National Telecommunications and Information Administration

The Biden-Harris Administration recognizes Second Chance Month as an opportunity to ensure that people returning to their communities from jail or prison have a fair shot at the American Dream. Research shows that incarcerated and recently released individuals face unique and far-reaching challenges, particularly when pursuing education and employment opportunities.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration preparing to award over $44 billion to construct rural broadband networks. Almost by definition, these networks will be built in rural areas where it’s hard to justify a business plan where revenues generated from the grant areas are sufficient to fund the ongoing operation and eventual upgrades to any broadband networks.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is hard at work implementing the National Spectrum Strategy.

At NTIA, tech policy is what we do. From connecting everyone in America to the Internet, to managing federal airwaves, to crafting policy for emerging innovations like artificial intelligence systems, our goal is to make sure important technologies are developed in the service of people and progress. To help reach that goal, I’m pleased to announce key additions to our leadership team: 

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Kansas, Nevada and West Virginia’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative.

As energy companies around the country deploy fiber to improve grid reliability, they open the door to enabling broadband connectivity to previously unserved rural communities. Alabama Power has invested over $1 billion in infrastructure upgrades to add over 1,600 miles of fiber within its service areas since 2017.

The Forest County Potawatomi Community of Wisconsin had been generating electricity to run its community center using solar panels for years—they just didn’t have an accurate way of tracking their energy usage. Thanks to an Internet for All grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), they now do. NTIA’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) awarded the Forest County Potawatomi Community $125,232 to provide reliable high-speed Internet service to the Tribe’s solar arrays.

Sen Dick Durbin (D-IL) visited Dominican University to discuss the $2.5 million in federal funding the university received through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program that has helped enhance information technology capabilities and close the digital divide for students. Sen Durbin visited one of seven classrooms that, thanks to a portion of the grant proceeds, received technological upgrades to support a hybrid of in-person and remote learning.

The digital divide isn’t just about access to broadband and computers and other hardware, it’s also about access to skills. Massive investments made through the bipartisan infrastructure law will send billions of dollars to states and localities across the U.S. over the next five years to help close the digital divide. This includes millions that will flow to Michigan through the Digital Equity Act and the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.

The digital divide isn’t just about access to broadband and computers and other hardware, it’s also about access to skills. Massive investments made through the bipartisan infrastructure law will send billions of dollars to states and localities across the US over the next five years to help close the digital divide. This includes $1.3 billion that is slated to flow to Georgia through the Digital Equity Act and the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.