Utah’s Last Chance to Identify Eligible Locations for Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Federal Grant Funding
The State of Utah has been allocated $317.4 million of federal funding through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program to expand high-speed internet (broadband) access to locations without it. Confirmation of locations that currently do not have access to high-speed internet is essential for funding to be used to connect these areas.
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The Utah Broadband Center (UBC) is administering a broadband availability challenge process in March, 2024 to verify the accuracy of internet service availability by location. By participating in the State Broadband Challenge, you will help ensure that access to reliable, high-speed internet service is available to everyone.
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The Utah Broadband Availability Challenge Process is the last opportunity to ensure the accuracy of locations eligible for BEAD funding. The UBC will coordinate with stakeholders and Eligible Challengers– local and Tribal governments, nonprofits, and internet service providers – to verify existing broadband service for households, businesses, and community anchor institutions.
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Challenged Locations
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Approximately 32,000 unique broadband serviceable locations were challenged during the challenge submission period.
Challenges that were directed to specific Internet Service Providers have been sent to the designated point of contact for each provider along with instructions for rebuttal submissions. Internet Service Providers will have 40 days from notification to submit a rebuttal. Lists of valid challenges submitted to specific Internet Service Providers can be accessed via the following links:
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Challenges that were not directed to a specific Internet Service Provider (such as a planned or existing service challenge) may be rebutted by other eligible challengers. All rebutters must be registered for portal access before submitting a rebuttal. These challenges are included on the Open Rebuttal Map for review and rebuttal. Rebuttals to challenges that are posted on the Open Rebuttal Map must be submitted within 40 days from the date the challenge is posted on the map. Click the link below to view a list of submitted challenges for open rebuttal.
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Here's what you need to know:​
Utah's Initial Proposal Volume 1 has obtained NTIA approval and the BEAD State Challenge Process has begun. The challenge phase of this process closed on May 28, 2024, and the rebuttal phase is now underway through July 8, 2024.
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During the rebuttal phase, challenged service providers may submit evidence to rebut the challenge for specific broadband-serviceable locations.
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Challenged service providers may choose not to rebut the challenge. If so, the challenge is sustained and the designation of the location will be changed accordingly.
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If challenged service providers choose to rebut a challenge, the challenged location will be designated as “disputed,” on the map inside the Challenge Process Portal. Challenges that are disputed will enter the final determination phase.
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Supporting evidence will be required for all rebuttals.
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The rebuttal phase will last for 40 days, meaning, a challenged service provider will have 40 days after receiving a challenge to submit a rebuttal.
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Timeline
The UBC has published a specialized map of locations eligible in Utah for BEAD-funded projects for the purposes of the challenge process. This map is published on the Challenge Process Portal.
For more details on the challenge process phases, please refer to the portal.
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Who can participate?​
Challenges that are directed to specific Internet Service Providers have been sent to that organization’s designated point of contact, who will have received an email notification with instructions for rebuttal submission. Internet Service Providers will have 40 days from the date they receive their email notification for a valid challenge to submit a rebuttal. Click the links below to view submitted challenges.
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Nonprofit Organizations​​
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Tribal or Local Governments
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Educational organizations that are either a unit of local or Tribal government of a nonprofit (such as a public school district or public university)
Challenges that are not directed to a particular Internet Service Provider (such as a planned service challenge) may be rebutted by other eligible challengers. These challenges are included on the Open Rebuttal Map inside the Challenge Portal for review and rebuttal. Rebuttals to challenges that are posted on the Open Rebuttal Map must be submitted within 40 days from the date the challenge is posted on the map. Click the link below to view a list of submitted challenges for open rebuttal.
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How to Participate: Internet Service Providers
To rebut a speed test challenge for a single location, ISPs will need to run a speed test from the head end server to the connected device’s IP address. They will also need to submit the following information and supporting evidence:
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3 speed test measurements, taken on different days between the hours of 7-11 PM
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Broadband serviceable location (BSL) id number for the location
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Time and date the speed test was conducted
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Provider-assigned internet protocol (IP) address, either version 4 or version 6, identifying the residential gateway conducting the test
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The speed test evidence documentation should come from a system report, screen shots, or other data sources that can be verified rather than just submitting them on a spreadsheet.​
An ISP may rebut an area speed test challenge by providing speed tests for at least 10% of the customers in the challenged area. The customers must be randomly selected (UBC will provide a random list of locations in the area for the ISP to use to identify customers). ISPs must apply the 80/80 rule, i.e., 80% of these locations must experience a speed that equals or exceeds 80% of the speed threshold. Only speed tests conducted by the provider between the hours of 7 pm and 11 pm local time will be considered as evidence for a challenge rebuttal. The evidence documentation for each location must follow the evidence requirements for individual speed test rebuttals
How to Participate: Other Entities​
​Challenges that were not directed to a specific internet service provider, such as planned or existing service challenges, are available for open rebuttal. Any eligible challenger can submit a rebuttal to these challenges. To submit an open rebuttal, you will need to specify the challenge you are rebutting, provide an explanation of why you are rebutting the challenge, and include evidence to support your rebuttal. All rebuttal evidence must be readable, relevant, and dated.
In order to submit a rebuttal, you must be registered for access to the challenge portal. Click here to register for portal access. There is a 40 day rebuttal window for each challenge. The open rebuttal map includes the rebuttal deadline for each challenge. Click here to access the open rebuttal map.
Resources
Office hours for nonprofit organizations and state, local, and tribal governments
Weekly on Thursdays from 2:00pm - 3:00pm. UBC staff will be available at this time to answer questions about the challenge process and the challenge portal. Office hours will start April 25, 2024 and run until May 23, 2024. You can attend each Thursday’s office hours through the recurring Zoom meeting.
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Office hours for internet service providers
Weekly on Fridays from 1:00pm - 2:00pm. UBC staff will be available at this time to answer questions about the challenge process and the challenge portal. Office hours will start April 26, 2024 and run until June 28, 2024. You can attend each Friday’s office hours through the recurring Zoom meeting.
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Step-by-Step Instructions on how to navigate the portal and submit all challenge types.
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The initial list of unserved and underserved locations comes from the National Broadband Map maintained by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Data from this map will form the basis of Utah’s challenge process map. You can download more broadband availability data from the FCC database, current as of June 30, 2024.
The Initial Proposal Volume 1 outlines the State Challenge Process. If your entity plans to submit challenges or expects to receive challenges requiring rebuttal, such as internet service providers, please carefully review the process.
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Webinars and Trainings
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Request a free CostQuest Map Fabric License
Instructions and information to request a license can be found in the Challenge Portal.
Points of Contact
For technical assistance or questions regarding the challenge process:
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Connecting Utah: connectingutah@utah.gov
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Utah Broadband Center: broadbandcenter@utah.gov or visit https://business.utah.gov/broadband/
For questions, guidance and assistance to non-profit organizations, local or Tribal governments, and individuals:
Sophie Dasaro, UBC: sdasaro@utah.gov
For information and questions regarding Volume 1, challenge process requirements, and Internet Service Provider assistance:
Steven Greene, UBC: sgreene@utah.gov