NTIA Blog

One year ago today, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which tasks the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) with administering grant programs totaling more than $48 billion to connect everyone in America to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service. It’s a historic investment, providing resources to close the digital divide on an unprecedented scale. Because of these efforts, families across the U.S. will have expanded access to high-speed Internet service and digital skills training that will improve education, jobs, and healthcare.

 

The Internet For All initiative is moving with speed to deliver on the Infrastructure Act’s goal.  We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished in the first year, which includes:

Marking one year of expanding high-speed Internet access in minority communities, NTIA’s Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives (OMBI) today released its inaugural Annual Report. This report, required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA), details OMBI’s accomplishments over the office’s first year, identifies barriers to high-speed Internet access in minority communities, and outlines the office’s role in achieving digital equity across the United States.

Established in August 2021 within NTIA’s Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OICG), OMBI is the Department of Commerce’s leader in promoting equitable broadband access and adoption at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), and their surrounding anchor communities. Given their decades of investment in minority students and their communities, these institutions are effective catalysts for the expansion of high-speed Internet service.

“The first OMBI Annual Report marks a milestone in our mission to address high-speed Internet deployment challenges in vulnerable communities,” said NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson. “The newly created Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives will lead the way to ensure that these critical anchor institutions and the communities they serve have access to high-speed, affordable Internet service.”

Image

 

NTIA’s research laboratory, the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) recently released a much-anticipated report that will aid regulators' understanding of 5G signals that are near adjacent to the radio altimeter band.

The Internet is an essential communications tool that enables access to work, education, healthcare, and justice. Once a luxury, access to affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet is now a necessity.    

Despite its importance, millions of people in America cannot afford Internet service. Millions have no Internet access at all. And many who do, still face slow connection speeds and inadequate service.

This week, NTIA is celebrating National Digital Inclusion Week and the people who are working every day to connect all of America with affordable, reliable high-speed Internet. In our blog, we analyzed Internet Use Survey data on the disparities around Internet adoption and how people view affordability. On social media, we highlighted how people across the country are addressing digital equity challenges.

The theme of this year’s Digital Inclusion Week is “Turning Our Moment into Movement,” as advocates for digital inclusion prepare to make use of unprecedented federal investments in connectivity. Digital inclusion is a core part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative. We know that a wire to a family’s home doesn’t help them if they can’t afford the connection. And an affordable connection isn’t enough if they don’t have the tools to succeed online.

Affordability is a core part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative. We know that access to an Internet connection isn’t true access unless everyone can afford that connection. During Digital Inclusion Week, we are analyzing NTIA’s Internet Use Survey data that highlight disparities in Internet adoption. Our previous blog discussed some of the barriers facing the 24 million households that do not use the Internet at home.

This week is Digital Inclusion Week, and we are analyzing NTIA’s Internet Use Survey data on the disparities around Internet adoption, including why households are offline, the cost households are willing to pay to get connected, and what we’re doing to address the digital divide.

The September 30, 2022, application deadline for the Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program is just days away. Our aim is to help applicants submit complete, informed, and high-quality applications. This post focuses on the Budget Information section.

So here’s how to Be Complete and Score Big!

Budget Information

The Budget Information section is the third major section of the application. It is where applicants will have the opportunity to showcase their financial success as well as the sustainability of their project.

Another component relevant to this section is the “Letter of Credit.” The Letter of Credit is not required at this point in the application process, but a letter from a bank, whereby the bank commits to making a Letter of Credit available if your application is selected for award, is required. The objective is to review financials that show success and a pro forma to demonstrate that this project has sufficient resources to complete the project.

Who Are Middle Mile Providers?

Middle mile service may be offered by a wide range of entities, from traditional retail Internet Service Providers, large technology companies that do not offer retail Internet service at all, or electric utilities that increasingly recognize their capability to transform the communications market. Regardless of who deploys and operates them, middle mile connections are crucial to connectivity and competition.

The Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program is a $1 billion program funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the construction, improvement or acquisition of middle mile infrastructure. If you’re reading this, you’re likely looking for tips on how to “score big” as you finalize application ahead of the September 30, 2022, deadline.

Project Information

The Project Information section is the second major section of the middle mile grant application. This portion provides space for applicants to describe the details and timeline of their project. It includes an executive summary, a “level of need narrative”, and a description of government and community involvement.

Why Middle Mile Matters

Middle mile infrastructure bridges the gap between where information is stored and the people interacting with it – it's an essential part of reliable, high-speed Internet access. Because of the nation’s middle mile networks, anyone in America can transfer data across the world, enabling community, competition, learning, and well-being.

Middle mile infrastructure may carry traffic via undersea cables that stretch to the farthest American territories, or it may “backhaul” wireless traffic for an antenna mounted on a wireless network tower to the provider’s wired network through fiber-optic connections. It may bring high-speed Internet to previously unserved Tribal or Native lands or may simply enable connectivity in urban neighborhoods where no connections were previously available.

The Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program is a competitive, $1 billion program funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the construction, improvement or acquisition of middle mile infrastructure. The application period for the program is currently open, and eligible entities are encouraged to apply to participate in the program. The application window will close on September 30, 2022. 

The Communications Supply Chain Risk Information Partnership (C-SCRIP) held its first webinar for stakeholders on Monday, August 8. This program featured discussions on: 

• NTIA’s Internet for All high-speed Internet grant programs, presented by Andy Berke, NTIA Special Representative for Broadband, and; 
• NIST’s Cybersecurity Framework and Cybersecurity Supply Chain Risk Management Program, presented by Cherilyn Pascoe, NIST Senior Technology Policy Advisor, and Angela Smith, NIST Cybersecurity Supply Chain Risk Management Program Technical Lead. 

Through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, NTIA is responsible for distributing $48 billion to help close the digital divide and ensure that all Americans have access to reliable, affordable high-speed Internet service. Berke explained the programs and suggested that interested attendees sign up for upcoming virtual Internet for All Office Hours. He recommended that they work closely with state broadband offices to stay in the loop on the high-speed Internet grant programs.