verify service in your area, enter your address in the FCC Broadband Map and check the listed coverage options. If you believe the listed information is inaccurate, click “Availability Challenge” to dispute the listing(s).
The map covers residential and commercial addresses, as well as schools, churches and libraries.
The Oklahoma Broadband Office stressed the importance of accurate listings as the finalized map will determine how much money will be distributed to each state for broadband expansion. Currently, the office plans to invest more than $1 billion in both federal and state funding.
“If the final map contains bad information, thousands of Oklahomans could be left out,” Martin said in the release.
The deadline to verify service is January 13, 2023.
About the Oklahoma Broadband Office
Oklahoma has launched an aggressive effort to ensure fast and affordable broadband internet service is available throughout the state and the Oklahoma Broadband Office is a key component.
Created by the Legislature in May 2022, the office is on a five-year mission to develop and administer grant programs to make affordable, high-speed internet available to all Oklahomans. It also coordinates efforts throughout the state to ensure broadband expansion is conducted effectively and efficiently.
This effort builds on previous work to connect the entire state with the economy of the 21st Century. The benefit to families, farms, businesses, and communities is this generation’s equivalent to the impact of rural electrification nearly 100 years ago.
