This version includes an individualized introductory session with BroadbandToolkit.com. See your Widelity representative for details.
The BEAD Compliance Toolkit offers state broadband offices, investors, ISPs, and others with a need to precisely assess deployed broadband infrastructure a tool with unmatched capabilities.
It performs BEAD compliance calculations continuously in the background. It also shows what infrastructure currently exists in every location.
A user can choose the FCC's H3 Hexagonal GIS data set for maximum precision in rural areas. Alternatively a user can choose a traditional census block framework, but with the precision of the FCC fabric. The Toolkit gracefully visualizes data either way.
The Toolkit calculates the percentage of served, underserved, and unserved locations per hexagon and per block. It also identifies areas (hexagon or block) with 80% or more of locations unserved and areas with 80% or more of locations unserved or underserved. These represent "unserved service project" and "underserved service project" areas, respectively.
The Toolkit shows the presence of each technology at key performance thresholds. It also shows the depth of coverage of each technology at the same thresholds.
The Toolkit has extensive data selection and data export capabilities that enable a user to select a precise coverage area then export the associated performance metrics.
The Toolkit distinguishes between populated and unpopulated areas and shows the precise number of locations and units (think “homes passed”) within each populated hexagon or block.
Identifying eligible areas is a complex data-driven process. The Toolkit juxtaposes many of the layers of decision-making information that are available today.
The data sets include:
- Locations and units (the language of the “Fabric”) per H3 level 8 hexagon and per census block.
- Broadband offerings at three BEAD performance thresholds:
- Qualifying Broadband Service (100 Mbps / 20 Mbps)
- Underserved (equal or greater than 25 Mbps / 3 Mbps but less than 100 Mbps /20 Mbps)
- Unserved (less than 25 Mbps / 3 Mbps)
- Federal Programs: Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP), RDOF, CAF II, and USDA (ReConnect and others, current and pending), seen through the lens of the BEAD NOFO as “enforceable commitments”.
- USDA Metrics (Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE), Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), and various measures of rurality).
- Measured network performance data (uplink and downlink speeds), service pricing, and other data provided by multiple third parties (not-for-profit and commercial) and in some cases aggregated by the NTIA.
- Community Anchor Institutions (schools (k-12), libraries, medical / healthcare, public safety, universities / colleges / post-secondary, other / government, other / NGO)
- 911 / PSAP boundaries
- Opportunity Zones
- A vast collection of geographic boundaries, high resolution numerical data (visualized with a click of the mouse), streaming maps, and other tools.
Demographic and economic data is presented as visual and numerical heat maps:
- Population density
- Household density
- Housing unit density
- Income per capita
- Mean household income
- Median household income
- Poverty Line (reflecting HH size)
- Household Size
- SNAP Participation Rate
The Toolkit includes a set of point data (missing locations) reflecting state-level efforts to improve gaps in the national Fabric. The data was collected over a period months, vetted, accepted by the FCC, and released to the public in January of 2023.
Take a few minutes to read the Introduction (a conceptual overview), the Getting Started Guide and the site License Agreement. You'll appreciate the breadth and depth of what the Toolkit can do.
The Toolkit includes data for a single state. It focuses on the four "reliable" BEAD technologies identified in the NOFO: fiber, cable, DSL/copper, and licensed fixed wireless access.
This product is delivered via a digital download.
