Biden-Harris Administration Awards More Than $6 Million to Washington in ‘Internet for All’ Planning Grants

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Washington 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. Washington is receiving $6,076,248.79 in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to plan for the deployment and adoption of affordable, equitable, and reliable high-speed Internet service throughout the state. Washington will receive $5 million in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants to fund various activities including:  

• Identification of unserved and underserved locations in the state; 
• Training of employees and capacity-building of the broadband office; 
• Ensuring broadband projects do not result in overbuilding areas;  
• Collaborating with local, regional, and Tribal entities, as well as unions and worker organizations; 
• Asset mapping across Washington to catalog high-speed Internet service adoption, affordability, equity, access and deployment; 
• Surveying communities to better understand barriers to Internet service adoption. 

Washington will receive $1,076,248.79 in Digital Equity Act grants to fund various activities including:  

• Developing a statewide digital equity plan; 
• Hiring new team members and contracting with a vendor to assist with plan development; 
• Conducting a digital literacy survey; 
• Convening a state digital equity forum to identify barriers to digital equity.