Department of Treasury

The North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s (NCDIT) Division of Broadband and Digital Equity today posted Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program scopes of work to expand high-speed internet access to unserved and underserved homes and businesses at approximately 93,674 eligible locations. The CAB program creates a partnership among state government, county leaders and internet servic

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) and the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office (MIHI) celebrated investments that connected more than 10,000 homes and businesses to high-speed internet thanks to Realizing Opportunity with Broadband Infrastructure Networks (ROBIN) funding. Providing access to affordable high-speed internet will benefit more Michiganders with online learning, healthcare and economic opportunities. MIHI is working to create a more digitally equitable Michigan where everyone can leverage technology to improve their quality of life.

Over $140 million in awards from the ConnectALL Municipal Infrastructure Grant Program will expand broadband infrastructure throughout Central New York, the Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, North Country, Mid-Hudson, and Western New York regions. These public-private partnerships will lead to the construction of more than 1,200 miles of publicly-owned fiber optic infrastructure and wireless hubs, connecting over 60,000 homes and businesses with affordable, symmetric service — offering equal download and upload speeds at rates below regional averages.

The Indiana Connectivity Program announced the 11th round of awards on Oct. 8, 2024. The 11th round of the program awarded $1,489,320 to expand broadband to 326 addresses across 34 counties. Of these addresses, 310 are homes and 16 are businesses. Internet providers carrying out the projects matched $5,286,195 for a total investment of $6,775,515.

Governor Ned Lamont (D-CT) and Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Katie Dykes announced the release of $28 million in grants awarded under the first round of the state’s ConneCTed Communities Grant Program. Administered by DEEP, these grants will support the buildout of broadband infrastructure in more than half of Connecticut’s communities.

Public spaces across Pennsylvania are about to get an internet upgrade. The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) announced $45 million in funding for the Multi-Purpose Community Facilities Program, which provides money to community organizations and local governments to upgrade public facilities. The program will provide grants to 49 projects in 26 counties across the commonwealth. The grants will go toward building and improving public spaces such as schools, libraries, community centers and healthcare facilities for free, high-speed internet.

The Rhode Island Commerce Corporation announces the selection of internet service providers (ISPs) to complete preapproved infrastructure projects that will improve broadband service for an estimated 6,700 locations in Jamestown, Newport, and Westerly. This round is the first of two to award nearly $25 million in Capital Projects Fund (CPF) investments. Three proposals were selected in a competitive bid process which prioritized speed and affordability by requiring buildouts to include end-to-end fiber networks that can deliver speeds of 100/100Mbps without exceeding $53.09/month.

Gov Kay Ivey (R-AL) has awarded nearly $42 million for “last-mile” high-speed internet projects in 23 Alabama counties. The latest Capital Projects Fund grants will cover 2,347 miles and provide broadband availability to more than 15,000 households, businesses and community anchor institutions in the state that currently do not have access to high-speed internet. In February 2024, Governor Ivey awarded $148.3 million in Capital Projects Fund grants for broadband accessibility in more than two-thirds of the state’s 67 counties. The grants awarded today are from the remaining funds.

Pretty much everybody in the industry agrees that the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant process has taken too long. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act legislation that authorized BEAD was signed into law in November 2021. A few states are now opening a grant portal to accept BEAD grant applications—nearly three years after the legislation was passed. Not all grant programs have taken this long. An interesting contrast to BEAD is another huge-dollar federal grant program, the Capital Project Fund (CPF).

In May 2022, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published an oft-quoted report that described federal funding for broadband as a “fragmented, overlapping patchwork.” Despite more than 100 broadband-related programs investing millions of dollars into deployment, affordability, planning, digital skills, and connective devices, GAO found that “millions of Americans still lack broadband, and communities with limited resources may be most affected by fragmentation.” GAO asked the National Telecommunications and Information Administra