Federal Broadband Programs

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is like a start-up within the federal government, despite being nearly 45 years old. We delivered on programs to improve Internet connectivity while also notching big wins on spectrum policy, international standards, and other important tech policy issues. Highlights from the year included:

AT&T will launch broadband services in states it doesn’t currently serve by forming a joint venture with BlackRock to fund the rollout of fiber-optic networks in new markets. The venture with BlackRock Alternatives will be called Gigapower LLC and aims to reach an initial 1.5 million customer locations across the US. The companies didn’t disclose the financial terms of the deal or the states they would seek to serve. The joint venture will be in addition to ATT's current goal of reaching more than 30 million fiber locations, including businesses, by the end of 2025. 

On November 22, seven Republican US senators led by Sen Steve Daines (R-MT) wrote to National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) head Alan Davidson about the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program: "Unfortunately, in your recent BEAD Notice of Opportunity Funding (NOFO), NTIA excluded broadband service using entirely unlicensed spectrum from its definition of reliable broadband, a stark contrast to Congress’s tech-neutral intent and previous determinations reached by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)." On December 20, Administrator Davidson r

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that New Mexico received its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Kansas received its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative.

What counts as a fiber passing, anyway? It seems the answer varies slightly by operator, though most consider a passing to be any location which can be connected to fiber running along the main road. A Consolidated representative said passings are locations that are in “close proximity” to its network.

Billions of dollars are up for grabs to expand broadband availability across the country. But the Federal Communication Commission maps that will determine where the money goes are inaccurate, according to the Texas comptroller, because internet service providers inflated their coverage areas. The Texas office charged with challenging and improving those maps at the state level says it can’t.

People with low incomes can get free Internet service through Comcast and the Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), but signing up is sometimes harder than it should be because of confusion within Comcast's customer service department. The confusion is related to a Comcast rule that makes customers ineligible for Internet Essentials low-income service if they have been a Comcast subscriber in the previous 90 days. That rule and another one related to unpaid bills are not supposed to apply to people who also qualify for the ACP.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that California received its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative. California is receiving $8,998,027 in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed by President Biden, to plan for the deployment and adoption of affordable, equitable, and reliable high-speed Internet service throughout the state.

The US Department of the Treasury announced the approval of broadband projects in three additional states under the American Rescue Plan’s Capital Projects Fund (CPF): Illinois, Indiana, and North Carolina. Together, these states will use their funding to connect over 170,000 homes and businesses to affordable, high-speed internet.