Biden-Harris Administration Awards More Than $5.6 Million to Montana in ‘Internet for All’ Planning Grants

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Montana received 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. Montana is receiving $5,601,301.36 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 state. Montana will receive $5 million in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants to fund various activities including: 

• Developing Montana’s “ConnectMT” project, including a 5-year action plan identifying the state’s broadband access, affordability, equity, and adoption needs;
• Informing a cost analysis and utilization optimization model for building infrastructure to frontier, unserved, and underserved locations;
• Planning and capacity building of the state broadband office;
• Conducting surveys of communities to better understand barriers to high-speed Internet adoption.

Montana will receive $601,301.36 in Digital Equity Act grants to fund various activities including:

• Developing a statewide digital equity plan to close the digital equity gap;
• Creating a strategy and baseline around Montana’s equity divide;
• Engaging with local communities and stakeholders on digital equity;
• Conducting advanced mapping efforts.