Federal Broadband Programs

Treasury Department Announces Approval of Federal Funds to Connect Hawaii Homes and Families to Affordable, High-Speed Internet as Part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda
The Department of the Treasury approved $115.5 million for high-speed internet projects in Hawaii under the American Rescue Plan’s Capital Projects Fund. The state will invest $101.7 million of the award in the Hawaii Subsea Middle Mile Program designed to address the unique subsea cable infrastructure that’s needed to provide connectivity between the islands to ensure they have reliable, high-speed internet access.
Testimony Concerning A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2024 Funding Request for the Department of Commerce
The Commerce Department is hard at work. Thanks to major investments like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the CHIPS and Science Act, and your support through the appropriations process, the Commerce Department is making substantial progress on some of our nation’s most pressing economic and national security priorities, including those related to our supply chains, manufacturing, innovation, and workforce. The Department must maintain sufficient oversight of the grants it makes.

FCC Announces Nearly $21 Million in Emergency Connectivity Funding
The Federal Communications Commission is committing nearly $21 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 funding commitment will benefit approximately 55,000 students across the country, including students in California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Puerto Rico.
Focus Broadband Completes North Carolina Fiber Project That Received State Funding
Focus Broadband has completed the final stages of a project in Brunswick County (NC). Residents and businesses in the communities of Northwest and Sandy Creek now can access gigabit speed service. Focus Broadband was awarded $1.4 million to provide high-speed Internet to more than 1,000 addresses in Brunswick County in North Carolina’s special supplementary round of the Growing Rural Economies through Access to Technology (GREAT) program.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces More Than $5.8 Million in Internet for All Grants to Tribal Lands
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded grants totaling $5,841,477.13 to 12 Tribes as part of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP). In the next few months, NTIA will release a second Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for an additional round of funding from the TBCP program. The Tribes awarded are:
Yes, there really is enough money to reach most of the Unserved and Underserved
Recently, a wireless company published a study about the cost to reach all the Unserved and Underserved. They estimated we need $307 billion to reach everyone. Generally, they make a case that the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program will run out of money, so the federal government should settle for wireless technology.

NTIA Seeks Comment on BEAD Challenge Process
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is proposing to issue 1) a Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program Challenge Process Policy Notice to provide Eligible Entities with additional guidance on how to design and conduct their BEAD challenge process and 2) A BEAD Model Challenge Process to provide Eligible Entities.
Representative Baird leads bipartisan effort to prioritize rural broadband access
Congressman Jim Baird (R-IN) introduced a resolution emphasizing the need to invest in broadband expansion. The resolution, if passed, says the House of Representatives finds that:
Sens Thune, Luján Request GAO to Review Broadband Regulatory Structure
A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report uncovered that “federal broadband efforts are fragmented and overlapping, with more than 100 programs administered by 15 agencies.” We request that GAO build upon this work and conduct an additional review of federal, state, and local broadband efforts to determine the effectiveness of each program.
New "Reach Me" Grant Funding Expands Reliable Internet in 73 Maine Communities
Fourteen Maine counties and 73 communities will benefit from $20 million in grant funding from the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) as part of its Reach Me Line Extension Program that will expand reliable, fast and affordable internet.