National Telecommunications and Information Administration

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced it will release a draft of its requirements for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program spending later in summer 2023, which is expected to include limited exceptions to “Build America, Buy America” rules. The “Buy America” rules require states spend the majority of their federal dollars received through the $42.5 billion BEAD program on American-made materials.

There has never been a better moment for Tribal Nations to bring broadband to their members. The federal and state funds earmarked for broadband expansion are at truly historic levels, as the US government seeks to make access to broadband a reality for even the most remote rural communities (as it did for electricity in the 20th century).

Broadband plays a pivotal role in facilitating essential activities for residents and fostering societal advancements across various domains, including economic development, healthcare, public safety, government services, and education. The federal government is embarking on an unprecedented investment in broadband, allocating over $100 billion nationwide.

C Spire has been working to bridge the middle-mile gap in the rural southeastern US, plugging away at construction of a backhaul network in the area for the past few years.

On July 24, 2023, the Federal Communications Commission authorized a new subsidy program, Enhanced A-CAM (Alternate Connect America Cost Model). This program will extend subsidies to small, regulated telephone companies at a cost of about $1.27 billion per year for ten years.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act directed the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to determine how much each state is to receive in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding based on the number of locations in their state unserved by high-speed internet service. One component in the allocation is a determination of the number of “high cost” unserved locations in each state divided by the nationwide total of high-cost unserved locations. Congress also tasked NTIA with defining what “high-cost areas” are.

As state leaders forge proposals for Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding, local stakeholders are imploring them not to forget about the role of community anchor institutions (CAI). CAIs are rooted entities such as hospitals, schools, universities, and government agencies that drive economic growth and social welfare in their communities. “If you're building out to those unserved homes, and there are anchor institutions, you might as well connect the anchors while you're there,” said John Windhausen, founder and executive director of the 

The National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded Connecting Minority Communities (CMC) Pilot Program grants to Grambling State University, Southern University and A&M College, Southern University Law Center and Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO). The funding for this two-year program will provide a variety of broadband services for universities and their anchor communities.

Today, many months after passage of the landmark Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the states are finally on the cusp of implementing National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s $40+ billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program. Some states are confidently moving ahead quickly, while others are in the early days of developing concrete plans for how they will manage this historic federal investment.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded nearly $5.5 million in the first round of grants from the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund. This first round of funding will support research and development and testing activities related to evaluating energy efficiency, measuring performance of interoperable equipment and testing methods for sharing spectrum. The funding totaled $5,482,052 and was awarded to projects at Northe