National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Comcast does public-private broadband projects across footprint
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited a recently completed Comcast rural broadband project in Stafford County, Virginia, highlighting that this is a public-private project between Comcast and the county. The giant cable company is involved in public-private partnerships across its national footprint. For years cable operators such as Comcast, Charter and Cox have fought hard against municipal broadband projects, always crying that it’s wrong for taxpayer dollars to compete against their private investments.
Rep Johnson Introduces Bill to Streamline Rural Broadband Projects
Rep Dusty Johnson (R-SD) introduced legislation to streamline the permitting process for broadband infrastructure projects. The Facilitating Optimal and Rapid Expansion and Siting of Telecommunications (FOREST) Act will cut down bureaucratic red tape to improve broadband access in rural America. The lengthy permitting process on federal lands has prevented the federal government from improving broadband access, even though billions of dollars are available to improve broadband deployment.
States face a long winding road ahead for BEAD
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has said 2024 will be “the year of execution” for Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD). But the agency still has a ways to go in approving initial proposals for each state and territory. Louisiana was the first to get its plan approved in December.
![](https://www.benton.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/ntia_69.jpeg?itok=Knekb739)
Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Jobs and Increased Fiber Manufacturing in Georgia
Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Assistant Secretary of Commerce Alan Davidson will travel to OFS’s headquarters in Norcross (GA) with Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) to celebrate the announcement of new jobs and increased domestic production of optical fiber and fiber optic cable thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. As a result of the Build America, Buy America Act and the Internet for All programs, OFS has announced it will create 100 jobs, including union jobs, and expand its US production of fiber for use in connecting locations across the US to reliab
![](https://www.benton.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/silicon%20flatirons.jpeg?itok=qMcDh6qs)
Roundtable Outcomes Report: A Look Ahead to Access and Regulation in the Not-Too-Distant Broadband Future
In an era of increasing internet ubiquity, the ability to access and use online tools, services, and information is an essential aspect of everyday life. Many segments of society, however, remain underconnected and even excluded from the digital world. As technology evolves, the harms associated with the digital divide are compounding.
![](https://www.benton.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/ntia_68.jpeg?itok=ZZj0L3VX)
Biden-Harris Administration Approves District of Columbia, Delaware and Washington’s “Internet for All” Initial Proposal
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved the District of Columbia, Delaware and Washington state’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative. This approval will enable the District of Columbia, Delaware and Washington to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program—a major step towards closing the digital divide and meeting the President’s goal of connecting everyone in America w
![](https://www.benton.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/ntia_67.jpeg?itok=2S58iSHH)
Implementing the National Spectrum Strategy
The U.S. is in an era of high-stakes technology development. From artificial intelligence to semiconductor manufacturing, whoever leads in innovation will lead the world in economic growth and national security. The Biden-Harris Administration is taking a comprehensive approach to advancing network infrastructure through the [Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act], the CHIPS and Science Act, NTIA’s Wireless Innovation Fund (established under that Act), and other federal grant programs.... When it comes to the wireless space, the U.S. has always been the leader.
![](https://www.benton.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/ntia_66.jpeg?itok=cYd-74bO)
Biden-Harris Administration Announces $420 Million Funding Opportunity to Promote Wireless Equipment Innovation
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that up to $420 million in funding will be made available to build the radio equipment needed to advance open network adoption in the US and abroad. This is the second Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) from the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund and this NOFO aims to drive commercialization and innovation in open radio units.
![](https://www.benton.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/benton_13.png?itok=181zhzMd)
What Did NTIA's Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth Accomplish in 2023?
Congress included the ACCESS BROADBAND Act in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 and established the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OICG) within the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). On April 30, OICG released its annual report detailing the office's work for 2023. OICG administers broadband programs created by both the Consolidated Appropriations Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Four interconnected core pillars drive OICG’s initiatives, strategy, and key accomplishments:
What's the status of long-haul network builds in the US?
When the internet was new, people talked a lot about long-haul networks in the United States. That’s because a lot of the early data centers were on the East and West coasts, and they needed to be connected. These days long-haul networks are largely overshadowed by last mile builds. There’s a lot of existing long-haul and middle-mile fiber that can be patched together to create the desired routes for any business.