American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)

I want to start by thanking the Subcommittee for its decision to provide full funding for the Federal Communications Commission in your Fiscal Year 2024 FSGG bill. The work of the FCC matters. I’d like to highlight some the Commission’s recent work, made possible by your support of our budget, under my leadership. First, the Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program, the largest broadband affordability program in our nation’s history, now helps 21 million households pay for high-speed internet service.

Georgia has found a way to get bids for, and ultimately service to, its most unserved areas. Georgia’s Deputy State Chief Information Officer and Executive Director of the Georgia Broadband Program, Jessica Simmons, said the state's Capital Projects Fund (CPF) program, funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act,  enabled its success.

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, 40% of California's Pre-K–12 households lacked “full digital access,” or reliable access to high-speed internet and a connected device, according to Census Bureau data. As part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) committed about $6.8 billion for schools and libraries to narrow the digital divide. As of the third and final funding window (fo

Cox Communications was the biggest winner in Florida broadband funding, and will get over $80 million for 11 projects. Fellow cable provider Comcast was the second biggest winner and will take home over $60 million for 34 projects, followed by Conexon, which will receive about $40 million. Other companies winning funding include Charter Communications, AT&T, CenturyLink, Suwanee Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC), Consolidated, TDS, IBT, and Myakka. The Florida broadband awards were made through the state’s Broadband Infrastructure Program, in which $247 million was funded through the f

According to a report in February from the policy research firm Public Policy Associates, 2.1 million more children had broadband access in 2021 than 2019, following efforts at the local, state and federal levels to narrow the digital divide for online education during COVID-19 school closures.

The Oklahoma Broadband Office (OBO) is launching an open process for internet service providers (ISPs) to compete for $374 million in America Rescue Plan Act (APRA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery (SLFR) Funds to expand access to reliable and affordable high-speed internet service in Oklahoma. The OBO released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the program.

Northwest Fiberworx, the communications union district (CUD) for 22 northwestern Vermont communities serving 30,000 customers, has signed a deal for fiber-optic broadband with South Royalton-based Great Works Internet (GWI) Vermont. The Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) will provide funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.

altafiber's gigabit broadband service is available to most single-family homes and business addresses in the Kentucky counties of Boone, Campbell, and Kenton. The projects were made possible through altafiber (formerly known as Cincinnati Bell) public-private partnerships that were announced in 2021: 

The Department of the Treasury approved $167.7 million for high-speed internet projects in Oklahoma under the American Rescue Plan Act's (ARPA) Capital Projects Fund (CPF), which the state estimates will connect approximately 20,000 homes and businesses to affordable, high-speed internet. Oklahoma is approved to receive funds for broadband infrastructure projects.