Biden-Harris Administration Awards $1.4 Million to Guam in ‘Internet for All’ Planning Grants

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) granted Guam its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative. Guam is receiving $1.4 million in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to plan for the deployment and adoption of affordable, equitable, and reliable high-speed internet service throughout the territory. Guam will receive $1,250,000 from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program to fund various activities including: 

• Increasing capacity of a broadband office that oversees broadband programs and broadband deployment;
• Supporting the development of a Five-Year Action Plan to close the broadband availability gap. 
• Research and data collection to identify unserved and underserved locations as well as catalogue broadband adoption, affordability, equity, and access to better understand barriers to adoption;
• Publications, outreach, and communications support; 
• Coordination with local communities in order to better understand barriers to adoption.

Guam will receive $150,000 from the Digital Equity Act to fund various activities to support closing the digital equity gap including: 

• Developing a robust Territory Digital Equity Plan that will benefit principally unserved and underserved populations in Guam;
• Conducting data collection and analysis, digital inclusion asset mapping and stakeholder engagement;
• Staff recruitment and development. 

[05/16/2023]