Join us at MountainConnect 2022, and learn what local ISPs must do now to bring affordable internet access to everyone

It’s time for every American to get involved and actively push for better broadband connections.

Having access to basic, affordable internet became a matter of survival during the pandemic — and not everyone got by.

That’s why everyone, including state, local and national media, local internet service providers, and government officials, should tune in and pay close attention to what NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson has to share with us when he comes to speak at the Mountain Connect 2022 conference on Tuesday, May 24th.

You can check out the details of the event here. 

Alan will explain what comes next after the National Telecommunications and Information Administration fires off its starting gun in the national race to make internet access ubiquitous, reliable, and affordable for all.

The Mountain Connect 2022 conference will be one of the first places where you can get a front row seat to talk with the man with a plan to deploy nearly $50 billion of new broadband grants aimed at ending America’s digital canyon once and for all, as Broadband Money Co-Founder Jase Wilson puts it. 

As he writes:  

NTIA’s programs will unleash more broadband funding over the next few years than all prior U.S. broadband funding programs combined. In the right hands, such resources could kick off nothing short of a new chapter in American dynamism. NTIA’s historic announcement is the “starting gun” for states, local governments, and network builders.  

It’s crucial that we get it right this time, after decades of failure. It's why Congress gave this job to the NTIA and came up with this new way of distributing broadband funding in the first place. 

Otherwise, bills like this might become law.

As writer and digital activist Cory Doctorow says: "We need to counter that pressure. Residents of every state need to call their state legislators and demand participation in this universal broadband."

The right providers, under the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act, includes local ISPs working in concert with local anchor institutions, government agencies and other local members of the community. Specifically, the law mentions that “cooperatives, nonprofit organizations, public-private partnerships, private companies, public or private utilities, public utility districts, or local governments” cannot be excluded from being awarded the money. 

Come and join us to set a new agenda. Learn about how the IIJA works, and how Alan wants to work with you to put it into action. Come to meet the many local government officials and infrastructure professionals working hard to build this future. 

As Cory says in his own piece, "this is one of those rare moments where individual action can make a huge, lasting difference. All the pieces are coming together for a new broadband future for the nation, one where public provision and management ends decades of gouging, underinvestment and naked contempt from the universally loathed (and loathesome) telecoms sector."

Find out how these pieces are coming together, how funding works, and how Broadband Money and its grant application, ISP management and mapping tools can help you -- whether you're a government official, regional ISP or other kind of entity looking to improve access. 

And then get active and participate in the process of making sure that all this money goes to the highest and best uses.

So come and be a change-maker, learn how to land the funds, and get organized. Come join us at Mountain Connect!