How to Download Mobile Broadband Coverage Data from the FCC’s National Broadband Map: Step-by-Step Instructions

Updated December 01, 2025 20:39

Introduction

The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Map is an essential tool that provides detailed visualizations of broadband availability across the United States. This map allows users to see data on various types of broadband services, including fixed and mobile coverage, offering a comprehensive view of the nation's connectivity landscape. The map is regularly updated to reflect the most current data, ensuring that users have access to accurate and reliable information. One of the key features of the National Broadband Map is the availability of mobile coverage data. This guide provides simple steps to download these data.

Step 1: Visit the FCC National Broadband Map Website

Navigate to the FCC's official National Broadband Map website.

Step 2: Locate the Data Download Section

Once on the website, click on the download button.

Step 3: Choose the Desired Data Set

On the Data-Download page, click on the “By Provider” tab on the top left. Then, choose an “Availability Data As Of” date and enter the Provider Name in the text box. In the screenshot below we have selected AT&T and Dec 31, 2024 (last updated 11/11/2025) data as an example. Once a provider is selected, you will then see options for downloading Availability Data for Mobile Broadband and Mobile Voice by State and Technology.

Step 4: Select the Format and Download the Data.

Mobile Broadband and Voice Availability are spatial data stored in GIS-compatible formats. The data are available as ESRI Shapefile or GeoPackage, and most datasets include both a hexagonal representation of mobile coverage (using the H3 Spatial Index at resolution 9) and the raw, propagation modeled mobile coverage. The starting point of any analysis is important. For example, the Alaska Connect Fund eligible areas were created by using data stored as “Raw Coverage – GeoPackage”.

In the example below, AT&T’s 5G-NR (7/1 Mbps) stored as “Raw Coverage - GeoPackage” has been selected for download.

Step 5: Verify the Download

After the download is complete, open the file to ensure it has been downloaded correctly. Users should see the following zip file name in your download box:

Inside the zip folder, the extracted GeoPackage file should have the name shown above but may have an earlier “Last Updated” date because the date shown on each uncompressed file reflects when the mobile coverage was last modified—not when the zip file was updated.

Conclusion

Downloading mobile broadband availability data from the FCC's Broadband Data Collection website is a straightforward process when following the steps above. The FCC also provides an alternative option of programmatically downloading BDC data. The process requires using public-facing application programming interfaces (APIs) to extract availability data without having to manually download multiple files, which may save some time. For more information, please review the National Broadband Map Public Data API Specifications and Instructions documentation, which provides detailed information on how to use API calls to download BDC Data.