Sponsors (12)
The bill improves targeting of broadband resources to rural and agricultural areas and helps government coordination, but it raises implementation costs, privacy risks for farmers, and a tight timeline that may compromise initial data quality.
Taxpayers and state governments are likely to see more efficient use of broadband subsidies because USDA agricultural location data helps target funding to areas that truly lack service, reducing wasteful spending.
Rural residents and farmers gain clearer, agriculture-specific broadband maps that make it easier to identify underserved farmland and prioritize buildout to needy rural communities.
State and federal planners (including local governments) can better coordinate funding and deployment decisions by using USDA-supplied agricultural location data integrated into the national map.
The FCC will incur additional implementation costs and workload to integrate and maintain agricultural data in the map, potentially increasing costs borne by taxpayers or requiring agency resource reallocation.
A 180-day statutory deadline to update the map could rush technical work and stakeholder coordination, producing initial data quality or accuracy problems that undermine the map's usefulness.
Detailed agricultural location data in publicly visible maps could expose farmers' land-use information and raise privacy or exposure concerns for agricultural operators.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires the FCC to add and maintain an agricultural-areas layer on the National Broadband Map, with an initial update within 180 days and consultation with USDA, Commerce, states, and stakeholders.
Requires the Federal Communications Commission to update and keep current its National Broadband Map to include a geographic layer showing agricultural areas, using USDA data and other inputs. The FCC must finish the initial update within 180 days of enactment and consult with the Department of Agriculture, Commerce, state representatives, and other stakeholders as appropriate.
Introduced August 12, 2025 by Erin Houchin · Last progress August 12, 2025