Healthy New Jersey

NJ Office of Broadband Connectivity

BEAD Challenge Process

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.


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.  

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"


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