National Telecommunications and Information Administration

Michigan is once again leading the country with its innovation. This time, however, the innovation isn’t new technology—but a funding strategy that would catalyze new technologies, and ensure access to jobs, healthcare, education, and government services are available and accessible in perpetuity.

On May 30, ACA Connects President and CEO Grant Spellmeyer wrote to Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Alan Davidson to urge the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to make sure small and medium-sized wireline broadband providers have a fair opportunity to compete in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program (BEAD).

In the world of rural broadband, all eyes are on the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program as individual states continue to assemble their plans. NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association CEO Shirley Bloomfield believes that BEAD has interesting potential for her members, while acknowledging that there are some wrinkles that need to be ironed out.

The late Congressman John Lewis once prophetically noted that “access to the Internet is the civil rights issue of the 21st century.” In the long struggle to recognize Lewis’ vision and close America’s digital divide, civil rights advocates have repeatedly reminded policymakers of one central truth: progress is measured by results, not good intentions. In 2015, for example, the Federal Communications Commission modernized Lifeline—a decades-old program that had long helped low-income households obtain phone service—to apply to internet service as well. But restrictions blocked customers of

In May the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) celebrated Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month with the theme “Bridging Histories, Shaping Our Future.” We close out this month by chatting with Angela Thi Bennett, NTIA’s first-ever Director of Digital Equity. "NTIA's work is crucial in addressing the digital divide, which disproportionately affects certain populations, including Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.

Most State Broadband Offices have decided that DSL is an obsolete technology, regardless of the bandwidth that it can deliver.

Through the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives (OMBI), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) directly addresses the lack of high-speed Internet access, connectivity, adoption, and equity at our nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). OMBI works through these anchor institutions to impact their surrounding anchor communities.

Developing a common and comprehensive factual understanding about how we use, need, and could potentially expand access to spectrum is critical to meet the Nation’s diverse spectrum requirements while also maintaining trust in the process.  It’s core to the National Spectrum Strategy's study-first approach to building a spectrum pipeline. For the Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) demonstration, the Department of Defense relaunched Partnering to Advance Trusted and Holistic Spectrum Solutions (PATHSS) to engage key stakeholders.

Companies that plan to apply for Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funds should be planning now for how they’re going to staff their projects. Evan Feinman, director for BEAD with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), said state workforce groups typically wait until there is a job shortfall before they initiate training programs. “In this instance, we know there’s $42.5 billion of demand,” said Feinman. “They need to be ramping up training.

President Joe Biden regularly emphasizes how the major pieces of legislation he has signed — the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act — expand opportunities for Americans. This is especially true for rural Americans. Those three laws appropriated billions of dollars — about $464 billion — for many projects that could be particularly relevant to rural communities, allowing them to dream of a different economic future.