FCC, NTIA, USDA Sign Interagency Agreement on Broadband Deployment Funding

The Federal Communications Commission, the Department of Agriculture, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will share information about and coordinate the distribution of federal broadband deployment funds. In accordance with the Broadband Interagency Coordination Act, enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, the agencies will consult with one another and share information about the distribution of new funds from the FCC’s high-cost programs that support broadband buildout in rural areas, the USDA’s Rural Utilities Services grant and loan programs, and programs administered or coordinated by NTIA. As part of the signed agreement, each federal agency partner will share information about existing or planned projects. Each partner will also, upon request, identify entities providing broadband service in a specified geographic area; the levels of broadband service in that area, including broadband speeds and technologies deployed; the geographic scope of broadband service in that area; and each entity in that area that has or will receive funds from these programs. The Agreement also requires the federal agency partners to consider basing the distribution of funds from the programs on standardized broadband coverage data.