Kansas Office of Broadband Development is excited to share the KOBD Broadband Equity, Access & Deployment (BEAD) Map Challenge Portal with you. Through this portal, permissible entities can submit challenges to the Map of BEAD eligible locations. To submit a challenge, as per the federal guidance, you must be registered as:

• Internet Service Provider
• Tribal or Local Government
• Nonprofit Organization

Once the Challenge Phase officially opens, these entities may submit Challenges, and then Rebuttals, to the Map of BEAD eligible locations. An overview of the challenge process design, the list of permissible challenge types, and the examples of evidence required for challenges and rebuttals are contained in the Initial Proposal Volume 1 that can be downloaded from the state website:

The challenge portal allows selection of location(s) from the geospatial interface. Locations are selectable based on the challenge type and details entered. For example, a challenge regarding a Community Anchor Institution allows only one location to be selected per challenge. While most challenge types allow selection of multiple locations at once, it is recommended that smaller batches be selected to help track challenges and avoid invalidating an entire challenge that is only partially inaccurate. The number of challenges that can be submitted is unlimited.

Additional portal guidance can be downloaded from the sidebar on the right of this page.

Questions should be directed to: broadbandchallenge@ks.gov

The Map of BEAD eligible locations used in the Challenge Portal relies on a proprietary dataset of locational information. The terms of the license agreement with CostQuest Associates restricts the state from making the data fully available.

Permissible entities participating in efforts to improve the broadband map are allowed to apply for their own licenses with CostQuest, for no cost to the applicant. You can learn more about getting a license in order to download the data or use the pre-populated templates of locational information from the challenge portal from the federal webpage: https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/policies/CostQuest-Licensing