The FCC National Broadband Map is built from provider filings, not from service you can order today. We read every terrestrial filing for 13 states to measure two things the map itself doesn't show: how many locations have real provider choice at 100/20 Mbps, and how much "served" coverage rests solely on fixed-wireless filings.
What the map measures
Twice a year, every internet provider files a list of the locations it claims it can serve, with the maximum speed it advertises there. The FCC compiles those filings into the National Broadband Map. For wired networks — fiber, cable, DSL — a filing is tied to a physical line that passes the location. For fixed wireless, the rules allow coverage to be filed from a propagation model: an engineering estimate of where a tower's signal should reach. Both appear on the map as the same green dot.
That difference matters most in rural areas, where fixed wireless is frequently the only terrestrial option filed. Fixed wireless is real, valuable service — for many rural households it is the best connection available, and it is a big part of why this site exists. But a modeled coverage claim is harder to verify than a line on a pole, and it is the category most often disputed in state challenge processes.
Federal funding rules have drawn this line explicitly — and recently moved it. Under the 2022 BEAD Notice of Funding Opportunity and NTIA's 2023 guidance, "Reliable Broadband Service" meant fiber, cable, DSL, or fixed wireless using licensed spectrum (including CBRS licensed-by-rule) or a licensed/unlicensed hybrid — so a location whose only 100/20 Mbps option was unlicensed fixed wireless could be treated as unserved and eligible for funding. NTIA's June 2025 BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice eliminated that distinction: unlicensed fixed wireless and low-earth-orbit satellite can now compete for BEAD funds and can be used to mark a location as already served, provided they meet the 100/20 Mbps and 100 ms latency standard plus added technical criteria. The tiers themselves did not change — served is 100/20 or better with low latency, 25/3 to below 100/20 is underserved, below 25/3 is unserved. And neither did the practical question for a household: a propagation-modeled wireless filing still has to be confirmed at your exact address.
Provider choice by state
Share of residential locations with zero or one terrestrial provider filing 100/20 Mbps or better (satellite excluded). Two or more distinct providers is the threshold most people would call a choice.
| State | Locations | All | Metro | Non-metro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 2,725,868 | 17.4% | 15.4% | 50.0% |
| California | 10,112,450 | 17.5% | 16.8% | 35.8% |
| Colorado | 1,971,093 | 19.2% | 14.6% | 41.3% |
| Iowa | 1,348,996 | 20.3% | 13.7% | 27.8% |
| Kansas | 1,179,222 | 17.8% | 11.0% | 29.6% |
| Missouri | 2,486,243 | 22.7% | 15.1% | 40.5% |
| Nebraska | 784,438 | 16.2% | 8.2% | 26.4% |
| Ohio | 4,481,610 | 21.4% | 18.6% | 31.8% |
| South Dakota | 391,050 | 36.8% | 27.7% | 43.8% |
| Tennessee | 2,761,872 | 25.3% | 18.7% | 44.5% |
| Texas | 10,104,973 | 14.9% | 11.4% | 36.0% |
| Utah | 1,024,100 | 13.6% | 7.0% | 44.6% |
| Wyoming | 251,272 | 23.8% | 11.4% | 28.9% |
How much "served" rests on fixed wireless
Of locations served at 100/20, the share with no wireline filing at that tier — split by whether the fixed-wireless claim uses licensed spectrum or unlicensed/licensed-by-rule spectrum — the line BEAD's original rules drew before the June 2025 restructuring removed it. Fiber reach is shown for contrast.
| State | FW-only | Licensed-only | Unlicensed/LBR-only | Fiber reach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 9.4% | 1.6% | 5.2% | 39.3% |
| California | 5.0% | 1.4% | 1.9% | 46.3% |
| Colorado | 5.9% | 1.8% | 2.6% | 56.3% |
| Iowa | 6.1% | 2.5% | 2.1% | 76.5% |
| Kansas | 7.4% | 2.6% | 2.8% | 79.5% |
| Missouri | 10.8% | 4.5% | 3.2% | 66.7% |
| Nebraska | 7.9% | 2.1% | 3.3% | 79.6% |
| Ohio | 3.9% | 2.2% | 0.8% | 55.4% |
| South Dakota | 1.8% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 67.9% |
| Tennessee | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 78.9% |
| Texas | 6.9% | 2.6% | 2.3% | 72.8% |
| Utah | 4.0% | 1.9% | 1.5% | 75.9% |
| Wyoming | 18.1% | 4.4% | 8.8% | 49.7% |
Where fixed wireless carries the most weight
For each state, the three non-metro counties (2,000+ locations) where the largest share of served locations depends solely on fixed-wireless filings. These are the places where confirming a listing with the provider matters most.
- Apache County — 99% FW-only (26,882 locations)
- Santa Cruz County — 33% FW-only (17,263 locations)
- Navajo County — 24% FW-only (56,089 locations)
- Trinity County — 68% FW-only (6,265 locations)
- Tehama County — 50% FW-only (24,847 locations)
- Mariposa County — 47% FW-only (8,309 locations)
- Baca County — 100% FW-only (2,385 locations)
- Bent County — 100% FW-only (2,274 locations)
- Washington County — 77% FW-only (2,846 locations)
- Ringgold County — 49% FW-only (3,826 locations)
- Franklin County — 32% FW-only (5,850 locations)
- Monona County — 31% FW-only (5,102 locations)
- Chautauqua County — 43% FW-only (2,189 locations)
- Ottawa County — 37% FW-only (3,240 locations)
- Kingman County — 32% FW-only (4,337 locations)
- Shannon County — 79% FW-only (4,346 locations)
- Maries County — 79% FW-only (5,287 locations)
- Barton County — 77% FW-only (5,868 locations)
- Thurston County — 66% FW-only (2,569 locations)
- Morrill County — 42% FW-only (2,702 locations)
- Johnson County — 36% FW-only (2,764 locations)
- Putnam County — 38% FW-only (16,044 locations)
- Wyandot County — 28% FW-only (11,166 locations)
- Williams County — 28% FW-only (17,912 locations)
- Butte County — 14% FW-only (4,957 locations)
- Lawrence County — 13% FW-only (13,756 locations)
- Lake County — 4% FW-only (6,204 locations)
- Franklin County — 5% FW-only (20,806 locations)
- Monroe County — 4% FW-only (21,371 locations)
- Greene County — 2% FW-only (33,935 locations)
- Wheeler County — 75% FW-only (3,772 locations)
- Live Oak County — 62% FW-only (7,281 locations)
- Lee County — 55% FW-only (8,739 locations)
- Rich County — 73% FW-only (3,679 locations)
- Millard County — 35% FW-only (6,016 locations)
- Duchesne County — 27% FW-only (10,087 locations)
- Sublette County — 63% FW-only (5,454 locations)
- Crook County — 57% FW-only (3,717 locations)
- Uinta County — 46% FW-only (8,917 locations)
What this means for you
If you live in a rural county, the most useful thing this data tells you is to treat the map as a starting point, not an answer. A fixed-wireless listing is real service worth checking — call the provider, ask whether your specific address has line of sight to a tower, and ask what speed they will actually commit to. Our address checker shows the providers with FCC filings for your census block, with the same caveats stated.
If the map lists a provider that cannot actually serve you, you can file an availability challenge directly with the FCC from the National Broadband Map: search your address, click the location, and use "Availability Challenge." Provider responses are due within 60 days, and successful challenges remove the false claim for everyone at that location.
Check the providers filed for your address → · Open the FCC National Broadband Map · How our availability data works
Frequently asked questions
- Does a fixed-wireless listing mean I can't get internet there?
- No — the opposite is often true. Fixed wireless is real, valuable rural service, and in many counties it is the best connection available. What this data shows is that fixed-wireless coverage on the FCC map is filed from propagation models rather than physical lines, so it is the category most worth confirming with the provider for your exact address before you count on it.
- Why doesn't satellite appear in these numbers?
- This analysis uses the FCC's terrestrial technology files — copper, cable, fiber, and the three fixed-wireless categories. Satellite providers such as Starlink, Viasat, and HughesNet reach most addresses but are filed separately and are not counted here, so every "0 or 1 provider" figure on this page means terrestrial providers only.
- How do I challenge the FCC map for my address?
- Go to broadbandmap.fcc.gov, search your address, click the location pin, and choose "Availability Challenge." You'll pick the provider and the reason — for example, the provider told you they cannot serve your address, or quoted a speed below what is filed. Providers must respond within 60 days, and a successful challenge corrects the map for everyone at that location.
Methodology and limitations
- Source: FCC Broadband Data Collection (BDC) fixed-broadband availability filings, per-technology public files for each of the 13 states. Vintages vary by state and are listed in the tables; they range across the D25 (December 2025) collection as published in 2026.
- Unit: a BDC residential location (business_residential_code R or X; business-only filings B are excluded). BDC locations are serviceable structures, not households.
- Technologies: copper/DSL (10), cable (40), fiber to the premises (50), unlicensed fixed wireless (70), licensed fixed wireless (71), licensed-by-rule fixed wireless (72). Satellite filings are not included in this analysis — every provider-count figure on this page is terrestrial only. Any other technology code would have set no flags and was counted; the run reported zero such rows.
- Served at 100/20: at least one filing with download ≥100 Mbps, upload ≥20 Mbps, and low_latency = 1 (BEAD's latency test). Underserved: 25/3 or better but not 100/20. Unserved: below 25/3.
- Choice: distinct provider IDs with a qualifying 100/20 filing at the location, bucketed 0, 1, or 2+. A provider ID is not always one company — affiliates sometimes file separately — so this slightly overstates choice, never understates it.
- Fixed-wireless-only: served at 100/20 with no wireline (copper/cable/fiber) filing at that tier; split into licensed-only (tech 71), unlicensed/LBR-only (70, 72), and mixed.
- Metro vs non-metro: USDA ERS Rural-Urban Continuum Codes 2023; metro = codes 1–3. County = the first five digits of the location's census block GEOID.
- Highlight counties: the three non-metro counties per state with the highest fixed-wireless-only share of served locations, among counties with at least 2,000 locations. We do not name providers, and the list is a statement about map composition, not about any operator's service quality.
- Filings are not orderability. A filing means a provider reported it can serve the location; it does not mean you can order service today at the filed speed, and it does not capture install fees, waitlists, or capacity limits.
Per-state data vintages: AZ July 2026 (D25) · CA June 2026 (D25) · CO July 2026 (D25) · IA July 2026 (D25) · KS July 2026 (D25) · MO July 2026 (D25) · NE May 2026 (D25) · OH July 2026 (D25) · SD July 2026 (D25) · TN May 2026 (D25) · TX July 2026 (D25) · UT July 2026 (D25) · WY July 2026 (D25).
Download the data: state totals and highlights (JSON) · all county rows (JSON). Licensed CC BY 4.0 — cite and link back.
Cite this brief
ISP Advisor Research (2026). What the FCC Broadband Map Can and Can't Tell You: A Location-Level Look at 13 States. CheckInternetAvailability.com. Data and methodology at checkinternetavailability.com/research/fcc-map-fragility. Questions: jho@ispadvisor.com.