National Telecommunications and Information Administration

When the internet was new, people talked a lot about long-haul networks in the United States. That’s because a lot of the early data centers were on the East and West coasts, and they needed to be connected. These days long-haul networks are largely overshadowed by last mile builds. There’s a lot of existing long-haul and middle-mile fiber that can be patched together to create the desired routes for any business.

On May 1, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel wrote to Congressional leaders with a final update on the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). April was the last month of full funding for the program, which will fully exhaust during May without additional funding from Congress. "If additional funding is not promptly appropriated, the one in six households nationwide that rely on this program will face rising bills and increasing disconnection.

Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, Starlink, is expected to play a role in the Biden administration’s $42 billion program to bring high-speed internet to every American home, as Washington comes up against some hard math in its effort to build networks reaching the most remote corners of the nation. The growing discussion of using Starlink to fill in coverage gaps is an acknowledgment of just how expensive and challenging it would be to run new internet cables up every mountain and down every valley nationwide.

President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is making once-in-a-generation investments in America’s infrastructure and our clean energy future that are creating good-paying and union jobs, establishing and growing new industries in the United States, tackling the climate crisis, and helping lower costs for families. To deploy these investments, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken aggressive action to accelerate project permitting and environmental reviews.

The ACCESS BROADBAND Act requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OICG) to submit to relevant congressional committees and publish on its website an annual report that contains a description of OICG’s work for the previous year and the number of U.S.

Many state broadband directors are keeping their fingers crossed that all the areas eligible for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program rural broadband funding receive bids. But it’s a particularly big challenge for New Mexico, as the state’s broadband director Drew Lovelace explained. “New Mexico hits a trifecta of challenges in geography, size, and rurality. A lot of states have one or two of these, we have all three,” said Lovelace. New Mexico is the fifth largest state in land mass, but only 36th in population.

The Biden-Harris Administration recognizes Second Chance Month as an opportunity to ensure that people returning to their communities from jail or prison have a fair shot at the American Dream. Research shows that incarcerated and recently released individuals face unique and far-reaching challenges, particularly when pursuing education and employment opportunities.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration preparing to award over $44 billion to construct rural broadband networks. Almost by definition, these networks will be built in rural areas where it’s hard to justify a business plan where revenues generated from the grant areas are sufficient to fund the ongoing operation and eventual upgrades to any broadband networks.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is hard at work implementing the National Spectrum Strategy.

At NTIA, tech policy is what we do. From connecting everyone in America to the Internet, to managing federal airwaves, to crafting policy for emerging innovations like artificial intelligence systems, our goal is to make sure important technologies are developed in the service of people and progress. To help reach that goal, I’m pleased to announce key additions to our leadership team: