National Telecommunications and Information Administration

In a Full Committee markup, the House Commerce Committee advanced six bills including:

When Texas was awarded $3.3 billion in federal money toward expanding broadband infrastructure across the state, government leaders and telecommunication companies celebrated the news. With the federal funds, coupled with $1.5 billion from the state’s wallet, rural and underserved Texas communities finally saw a chance to catch up with technology in the rest of the country.

While we recently broke down Montana's Draft Digital Opportunity Plan and the state's vision of digital equity, the Montana Broadband Office (MBO) has also made public its draft Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program Five-Year Action Plan.

The world is facing a pressing need for a skilled workforce that can meet the demands of the 21st-century economy. That’s where workforce development comes in. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has created the Telecommunications Training and Workforce Development Best Practice Checklist to help support Eligible Entities as they’re developing their Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) workforce plans. Verizon and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) have collective bargaining agreements in place that, among other things, provide for high-

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced the availability of nearly $1 billion in funding to expand Internet access and adoption on Tribal Lands. This second round of funding from the Internet for All initiative’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) will make up to approximately $980 million available for Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities for the deployment of Internet infras

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) presented a draft five-year plan to connect the state’s unserved with broadband using the $1.86 billion it received through the federal government’s Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. But the CPUC’s plan comes with a warning that the total $4 billion available in state and federal broadband funding won't be enough to completely bridge the digital divide in California. There is a significant need for broadband across all of California, said the Wireless Internet Service Provider Association’s (WISPA) state advocacy manag

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced how much Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding each of the 50 states would be allocated. The answer varies from state to state, but one thing they all have in common is that Volume 1 and Volume 2 of their initial proposals are due December 27, 2023. Once NTIA approves the proposal, the state will get 20 percent of its BEAD funding. Volume 1 must include: Existing broadband funding, Unserved and underserved locations, Community anchor institutions, Challenge process plans.

BroadbandOhio, a division of the Ohio Department of Development, released for public comment Volume I of the state's Initial Proposal for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced it has awarded eight grants totaling $3,998,000 to eight Tribes as part of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP). This funding from will help Tribes reduce monthly Internet service costs, plan for future Internet infrastructure investments, upgrade network equipment, and purchase devices. The winning Tribes are as follows:

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, the US government’s $42 billion broadband grants program, requires recipients to provide a Letter of Credit for 25% of the grant award. Alongside the additional 25% match requirement, this capital barrier will shut out a huge number of internet service providers (ISP).The small and community-centered ISPs, minority and women-owned businesses, nonprofits, and municipalities that the program claims to be targeting will be most affected.