FCC Health Mapping Tool Aims To Boost BroadbandHealth Connectivity
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
FCC’s Connect2Health Task Force hopes tool will help develop broadband policies and solutions.
The Federal Communications Commission’s Connect2Health Task Force announced the launch of the Mapping Broadband Health in America tool, a web-based mapping tool that will enable and inform more efficient, data-driven decision making at the intersection of broadband and health. Users can ask and answer questions about broadband and health at the county and census block levels, and the tool then provides critical data to help drive broadband health policies and connected health solutions.
According to the FCC website, the new mapping tool “allows users to visualize, overlay, and analyze broadband and health data at the national, state and county levels. The maps are an interactive experience, enabling detailed study of the intersection between connectivity and health for every county in the United States. The resulting maps can be used by both public and private sectors, and local communities, to identify opportunities and gaps in connectivity and care.”
Among the key findings: there is a sizeable gap between rural and urban broadband connectivity. The mapping tool reveals that, while almost half of U.S. counties have both high burdens of chronic diseases and a demonstrated need for greater broadband connectivity, representing some 35 million individuals who live in counties with a “double burden” of need. And nearly 60 percent of rural Americans reside in these “double burden” counties. And rural counties are 10 times more likely than urban areas to have low broadband access (below 50 percent) and high diabetes areas (above 10 percent).
The counties most in need of connected health services are concentrated in the South and in the Midwest. According to the mapping tool, these counties average 8 percent broadband access, as well as diabetes and obesity prevalence rates far above the national averages. Also, the distribution of “double burden” counties appears in sizeable clusters that provide opportunities for targeted intervention strategies.
“We are excited to make this state-of-the-art tool available to the public,” said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. “The unique insights revealed by this mapping platform can be utilized by businesses and policymakers to effect change and innovation.”
In an address at the Microsoft Innovation and Policy Center in Washington, D.C., FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said, “The FCC’s mapping effort is historic, because it directly addresses the serious and growing challenge of ensuring that the transformative power of broadband in health is available to everyone.”
“This platform reflects the creative genius of a tireless, dedicated, multi-disciplinary team,” said Task Force Chair Michele Ellison. “The map cleverly reveals otherwise hidden realities about broadband and health at the county level. We have seen the faces behind this data and we know firsthand what a difference connectivity can make.”
The new tool is available here. The FCC welcomes feedback as it seeks to refine the tool. Comments may be submitted to GN Docket 16-91 on the Commission’s electronic comment filing system.