American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)

On May 8, 2023, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth released its second annual report

Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) announced $60 million in awards through the Broadband Opportunity Program to expand broadband Internet access in Florida’s unserved communities. These awards will support 22 projects in 19 Florida counties for broadband Internet expansion that will impact nearly 58,000 unserved residential, educational, agricultural, business and community locations. Including today’s awards, more than $226 million has been awarded to expand broadband Internet access across the state, helping to connect more than 250,000 homes and businesses.

The Federal Communications Commission committed over $15 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) Program, which provides digital services for students in communities across the country.

The Idaho Broadband Advisory Board (IBAB) and the Idaho Office of Broadband are now accepting grant applications for the Idaho Capital Projects Fund (CPF) Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program. The Idaho Broadband Advisory Board and the State of Idaho seek to fund broadband projects across the state that assist with or improve distance learning, telehealth, telework, and public safety.

The US Department of the Treasury approved the use of $151.5 million for high-speed internet projects in Mississippi under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Capital Projects Fund (CPF). Mississippi is approved to receive $151.5 million for broadband infrastructure projects, which the state estimates will connect approximately 47,300 homes and businesses to affordable, high-speed internet.

The Federal Communications Commission committed over $12 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) Program, which provides digital services for students in communities across the country.

When scanning the Federal Communications Commission’s latest broadband maps for funding opportunities, city staff in Mesa, Arizona, struggled to find places that still needed access. Mesa’s diverse geography includes older neighborhoods that lacked modern internet services as well as new developments with high-speed fiber.

About $115 million in federal funds will spread broadband internet to rural areas around New Hampshire in the coming years, improving people's lives and boosting the state's economy. "By the time we get done with these resources (in late 2026), we do expect to have a very significant portion of the unserved and underserved locations in the state up to speed and online," Taylor Caswell, commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs. Caswell participated in an announcement of $50 million in federal funding to the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative.

The final guidelines for the $20 million Missouri Cell Tower Grant Program have been released by the state’s Department of Economic Development (DED). The state will begin accepting applications in the funding program on Friday, May 26, 2023, and eligible entities have until July 25, 2023, to submit their applications. The program is being funded through the US Department of the Treasury Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund (SFRF), which is part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

States are implementing a variety of strategies as they allocate the initial rounds of federal Capital Projects Fund (CPF) dollars to help expand access to broadband services. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has officially released more than half of the CPF dollars, with $6 billion awarded to 40 states as of May 2023.