Broadband decisions, grounded in every location.
We are the team behind Marco Map, a nationwide broadband data platform. We use it to produce the maps, data and interactive analysis that win grants, guide investment and get people connected.
Founded in 2015 by Brian Rathbone, Deborah Watts and Jane Smith Patterson, out of North Carolina's state broadband office. Based in the mountains of Western North Carolina, working nationwide.
- Served (100/20 Mbps+)
- Underserved
- Unserved (under 25/3)
Illustrative data
Trusted by commissions, agencies, universities, communities and providers
- Appalachian Regional Commission
- LISC
- NC Rural Center
- Borderplex Connect
- US EPA
- USDA Rural Utilities Service
- UNC Chapel Hill
- University of Maryland
- Oregon State University
- Counties & municipalities
- Internet service providers
- Electric utilities
- Foundations
The platform
Every broadband location in America, in one place we built.
Marco Map brings together the FCC's location-level Broadband Data Collection and more than a dozen federal and open datasets on funding, income, health, infrastructure and terrain. We use it on every engagement, so your analysis starts from the whole picture rather than a spreadsheet.
- broadband location in the US
- Everybroadband location in the US
- FCC data releases, 2022 to 2025
- 8FCC data releases, 2022 to 2025
- hexagons and 8.2M census blocks
- 13.2Mhexagons and 8.2M census blocks
- geography levels, plus custom regions
- 12geography levels, plus custom regions
Served means at least one provider advertises 100/20 Mbps or better; unserved means nothing reaches 25/3 Mbps. Satellite and unlicensed fixed wireless are not counted, following the BEAD program definitions. Marco shows these figures for every state, county, town, district and tribal area.
What we do
From the first map to the ribbon cutting.
Planning, funding, design, evaluation and adoption. One team that has done each of them from inside a state broadband office and alongside the communities they serve.
What you get
Maps, data and analysis you can use, share and build on.
Every engagement leaves you with work products your staff, residents, partners and funders can open, check and reuse long after the project ends.
Maps
Hexagon and census-block maps of availability, funding, affordability and need, for any geography, ready for a board packet or a grant exhibit.
- Served (100/20 Mbps+)
- Underserved
- Unserved (under 25/3)
Illustrative data
Data
The numbers behind every map as spreadsheets, GeoJSON, KML and a QGIS project, with a data dictionary and a citation for every source.
- index.htmlInteractive offline dashboard
- data/
- *.jsonEvery figure behind every chart
- geojson/ · kml/Hexagons, blocks, boundaries
- project.qgsOpens in QGIS with basemaps
- report.pdfPrint-ready briefing
- docs/
- data-dictionary.md · sources.mdDefinitions and citations
Interactive web analysis
A live dashboard for your area, published at a link you can share with residents, partners and funders, or downloaded to run offline.
- Fiber
- Cable
- Fixed wireless
- DSL
- Satellite
Illustrative figures
Reports & briefings
Plans, feasibility studies, evaluations and one-page briefs written in plain language, with every figure traceable to its source.
How we work
Straightforward, from scope to delivery.
Scope
We learn what you need to decide, fund or build, and who has to be convinced.
Analyze
We run your area through Marco Map and bring in local knowledge the federal data can't see.
Deliver
You get maps, data, a live dashboard and a plan, in plain language, with sources cited.
Stay current
When the FCC publishes new data, your dashboard can be refreshed so the analysis stays current.
Why Broadband Catalysts
We have sat on your side of the table.
Before we were consultants, we ran North Carolina's state broadband mapping, technical assistance and grant support across all 100 counties.
Grant program evaluation
We have evaluated grant programs at the local, state and national levels, including for the Appalachian Regional Commission.
Broadband office experience
Our team ran North Carolina's state broadband work for more than a decade and has supported state broadband offices across the country in planning and grant design.
Applications that get funded
We guide clients through applications to ARC, federal agencies and state broadband offices, including over $7.2 million in North Carolina GREAT awards.
Research on what broadband does
Our research on rural broadband deployment measured its effect on entrepreneurship, job creation and GDP.
Rooted in the region
We are based in Western North Carolina. We know rural and Appalachian communities, and we know how to engage the providers, officials and residents who serve them.
Our own data platform
Marco Map puts every broadband location in the country, eight FCC data releases, and the context around them into one place we built and operate ourselves.
“We champion efforts that address gaps in both infrastructure and the capacity of individuals, businesses and communities to fully benefit from broadband.”
Let's put your community on the map.
Tell us what you are trying to decide, fund or build. We will tell you what the data says, what it will take, and what you will get.