Biden-Harris Administration Awards Nearly $6 Million to Alabama in ‘Internet for All’ Planning Grants

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Alabama 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. Alabama is receiving $5,981,081.12 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. Alabama will receive $5 million in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants to fund various activities including: 

• Identifying unserved and underserved locations;
• Planning and capacity-building of the Alabama's broadband office;
• Conducting surveys of unserved, underserved, and underrepresented communities to better understand barriers to high-speed Internet service adoption;
• Creating a more holistic representation of Alabama's barriers to broadband adoption.

Alabama will receive $981,081.12 in Digital Equity Act grants to fund various activities including:

• Creation of a State Digital Equity Plan;
• Outreach, meetings and listening sessions with stakeholders, organizations and representative of communities disconnected from high-speed Internet service;
• Analysis of the impact of digital equity on Alabama's outcomes for economic development, education, health, civic and social engagement, and delivery of essential services.