Broadband for Communities
BROADBAND PLANNING MAP (REQUIRES NO SPECIAL GIS SKILLS)
The Broadband Planning Map Tool has a large collection of map layers with a rich set of broadband, demographic, and spatial analysis tools to help providers and community planners make better broadband decisions for their community.
The central idea behind the project was to create a set of tools that would help a planner identify their study area, find all combinations of Broadband Providers, Service Types and Advertised Download/Upload speeds, and quickly chart out the general and student populations, housing, and community-anchor-institution data showing the potential for broadband demand aggregation and providing the data to support businesses cases for investment in new broadband infrastructure to schools and communities.
What makes our Community Planning Map unique is the power and flexibility it gives users to perform Spatial Analysis. For example, users can perform a Spatial Search to find all the Libraries within a specific Zip code or given community by name. Subsequently, a 2-mile buffer could be drawn around one of the Libraries identified to find all the public schools that fall within that 2-mile radius.
The Advertised Upload and Download Broadband Speeds and Service Types to these schools can then be instantly charted. Further, all the Census Blocks falling within this 2-mile buffer can be selected and their attributes can be exported to a spreadsheet. Users can easily determine the number of people living within 2 miles of a Library; find their average median age, the total number of households, etc.
All of Arizona’s Broadband Providers and their associated metrics can be easily viewed and the results saved as an Excel spreadsheet for further analysis. A Community Planner can readily measure the area and perimeter of their community, find the distance from the nearest Central Office or a major road or highway, and quickly view the broadband footprints of every provider in the vicinity.
ARIZONA BROADBAND ASSESSMENT PROJECT (AZ BAP) REPORTS
AZ BAP Methodology White Paper for Fall 2014
This publication covers the overall status, process and outcomes of the mapping project. It also includes brief summaries of state and regional policy activities.
AZ BAP Arizona Broadband Coverage Report for Spring 2014
This publication includes information about Arizona's eighth broadband data submission to the NTIA, with broadband statistics and analysis accompanied by a series of Arizona broadband coverage maps by technology type.
AZ BAP Arizona Broadband Coverage County Addendum for Spring 2014
This publication complements the statewide broadband coverage maps (above) and includes detailed county and population center broadband coverage maps by technology type.
ARIZONA BROADBAND MAP ACCESS
The Digital Arizona Program website features the Arizona Broadband Maps with an overview.
There are two interfaces, one for community and broadband provider planners that requires no special technical skills and another archived planning broadband planning tool that is more appropriate for users with GIS skills. Both versions of the map allow substantial flexibility and usability in navigating to, framing, selecting data, and customizing views.
The Arizona Broadband Planning Map Tool is a detailed and multi-layered view of the availability and advertised performance of High Capacity Digital Services (Broadband) and many layers of demographic and geographic data in the State of Arizona. Data can be searched by individual street address or many different and political boundaries. Information about broadband can also be queried using provider, community, school names, etc.
What is the National Broadband Map?
The National Broadband Map allows you to visualize the extent to which Broadband service capability is available from a commercial provider or public provider throughout the country.
The source data for the National Map is the product of several State-led initiatives, such as the Arizona Broadband Project, which were created by the Broadband Data Improvement Act of 2008.
The National Broadband Map provides broadband data from 50 state and 4 territorial NTIA broadband programs. The Arizona data on The National Map is a subset of the data provided on The Arizona Broadband Planning Map Tool. The national map is very useful to for state-to-state comparisons about the availability of high-capacity Internet throughout the country. The national map has been and will continue to be maintained by the FCC, however, after January 1, 2015 data updates will be provided directly by broadband providers to the FCC.
This searchable national database has more than 25 million records displayed on interactive maps that show:
• Where Broadband Internet service is available
• What technology is being used to provide the service
• The maximum advertised speed of the service
• The names of the service providers
Users can search by address or use other interactive tools to compare broadband across various geographies, including states, counties or congressional districts.
Businesses can use it to decide if they want to move to a certain location, based on broadband availability.
The APIs associated with the maps have been released, so innovators can create apps or services around the data, creating opportunities for new business.
After January 1, 2015 the Arizona broadband map will be maintained as part of the AZGEO GIS clearing house. This version of the planning tool will access the Arizona portion of the FCC National Map using the FCC’s API.
RootMetrics uses millions of real-world results reported by mobile users like you, to deliver an accurate, unbiased view of each carrier's performance.
With easy-to-use maps and ratings, you can compare voice and data ratings, plus an overall RootScore for each carrier - metro-wide or down to your street address. Finally, you'll know which carrier works best for you.
Note: This is a link to a third party web site provided solely for your interest.
Please note that cell phone performance data is captured and made available on the Arizona Broadband Planning Map Tool through an arrangement with Mobile Pulse who provides a free app for IOS and Android mobile cell phone devices.
Two Highways Proposition
Combined infrastructure projects save both time and money. The U.S. Congress has put forth simple, yet cost effective legislation aimed at stimulating Broadband infrastructure creation.
What's it all about?
Although "middle-mile fiber" can be strung along utility poles, this approach is most effective when existing high tension electrical distribution systems are available that cover long distances between communities where other rights of way may not be available. In other situations highway rights of way can be more practical where fiber is encased and buried in trenches alongside the highways. This is the case because highways are designed to go where people live.
During the never ending process of constructing, and repairing roads and highways in Arizona, the ground must be dug up and prepared for installation of the new road surface.
At that time, it's relatively easy, and very cost effective for additional minor trenching to be done, to accommodate the installation of fiber-optic conduit that is used to transport broadband.
Do You Know? The cost of laying fiber is roughly comparable to the cost of putting the paint stripes on the road!
Clearing the way
Another big factor involved in the laying of cables, is considering what might be discovered underground, such as archaeological ruins, where the Broadband cables need to go.
There are other things that can be dug up during the installation process including; water and sewer pipes, other cables; any of which can stop a project cold. And in fact, in much of Arizona, especially cities like Phoenix, the problem of dealing with ancient archaeological ruins is a very common occurrence.
During the design phase of building a road, all of these issues must be taken into account. If the permitting processes allowed for it, the installation of fiber conduit could essentially get a free ride during the road's construction or repair process; because these problems would have already been dealt with by the road contractor.
Right-of-way issues
Laying fiber along rural highways, to bring "middle-mile" broadband capacity to remote communities throughout Arizona and sharing that capacity among "last-mile" providers would make it much more economically attractive for them to serve or to expand services in these remote communities.
However, current land use statutes, policies, rules, and laws at all levels of government, largely restrict taking full advantage of this "Two Highways For The Cost Of One" proposition.
Very high-capacity fiber-optic cables are required to connect each community back to the global Internet at broadband speeds. These connections into communities are often referred to as "middle mile" connections.
They supply the large capacity needed within each community for re-distribution by "last mile" broadband Internet providers to individual homes and businesses. In some circumstances, high capacity microwave radio technology can be used, instead of fiber, for short distance "middle-mile" service.
The Digital Arizona Program will coordinate efforts among all stakeholders to promote ways these barriers to low-cost rural "middle-mile" capacity can be lessened or removed.
Digital Arizona Highways Act of 2012
This act was passed by the Arizona legislature with a 95% yes vote and signed by the Governor in 2012. The act provides for changing the definition for transportation for the Department of Transportation to include the transportation of information as well as people and goods over the State's highway system. The intention of the act is to allow state highway rights of way to be made available for fiber construction at cost. The act requires no general funds but is designed to encourage private sector investment in the construction of new "middle-mile" fiber infrastructure, especially in rural areas of the state.
