NTIA's Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives Identifies Barriers, Helps Close the Digital Divide

This report, mandated by the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021, details the work of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives (OMBI) in expanding access and identifying barriers to high-speed internet service for students, faculty, and staff at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HCBU), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU), and Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) and within anchor communities. Examples of OMBI’s key 2021-2022 accomplishments highlighted in the report include:

• Administering the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program (CMC) and granting over $20 million in the program’s first ten awards
• Collaborating with federal, state, tribal, and anchor institution stakeholders through interagency outreach, partnerships with national advocacy organizations, and support of NTIA’s Digital Equity Leaders Network re-launch
• Building the capacity of anchor institutions and their communities through ongoing technical assistance activities exceeding 2000 participants