What is the Challenge Process?
Areas that are eligible for Broadband Equity, Access & Deployment funds need to be in what are considered unserved or underserved areas as far as broadband service is concerned. Those are defined as:
Unserved: Having a connection that is less than 25 Megabits per second download and 3 Megabits per second upload. This is referred to as 25/3 Megabits per second.
Underserved: Having a connection that is less than 100/20 Megabits per second but greater than 25/3 Megabits per second.
Community anchor institutions should have a speed of 1000/1000 Megabits per second.
However, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) map may state that your home is served when it may not actually be served. The map shows that 84,975 locations in Yavapai County are served meaning that their Internet speeds are 100/25 Megabits per second or greater. The Arizona Commerce Authority challenge map allows you to see what the FCC believes the speed to your location should be by entering in your address as indicated in the image below:
Watch the Bead Challenge Video