Six industry associations offered NTIA and RUS suggestions for c...

as ‘unserved’ and ‘underserved’ makes it difficult, and in some cases impossible, for our members to examine and respond fully and completely to those applications within the 30-day deadline set by the agencies,” the groups wrote in a letter to the agencies. The format of the mapping tool “creates a significant barrier to submitting data in a timely fashion,” the letter said. “Providing a dataset of census block/group/tract information with application numbers would simplify and speed the process for responding,” it said. “Our members are reviewing the list of proposed funded service areas and have reported that funding has been sought in hundreds of areas where they provide broadband service. They have discovered, however, that using the tools available to research each proposed funded service area separately, as the agencies require, is unnecessarily burdensome.” The letter said the database’s 7,500 census block limit “creates a barrier to obtaining information about areas where funding is proposed and should be lifted.” There are more than 8 million census blocks nationwide, the letter said. “Many applications include service areas that cross multiple counties or multiple states and potentially hundreds to thousands of census blocks. Despite this fact, the database only displays up to 7,500 census blocks per proposed funded service area.” OPASTCO, USTelecom, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, the American Cable Association, the Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance and the Western Telecommunications Alliance signed the letter.