Official Site of The State of New Jersey
Registered Challengers may submit challenges via the portal until January 3, 2025 11:59pm ET. Supporting evidence is required. Get Started.
BEAD Challenge Offices Hours are available on Wednesdays at 2pm ET. Register for an upcoming session.
The Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program requires the New Jersey Office of Broadband Connectivity (OBC) to allow stakeholders to challenge the accuracy of BEAD-eligible locations. Eligible locations consist of broadband serviceable locations (BSLs) that are unserved and underserved and are not subject to an enforceable commitment.
- Unserved locations are defined as BSLs that lack access to Reliable Broadband Service at speeds of at least 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream and latency levels low enough to support real-time, interactive applications.
- Underserved locations are defined as BSLs that lack access to Reliable Broadband Service at speeds of at least 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream and latency levels low enough to support real-time, interactive applications.
- Enforceable commitments include any federal, state, or local commitment to deploy qualifying broadband.
The OBC will use the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Map to create the initial list of unserved and underserved locations and then modify that data based on the process outlined in the OBC’s Approved Initial Proposal Volume 1.
To submit a challenge, you must represent a broadband service provider, local government, tribal government, or non-profit organization. Complete the form to Register.
STATE BROADBAND CHALLENGE PROCESS AND TIMELINE
Below are the four distinct phases and brief timeline of the challenge process.
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- Registration opens for the New Jersey Broadband Challenge Process will begin on October 21, 2024 and remain open for 14 calendar days. The registration period will close on November 3, 2024 11:59 ET.
- The broadband challenge map will be made public 14 days prior to the challenge portal opening. This will allow eligible challengers time to review the map and register to the portal.
- The challenge phase will open on November 4, 2024 and has been extended for an additional 30 calendar days. The challenge phase will close on January 3, 2025 11:59 ET.
- During this time, eligible challengers will be able to submit challenges through the challenge portal.
- Supporting evidence will be required for all challenges.
- Challenges will be sent to the service provider whose service availability and performance are being challenged so that rebuttals can be prepared.
- After a challenge is received for a broadband-serviceable location, that location will be designated as “challenged” on the map.
- The rebuttal phase will open January 4, 2025 and will remain open for 30 calendar days. The rebuttal phase will close on February 2, 2025 11:59 ET.
- During the rebuttal phase, a challenged service provider will have 30 days to:
- Rebute a challenge with supporting evidence. The challenged location will be designated as “disputed” on the map
OR - Not rebut a challenge. If so, the challenge is sustained, and the designation of the location will be changed accordingly.
- Challenges that are disputed will enter the final determination phase.
- The Final Determination phase will open on February 3, 2025 and will last for 30 calendar days. The New Jersey Office of Broadband Connectivity will have 30 calendar days from receipt of a rebuttal to release the final determination for the challenge.
- Once the rebuttal phase closes, the State Broadband Office will review all disputed locations and make a final determination of the location’s classification.
- At the end of the final determination phase (on or about March 5, 2025 11:59 ET), all challenges will be determined as either “sustained” or “rejected”.
Request a CostQuest License
Participating entities are encouraged to request a no-cost NTIA Tier D or Tier E License from CostQuest Associates to participate in the State Broadband Challenge Process. However, obtaining a CostQuest license is not required to participate in the challenge process. This license will permit licensees to view the BSL data on a more granular level and is an important tool for analyzing areas that may need to be challenged. The process to request a license may take up to two weeks.
How to Request a License
Review the NTIA Fabric Licensing FAQ to learn about the licensing process and determine the appropriate tier license for your organization.
Entities that participate in any federal broadband programs, including entities with reporting requirement or entities that plan to participate in the BEAD sub-granting process, should request a Tier D License. Internet service providers, for example, should request a Tier D license. Licensees will be similar to those with an FCC Fabric Tier 2 license.
Use this guide for requesting an NTIA Tier D to assist in completing the application process.
If you have any questions, CostQuest can be reached directly by emailing IFAsupport@costquest.com.
Entities that will participate in the challenge process, but do not participate in federal broadband programs, should request Tier E license. Nonprofit organizations, for example, should request Tier E license. Licensees will be similar to those with an FCC Fabric Tier 4 license.
Use this guide for requesting an NTIA Tier E to assist with completing the application process.
If you have any questions, CostQuest can be reached directly by emailing IFAsupport@costquest.com.
Broadband Availability File
OBC published the list of unserved and underserved broadband serviceable locations (BSLs) for the New Jersey Challenge Process. The BSLs are based on the May 10th, 2024, version of the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection and version 4.0 of the FCC’s BSL Location Fabric.
Locations are identified by Location ID number. Location IDs from these lists can be used in conjunction with the Fabric to allow challengers to build an internal map for data analysis
A list of broadband serviceable locations that are currently identified as unserved or underserved can be accessed on the Broadband Availability File.
"The modifications mentioned in the Initial Proposal Volume 1 will be included in the broadband challenge map"
