West Virginia’s broadband issues are well known and documented. But thanks to the efforts of U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., even more light will be shined on the problems.

Both have been highly involved in fighting the Federal Communications Commission and their erroneous broadband maps that help to cover up the Mountain State’s connectivity issues.

“In recent years, I’ve submitted more than 2,400 speed tests from West Virginians that prove that the FCC’s maps were — and maybe still are — incorrect,” Manchin said. “We’re going to find out.”

He, Capito and Kelly Workman, director of the West Virginia Office of Broadband, emphasized the need for residents to get involved in the fight.

The importance of West Virginians speaking out now can’t be overemphasized as the broadband maps will be used to help determine how federal funding is allocated, Capito said.

“As we look at the dollars — billions of dollars — that are going into our states, we want to make sure the promises are kept,” she said. “The promise is that everybody will have broadband accessibility, but also vibrant broadband, not something that’s difficult or too expensive and something that you can reach from your home or business.”

“West Virginia is primed to receive and compete for hundreds of millions of dollars to bring reliable, affordable broadband access to all West Virginians, but only if the broadband coverage maps are correct,” Manchin said. “Because of our bipartisan efforts and years of advocating, West Virginians can now finally search the FCC’s maps to see if they accurately show broadband coverage at an address. ... I encourage all West Virginians to check their address on the map to help ensure West Virginia gets our fair share of this critical funding.”

West Virginia’s Office of Broadband, led by Jamie Hoffmann, program manager, has already identified some of the problems with the FCC’s draft maps.

The FCC’s map shows a total of 902,699 “broadband serviceable locations” in the state, but the Office of Broadband has identified “a minimum of 138,000 locations missing from the map.”

Additionally, because the FCC’s map includes “satellite coverage,” most of West Virginia appears to be “100% served.”

“That information is a bit misleading for the public,” Hoffman said.

The Office of Broadband plans to submit its own challenges to the maps on behalf of the state, Hoffman said. But it is important that those residents who truly suffer from poor broadband service respond to the opportunity to fix what has obviously been broken.

“Every West Virginian needs to be accurately represented on the FCC National Broadband Map, especially when funding allocations are based upon the map,” Workman said. “There are still too many West Virginians that lack broadband connectivity, particularly in our rural communities. If the map shows technology or speeds that are not truly available at your address, or if your location is missing, please take the opportunity to submit a challenge to the FCC prior to January 13.”

Here’s how to submit a challenge:

How to Find Your Address:

Using the search bar, type in the address you want to view information on. The map should automatically zoom to your location.

After finding your location, a side-panel on the right-hand side of the screen will populate location and service information.

If your location is missing, be sure to select the building footprint or space of your location to submit a Location Challenge.

How to Submit a Location Challenge:

After searching a location, select the building footprint or space to where the point location layer is missing.

Once the location is selected, select “Challenge Location”

You will be required to fill out a form regarding information about your location.

After a challenge is submitted, you will receive a confirmation email informing you that it has been received by the FCC.

If a location is available on the map that includes inaccurate information, navigate to “Location Challenge” in the side-panel to complete the form.

How to Submit an Availability Challenge:

After searching a location, select “Availability Challenge” in the side-panel.

Select the provider (ISP) you wish to challenge.

Complete the following form to dispute the provider’s claim on service availability.

We encourage all residents who don’t have adequate broadband service, or who have any qualms with the broadband service they currently receive, to file a challenge. Now is the time we might finally be able to fix the problem.