If you want to work at home as a freelancer, small business owner, or a company telecommuter you need broadband access. But until recently it was tough to find out what service was available where.

Now you can use a free National Broadband map online. The government site, updated twice a year, will show you what types of broadband are available in all of the 50 U.S. states (Cable, DSL, Mobile, etc.), what companies provide service, and maximum advertised speeds.

You can then search by region, state, city, county, district, block, or even street address, and then plug what you find into the map’s “analysis” feature to compared with data from other areas, such as where you live now.

Try it! It’s fun and interesting, and could be a valuable tool if you’re trying to make a decision about where to relocate. We did something similar using weather data when we were looking for a location for an aviation business. The idea worked! We turned the business into the oldest and largest in the US—and we ran it from our office at home.