fcc-broadband-mcp-server

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  <h1>@cyanheads/fcc-broadband-mcp-server</h1>
  <p><b>Access FCC broadband availability, coverage analysis, and digital divide data for US geographies and census blocks via MCP. STDIO or Streamable HTTP.</b>
  <div>9 Tools • 2 Resources • 1 Prompt</div>
  </p>
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**Public Hosted Server:** [https://fcc-broadband.caseyjhand.com/mcp](https://fcc-broadband.caseyjhand.com/mcp)

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---

## Tools

9 tools for working with FCC broadband data — block-level availability, geography-level coverage analysis, provider search, and BDC bulk download manifests:

| Tool | Description |
|:---|:---|
| `fcc_geocode_block` | Converts a latitude/longitude coordinate to a 2010-vintage census block FIPS code (15-digit), county FIPS, county name, state FIPS, state code, and state name. Required prerequisite for `fcc_search_availability`. |
| `fcc_search_availability` | Queries broadband providers and advertised speeds at a census block, filtered by technology type and speed threshold. The starting point for any address-level broadband lookup. |
| `fcc_get_coverage_summary` | Returns a broadband coverage summary for a geography — population with zero, one, two, or three-plus providers at a given speed threshold, split by urban/rural and tribal/non-tribal. |
| `fcc_compare_areas` | Compares broadband coverage metrics across multiple geographies of the same type and returns a ranked table sorted by unserved or underserved population. |
| `fcc_find_underserved` | Finds geographic areas with limited or no broadband coverage at a given speed threshold, ranked by underserved population. The core tool for BEAD program analysis and broadband equity research. |
| `fcc_search_providers` | Searches for ISPs by holding company name, filtered by state and technology type. Returns a deduplicated list with `hoconum` identifiers for follow-up calls, each carrying that company's complete national states and technologies, and reports when the live path returned a sample of the matching companies rather than every one. |
| `fcc_get_provider` | Returns a national-level coverage profile for a specific holding company — technologies deployed and the population covered at each download speed tier. |
| `fcc_list_filing_periods` | Returns available data vintages: Form 477 filing periods (Jun 2015–Jun 2021) and BDC as-of dates (Jun 2022 onward, requires credentials). |
| `fcc_list_downloads` | Lists downloadable BDC data files for a specific as-of date — availability by state and provider, mobile coverage, and challenge data. Requires BDC API credentials. |

### `fcc_geocode_block`

Convert geographic coordinates to a census block FIPS code for broadband availability lookups.

- Calls the FCC Geo API — no auth required, no rate limit documented
- Returns 15-digit block FIPS, its census vintage, 5-digit county FIPS, county name, state FIPS, 2-letter state code, and state name
- Resolves against 2010 census boundaries — the vintage the Form 477 deployment dataset is keyed by, so the block feeds `fcc_search_availability` directly
- Required first step before `fcc_search_availability` — the broadband deployment dataset is indexed by census block, not address

---

### `fcc_search_availability`

Query which ISPs serve a specific census block and what speeds they advertise.

- Requires a 15-digit census block FIPS on 2010 boundaries; use `fcc_geocode_block` to convert coordinates first
- Filter by any Form 477 technology code — 0 (all other), 10/11/12 (asymmetric xDSL, ADSL2, VDSL), 20 (symmetric xDSL), 30 (other copper wireline), 40–43 (cable modem, unqualified through DOCSIS 3.1), 50 (fiber to the end user), 60 (satellite), 70 (terrestrial fixed wireless), 90 (electric power line)
- Filter by minimum advertised download speed in Mbps
- Filter to consumer-only or business-only service
- Returns per-provider records with `hoconum`, `techcode`, `maxaddown`, `maxadup`, `consumer`, `business`
- Coverage is Form 477 data through June 2021 — reflects ISP-reported availability at census block granularity (not address-level)

---

### `fcc_get_coverage_summary`

Analyze broadband access across any US geography at a given speed threshold.

- Supports seven geography types: `nation`, `state`, `county`, `cd` (congressional district), `place` (census-designated place), `cbsa` (metro area), `tribal`
- Technology filter: any wired/fixed wireless (`acfosw`), fiber only (`f`), cable (`c`), DSL (`a`), satellite (`s`), fixed wireless (`w`), or combinations
- Speed thresholds: 0.2, 4, 10, 25 (FCC legacy broadband definition), 100 (BEAD standard), 250, 1000 Mbps
- Returns population breakdowns: zero providers (unserved), one (no competition), two, three-plus; coverage %, unserved %, competitive %
- Per-segment breakdown by urban/rural and tribal/non-tribal for equity analysis

---

### `fcc_compare_areas`

Rank geographies by broadband access metrics to identify where underservice is worst.

- Compare up to 50 geographies of the same type, or all 50 states + DC via `compare_all_states: true`
- Sort by unserved population share, raw unserved headcount (useful for BEAD funding allocation), coverage rate, or competitive share
- Every sort ranks worst-first — rank 1 is the area most in need, whichever metric you pick
- Returns a ranked table with per-geography population and coverage metrics
- Each row includes the resolved geography name alongside its GEOID when available

---

### `fcc_find_underserved`

Find the most broadband-underserved areas within a state or nationwide.

- Scope to a specific state or territory, or run nationwide (returns top areas only)
- Geography granularity: county, congressional district, census place, or CBSA
- Default filter: rural areas only — where underservice is most concentrated
- `min_unserved_pop` defaults to 1, so fully covered areas stay out of the ranking; set it to 0 to rank every area, or higher to drop small gaps
- Results ranked by unserved population, highest first
- Each row includes the resolved geography name alongside its GEOID when available

---

### `fcc_search_providers`

Look up ISPs by name or state to get `hoconum` identifiers for follow-up queries.

- Case-insensitive partial name match — e.g., `"Comcast"`, `"T-Mobile"`, `"Frontier"`
- Filter by 2-letter state abbreviation or technology code
- Returns deduplicated holding companies with `hoconum`, states served, and technology codes
- Geographic filtering is state-level; sub-state granularity requires cross-referencing block data via `fcc_search_availability`
- Up to 200 results per call

---

### `fcc_list_filing_periods`

Discover valid data vintages before querying download manifests.

- Form 477 periods (Jun 2015–Jun 2021) are hardcoded — always available, no credentials needed
- BDC as-of dates (Jun 2022 onward) are fetched live from the authenticated API — requires `FCC_BDC_USERNAME` and `FCC_BDC_HASH_VALUE`
- Call before `fcc_list_downloads` to determine valid `as_of_date` values

---

### `fcc_list_downloads`

List BDC bulk data files available for download for a specific filing period.

- Requires BDC API credentials (`FCC_BDC_USERNAME`, `FCC_BDC_HASH_VALUE`)
- Filter by data type (availability or challenge), file category, technology type, state, or provider name
- Returns file metadata — provider, state, technology, record count — plus download URLs
- Returns file manifests, not file contents; BDC CSVs are large zipped files not suitable for inline API response
- Paged with `limit` (default 50, max 200) and `offset` — `totalFiles` counts every file matching the filters, and each response reports its offset, its file count, and a `nextOffset` to pass back, omitted on the last page
- An `as_of_date` that is not a calendar date, or that falls before the first BDC period (2022-06-30), is rejected without credentials; a well-formed date BDC does not publish is rejected once credentials allow the published set to be read

## Resources and prompts

| Type | Name |