Biden-Harris Administration Awards More Than $5.8 Million to Mississippi in ‘Internet for All’ Planning Grants

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Mississippi 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. Mississippi is receiving $5,875,585.61 in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed by President Biden, to plan for the deployment and adoption of affordable, equitable, and reliable high-speed Internet service throughout the state. For the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, Mississippi will receive $5 million to fund various activities including:

• Development of a 5-year action plan to close the broadband availability gap;
• Identification of unserved and underserved locations;
• Efforts to support local coordination including outreach across the state to stakeholders;
• Planning and capacity building of the state’s broadband office;
• Asset mapping across Mississippi to catalog high-speed Internet service adoption, affordability, equity, access and deployment;
• Conducting surveys of communities to better understand barriers to Internet service adoption;
• Developing a precise assessment of the actual barriers state residents face that block them from Internet service adoption;
• Creating easily understandable written and digital material to engage with those who are unserved or underserved.

For Digital Equity Act planning efforts, Mississippi will receive $875,585.61 to fund various activities including:

• Development of a statewide digital equity plan to close the digital equity gap;
• Development of the digital skills and accessibility team;
• Engage with local community members and stakeholders;
• Award subgrants for conducting digital inclusion asset mapping.