Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021

Recent legislation included big increases in federal funding for the deployment of broadband, which is increasingly critical to daily life, but unavailable in some areas. Our analysis found that thousands more skilled workers will be needed to deploy broadband and 5G funded by recent federal programs. If this work is spread over 10 years, the funding would support about 23,000 additional workers at its peak. A shorter timespan could require even more of them. We found mixed evidence on whether there's a shortage of these workers.

The digital divide on Tribal lands includes broadband access, adoption, and application. On June 22, 2022, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released an assessment of federal efforts to increase Tribal broadband internet connectivity in the U.S. In the report, the GAO observed that connectivity in Tribal nations still lags behind the United States significantly and that Tribal Nations need more resources to overcome barriers to sustainable broadband access, adoption and application on their lands.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has awarded two grants as part of the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program (CMC) to Merced Community College and California State University, Sacramento. These grants, totaling about $5.6 million, will spur economic development, increase digital skills, and create Digital Navigator programs at the two institutions. Awardees of the program include Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Minorit

At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Congress chartered a first-of-its-kind federal effort to help struggling Americans who could not afford to lose access to the internet. The aid proved to be a godsend for millions of low-income families, but it also sent the nation’s telecommunications giants scrambling for the new federal money—unleashing price hikes, service cuts, and fraud risks that hurt customers and taxpayers alike. The story of the government’s roughly $17 billion efforts to close the country’s persistent digital divide is one of great promise and costly peril.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration awarded an $18.9 million Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) grant to the Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada (ITCN). This grant will fund high-speed internet infrastructure deployment, use, and adoption projects to improve connectivity across Tribal lands.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are community anchors with the influence and expertise that states need as they prepare for unprecedented federal broadband funding to equitably close the digital divide in the United States.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded $143,639,693.50 in funds from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 to Tribes in California and Washington.The awards provide funds for high-speed internet infrastructure deployment projects through the Internet for All Initiative’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program for the Hoopa Valley Tribal Council and Yurok Telecommunications in California and the Spokane Tribe of Indians in Washington.

The Rosebud Indian Reservation and the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota will have their own broadband services after being awarded an almost $70 million federal grant that officials predict will connect 3,300 homes. The money will come from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP). The funding can also be used for telehealth, distance learning, broadband affordability, and digital inclusion.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded seven grants totaling over $118.8 million as part of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program. These grants will fund high-speed internet infrastructure deployment, use, and adoption projects to improve connectivity across Tribal lands. The awarded tribal lands are as follows:

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians has received an $8.43 million Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to pay for the Tribe’s broadband program. It will provide high-speed internet access across Choctaw Tribal lands. The Tribe applied for the grant in the fall of 2021. The money will be used in part towards the Tribe’s partnership with MaxxSouth Broadband to expand the broadband service to over 2,000 tribal homes in six of the eight tribal communities.