Federal Broadband Programs

Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) announced that New York's ConnectALL Office has submitted over 31,000 addresses from across the state to the Federal Communications Commission under the Broadband Data Collection challenge process. The federal challenge process, which allows states to propose changes or updates to the FCC's broadband maps, helps to better locate areas unserved or underserved by broadband.

We believe the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program provides the best possible chance to bring robust, reliable all-fiber broadband service to the many millions of unserved and underserved locations throughout the country. That said, we understand that National Telecommunications and Information Administration may be considering permitting States and Territories to award grants to applicants using other, less capable transmission technologies where the costs to deploy networks can be extremely high.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is awarding $59 million to expand high-speed internet access to rural Michiganders through four major projects across the state, including two in the Upper Peninsula.  The Upper Peninsula Telephone Company will receive a $34,532,301 grant to install a fiber-to-the-premises network to connect 1,625 people, 69 farms, 40 businesses, and two educational facilities with the higher speeds in Dickinson, Luce, Mackinac, Marquette, Menominee, and Ontonagon counties.

An ambitious new plan by the state of Colorado seeks to end the state’s digital divide once and for all — and to do so using fiber, the gold standard for the fastest internet connections. Brandy Reitter, the executive director of the Colorado Broadband Office, said she took the position because she wanted to do impactful work “that was well funded” so she could actually fix the problem. Now she’s leading the state’s plan to use $1 billion in federal money to improve internet service, not just to help those with no internet access, but those with subpar service.

Nevada is working to distribute its biggest-ever investment in broadband infrastructure in conjunction with local communities, despite state laws restricting municipalities and counties from providing telecommunications services. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is administering the Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, wants municipal broadband providers to have access to these funds. But Nevada is one of 17 states with laws limiting the expansion of municipal broadband networks.

The U.S. jobs market remains hot—“overheated” in the words of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Simply, the demand for workers far exceeds the supply. With billions of dollars in investment coming to improve America's infrastructure, will we have trained workers in place to build the broadband networks of the 21st century?

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has awarded Long Beach City College, a Hispanic Serving Institution in California, $2,999,978 as part of the Connecting Minority Communities (CMC) Pilot Program.  Long Beach City College (LBCC)'s Student Technology and Resources (STAR) program will address equity gaps created by historically marginalized students' lack of access to internet broadband and technology.

This report, mandated by the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021, details the work of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives (OMBI) in expanding access and identifying barriers to high-speed internet service for students, faculty, and staff at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HCBU), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU), and Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) and within anchor communities. Examples of OMBI’s key 2021-2022 accomplishments highlighted in the report include:

All across the country, state governments are scrambling to beef up their broadband offices and stand up new grant programs in anticipation of millions in funding from the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. Chad Rupe, the former administrator of the US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service, has advice for states looking to make their broadband programs a success. According to Rupe, there are a few lessons states can take from the success of the ReConnect program as they navigate the path ahead.

The Federal Communications Commission is committing nearly $183 million in new funding rounds through the Emergency Connectivity Program (ECP), which provides digital services for students in communities across the country.