Individuals who are Members of a Racial or Ethnic Minority Group

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.

On July 22, 2022, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) first Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program (CMC) grants were announced totaling over $10 million in funds for five minority-serving colleges and universities.