Oklahomans urged to check their address for internet service availability

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a new map allowing people to look up their address and ensure the information given to their internet providers is correct.

“We have reason to believe that some of the information listed on the site, especially in rural areas, is not accurate,” said Kirk Martin, interim director of the Oklahoma Broadband Office. “In many cases, the map lists service that is simply not available.”

The FCC urgently encourages any Oklahoman, business, school, church, library or place with internet service in the state to look up their information on the map and “challenge” any possible mistakes. FCC set a deadline of Jan. 13, 2023, to provide correct info.

“After the challenge process is completed, the data in the final version of the map will be used to determine how much grant money Oklahoma will get to improve internet service throughout the state,” Martin said. “If the final map contains bad information, thousands of Oklahomans could be left out.”

Not only will the public be checking inn to make sure the correct info is provided, the Oklahoma Broadband Office, Native American tribes, and other internet-related groups are looking into the map data and will challenge any possibly false entries they find.

For more information, visit the broadband office website.

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