Level of Government

With President Biden signing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) into law in November 2021 and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) subsequently releasing Notices of Funding Opportunity which outline the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, Digital Equity Act (DEA), and Enabling Middle Mile Grant Infrastructure Program in May 2022, EducationSuperHighway and various organizations across Massachusetts are working to bring affordable broadband to the State. The organization has partnered with Springfield and Worcester (MA) Publ

In August, The Pew Charitable Trusts updated its tracker for states that have dedicated broadband offices, task forces, agencies or funds. With this most recent update, Pew determined that all 50 states administer active broadband programs. But how they manage those programs varies widely. Some states place their broadband office inside a business or economic agency, while others house it within their technology agency.

Connecticut's efforts to connect all residents to affordable, high-speed broadband get a $40 million boost when the US Department of Treasury approved the state's plan for using Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund support made possible by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Connecticut estimates that there are over 160,000 locations that still lack high-speed internet access in the state. In July 2021, current-Governor Ned Lamont signed 

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) will provide massive opportunities for local and state organizations across the country.

The City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (PA), and Computer Reach successfully donated 324 desktop computers, 74 laptop computers, 427 monitors, 243 keyboards, and 170 mice to Computer Reach. This first donation, totaling $92,000 and completed in early August 2022, is the culmination of multiple years of work by the Department of Innovation & Performance (I&P) to give back these devices to the community and avoid paying an e-waste recycler for proper disposal.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) and Digital Equity Programs requires a Five Year State Broadband Action Plan in order to tap $100 million of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding. In creating a competent and competitive plan to secure federal broadband funding, states should take into account a number of tips. First, states should designate or form a State Broadband Office to centralize broadband efforts, resources, and goals.

Cable companies Charter Communications and Comcast have each raked in at least $100 million in state broadband grants in 2022, leading the pack of operators scrambling to secure government funding for expansion efforts.

Internet service providers’ discriminatory underinvestment in broadband infrastructure and services—referred to as “digital redlining” for disproportionately affecting low-income communities of color—is drawing increased public scrutiny, including from policymakers.

Sixteen Republican senators sent a letter Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, calling on the department to follow congressional intent in implementing the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program that was created through the bipartisan infrastructure law. The Senators are seeking changes to the following areas:

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.