Legislation

One year ago, President Joe Biden (D-DE) signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure and competitiveness.

A year ago, I urged us all to look beyond the $65 billion the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act sets aside for broadband and realize the importance of Congress’ recognition that access to affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband is essential to full participation in modern life in the United States. I still find this renewed and updated Congressional commitment to universal service to be astounding. We should continue to celebrate it—and continue the work that ensures this commitment becomes a reality.

On November 9, 2022, a group of organizations met with the Federal Communications Commission's Office of Native Affairs and Policy to discuss the need for policies for broadband-enabling infrastructure in Tribal regions.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is awarding Idaho 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. Idaho is receiving $4,940,793.09 in funding to plan for the deployment and adoption of affordable, equitable, and reliable high-speed Internet throughout the state. Idaho will receive $4,376,087.09 to fund the following:

On November 10, the Federal Communications Commission released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), a formal announcement of the availability of grant funds to develop innovative outreach strategies to reach historically underserved and unserved communities, raise awareness of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), and help eligible individuals enroll in the program. Here are highlights of the NOFO for organizations that are already doing ACP outreach or for those who may be considering it.

Voters in Alabama approved a new state constitution as well as 10 amendments, one of which frees up the state and local governments to use stimulus funds from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to attract internet service providers in hopes of expanding broadband service. Amendment Two was passed alongside several other amendments concerning election laws, criminal justice, and taxation. The measures were all attached to a new state constitution replacing a document written in 1901.

The Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program (ACP Outreach Grant Program) is comprised of four complementary grant programs: 1) National Competitive Outreach Program (NCOP),  2) Tribal Competitive Outreach Program (TCOP),  3) Your Home, Your Internet (YHYI) Outreach Grants, and 4) Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Navigator Pilot Program (NPP) Outreach Grants.

To help consumers better understand broadband options, Congress has mandated that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) revamp its concept of broadband labels, with the goal of providing more detailed info about competitive offerings from different providers. The idea is that providers use these templates to share information like the base monthly cost of broadband, activation fees, optional monthly charges, discounts, and other details regarding performance and reliability with consumers.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration expects to communicate Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment allocation levels to eligible entities by June 30, 2023. The Biden-Harris Administration is required by law to allocate Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment funds according to a formula derived from the map data. NTIA coordinates closely with the FCC to ensure that this data is accurate and reliable and will continue to do so. NTIA’s efforts to date include:  

The Federal Communications Commission will unveil a pre-production draft of new broadband maps on November 18, 2022. This version is the first release of the map required by the Broadband DATA Act and will begin an ongoing, iterative process that will improve the data submitted by providers by incorporating challenges from individuals and other stakeholders. Broadband availability will be based on data submitted by providers during the initial Broadband Data Collection filing window and will reflect services available as of June 30, 2022.