Biden-Harris Administration Awards Nearly $1.4 Million to American Samoa in ‘Internet for All’ Planning Grants

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) granted American Samoa 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. Guam is receiving $1,394,300 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 territory. American Samoa will receive $1,244,300.00 from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program to fund various activities including: 

• Increasing capacity of a broadband office that oversees broadband programs and broadband deployment in American Samoa;
• Supporting the development of a Five-Year Action Plan to close the broadband availability gap.
• Training for employees of the broadband program and related staffing capacity;
• Research and data collection to identify unserved and underserved locations as well as catalogue broadband adoption, affordability, equity, and access to better understand barriers to adoption;
• Providing technical assistance to potential subgrantees, including through workshops and events;
• Publications, outreach, and communications support. 

American Samoa will receive $150,000 from the Digital Equity Act to fund various activities to support closing the digital equity gap including: 

• The development of a Territory Digital Equity Plan that will benefit American Samoa and its principally unserved and underserved covered populations;
• Conducting data collection and analysis, digital inclusion asset mapping and stakeholder engagement;
• Staff recruitment and development.

[05/16/2023]