itpp-infrastructure/projects/forefront-broadband-map.md

Forefront Broadband Map — ZIP 75154/75146 Broadband Availability

Status: Future Project | Saved: 2026-07-21 | Updated: 2026-07-21

Concept

Build an interactive, searchable broadband availability map for Forefront Wireless focused on ZIP codes 75154 / Red Oak, Texas and 75146 / Lancaster, Texas.

The app should let a user enter an address and see exactly which qualifying internet services are offered there. Qualifying means broadband plans over 300 Mbps only. Services below 300 Mbps should still be visible but grayed out / marked excluded.

Temporary hosting, if needed: Ops — likely ops.itpropartner.com/forefront-broadband-map/ or similar internal path. This is an internal-use project for now; no password protection requirement yet.

Confirmed requirements from Germaine — 2026-07-21

Question	Answer
Audience	Internal use
Include Forefront as a layer	Yes
Residential or business	Either / both if data is available
Existing Forefront GIS/tower/customer data	Not yet
Provider qualification access	Public web pages only
FCC vs provider data	Combination of both
ZIP coverage	Include 75154 and 75146
Desired fields	Include speed, technology, price, install fee, contract, order URL, phone number when available
Under-300 Mbps providers	Show grayed out / excluded, not hidden
Prototype access protection	Not needed now

Providers to include

• AT&T
• Spectrum
• Rise Broadband
• Brightspeed
• Frontier
• Forefront Wireless as target/reference layer once data is available

Required user experience

1. Open an interactive map of ZIPs 75154 and 75146.
2. Search by street address.
3. See which providers offer 300+ Mbps service at that address.
4. Show lower-speed services grayed out as excluded.
5. View provider details when available:
   • download/upload speed
   • technology
   • price
   • install fee
   • contract terms
   • order URL
   • phone number
   • source
   • confidence
   • freshness date
6. Toggle/filter providers on the map.
7. Distinguish authoritative address-level results from broad coverage polygons or third-party/inferred data.

Candidate data sources

Source	Purpose	Quality
FCC National Broadband Map	Address-level broadband availability lookup and government baseline	High
FCC Broadband Data Collection datasets	Bulk GIS/provider coverage and reproducible imports	High
Provider websites: AT&T, Spectrum, Rise, Brightspeed, Frontier	Address-specific qualification using public pages only	Highest if accessible and allowed
Provider coverage pages/maps	Footprint validation	Medium
OpenStreetMap / Nominatim	Geocoding, base map, address fallback	Medium for geocoding only
City/county GIS	ZIP boundary, parcels, address normalization	High if available
Third-party comparison sites	Context only	Low

Source confidence policy

• High confidence: official provider address qualification or address-level FCC/BDC record.
• Medium confidence: provider coverage maps/pages or GIS polygons.
• Low confidence: affiliate/comparison/directory sites. Use only for context.

Address-level availability must not be treated as certain unless the source actually supports address-level qualification. Because provider qualification is limited to public webpages, the first working version should combine FCC/BDC baseline data with sampled provider-page validation and source/confidence tags.

Forefront data intake format

Forefront can be added as a real map layer once Germaine can provide any of the following. Best format is CSV, spreadsheet, GeoJSON, KML, or shapefile.

Best option — coverage polygons

Preferred fields:

Field	Example
layer_name	Red Oak North Sector
geometry	GeoJSON/KML polygon
max_download_mbps	600
max_upload_mbps	100
technology	fixed wireless / fiber
status	active / planned
notes	good LOS north of tower

Good option — tower/AP/sector data

Minimum fields:

Field	Example
site_name	Ovilla Rd Tower
latitude / longitude	32.x, -96.x
sector_name	North 5GHz
azimuth_degrees	0
beamwidth_degrees	90
estimated_radius_miles	3
max_download_mbps	300 / 600 / 1000
status	active / planned

Acceptable option — address/customer/serviceability list

If tower/GIS data is not ready, a simple address list works for MVP validation. It can be anonymized; no customer names are needed.

Fields:

• address
• city
• ZIP
• serviceable: yes/no/maybe
• technology
• max speed offered
• notes/constraints

Proposed architecture

User browser
  -> Ops-hosted web app
      -> address search / autocomplete
      -> interactive provider layers
      -> grayed-out sub-300 Mbps entries
      -> result panel
  -> Backend API
      -> geocode address
      -> resolve to FCC BSL / parcel / coordinate
      -> query normalized availability store
  -> Data store
      -> ZIP 75154/75146 GIS boundaries
      -> FCC/BDC availability records
      -> provider public-page lookup cache where allowed
      -> source metadata and confidence

MVP roadmap

1. Validate FCC/BDC data access for ZIPs 75154 and 75146.
2. Pull ZIP boundaries and base GIS layers for 75154 and 75146.
3. Filter FCC/BDC data to the requested providers and mark speeds over 300 Mbps as qualifying.
4. Build address search and map prototype.
5. Add provider/source/confidence result cards with under-300 Mbps services grayed out.
6. Deploy temporary internal prototype under Ops.
7. Validate against provider websites using known 75154/75146 addresses.
8. Add Forefront layer when Germaine provides polygons, tower/AP/sector data, or address-level serviceability data.
9. Add refresh workflow and reporting/export if useful.

Remaining questions for Germaine

1. Which Forefront data can be provided first: coverage polygons, tower/AP/sector details, or address-level serviceability list?
2. Should the 75146 scope mean the full ZIP, only areas adjacent to Forefront/Red Oak, or all service-relevant addresses?
3. Are there any known addresses in 75154/75146 that should be used as validation test cases?
4. If provider websites block automation, is manual sampled validation acceptable for the first prototype?