Federal and State Entities Should Collaborate, Share Data, and Track Progress on Closing the Digital Divide

Resolution on Ensuring that Federal and State Entities Collaborate, Share Data, and Track Progress on Closing the Digital Divide Utilizing Various Federal Programs including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Resolved that the Board of Directors of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, convened at its 2022 Winter Policy Summit in Washington, DC, urges the Federal Communications Commission, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and other federal agencies awarding broadband funding to work with states and community stakeholders to ensure that broadband grant awards are uniform; and be it further Resolved that NARUC urges the FCC, NTIA, other federal agencies and states that are awarding broadband funding to use the FCC’s guidance on broadband mapping and the collection and sharing of program performance data, so that states can consistently determine and design programs to reach remaining unserved and underserved locations based on national guidelines for defining such locations; and be it further Resolved that NARUC urges the FCC, NTIA and other federal agencies awarding broadband funding to adopt US Government Accountability Office’s guidance regarding data collection, tracking expenditures of federal dollars, and monitoring the progress and overall performance of federally-funded broadband projects