The FCC’s Broadband Data Collection (BDC) represents a major shift in how broadband availability is measured in the United States. With location-level reporting and biannual updates, it offers a powerful foundation for understanding where networks exist—and where investment opportunities remain. But unlocking that value is far from straightforward.
The reality is that the BDC is a difficult dataset: massive in scale, complex in structure, and inconsistent across providers. Turning it into something actionable often requires more than GIS—it requires data engineering, critical interpretation, and the ability to connect raw availability data to real-world business decisions.
This talk takes a practical, outcomes-driven approach to “hacking” the BDC using open-source geospatial tools. While the technical challenge is part of the fun, the focus is squarely on the “profit”: how to turn messy public data into insights that support network expansion, competitive analysis, and strategic planning.
We’ll begin by briefly grounding attendees in how the BDC is structured, including the relationship between the Fabric and availability data, how technologies and speeds are reported, and where provider claims can be misleading or overly optimistic. Understanding these nuances is critical—not just for accuracy, but for making defensible decisions.
From there, we move into scalable workflows using tools like PostGIS, GDAL/OGR, DuckDB, GeoParquet, and Python (GeoPandas, Dask). Attendees will see how to ingest raw FCC releases, normalize inconsistencies, and build repeatable pipelines that keep pace with the BDC’s iterative updates. The emphasis is not just on processing data efficiently, but on structuring it for analysis that drives decisions.
The core of the talk focuses on turning BDC data into business intelligence. We’ll explore how to:

Identify underserved and unserved markets with real expansion potential
Analyze overbuild risk by comparing provider coverage and technology claims
Evaluate competitive landscapes at fine geographic scales
Prioritize areas for grant funding, infrastructure investment, or partnership opportunities
Integrate external datasets (speed tests, demographics, cost models) to strengthen confidence in decisions

These workflows support a range of real-world outcomes, from targeting BEAD and other funding opportunities to informing last-mile buildouts and middle-mile planning. The goal is to move beyond static maps toward repeatable, data-driven decision frameworks.
We’ll also cover strategies for communicating results—translating dense geospatial outputs into clear, defensible insights that resonate with executives, policymakers, and community stakeholders.
The “fun” in this talk comes from solving complex geospatial problems with open tools and creative workflows. The “profit” is about impact: enabling smarter investments, reducing uncertainty in network planning, and creating a competitive advantage through better data.
This session is ideal for GIS professionals, broadband planners, consultants, researchers, and developers working at the intersection of geospatial analysis and infrastructure strategy. Attendees will leave with not just technical patterns, but a clearer understanding of how to connect open geospatial data to meaningful business and policy outcomes.