Universal Broadband

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program, which will direct $268 million for expanding broadband access and connectivity to eligible Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges or Universities (TCUs), minority-serving institutions (MSIs), and consortia led by an HBCU, TCU, or MSI that also include a minority business enterprise or tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization. The Notice of Funding Opportunity 

The $1 trillion infrastructure bill moving through the Senate this week stands to be a windfall for cable and fiber-optic internet companies, with $65 billion allocated to improve internet access for poor and isolated communities. The plan would help home internet providers by providing $40 billion in grants that states can dole out to operators that expand their networks to households that lack high-speed service. AT&T plans to self-fund its fiber-optic network expansion to cover millions of new locations in the coming years.

As the conditions of students without home broadband access or a device mirror the broad systemic inequalities of the US, Congress must do more than offer piecemeal funding to connect K-12 students to the internet.

The US Senate is on the cusp of approving an infrastructure package, which passed a critical first vote last night by 67-32. There is a lot to like in it, some of which will depend on decisions by the state governments and the Federal Communications Commission. Negotiations on the final bill are ongoing, but the draft broadband provisions have been released.

While the Biden administration’s infrastructure bill could provide as much as $65 billion for new broadband infrastructure in the US to close the digital divide, incumbent telecommunication providers are wary of what they call 'overbuilding.' Roger Timmerman, the executive director of Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA) Fiber, said service providers and their lobbyists created the term overbuilding to make new competition sound like a bad thing. “You could describe the same thing as a new competitive offering in the area,” Timmerman said.

Senate Democrats and Republicans unveiled a roughly $1 trillion proposal to improve the country’s roads, bridges, pipes, ports and Internet connections, setting in motion a long-awaited debate in the chamber to enact one of President Biden’s economic policy priorities. The roughly 2,700-page piece of legislation, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, includes $65 billion to expand broadband Internet access nationwide and ensure those who do have connectivity can afford their monthly payments.

The House passed HR 4502, a package of seven fiscal year 2022 appropriations bills, including the 2022 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies funding bill. The bill, among other things, provides $907 million for the expansion of broadband service, including $800 million for the ReConnect program.

The infrastructure bill moving through Congress requires internet service providers to offer a low-cost option, sparking opposition from Senate Commerce Committee Minority Leader Roger Wicker (R-MS) who said the mandate may lead to broadband rate regulation. The measure will require funding recipients to offer a low-cost plan.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott (D-GA) and Minority Leader G.T. Thompson (R-PA) pressed House leadership for a floor vote on the panel’s $43.2 billion rural broadband bill, H.R. 4374, which was unanimously approved by the committee earlier in July.

This is a historic time for broadband investment. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the high costs of being offline. In response, Congress, over the past year, passed two laws—the Consolidated Appropriations Act and the American Rescue Plan—with an unprecedented amount of funding devoted to promoting digital equity. Communities should be engaged now to help craft long-term connectivity goals and ensure that diverse voices are part of the discussion—and that’s our job.