--- title: "FCC advertised speeds and MSP performance requirements" description: "Separate FCC advertised speeds from customer workload requirements before an MSP prepares provider questions, measurements, or a connectivity quote." canonical: "https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/fcc-advertised-speed-msp-performance-requirement" --- ## Site navigation - [Scale With Search](https://scalewithsearch.com/) - Services - Services - [AI systems](https://scalewithsearch.com/ai-systems) - [Site build](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#site-build) - [Whole website fix](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#whole-website-fix) - [Content library with SEO](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#content-library) - [Working session](https://scalewithsearch.com/audit) - Start here - [Send your brief](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#send-your-brief) - [Example scope](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#review-the-example-scope) - [Prices and terms](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#prices-and-terms) - Industries - Real estate - [Real estate agents and teams](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate) - [Platforms, ownership, and IDX](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-website-platforms-ownership-idx) - [Search, content, and AI](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-search-content-ai) - [Inquiries, campaigns, and handoffs](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-website-inquiries-campaigns-handoffs) - [Buyer, seller, and local pages](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-buyer-seller-local-resources) - [Rules, privacy, and trust](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-website-rules-privacy-trust) - Browse by business - [Trades and home services](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-trades) - [Health, wellness, and animal care](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-practices) - [Law, finance, and IT](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-professional) - [Marketing and SEO agencies](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-agencies) - [Shops and manufacturers](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-manufacturing) - [Restaurants, shops, studios, and nonprofits](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-local-services) - Chiropractic practices - [Chiropractic and wellness practices](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/chiropractic-and-wellness-practices) - [Chiropractic and physical therapy clinics](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/chiropractic-and-physical-therapy-clinics) - [All industries](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/) - Resources - Free tools - [AI readiness check](https://scalewithsearch.com/check) - [Free tools](https://scalewithsearch.com/tools/) - [Free Starter Kit](https://scalewithsearch.com/kit/business-memory-starter-kit.zip) - Guides - [AI-native library](https://scalewithsearch.com/ai-native) - [Industry intelligence](https://scalewithsearch.com/intelligence) - [Office job guides](https://scalewithsearch.com/guides/) - [Business memory](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/business-memory-for-ai-agents-guide) - [Agent governance](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/ai-agent-governance-guide-small-business) - [Migration and ownership](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/leaving-vendor-ai-memory-guide) - Articles - [All articles](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/) - [What changed](https://scalewithsearch.com/changes/) - About - Evidence - [Proof](https://scalewithsearch.com/proof) - Scale With Search - [About](https://scalewithsearch.com/about) - [How it works](https://scalewithsearch.com/how-it-works) # FCC broadband speeds: separate advertised availability from an MSP performance requirement Before a managed service provider (MSP) quotes connectivity work, someone must define what the customer needs at the intended site. A public speed label cannot complete that task. Prepare the workload requirements, public source evidence, and unanswered provider questions as separate records. The FCC describes its National Broadband Map as an availability resource. It does not show network performance, affordability, or adoption. Its location information includes provider-reported technology and maximum advertised download and upload speeds. [FCC availability guidance](https://help.bdc.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/articles/10476040597787-How-to-Submit-an-Availability-Challenge). Use those labels to start a research card. Keep measured results out of that card unless an authorized measurement produced them. Keep commercial terms unresolved until the provider supplies applicable terms. The [MSP intelligence overview](/intelligence/it-and-managed-service-providers) introduces public-source research alongside private business records. This guide proposes an editorial worksheet for customer-authorized planning. Every provider label, workload, date, and number in the worked example is fictional. No actual service location or provider offer was inspected. ## Begin with the customer's operating question Ask the customer to describe the work the connection must support. Use concrete activities: scheduled transfers, approved remote access, meetings, or a named application. Ask which activities must continue together and which can wait. Record requirements as customer statements until the technical owner reviews them. A request for “fast internet” needs clarification. A request to complete a specified transfer during a defined window gives the reviewer a narrower question. Keep business importance separate from technical thresholds. The customer can identify a critical workflow without knowing an appropriate throughput target. Give the technical owner responsibility for selecting and documenting that target. Add explicit exclusions. A site-planning brief might cover research and provider questions while excluding equipment configuration, carrier ordering, and production testing. State those boundaries before the researcher opens the map. The [MSP service overview](/for/it-and-managed-service-providers) describes preparation from authorized records. Apply the same discipline here: identify the source, preserve its meaning, and assign the unresolved decision. ## Capture the map result without changing its meaning For each relevant entry, preserve the provider name, technology, and both advertised speed labels. Record the displayed data period and your retrieval time separately. Copy the labels with the values so a later reader can distinguish upload from download. The FCC map guide explains the Data As-Of Date control and service filters. It describes fixed-map entries as maximum advertised speeds reported by providers. [FCC map guide, Fixed and Mobile Maps and Filtering](https://help.bdc.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/articles/10467446103579-How-to-Use-the-FCC-s-National-Broadband-Map). Use one row per provider and technology combination. Avoid collapsing multiple technologies into a single “best available connection” row. That shortcut removes the question of which reported offering the researcher actually reviewed. Preserve the selected map view and filters with the evidence reference. If you cannot reproduce an entry, mark it unverified. Do not fill missing values from memory or another building's result. Before comparing entries, confirm the intended structure. The companion [FCC location-point guide](/articles/fcc-location-points-building-msp-connectivity-brief) covers building identity and suite uncertainty. Resolve identity questions before attaching a map row to a customer proposal. ## Give requirements their own evidence column Build the worksheet around three distinct evidence types: public report, customer requirement, and verification task. A requirement describes the desired result. A public report describes what its source says. A task identifies evidence still needed. For an upload requirement, record who proposed the threshold and why. Ask the technical owner to identify the relevant application documentation or approved design calculation. Preserve those references beside the requirement. Do the same for delay, variation, availability targets, and support expectations when they matter to the scope. Leave these fields blank or unresolved if the customer has not defined them. An advertised throughput value supplies no agreed acceptance criterion for those separate questions. Keep cost in another field. Request an applicable quote with its conditions rather than estimating affordability from a map entry. Give the customer responsibility for the spending decision after the commercial evidence arrives. Treat the worksheet as a comparison aid, with no automatic pass label. A complete row can still need engineering judgment. Ask the reviewer to explain the next evidence task in ordinary language. ## Work through a fictional connectivity brief Suppose an authorized customer asks an MSP to research connectivity for Site NORTH. This label is invented and identifies no real customer or address. The example contains no observed map results. The fictional customer wants a daily transfer window reviewed by a technical owner. The owner proposes an upload requirement of 80 Mbps for further validation. That number is a teaching assumption, not an equipment specification or universal sizing rule. The researcher creates two fictional public-evidence rows. Example Provider A has a cable label with advertised download/upload values of 500/40 Mbps. Example Provider B has a fiber label with values of 300/100 Mbps. | Fictional worksheet field | Example Provider A | Example Provider B | | --- | --- | --- | | Public evidence type | Invented advertised availability entry | Invented advertised availability entry | | Technology label | Cable | Fiber | | Advertised download/upload | 500/40 Mbps | 300/100 Mbps | | Displayed data period | Example period P1 | Example period P1 | | Retrieval reference | Fictional observation A | Fictional observation B | | Customer planning requirement | Proposed 80 Mbps upload | Proposed 80 Mbps upload | | Measured service result | None | None | | Disposition | Ask provider about applicable offering | Ask provider about applicable offering | The first entry has a larger download label. The second has a larger upload label. Neither row establishes delivered performance or a suitable commercial service for the intended premises. The reviewer can identify a useful question: which purchasable offering, if any, should proceed to technical evaluation against the proposed upload requirement? The reviewer cannot mark either connection accepted from these rows. Ask each provider to identify the offering it would quote for the exact authorized site. Request confirmation of technology, relevant speed labels, installation conditions, and applicable contractual documents. Preserve the response date and its scope. If Provider B supplies an offer, retain it as a new evidence item. Do not overwrite the fictional public row's category with “verified performance.” An offer and an accepted performance test answer different questions. ## Reject the faster-download shortcut Consider a rejected summary of the example: “Provider A is faster and therefore meets the transfer requirement.” The researcher reached that conclusion by comparing only the download labels. Reject the summary because it uses the wrong requirement field and supplies no performance evidence. Keep the rejection reason with the draft so the same inference does not return in a later proposal. A second unsupported summary says both providers create independent failover. The worksheet contains no infrastructure or path evidence. Remove that claim and assign a separate design question if the customer requests resilience planning. Do not repair either claim by adding confident adjectives. Replace the conclusion with the missing evidence task. For example: “Technical owner to validate the workload requirement and request applicable service details.” Leave installation timing unresolved as well. A public availability report does not supply a customer-specific scheduled installation. Record any provider scheduling response under its actual conditions, date, and responsible contact. ## Choose the right follow-up for a disagreement Separate an unavailable advertised offering from a connection that performs below expectations. The FCC distinguishes those situations in its availability guidance. A reported-speed offering unavailable for purchase is one category; lower actual speed is treated as a consumer complaint. [FCC challenge reasons 6 and 7](https://help.bdc.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/articles/10476040597787-How-to-Submit-an-Availability-Challenge). Use that distinction to label the research problem. Do not label every disagreement “map wrong.” Identify whether the missing evidence concerns an offering, a location, a measurement, or commercial terms. For a provider question, preserve the original request and exact response in the customer's private records. Ask what was confirmed and which premise, product, and date the answer covers. A general sales statement should remain general. For an authorized measurement, agree on a written test plan before running it. Name the connection, endpoints, test conditions, tools, timing, and reviewer. Record limitations with the result rather than presenting one result as a permanent service characteristic. This worksheet authorizes no challenge submission, consumer complaint, purchase, or network access. Follow the official guidance if the customer separately chooses a correction process. Keep the preparation record useful without starting that process. ## Keep questions attached to the evidence they resolve Write provider questions against specific worksheet cells. “Can you confirm service?” is broad. A narrower question identifies the authorized premises reference and asks which quoted offering and technology the response covers. Ask about installation prerequisites without predicting the answer. Request the provider's applicable installation terms, any site review requirement, and the basis for its proposed schedule. Preserve unknowns until those details arrive. Ask the technical owner to review any service-level language in the actual documents. Do not infer contractual commitments from technology labels, a marketing description, or the size of an advertised speed value. If the customer wants failover design, create a separate evidence request for that scope. Ask the responsible designer what path, equipment, power, and operational information the decision requires. Keep the conclusion unresolved until that review occurs. Record who owns each follow-up and what document would answer it. Avoid due dates invented by the researcher. Use a review date agreed with the owner, and distinguish it from a provider's stated date. ## Finish with a private research card Use the following worksheet as an internal planning aid. It is an editorial recommendation, not an FCC form or a provider qualification standard. Keep customer-specific values and documents inside the authorized workspace. | Research-card field | Required entry for this proposed method | | --- | --- | | Authorized site reference | Customer's private reference and identity-check status | | Public evidence | Provider, technology, speed labels, map view, and evidence reference | | Source time | Displayed data period and retrieval time, separately | | Customer requirement | Workload, proposed threshold, owner, and supporting reference | | Provider follow-up | Exact question, response scope, response date, and remaining gap | | Measurement follow-up | Authorization, agreed test plan, results, and limitations if completed | | Commercial review | Applicable quote and terms, or unresolved | | Installation review | Provider evidence and conditions, or unresolved | | Resilience review | Separate design evidence, or unresolved | | Release decision | Named reviewer and permitted next step | Ask a second reader to explain the card without the original researcher present. If that reader calls an advertised number a measurement, revise the labels. If the reader cannot identify the intended site, return to identity review. Keep the accepted card, rejected summaries, and dated corrections together. The [business-memory guide](/articles/business-memory-for-ai-agents-guide) explains why reusable working records should remain under the firm's control. Preserve these records independently of any drafting tool. The final card should support a bounded next step: request evidence, review requirements, or prepare an authorized evaluation. Installation, service levels, and failover remain unresolved until their own sources support a decision. Scale With Search can scope preparation around your approved records and review roles. [Discuss the scope](/work) ## Source note FCC map and availability guides were reopened on 2026.10.28. Both display updates dated May 15, 2025. No address lookup, provider offering, or measured connection was inspected. Continue the website review: [AI-native IT providers: the first functions to build](/articles/ai-native-managed-service-providers-first-functions); [CISA KEV product matches: prepare an MSP asset review without declaring exposure](/articles/cisa-kev-product-match-msp-asset-review); [EPSS probability and percentile: read two different numbers in an MSP review](/articles/epss-probability-percentile-msp-review); [E-Rate allowable contract dates: distinguish the waiting period from the bid deadline](/articles/erate-allowable-contract-date-bid-deadline); [E-Rate Form 470 changes: keep the current RFP in your bid review](/articles/erate-form-470-rfp-amendment-review); [FCC location points: verify the building before an MSP connectivity brief](/articles/fcc-location-points-building-msp-connectivity-brief); [Managed IT pricing pages: explain what sets the quote](/articles/managed-it-pricing-website-page); [MSP AI rules: data, approvals, and spend](/articles/msp-ai-rules-data-approvals-spend); [MSP case studies: publish evidence without client names](/articles/msp-anonymous-case-study-website); [MSP onboarding pages: explain the first steps](/articles/msp-client-onboarding-website-page); [MSP contact form spam: inspect the receiving path](/articles/msp-contact-form-spam-controls); [MSP cybersecurity website claims: show the scope](/articles/msp-cybersecurity-website-claims); [Google Business Profile for an MSP: check eligibility](/articles/msp-google-business-profile-eligibility); [MSP service area pages: separate on-site and remote](/articles/msp-onsite-service-area-website-pages); [MSP status pages: publish approved incident updates](/articles/msp-public-status-page-website); [MSP buyer guides: make the download useful](/articles/msp-website-buyer-guide-download); [MSP inquiry emails missing: trace the delivery steps](/articles/msp-website-inquiry-email-not-arriving); [MSP website design: separate sales from support](/articles/msp-website-sales-and-support-paths); [Discontinued AV equipment: read Q-SYS service terms before recommending replacement](/articles/qsys-discontinued-equipment-service-terms-review); [Q-SYS compatibility tables: review installed hardware before a software change](/articles/qsys-hardware-software-compatibility-table-review). [IT and managed service providers](/for/it-and-managed-service-providers): website and search resources. ## Related: IT and managed service providers - [FCC location points: verify the building before an MSP connectivity brief](/articles/fcc-location-points-building-msp-connectivity-brief) - [Managed IT pricing pages: explain what sets the quote](/articles/managed-it-pricing-website-page) - [MSP AI rules: data, approvals, and spend](/articles/msp-ai-rules-data-approvals-spend) ---- ```text .|########||. .|########||. .|########||. |##||. .||##|. |##||. .||##|. |##||. .||##|. |#|. .|#|. |#|. .|#|. |#|. .|#|. |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#. .#| .#. .#| .#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| .# ||#########| #| .# ||#########| #| .# ||#########| #| .#. |######||######|. .#. .#. |######||######|. .#. .#. |######||######|. .#. #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# # .||####|###########################|. # # .||####|###########################|. # # .||####|###########################|. # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || #. .######|#|#########| .# #. .######|#|#########| .# #. .######|#|#########| .# .#. |#####||||#####| .#. .#. |#####||||#####| .#. .#. |#####||||#####| .#. |# ||########|| #. |# ||########|| #. |# ||########|| #. |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#. |#. .#. |#. .#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. |##||. .||##| |##||. .||##| |##||. .||##| .||########||. .||########||. .||########||. Scale With Search 2026 [scalewithsearch.com](https://scalewithsearch.com) ```