Mono County Residents and Business Owners Urged to Audit Broadband Connectivity; The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Challenge Process Begins July 8, 2024

MONO COUNTY, Calif. (JULY 1, 2024) – High-speed, high-quality internet service is essential for participation in modern life.  However, many rural and remote communities lack the proper level of service to adequately participate in today’s economy.  To address this service inequity, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is collecting broadband consumer data information directly from users in an attempt to identify gaps in coverage, and shore up access and service.  Mono County residents and business owners are encouraged to participate in this data collection to address local broadband inequities. 

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program is being implemented in California by the CPUC.  Nationally, BEAD provides $42.45 billion to expand high-speed internet access by funding planning, infrastructure deployment and adoption programs in all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.  California has been allocated approximately $1.86 billion under BEAD based on the federal government's calculation of California's share of unserved locations nationally.

The State’s 30-day BEAD Challenge Process will begin on Monday July 8, 2024.  Last week, the State released a map indicating the served status of locations throughout California.  This 30-day BEAD Challenge Process is your opportunity to submit a response to that information if you regularly experience broadband speeds slower than the status indicated in the State’s data.

Every Internet service customer should verify that their Internet service served status is correctly indicated on the challenge process map.  Click here to view the map and search for your address using the search window in the upper-right section of the page.  A pink dot on your location indicates that the State already has identified your location as unserved and eligible for a BEAD-funded project, and you won’t need to submit a challenge.  A blue dot indicates that your location is underserved and a gray dot indicates that your location is served.  

Internet Speed Service Categories (for reference):

Unserved:  less than 25Mbps download or 3Mbps upload

Underserved:  at least 25mbps download and 3Mbps upload, and less than 100Mbps download or 20Mbps upload

Served:  at least 100Mbps download and at least 20Mbps upload

What you should do before July 8:

Read through the User Guide prior to July 8 to help you get ready to submit the challenge.  

Check your location using the California BEAD Model Challenge Map to see if it is identified as served, underserved, or unserved.  

What you should do between July 8 and August 6 if you need to submit a challenge:

Start the challenge process at the California BEAD Consumer Challenge Page.

Take at least 3 Internet speed tests, each from a different day, and save the results by clicking Download Test Results.  You can use the speed test within the challenge process for all of your tests.

Click “Remind Me” below the speed-test Thank You message and enter your email address to be reminded to take additional speed tests.

While the speed test is running, you will have the option to upload evidence of your Internet service subscription.  This evidence could be a statement, invoice, receipt or screenshot of the online account dashboard.  Useful information to have in the evidence to upload would be the service speeds and the connection technology (cable, fiber, etc.).

For assistance with this process, please contact Scott Armstrong at sarmstrong@inyocounty.us.

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