Broadband Money's mapping system incorporates a vast, growing number of datasets to help you better understand your territory. With essential insights on network performance, competition, towers, anchor institutions and demographics, gain a multi-faceted view of your geographic area in order to:<ul><li>Pinpoint unserved and underserved communities</li><li>Research and gather sufficient, holistic evidence to support your challenge process</li><li>Identify key stakeholders for collaboration</li></ul>In this lesson, learn how to create a project area – an essential step to start engaging meaningfully with the vast amounts of data supplied.&nbsp;A project area is an area of interest you define, which typically consists of designated “high-likelihood" of unserved and underserved communities. Use Broadband.money's mapping system to create, tag and research areas of interest, so you can get detailed insights and analyses such as the number unserved and underserved demand points, community anchor institutions and estimated yield on costs.To start, give your project area a name, and add a tag to the area if you wish.<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/name_and_tag_4b8ee23f9f.gif"></figure>Next, start defining the precise boundaries of your project area using any of the three methods below:<h2>1. Draw</h2><figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/draw_6165714aef.gif"></figure>Use the draw tool to define freehand an exact area of interest on the map. Double click the last or first point in order to close the drawn shape. Using the drawing tool is recommended if you need address or household-level precision when defining your project area boundaries.<code>💡 Tip: You can toggle the visibility of the census layer to get a clearer view of map features, such as road and parcel boundaries.</code><h2>2. Upload</h2><figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/upload_d728fa7249.gif"></figure>Already have a shapefile on hand? Upload any .kml, .kml, .geojson or .json file directly to create a project area. The <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7946#section-3.1">geometry</a> type must be a <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7946#section-3.1.6">Polygon</a>, <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7946#section-3.1.7">MultiPolygon</a>, <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7946#section-3.1.5">MultiLineString</a> or <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7946#section-3.1.4">LineString</a>.<code>💡 Tip: </code><code>Make sure the shapefile uses the </code><a href="https://epsg.io/4326" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><code>EPSG:4326 - WGS 84</code></a><code> coordinate system&nbsp;</code><h2>3. Select</h2><figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/select_c9c1098521.gif"></figure>For large county-level project areas, easily select from our library of county shapefiles directly from the <a href="https://www.census.gov/geographies/mapping-files.html">Census Bureau’s geographic database</a>.<code>💡 Tip: </code><code>Type the county name in the dropdown to filter the list</code>Don't forget, you can combine methods multiple times to create your project area.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/combine_3f34075a8d.gif"></figure>&nbsp;As you start defining multiple project area boundaries, check out the summary statistics tab to view an analysis of key project metrics, such as total number of census blocks, households and housing units. When complete, please save the area, and you're ready to start analyzing project insights.<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/analysis_b1dd9125cb.gif"></figure>Select your created project area for an overall analysis of the area. Easily compare and contrast project areas in the statistics page. Gain a deeper understanding of your project areas with more detailed metrics such as current provider coverage, list of commercial businesses, community anchor institutions and more. Later, you’ll be able to attach specific project areas to your application model to automatically generate grant application answers.&nbsp;

How to Create a Project Area

Amanda Lee

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Software Engineer

A federal agency has <a href="https://www.gao.gov/docket/b-420032.2">denied </a>a bid protest against utilities data and mapping provider <a href="https://www.costquest.com/">CostQuest Associates</a>. The decision paves the way for the Federal Communications Commission to move ahead with overhauling its <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/get-broadband-grant-alerts-news/amidst-the-excitement-for-better-infrastructure-some-states-are-poised-for-a-false-start">currently flawed national mapping efforts </a>as its sister agency moves ahead with doling out billions of dollars worth of broadband funding.&nbsp; Lightbox, a real-estate mapping company, had protested the FCC's awarding of the contract to build the <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-104447">Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric</a> in November with the GAO. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's initial state funding designations from the $65 billion Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act will be based on these maps that will be produced by CostQuest.&nbsp;The law allows the states to challenge the FCC's determinations. Several states, such <a href="https://broadband.georgia.gov/maps" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">as Georgia</a>, have engaged LightBox to create their own broadband maps. States and local governments independently need maps to deploy funding from other grant programs, such as the American Rescue Plan Act, as well as other federal and state broadband funding programs.&nbsp; In the meantime, you can view CostQuest's approach to the problem at <a href="https://ded.mo.gov/sites/default/files/MO%20Broadband%20Academy%20CostQuest.pdf">this slide deck</a>. CostQuest worked on Missouri and Virginia's maps as a proof of concept for the FCC.&nbsp; A panel of mapping experts from both CostQuest and Lightbox <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/get-broadband-grant-alerts-news/experts-don-t-expect-perfect-maps-and-don-t-expect-them-until-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said</a> in December that they didn't expect a national broadband map to be available until 2023.&nbsp;<h3>What is a "Fabric?"</h3>In September of 2021, the <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-104447" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" download="download">Government Accountability Office</a> released its findings into the FCC’s effort to improve the state of its mapping – an effort ongoing since 2017.&nbsp;In addition to analyzing the FCC’s maps, the GAO was also tasked with determining the state of the FCC’s “fabric.”&nbsp;So, what did the GAO uncover, and what is a “fabric?”&nbsp; One of the major criticisms of the FCC's extant maps is that the maps only collect data on a census block level. That means that the FCC considers an entire census block served if only one person in a census block has broadband service.&nbsp;This lack of granularity is routinely leveled against the FCC by critics arguing that the commission overstates coverage across the country, and it is a criticism that the GAO confirms.While the FCC’s mapping would theoretically show every area that is served by broadband, the fabric is a data set of every structure that could receive a broadband connection. The FCC was ordered to begin work on this fabric back in 2020.The GAO, like other experts, stated that in order to overcome conflicting or incomplete data for both mapping and fabric efforts, the FCC needs to utilize multiple data sets – whether they are from commercial, state, or federal figures.&nbsp;When the GAO interviewed stakeholders in the process, it found that most believe “there is no one source of location data that will be sufficient for FCC and its contract data company to develop a precise location fabric; therefore, it is necessary to integrate four main types of data to have a complete location fabric.”To illustrate how this could work, the GAO showed how data pulled from county parcel and tax data, coupled with building footprints and addresses would provide a more complete picture of serviceable locations compared to simply having internet service providers report where they are operating.<h3>State approaches to fabrics vary</h3>The GAO also pointed out that different states have adopted unique methods of constructing their own fabrics: Several states drew from enhanced 911 data to identify serviceable locations.&nbsp;Pennsylvania uniquely utilized Google Maps to improve their fabric. Washington, on the other hand, crowdsources its data.&nbsp;The GAO found that 29 states or territories have no fabric whatsoever, with 12 of the 29 indicating that the primary obstacle was the cost associated with constructing one.&nbsp;“Other reasons include that internet service providers are not willing to provide data (6 respondents), or that state officials were waiting for FCC to develop the national location fabric of broadband serviceable locations (3 respondents),” the report read.Of the states that reported that they are working on a fabric, only 18 stated that they are collecting data from providers and consumers to determine which areas are served (or unserved.)The states of Virginia and Washington have overcome the problem of ISPs' reluctance to provide proprietary data by enacting laws that exempt proprietary subscriber information from Freedom of Information Act requests. This enables broadband offices to access the data and make better decisions on where to allocate grant funding, but protects companies from enabling competitors to access the information.&nbsp;

The GAO cleared the way late February for the FCC to provide a better map for an agency that's handing out billions of dollars of broadband funding under the Investment, Infrastructure and Investment Act. 

Way Cleared for FCC's Quest For A Better National Broadband Map

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Broadband Money is going to highlight key concepts outlined in the National Telecommunication and Information Administration's Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Notice of Funding Opportunity released last Friday. The NTIA placed significant emphasis on ensuring that states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories engage in local coordination when putting together their grant applications for the infrastructure funding.The NOFO outlines five components of local coordination: Geographic coverage; diverse stakeholder groups; awareness, outreach, and participation mechanisms; transparency; and underrepresented engagement.Local coordination at the geographic level entails ensuring that all political subdivisions and applicable Tribal governments are engaged by the the states, DC, and U.S. territories, which the NTIA calls "eligible entities." Each subdivision and tribe must be given on opportunity to comment and make their perspectives known on the various plans and proposals suggested by the entity.Furthermore, cross-sectional input from a diverse collection of stakeholder perspectives is also required; the NTIA listed more than a dozen categories of stakeholders, including but not limited to the following groups:<ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>State/territorial agencies</li><li>Tribal governments</li><li>Community anchor institutions</li><li>Civil rights organizations</li><li>Labor organizations and unions</li><li>Nonprofits and community-based organizations</li><li>Local educational agencies</li><li>Workforce development groups</li><li>Organizations that represent people with disabilities, LGBTQI+ people, people over the age of 60, immigrants, veterans, incarcerated individuals, etc.</li><li>Economic development organizations</li><li>Public utility commissions</li><li>Faith-based organizations</li><li>Neighborhood associations</li></ul>The NTIA also required efforts be made to promote awareness, outreach, and participation. To do this, they stated that eligible entities engage with all the aforementioned groups to implement both in-person and virtual listening sessions and public meetings, create eligibility websites, craft informational materials, engage people through social media, utilize both email and traditional mail to contact stakeholders, etc.&nbsp;The NOFO also outlines best practices for transparency, including easily navigable and up-to-date websites, periodic reporting to stakeholders, and publicly posting and promoting their plans and opportunities for comment.&nbsp;The final area the NTIA referenced under local coordination was underrepresented engagement, which included targeted efforts to seek out engagement from “communities that have historically faced barriers in participating in federal programs.” The NTIA listen the following examples of how entities may be able to engage with such communities:&nbsp;<ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>The creation of task force to represent unrepresented communities</li><li>Frequent engagement with associations and government departments with greater reach and trust or more regular contact with these communities</li><li>Surveys, data collection, and mapping efforts to better understand connectivity in these communities</li></ul>This opportunity differs from the federal government's previous efforts to encourage the rollout of universal broadband because it actively requires state level governments to constantly engage with local and marginalized communities instead of letting incumbent telecom operators plan those networks without that local input. &nbsp;This is the first of a series of brief blog posts that examine key concepts in the NTIA's BEAD NOFO.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The National Telecommunication and Information Administration placed significant emphasis on ensuring that eligible entities engage in local coordination as part of their Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program notice of funding opportunity that was released on Friday.

Strong emphasis on local coordination in Notice of Funding Opportunity 

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Broadband Money is highlighting key concepts outlined in the National Telecommunication and Information Administration's <a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/BEAD%20NOFO.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Notice of Funding Opportunity</a> released on May 13, 2022.One of the key ways that the Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act differs from prior broadband funding programs is the way the NTIA has designed the challenge process to ensure that local communities' perspectives are taken into account.These processes happen when broadband providers challenge grant applicants' plans and submissions based upon coverage information or their own plans.The NTIA said in its NOFO:<blockquote>Each <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/eligible-entity" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Eligible Entity</a> shall develop and describe in the Initial Proposal, a transparent, evidence- based, fair, and expeditious challenge process under which a unit of local government, nonprofit organization, or broadband service provider can challenge a determination made by the Eligible Entity in the Initial Proposal as to whether a particular location or community anchor institution within the jurisdiction of the Eligible Entity is eligible for grant funds.</blockquote>This means that local communities can challenge states, tribal and U.S. territory-level determinations of which areas are served, <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/underserved-location" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">underserved</a> and <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/unserved-location" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">unserved</a> as defined by the IIJA. This gives them an unprecedented chance to weigh in where telecom incumbents have traditionally wielded outsize influence.To do this, local challengers need access to mapping information. Traditionally, the data provided by the Federal Communications Commission has been based upon unverified incumbent data. New <a href="https://broadband.money/blog/way-cleared-for-fcc-s-quest-for-a-better-national-broadband-map" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">maps </a>that the NTIA will use to determine funding formulas are due from the FCC from subcontractor CostQuest this Fall.Broadband Money's mapping system incorporates data from several sources of on-the-ground truth. This data includes internet connectivity speed tests from multiple providers that include <a href="https://speed.measurementlab.net/#/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MLab</a> and <a href="https://speed.measurementlab.net/#/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ookla</a>, which serve as a points of verification. It also includes and compares that data to the <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/general/broadband-deployment-data-fcc-form-477" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">FCC's 477 form data</a>.The BEAD NOFO's challenge process is structured to take place immediately following the filing of the initial proposal and before the subgrantee selection process begins.A funding state or territory can face multiple challenges regarding the classification of various areas and institutions and must resolve each challenge independently.Once a state, tribal area or territory resolves all its challenges, it must provide a public notice of the final classification of each area or institution, officially establishing whether they are served, underserved, or unserved. This step must take place at least 60 days prior to the dispersal of funding.State or territories must inform the NTIA of any changes it makes to its initial proposal based on the challenges it receives, but the NTIA also reserves the right to reverse any determinations that the state or territories make.This is the second of a series of brief blog posts that examine key concepts in the NTIA's BEAD NOFO.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The challenge process allows a broadband service provider can contest an applicant’s initial proposal for broadband service.

How the NTIA’s challenge process works in the Notice of Funding Opportunity

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Maine has been one of the states that has a well-established broadband grant program, and it's well positioned to land and defend its share of federal broadband grant funding.Maine's Connectivity Authority has made sure that it coordinates closely with local communities so that it has its ears to the ground in terms of their broadband needs.&nbsp;So it's not surprising that it is encouraging its residents to take broadband speed tests to help figure out local communities' needsIt's also not a big surprise that there are a lot of big dates coming up for the Maine broadband grants community. Check out the list below:Program: Connect the ReadyMaine Connectivity Authority hosted an engagement session on August 15.<a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/play/Bga3skQlkgti1dZ4TL6nmM-ZtC7_avreHrAnkxiCuTA12iMB-7U0kIgC3lCt0R8uSQLWINsmyt8WvjWZ.HKkCiFNFT9qjawwb?continueMode=true"> There is a recording online</a> if you missed it.On September 23, they will release Connect the Ready’s program guidance.&nbsp;On October 10, the application window for Connect Ready will open.On October 14, there will be a webinar applicants can access to help them navigate the Connect the Ready application process.The application deadline is November 9, at 11:59 pm.Program: Reach Me Line Extension IncentivesMaine Connectivity Authority hosted an engagement session on August 10.<a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/play/VkzW_qiwRA5FLnyYFq5XlQOsBYjFNSutHYH5CpuQ3N9wgTnWK2A_A-rXXEC8yZjMDXoFp4VaDzs3sYcv.RvdCC3Go_8E0gm4T?startTime=1660147320000"> There is a recording online</a> if you missed it.&nbsp;On October 10, the application window for Reach Me Line Extension Incentives will open.On October 21, there will be a webinar applicants can access to help them navigate the Reach Me Line Extension Incentives application process.On October 31, the request for quotes deadline will close at 11:59 pm.Applicants’ proposals will be due on December 2 at 11:59 pm.&nbsp;Also,<a href="https://www.fcc.gov/affordable-connectivity-program-providers#Maine"> check out the FCC’s website</a> to learn more about Affordable Connectivity Program-qualified ISPs in Maine.&nbsp;Broadband.money will be offering providers a <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/affordable-connectivity" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Turnkey ACP</a> option in upcoming months.&nbsp;For more information on Maine’s broadband efforts, checkout Broadband.Money’s<a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-map/maine"> Maine Broadband Grant Portal</a>.You cannot miss these dates if you want to stand a chance at challenging incumbents in your area. Use every tool available to you, including Broadband.Money’s<a href="https://broadband.money/community-broadband-kit"> Community Broadband Kit</a>.&nbsp;

Don't miss any of Maine's broadband grant key deadlines

Here are the key dates for Maine broadband grant opportunities

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We're super excited to celebrate the 10th annual <a href="https://www.shlbconference.org/event/7041d0d2-2d23-42e9-b53e-2e8b4887cf83/websitePage:645d57e4-75eb-4769-b2c0-f201a0bfc6ce" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SHLB AnchorNETS conference</a> in Arlington, Virginia next week with the <a href="https://www.shlb.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Schools, Health &amp; Libraries Broadband Coalition</a>.&nbsp;Conference organizers have assembled a stellar group of change-makers who are all working hard to close the digital divide.It's not possible to do that without anchor institutions, in our opinion. Anchor institutions are just that — they are anchors that tether communities that would otherwise be adrift without the resources and support provided by schools, health institutions, libraries and other kinds of community centers.Community anchor institutions must be engaged and activated in order to make the most of the nation’s largest – and almost certainly last – investment in telecommunications infrastructure through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's BEAD funding program.&nbsp;Next week's AnchorNETs conference will provide us all with the opportunity to think best about how we can do this. &nbsp;Among the sessions we're looking forward to:&nbsp;<ul><li>The Digital Equity Showcase</li><li>The Broadband Mapping Workshop</li><li>A keynote from Director of the U.S. National Institute of Museum and Library Services' Crosby Kemper III</li><li>A keynote from NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson's</li><li>Making the most of BEAD investments</li><li>Reports from the federal and state levels (Kansas and New Hampshire) on the progress of the Capital Projects' Fund&nbsp;</li><li>How states will prioritize funding from the IIJA's Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment program.</li><li>A discussion between Federal Communications Commissioner staffers for Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks</li><li>How Los Angeles is deleting the digital divide … and&nbsp;</li><li>A congressional staffer panel&nbsp;</li></ul>Broadband.money recognizes the importance of community anchor institutions.&nbsp;That's why subscribers can use Broadband.money to identify and index all U.S. anchor institutions, so you can engage these vital institutions in your broadband grant proposals.&nbsp;<figure class="image image-style-align-center"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/Anchors_GIF_4a7e4472a7/Anchors_GIF_4a7e4472a7.gif"></figure>One of the important questions we hope to tackle at AnchorNETs is the impact of the FCC's decision to assume that all anchor institutions are served in its forthcoming fabric map.The assumption seems to directly contravene the goals of the IIJA's BEAD funding program. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)’s Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) specifically asks broadband grant applicants to explain how they define the term “community anchor institution,” (CAI,) how they will identify each CAI in their jurisdiction, and how they “assessed the needs of eligible CAIs, including what types of CAIs it intends to serve; which institutions, if any, it considered but declined to classify as CAIs; and, if the Eligible Entity proposes service to one or more CAIs in a category not explicitly cited as a type of CAI” in the IIJA.For its part, the NTIA <a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/BEAD%20NOFO.pdf">defines community anchor institutions in its BEAD NOFO</a> as:<blockquote>“an entity such as a school, library, health clinic, health center, hospital or other medical provider, public safety entity, institution of higher education, public housing organization, or community support organization that facilitates greater use of broadband service by vulnerable populations, including, but not limited to, low-income individuals, unemployed individuals, children, the incarcerated, and aged individuals. An Eligible Entity may propose to NTIA that additional types of institutions should qualify as CAIs within the entity’s territory.</blockquote>The NOFO also states:<blockquote>“NTIA underscores its strong preference that Eligible Entities also ensure deployment of gigabit connections to community anchor institutions such as libraries and community centers that lack such connectivity.”</blockquote>How will states and territories use broadband grant funding to make sure that anchor institutions and their communities are adequately served?&nbsp;Come join us at <a href="https://www.shlbconference.org/event/7041d0d2-2d23-42e9-b53e-2e8b4887cf83/websitePage:645d57e4-75eb-4769-b2c0-f201a0bfc6ce" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SHLB AnchorNETS conference</a> in Arlington, Virginia next week to find out.&nbsp;

SHLB has a blockbuster lineup of changemakers dedicating themselves to closing the digital divide. Join the discussion next week in Arlington, Virginia. 

Why we're excited about SHLB Coalition's AnchorNets 10

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On November 15, 2022, the White House celebrated the one year anniversary of the passing of the bipartisan infrastructure bill that has become a signature item of the administration of President&nbsp;Joe Biden.Separately, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the U.S. Commerce Department issued a <a href="https://ntia.gov/blog/2022/bipartisan-infrastructure-law-turns-one-progress-report-internet-all " target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">statement on the broadband-focused portions of the measuring</a>, calling the law an “ historic investment, providing resources to close the digital divide on an unprecedented scale.”Among the points of progress included the introduction of Notices of Funding Opportunity ahead of deadline, securing applications for participation in the broadband-focused programs from all eligible states and territories, obtaining 247 applications for middle mile grants, awarding $1.5 billion to Tribal entities and minority-serving institutions, highlighting federal program officers for every state.<h3>White House event</h3>Speaking at a more big-picture event, White House officials discussed the $1.75 trillion dollars made available for infrastructure projects, of which $65 billion was allotted specifically for broadband infrastructure.&nbsp;Tuesday’s call featured both former and current mayors, including former-Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana,&nbsp;Mitch Landrieu, former-Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia,&nbsp;Keisha Lance Bottoms, and the Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona,&nbsp;Kate Gallego.Their presence was aligned with the sentiment of their presentation, which emphasized the importance of non-federal actors in ensuring that federal funding is not squandered.&nbsp;Deputy Coordinator for the White House Infrastructure Implementation Team&nbsp;Samantha Silverberg stated that Tribal groups, businesses, philanthropic organizations, faith-based institutions, and state and local governments would be the most important players making sure that funding is dispersed in an equitable manner.The IIJA has been dubbed the “Build Back Better Framework” by the White House.&nbsp;“‘Better’ means no one is left behind,” Silverberg said. She pointed to the 14.8 million households that have taken advantage of free or reduced-cost broadband that has been made available to Americans via the Affordable Connectivity Program.&nbsp;She also stated that broadband was one of the primary sectors that has become a focus for workforce development initiatives designed to expedite the rate at which broadband infrastructure will be able to be deployed and maintained.&nbsp;During the call, Landrieu, who now serves as the senior advisor and broadband coordinator for the president’s administration, stated that his team is primarily concerned with three things: building a team, getting the money out, and telling a story.&nbsp;&nbsp;He said that the government has successfully pushed out $185 billion in federal monies, for 7,000 projects, across 4,000 communities, as part of the IIJA. He added that the government has hired 300,500 federal employees to assist with the implementation of the bill.<h3>Additional details from NTIA</h3>The NTIA statement included this additional information about the broadband portions of the measure:<blockquote>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&nbsp;<a href="https://www.internetforall.gov/">Internet For All</a> initiative is moving with speed to deliver on the Infrastructure Act’s goal.&nbsp; We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished in the first year, which includes:<ul><li>Crafting&nbsp;<a href="https://ntia.gov/press-release/2022/biden-harris-administration-launches-45-billion-internet-all-initiative-bring">Notices of Funding Opportunity</a> –&nbsp;ahead of Congress’ deadline – for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD); Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure; and State Digital Equity Planning Grant programs explaining how funding will be awarded and establishing application deadlines for states and territories.</li><li>Obtaining&nbsp;<a href="https://ntia.gov/press-release/2022/biden-harris-administration-s-internet-all-initiative-moves-forward-100">applications</a> from&nbsp;all eligible states and territories—56 in total—to participate in Internet For All.</li><li>Securing&nbsp;247 applications for&nbsp;<a href="https://ntia.gov/press-release/2022/more-235-applications-submitted-biden-harris-administration-s-internet-all-middle">Middle Mile program grants</a>, which will reduce the cost of bringing high-speed Internet service to unserved and underserved communities.</li><li>Awarding more than&nbsp;$1.5 billion in grants to Tribal entities and minority-serving institutions—including&nbsp;more than&nbsp;<a href="https://ntia.gov/press-release/2022/biden-harris-administration-s-tribal-broadband-connectivity-program-hits">$300 million from the Infrastructure Act</a>—to ensure communities that are often the hardest to reach can deploy high-speed Internet service.</li><li>Calling more than&nbsp;2,500 Internet service providers to encourage them to provide data for the forthcoming map of high-speed Internet availability from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), on which NTIA will base its state budget allocations for the BEAD program.</li><li>Hiring Federal Program Officers to&nbsp;cover every state and territory participating in Internet For All to ensure each has a point of contact within NTIA for help with their broadband funding needs.</li><li>Co-hosting local coordination events in&nbsp;six states—and counting!</li><li>Holding&nbsp;<a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/events/past-events">20 listening sessions and office hours as well as 22 webinars</a> to address concerns and questions from applicants.</li><li>Hosting&nbsp;<a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/resources/tribal-nations">seven consultations with hundreds of Tribal leaders</a> to solicit their input on program rules.</li><li>Conducting&nbsp;more than 70 one-on-one technical assistance sessions for applicants of non-competitive programs.</li><li>Responding to&nbsp;more than 360 inquiries across the BEAD, Digital Equity, and Middle Mile programs.</li><li>Addressing state and local government stakeholder groups such as the African American Mayors Association, the Council of State Governments, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, the National Governors Association, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women.</li></ul></blockquote><a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/11/industry-reacts-to-infrastructure-signing-dish-signs-carriage-deal-with-sinclair-bring-your-own-ran/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Photo</a> of signing of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on November 15, 2022, by Ben Kahn from Broadband Breakfast

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has become a signature item of the administration of President Joe Biden.

White House celebrates one year anniversary of bipartisan infrastructure law

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Benjamin Kahn

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 Growth Marketing Manager

<h2>Telehealth takes center stage</h2>Because the pandemic is continually forcing closures and stay-at-home orders, the expansion of <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/get-broadband-grant-alerts-news/craig-settles-is-here-to-discover-what-you-and-your-community-needs">telehealth services</a> has become a critical, normalized service this year as remote health care is a safer, more efficient way to deliver high-quality care.Broadband service is now important to maintaining overall health––healthcare specialists have <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/10/senate-committee-hears-broadband-affordability-regulatory-flex-key-to-reducing-inessential-hospital-visits/">defined</a> broadband services as a social determinant of health. Expanding <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4848328/">telemedicine across rural and Tribal communities</a> remain barriers to better health outcomes for vulnerable populations.The pandemic prompted Congress to extend <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/telehealth-has-potential-to-shift-medical-focus-to-preventative-care-and-wellness/">waivers</a> that allowed patients to take advantage of telehealth services. Domain area experts say the waivers encouraged the growth of telehealth systems, and that investment in telehealth is <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/telehealth-has-potential-to-shift-medical-focus-to-preventative-care-and-wellness/">necessary</a> to improving them.Broadband access and affordability often restrict vulnerable communities’ ability to take advantage of telehealth services. This year saw massive investments focused on funding telehealth subsidies for patients in need.In December alone, the Federal Communications Commission <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/fcc-announces-43-million-in-covid-19-telehealth-subsidies/">announced</a> more than $42.7 million in COVID-19 Telehealth Program awards for health care providers spending on telecommunications information services and devices.The awards also reimburse health care organizations for innovative ideas that connect patients to quality care with broadband.For example, the Westchester County Health Care Corporation in Valhalla, New York, was awarded $1 million for the purchase of remote monitoring software and video equipment, which will allow for the creation of a “tele-ICU” for the provision of remote care for hospitalized patients.In October, a Senate subcommittee heard <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/10/senate-committee-hears-broadband-affordability-regulatory-flex-key-to-reducing-inessential-hospital-visits/">testimony</a> that permanent regulatory flexibility allowing free or subsidized telemedicine services for patients would have a positive impact on patient care. It may have a cost benefit too: FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr estimated that widespread telehealth availability could save the health care system $305 billion a year.<h2>The FCC’s new Affordable Connectivity Fund</h2>The Federal Communications Commission served as an accelerator to better connect communities during the pandemic through its <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/05/fcc-launches-emergency-broadband-benefit-program/">Affordable Connectivity Program</a>.As families and students struggled to stay connected to work and school during the pandemic, the FCC has taken historic steps to assist families can’t afford to pay for internet service and devices.Originally established as the <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/05/fcc-launches-emergency-broadband-benefit-program/">Emergency Broadband Benefit</a>, the Affordable Connectivity Program is the nation’s largest broadband subsidy program to ever be enacted. The Emergency Broadband Benefit was replaced by the Affordable Connectivity Program after the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in November.The Affordable Connectivity Program transformed the Emergency Broadband Benefit into a long-term program that provides discounts for families to purchase internet service and devices. Households can also receive discounts to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet for their home.The Affordable Connectivity Program enrollment period opens on December 31, 2021, allowing families to start the new year with the opportunity to receive new devices for the home.However, a long-standing challenge has been informing the community about these benefits. Policy experts agree that these benefit programs are not reaching the intended audience.A November report showed that areas with low broadband adoption are less likely to enroll in the program.“If leaders want to connect the unconnected, in addition to low income groups, other programs will be needed. EBB isn’t targeting these low-adoption communities,” <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/11/will-rinehart-early-reports-show-the-emergency-broadband-benefit-is-not-reaching-its-intended-audience/">said</a> Will Rinehart, senior fellow at the Center for Growth an Opportunity.FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/09/outreach-most-valuable-thing-for-emergency-broadband-benefit-program/">agreed</a> on the need for emphasizing outreach. “There was no funding to help a lot of these non-profit and local organizations around the country get the word out [about the program],” Rosenworcel said during a September event hosted by the Internet Innovation Alliance about the broadband affordability divide. “And I know that it would get the word out faster if we had that opportunity.”<h2>Digital equity and inclusion</h2>The past year was significant for its focus on digital equity and inclusion.The closing of many public institutions because of the pandemic has forced lower-income communities into isolation without sufficient devices or technology to stay connected.Organizations such as the <a href="https://www.digitalinclusion.org/">National Digital Inclusion Association</a> have decried a type of discrimination known as “digital redlining” in which internet service providers <a href="https://www.digitalinclusion.org/blog/2017/03/10/atts-digital-redlining-of-cleveland/">discriminate</a> in broadband deployment, maintenance, upgrade, or delivery of service in lower-income neighborhoods. Because communities of color are more likely to have slower and less reliable internet service, policy leaders have been active in finding solutions.To combat this alleged practice, Rep. Yvette Clark <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/08/bill-to-address-digital-redlining-exclusivity-agreements-between-providers-and-buildings/">introduced</a> the Anti-Digital Redlining Act on July 30. The bill finds that lower-income residents pay the same for DSL internet as fiber customers, while wealthier residents receive much better internet service.The text of the bill also acknowledges that disparities in internet access “impose significant costs” on the government to choose between “either offering non-digital means of interaction or excluding residents without access to high speed, reliable broadband access.”The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 addressed this issue by tasking the FCC with promulgating rules against "digital discrimination."The IIJA instructs the FCC to enact rules within two years to ensure that all Americans have equal opportunities to subscribe to high speed Internet access regardless of income level, race, ethnicity, color, religion, place of national origin.The law also instructs the commission and the attorney general to ensure that deployments don't discriminate based on "an income level of an area," or the race or ethnicity composition of an area, or based upon "other factors the commission determines to be relevant based on the findings in the record developed from the rulemaking."And the FCC has come come up with model rules and best practices that states and localities can emulate to prohibit discrimination.Lastly, the law instructs the FCC needs to revise its complaint process to accept complaints about discrimination.The law allocated $2.75 billion to the Digital Equity Act, which <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/08/bill-to-address-digital-redlining-exclusivity-agreements-between-providers-and-buildings/">establishes</a> the federal definitions of digital inclusion and digital equity.The Digital Equity Act’s two programs and three grant funds will supply money to the states in order to do digital equity work. For example, the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program gives block grants to states for broadband infrastructure deployment and other digital inclusion activities.BEAD money can be used for installing internet Wi Fi infrastructure or providing reduced costs broadband within multifamily residential buildings, according to the National Digital Inclusion Association Policy Director Amy Huffman.So that means deploying broadband to public housing units, providing adffordable "Internet capable devices" and promoting broadband adoption among those residents as well, she said in a December presentation.IIJA grant recipients will also be required to provide low cost or "affordable" broadband subscription options.<h2>Satellite broadband takes flight</h2>Apart from the high-profile space launches this year, the broadband industry is both excited and skeptical about satellites playing a greater role.In late 2020, the FCC voted to adopt rules making it easier for satellite providers to obtain licensing to deploy satellites faster. In February, Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched 120 Starlink broadband satellites on two February missions, bringing the total number of satellites to over 1,700.Low Earth Orbit satellites, which can bring broadband to rural communities, could connect harder-to-reach communities faster than laying fiber. By May 2021, SpaceX announced it had over 500,000 orders for the Starlink service.Other companies are also jumping into the satellite business: the FCC <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/11/boeing-gets-approval-for-leo-satellites-esri-pilots-broadband-data-program-facebook-investor-calls-metaverse-dystopian/">approved</a> Boeing’s request to launch 132 satellites for its broadband internet network, and Amazon’s satellite imitative Project Kuiper <a href="https://www.verizon.com/about/news/5g-leo-verizon-project-kuiper-team">partnered</a> with Verizon in October to launch an internet service for underserved and unserved communities.However, these massive investments didn’t come without controversy.Apart from <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/critics-concerned-infrastructure-bill-money-will-go-to-satellites-harm-fiber-builds/">concerns</a> about Starlink’s capacity to deliver long-term, high quality service that complies with IIJA, public telecommunications policy leaders say the 12 GigaHertz (GHz) band, the portion of spectrum that Starlink uses for its services, should be shared with 5G operators to deliver internet to lower-income communities.Research commissioned by RS Access in August <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/08/spacex-engineers-clash-over-whether-12-gigahertz-band-can-be-shared-with-5g-operators/">concluded</a> that the mid-band spectrum can be shared between 5G and satellite broadband operators and finding that the 12 GHz spectrum is “highly favorable for 5G,” and “can rapidly accelerate 5G deployment nationwide.”Next year regulators and policymakers will continue the battle to determine who, if anyone, will have greater control over the 12 GHz band.<h2>Will the ‘homework gap’ persist in a world of online education?</h2>Last year’s initial COVID lockdown left many families unprepared and unconnected to devices or internet access and the “homework gap” persisted.In fall 2021, many schools embraced a “hybrid” in-person, virtual schooling model. Around this time, Pew research found that lower-income parents were more likely to say their children did <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/10/01/what-we-know-about-online-learning-and-the-homework-gap-amid-the-pandemic/">homework on a cellphone</a> and could not complete homework because they did not have computer access at home.Some students have been using public Wi-Fi because they could not connect reliably at home. The FCC’s Emergency Connectivity Fund was authorized to help close bring devices to students who lack them.Originally launching in June as part of March’s <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/broadband-grant-resources/broadband-grant-guide">American Rescue Plan Act</a>, the FCC has committed $3.8 billion of the <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/03/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-more-than-7-billion-emergency-connectivity-fund/">$7.17 billion program</a> to provide funding for schools and libraries to buy equipment students to learn remotely.The total amount committed to go to support 9,000 schools, 760 libraries, and 100 consortia for nearly 8.3 million connected devices and over 4.4 million broadband connections, the agency <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=&amp;ved=2ahUKEwj1zYWe7ov1AhVAknIEHSq4Dm0QFnoECAgQAQ&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.fcc.gov%2Fpublic%2Fattachments%2FDOC-378776A1.pdf&amp;usg=AOvVaw2Vw5ilKzkTQYMmYyZnSq86">said</a> last week in a press release.Last week, the FCC <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/fcc-commits-another-603-million-in-emergency-connectivity-fund-money/">committed</a> another $603 million in Emergency Connectivity funds to connect more than 1.4 million students across all 50 states.A version of this post originally appeared at <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/year-in-review-key-developments-for-broadbands-impact-in-the-u-s/">BroadbandBreakfast.com</a>.

High-speed internet access has never seemed more essential than in the days of another year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read about broadband's impact in enabling benefits through expanded internet access.

2021: Key Developments for Broadband’s Impact in the U.S.

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The following are five key themes from 2021 that will have repercussions for next year.<h2>Biden’s historic infrastructure bill</h2>Biden signed into law the <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/11/house-passes-bipartisan-broadband-infrastructure-bill-but-without-reconcilation-measure/">Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act</a> in the middle of November, which allocated $65 billion for broadband. The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration will oversee the distribution of some $42 billion of that pot to the statesThe bill, which was <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/10/house-delays-infrastructure-vote-chinese-equipment-ban-comcast-losses-honoring-evan-kwerel/">stalled</a> for months by Democratic Party negotiations over the timeline to pass the legislation in addition to Biden’s social spending reconciliation package, will represent a key mechanism to increase the affordability of high-speed Internet to hard-to-reach communities, in addition to provisions for clean energy and maintenance on physical transportation.Biden’s legislation was called “once in a generation,” and amounts to one of the most expensive infrastructure investments in U.S. history. The Benton Institute for Broadband and Society <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/11/congress-oks-42-billion-to-deploy-100mbps-broadband-in-unserved-areas/">called it</a> “the largest US investment in broadband deployment ever.”<h2>Eyes on public-private partnerships, efficiency and maps</h2>One key player in the distribution of the funds is former governor of Rhode Island and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who was confirmed by the Senate to head the department in March.Raimondo takes on a lead role in making sure the bills funds are used effectively and that newly funded projects are rolled out smoothly.In her statements around the bill’s passage, she has emphasized need for government to work together with the private sector, for the Federal Communications Commission to continue facilitating and increase efforts for <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/10/localize-broadband-infrastructure-expansion-commerce-secretary-raimondo-says/">granular mapping</a> of broadband availability across the nation so that areas most in need can be properly targeted for projects, and to <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/11/commerce-secretary-raimondo-emphasizes-affordability-fiber-in-infrastructure-bill-presser/">push for fiber</a> connectivity to ensure best outcomes for consumers.Another likely key player is Alan Davidson, who was nominated by Biden to assume the lead role at the NTIA. He has <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/alan-davidsons-ntia-nomination-clears-commerce-committee-on-to-senate-floor">yet to be approved by the Senate for that position</a>.<h2>The growth of Covid welfare programs</h2>In March, Congress passed Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to provide the U.S. economy with a $1.9 trillion stimulus for COVID-19 pandemic relief.ARPA was among the largest stimulus plans in U.S. history, which provided grants to state and local governments through its Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund.Several entities used these funds to strengthen broadband infrastructure in their communities, including several across Illinois through the state’s <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/get-broadband-grant-alerts-news/university-of-illinois-extension-announces-collaboration-to-expand-community-broadband">ARPA Accelerator program</a>.The bill also provided local governments funds that could be used for broadband development through the Capital Projects Fund.Additionally, ARPA funded the Federal Communications Commission’s $7.17 billion <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/fcc-commits-another-603-million-in-emergency-connectivity-fund-money/">Emergency Connectivity Fund</a> to provide tools and services necessary for remote learning to schools and libraries so that they can connect more students in need.The fund covers reasonable costs of laptop and tablet computers, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers and broadband connectivity purchases. The program is consistent with the vision of Biden’s pick to head the FCCJessica Rosenworcel, who was <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/rosenworcel-confirmed-rohingya-meta-class-action-ftth-builds-increase-wow-offers-1-gig/">confirmed by the Senate this month</a>. Rosenworcel has spent her career addressing this issue and is widely recognized as the first to coin the term “<a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/10/national-non-profit-to-launch-joint-initiative-to-close-broadband-affordability-and-homework-gap/">homework gap</a>” to describe the challenges disadvantaged students face in completing school assignments due to digital connectivity barriers.<h2>Supply chain woes</h2>By mid 2021, global supply chain issues, which held up supplies and created product shortages, began to mount and push deep into the back half of the year.The technology and broadband industries were impacted by these conditions, as they did not have the necessary materials to manufacture products and they additionally faced an international workforce shortage.One critical area of concern is fiber builds. Dean Mischke, vice president of Finley Engineering Company, which builds out telecommunications infrastructure, warned companies that they need to get ahead of <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/companies-need-to-get-ahead-on-inventory-to-escape-supply-chain-disruptions/">supply purchases beyond next year to secure key fiber supplies</a>.In Vermont, a public-private partnership came together to purchase thousands of miles of fiber cable at a fixed cost from a cooperative, which said it is <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/get-broadband-grant-alerts-news/vermont-public-private-partnership-buys-stretch-of-fiber">expected to see its cost rise by 35 percent due to supply chain issues and inflation</a>.With federal money raining down on the states, these issues will be a focal point for 2022.As if that wasn’t enough, the tech and wireless world saw critical shortages of semiconductor chips. In our ever-more online world, any shortage in essential parts for digital devices is going to be a problem. And it’s been a problem for many months. The a bipartisan bill was introduced to combat the shortage back in June 2020.Commerce Secretary Raimondo said that Biden plans to address the shortage by incentivizing domestic production of chips.The trade war between the U.S. and China is commonly cited as another cause of the shortage. Just this month, the U.S. Department of Defense <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/senate-commerce-urges-facebook-probe-chinese-export-restrictions-microsoft-iot-security-survey/">restricted exports</a> of critical technology to a leading Chinese semiconductor manufacturer due to its alleged ties to China’s military.The ongoing issues have contributed to inflationary pricing among commodities such as groceries and gasoline, the prices of which have peaked in recent months.<h2>U.S. gets tough on Chinese telecom</h2>Throughout the year, the U.S. government took several steps to cut ties with Chinese telecom companies it believes to be aligned with the Chinese government.A recent Washington Post investigation found that large telecom equipment manufacturer Huawei Technologies has been more involved with Chinese government surveillance efforts than previously revealed. The corporation had previously denied involvement and said it only sells general purpose networking gear.Huawei was a big target for the U.S. government, along with several other equipment manufacturers, including ZTE. And axing Chinese companies from the U.S. market represented one of the only common goals of both the Biden and Donald Trump administrations.In June, the FCC voted to stop authorizing equipment from manufacturers such as ZTE and Huawei, and in July to rip and replace from U.S. infrastructure that same equipment – a move that cost $1.9 billion.In October, Congress with near unanimous support passed a bipartisan bill prohibiting the FCC from “reviewing or issuing new equipment licenses to companies on” the list of companies that it considers security threats. Moreover, at the beginning of this month, the Biden administration <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/biden-acts-on-surveillance-florida-broadband-maps-free-state-wants-constitutional-spectrum/">announced initiatives</a> with international allies to track and combat surveillance in authoritarian countries such as China.Followed soon after was the DoD’s restrictions on trade to the Chinese semiconductor industry were announced.The Biden administration’s action on China finds bipartisan support.A version of this <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/year-in-review-key-developments-in-digital-infrastructure-with-ramifications-for-next-year/">story</a> first appeared on <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/">BroadbandBreakfast.com</a>

Five key themes from 2021 that will have repercussions for next year's digital infrastructure plans

2021: Key Developments in Digital Infrastructure with Ramifications for Next Year

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Alaska’s remoteness might lead the state to receive a majority of federal government funds allotted to broadband for Tribal communities.“Alaska is going to be one of the highest areas of need,” said Hallie Bissett, executive director of the Alaska Native Village Corporation Association, speaking at a Congressional Senate Indian Affairs Committee <a href="https://www.indian.senate.gov/hearing/roundtable-discussion-closing-digital-divide-native-communities-through-infrastructure">hearing</a> Wednesday.As many as 233 of Alaska’s native communities do not have access to broadband at 25 Megabits per second (Mbps) download x 3 Mbps upload service, she said. “That’s unserved, everybody. Unserved. Not underserved.”The committee’s Wednesday hearing on “<a href="https://www.indian.senate.gov/hearing/roundtable-discussion-closing-digital-divide-native-communities-through-infrastructure">Closing the Digital Divide in Native Communities Through Infrastructure Investment</a>” aimed to collect feedback on distribution of Tribal broadband funds.'More money needs to be spent on better broadband access for education in Tribal communities. Manuel Hart, chairman of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in Towaoc, Colorado, said, “We’ve had to put in hotspots where parents can bring their students to the parking lot just to access the internet.”Hart said his communities have no access to <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/federal-court-blocks-social-media-law-illinois-broadband-initiative-fiber-leads-for-telecom-giants/">fiber</a> and need fiber to every home in his community.Panelists also discussed access to <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/telehealth-has-potential-to-shift-medical-focus-to-preventative-care-and-wellness/">telehealth</a> as the <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/fcc-announces-43-million-in-covid-19-telehealth-subsidies/">pandemic</a> continues.William Smith, a veteran and a spokesperson from the National Indian Health Board, said that if the government fiscally bolsters telehealth programs within Tribal communities, residents will be able to save money and access the healthcare they might not otherwise receive.A version of this post, by Theodora Soter, originally <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2022/01/alaska-predicted-to-receive-a-majority-of-tribal-broadband-funds/">appeared</a> at BroadbandBreakfast.

Alaska’s remoteness might lead the state to receive a majority of federal government funds allotted to broadband for Tribal communities.

Alaska Predicted to Receive a Majority of Tribal Broadband Funds

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Broadband Breakfast

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Utah has long been a pioneer in broadband planning. The state has its own broadband map and State Broadband Office Director Rebecca Dilg has<a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2022/08/states-are-making-their-own-broadband-maps-to-challenge-the-fccs-data/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> said</a> that it plans to use its map to "challenge location-level coverage claims in the cases of multi-dwelling buildings where federal maps would claim a location is served without considering multi-tenant living situations," according to Broadband Breakfast.&nbsp;The Biden administration announced late November that it is awarding $5.6 million to the state to enable it to plan for the flood of Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding expected to come its way.&nbsp;Like most other states, Utah will receive $100 million. But will also receive a proportion of federal funding depending on the number of unserved (under 25/3 Mbps) and underserved (under 100/20 Mbps) locations as defined by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.&nbsp;Broadband.money <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/utah" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">estimates </a>that this will vary between $397.8 M - $416.7 Million.The Biden administration, for its part, estimates that the planning grants help Dilg's office to:<ul><li>Identify unserved and underserved locations;</li><li>Train employees of Utah’s broadband program and increase office capacity;</li><li>Map and catalogue high-speed Internet service adoption, affordability, equity, access and deployment across the state</li><li>Develop the “All Utah, All Online” project, a five-year action plan supported by the precise assessment of current Internet service speeds and a better understanding of barriers.</li></ul><h3>Digital Equity</h3>As the Biden administration's National Telecommunications and Information Administration says itself: "The Digital Equity Act provides $2.75 billion to establish three grant programs to ensure that all people and communities have the skills, technology, and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of our digital economy.&nbsp;The first part of NTIA’s execution of the Digital Equity Act is to fund digital equity planning efforts."Utah will receive $676,684.53 to fund various activities including:<ul><li>Development of a statewide digital equity plan;</li><li>Building digital access program capacity;</li><li>Provision of funding to create local digital equity plans.</li></ul>Broadband.money can help you win your region's fair share of funding to get everyone connected.We have the <a href="https://broadband.money/how-it-works" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tools and data</a> you need to create detailed broadband grant proposals that will make a real impact in your community.&nbsp;Identify <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-audits" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">unserved and underserved locations</a>, as well as <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-grant-portals" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">map assets across your service area </a>to catalogue high-speed Internet service adoption, affordability, equity, access and deployment.&nbsp;We have the tools to help you develop a 5-year action plan supported by the precise assessment of current Internet service speeds, as<a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/BEAD%20NOFO.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> required </a>by the IIJA.Find out more. Contact <a href="mailto:inquiries@broadband.money" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">us</a>.&nbsp;

Utah, long a broadband pioneer, wins $5.6 million in a BEAD planning grant 

Utah lands $5.6 million in "Internet for All" planning grants

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Ready.net, Inc. is pleased to announce that Shannan Williams-Mitchem has joined the company as Director of Community Outreach and Research as of November 14.Williams-Mitchem joins us from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), where she was appointed as Deputy Director of the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives in the administration’s Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OIGC). NTIA is an agency within the Department of Commerce.While at NTIA, Williams-Mitchem helped lead the management of the Connecting Minority Communities (CMC) pilot program—a $265 million investment in expanding broadband access to minority serving institutions and their anchor communities. &nbsp;She served a pivotal role in streamlining the CMC applicant review and selection processes, developing outreach plans to engage stakeholders, and supporting the development of research plans and recommendations.In her leadership role at NTIA, Williams-Mitchem was a firm advocate for greater engagement within unserved and underserved communities of color in meeting NTIA’s goals for digital equity through engagement with trusted partners, local service providers and community anchor institutions.At Ready, Williams-Mitchem is thrilled to join a highly skilled and innovative team that is building technological tools to address the critical issue of broadband access and digital equity.“Ready.net’s tools are a game changer for communities in bridging the digital divide. I’m so excited to share these amazing tools and to be a part of a team innovating at warp speed to make real and tremendous change,” she said.Williams-Mitchem will support Ready's nationwide <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-audits" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband Audit</a> mapping system and the <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-guides/community-kit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Community Broadband Kit </a>to states and localities.She will also support Ready’s work with state broadband offices and local governments, and she’ll lead partnerships with institutions interested in using Ready’s data platform. She’ll be there to help them to obtain deep insights into underserved and unserved communities so that they can ensure equitable distribution of the historic federal funding opportunities.Prior to her time at NTIA, Williams-Mitchem worked for nearly 10 years at the <a href="https://www.nist.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">National Institute of Standards and Technology</a> (NIST), a sister agency to NTIA within Commerce. At NIST, she led high profile research and standards reform initiatives in the Special Programs Office.She gained invaluable change management and business development skills as an Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, a management consulting firm. She also has experience working directly in state and local governments, having worked for the State of Maryland and serving as a Mayoral Fellow for the City of Chicago.Williams-Mitchem is a graduate of the Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She obtained her Master’s in Public Policy with a concentration in Urban Economic Development in 2009. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County graduating Magna Cum Laude and as a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar in 2007.

Williams-Mitchem joins us from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, where she was Deputy Director of the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives

NTIA Leader Shannan Williams-Mitchem joins Ready.net as Director of Research

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Some people who have challenged the accuracy of the Federal Communications Commission’s national broadband map are being met with an unpleasant surprise: After completing the process, they’ve discovered that the FCC’s map publishes their submission online without first informing them prominently that it had planned to do so.&nbsp;“I submitted a challenge for my house which included my name, address, and a contact number. As I was filling out the form there was no heads-up this was going to be published verbatim on the map. Now when I search for my address I can pull up the whole thing, in all its personally-identifiable glory. I can see my neighbors' challenges, too, though they had the foresight to not give their identities away,” wrote the individual, whose identity won’t be disclosed for obvious reasons. (The individual gave permission to share this experience.)&nbsp;“It sure seems like the challenge form should have in big flashing letters: "the whole internet will be able to see what you're about to write here". What if someone included their Comcast account number? Someone with far too much time on their hands could do bad things,”&nbsp;The FCC only discloses that it “may” publish the details of your individually-submitted challenge information&nbsp;publicly online&nbsp;in its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fcc.gov/BroadbandData/privacy">BDC Privacy Act Statement.</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/Challlenge_Privacy_Act_Disclaimer_fa43b00fbb/Challlenge_Privacy_Act_Disclaimer_fa43b00fbb.png"></figure>That’s a hyperlink at the very bottom of its “Privacy Act Statement” at the bottom of the challenge form. It’s something that most people are unlikely to click on.That's in contrast to many state broadband map collection efforts, which often shield internet service providers and others from disclosing their business and service subscription information from public disclosure. And unlike the FCC's fabric map, do not make any ownership claims on the information.&nbsp;State broadband offices can take the lead on this issue when asking their residents to submit challenge information by collecting the information in bulk and then submitting the information in bulk to the FCC.&nbsp;For example, the office of <a href="https://broadbandms.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi</a> doesn't collect people's names when collecting challenge information. Neither does the Washington State University Extension, which is helping the Washington State broadband office collect crowdsourced data to <a href="https://www.commerce.wa.gov/building-infrastructure/washington-statewide-broadband-act/fcc-broadband-mapping/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">assist with bulk challenges to the FCC Broadband Map</a>.Federal privacy law requires the federal government to tell citizens what information it collects about them and how it uses it. That’s the reason that the FCC’s broadband map comes with the Privacy Act statement attached.&nbsp;The FCC's map also comes with a number of other types of disclaimers, such as the fact that you, as the submitter of the information, are allowing “the FCC to retain full, unlimited rights to any information and/or data submitted to the FCC,” as well as to a third-party vendor.&nbsp;A FCC spokesperson did not respond to a query about these clauses. Broadband.money can help states to gather challenge information with its community broadband kit and cloud-based software system.&nbsp;

Some people who have challenged the accuracy of the Federal Communications Commission’s national broadband map are being met with an unpleasant surprise: After completing the process, they’ve discovered that the FCC’s map publishes their submission online without first informing them prominently that it had planned to do so. 

Skip privacy worries with with batch map challenges

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A coalition of more than 100 schools, libraries, housing groups and the Kansas Office of Broadband Development <a href="https://www.educationsuperhighway.org/announcements/national-broadband-map/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">asked</a> the Federal Communications Commission's Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on Tuesday to pause the challenge process for its broadband map and re-think the way it accounts for multi-dwelling units such as apartment buildings and community anchor institutions.&nbsp;“We hope the FCC will do this on its own, but we're garnering support from the Senate side,” said Scott Quinn, <a href="https://www.educationsuperhighway.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Education Superhighway</a>'s director of government affairs and policy in an interview.&nbsp;The coalition's communication was spearheaded by the national non-profit Education SuperHighway and the <a href="https://www.shlb.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Schools, Health &amp; Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition</a>.Currently, the <a href="https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">FCC's broadband map</a> may only count one broadband serviceable location for a multi-dwelling unit (MDU) when there may be hundreds of families living in an apartment building. Both the FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) have asked the public and states to fact-check its map by submitting challenges. The deadline for the challenges is January 13th.&nbsp;The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) grant funding is allocated based on the number of unserved and underserved broadband serviceable locations each state has as a proportion of the rest of the country's locations. So millions of dollars that are meant to go towards closing the digital divide are at stake. &nbsp;The FCC's map is composed of self-reported data from ISPs. The coalition says that it's unfair to place the burden of proving ISP's claims wrong on low-income families living in apartment buildings.“It is naive and unfair to assume that millions of unserved households located in high-poverty areas will be able to mount a successful broadband availability challenge, especially in the limited amount of time that the FCC has allotted to submit challenges that can be taken into consideration by NTIA in the BEAD and [Digital Equity] allocation process,” wrote Evan Marwell, Education SuperHighway's founder and CEO and John Windhausen, the SHLB coalition's CEO.&nbsp;The leaders also worried about the FCC map's lack of accounting of broadband serviceable locations to community anchor institutions – especially to smaller schools, libraries and hospitals that don't subscribe to “enterprise” broadband services.&nbsp;The coalition pointed out that the map's approach conflicts with one of the conclusions of its' own reports and orders issued in January 2021.It also pointed out that the FCC map's current approach doesn't square with the IIJA's instruction that anchor institutions that don't subscribe to gigabit broadband networks should be considered “unserved” and thus eligible for BEAD grants.&nbsp;The coalition wants the FCC to assume that all MDUs are unconnected, and to make service providers submit challenges that include an accurate unit count, highest available speeds available to those units, unit-by-unit connectivity status, and and an accounting for the “total actual capacity currently provisioned to the building accounting for both infrastructure type and premise equipment and hardware, and artifacts proving that ALL units within a building have the infrastructure necessary to simultaneously qualify as connected (100/20Mbps) or under-connected (25/3Mbps), as defined by the IIJA.”&nbsp;The coalition also wants the FCC's map to automatically designate by default anchor institutions as broadband serviceable locations unless an ISP can show otherwise. And it wants the FCC to ensures that its focuses on MDUs wth high proportions of unserved housholds and those with household incomes that are at or below 150 percent of the poverty line, as specified in the <a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/BEAD%20NOFO.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NTIA's BEAD Notice of Funding Opportunity</a>. &nbsp;The coalition noted in its letter that up to a quarter of unconnected households in the United States live in public and multi-family housing, and these are often constitute the lowest income families.Ready.net/Broadband.money's subscribers can <a href="https://ready.net/blog/announcing-serviceable-location-level-insights-secondary-addresses-and-anchor-institution-data-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">use our mapping data</a> to map secondary addresses found at MDUs and anchor institutions. This data can be use to challenge the FCC's map, which the FCC calls “fabric.”&nbsp;

A coalition of more than 100 schools, libraries, housing groups asked the FCC Chairwoman to rethink how its broadband map accounts for apartment dwellers and community institutions

Coalition calls for FCC  to rethink how it maps MDUs and Community Anchor Institutions

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Kansas has a new director of its Office of Broadband Development. The state's Lieutenant Governor and Commerce Secretary David Toland recently appointed Jade Piros de Carvalho to fill the role.&nbsp;She comes from the independent rural internet service provider <a href="https://ideatek.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ideatek</a>, where she was its director of industry and community relations for six and a half years. She is also the mayor of Hutchinson, a city of 40,000 northwest of Wichita. &nbsp;“I will be in charge of administering broadband acceleration grants as part of the 10-year Kansas Comprehensive Transportation Plan passed in 2020. It will distribute $5 million the first year and $10 million annually the next seven,” she <a href="https://www.hutchnews.com/story/news/2022/06/06/hutchinson-mayor-jade-piros-de-carvalho-join-commerce-department-oversee-kansas-broadband-expansion/7481783001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">told </a>The Hutchinson News.&nbsp;Ideatek received one of those grants in early May. It was also one of the ISPs that participated in the recent <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/09/fact-sheet-president-biden-and-vice-president-harris-reduce-high-speed-internet-costs-for-millions-of-americans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announcement </a>from the Biden administration that it had brokered a deal to provide free and discounted internet service to low income Americans.&nbsp;Piros de Carvalho sounds perfect for the role: She was in charge of Ideatek's advocacy efforts for broadband expansion, as well as digital equity. And as mayor, she takes a strong <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xatz5u_AS0&amp;t=216s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">interest </a>in Hutchinson's general infrastructure.&nbsp;You can find out more about Kansas' broadband profile and explore its current broadband coverage and demographic data through our Kansas state <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/kansas" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">profile page and portal</a>. &nbsp;

Ideatek exec and Hutchinson Mayor Jade Piros de Carvalho is Kansas' new broadband director. 

Ideatek's Jade Piros de Carvalho is Kansas' new director of Office of Broadband Development

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<a href="https://www.tribalcommunicationsllc.com/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tribal Communications</a>, LLC announces a new partnership with&nbsp;<a href="https://t.sidekickopen13.com/s3t/c/5/f18dQhb0S7kF8cpmFZVlY45G59hl3kW7_k2841CX6NGW36PLjD2Swq72W2PqZkh4_jLv_f197v5Y04?te=W3R5hFj4cm2zwW49KtVq4r5rrL348-2&amp;si=8000000021956085&amp;pi=60d45741-7698-48f0-9bea-fe8d730970e8">Ready.net&nbsp;</a>(Ready) /&nbsp;<a href="https://www.broadband.money">Broadband.money</a>&nbsp;that will expand both companies’ capacity to support broadband, digital equity, and other broadband and telecommunications projects with Tribal Nations, entities, and enterprises.&nbsp;As unprecedented federal funding is deployed across the country, TC and Ready are committed to championing Tribal sovereignty, self-determination, and economic independence by creating robust Tribally-owned and operated broadband services.“Our partnership with Ready.net through Broadband.money allows us to access more technology and expertise for Indian Country,” said Joe Valandra (Sicangu Lakota), Senior Vice President of Tribal Communications.&nbsp;“Together, we are launching a custom Tribal Community Broadband Toolkit that will allow Tribes to establish their own empirical connectivity data and profiles, as well as a Tribal Broadband Community on Broadband.money, an information, communication and resource platform for Tribes.”&nbsp;The partnership is focused on developing and expanding expertise, technology, partners, and opportunities to expand broadband services, network infrastructure, and digital equity in partnership with Tribes. Ready helps broadband professionals connect more people to better services through its cloud-based software and data tools. In addition to its expertise in broadband and planning services, Tribal Communications brings decades of leadership, economic development, and tribal relations experience.&nbsp;“It’s time Tribes everywhere get strong, reliable access to broadband,” said Ready’s Co-Founder and CEO, Jase Wilson. “Tribal Communications has the authentic leadership, experience, and track record to get the job done. We’re excited to help them with our purpose-built tools to help Tribes win their fair share of broadband resources.”Leveraging the data and technology of <a href="https://www.ready.net" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ready</a>’s <a href="https://www.broadband.money" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">broadband.money </a>platform, TC will work with Tribes to streamline processes for broadband grant research, applications, and ongoing reporting &amp; compliance. Given the unique challenges (e.g., capacity and resources) for Tribes to navigate broadband expansion for their reservations, the partnership will provide tools that make funding and planning processes faster, easier, and more accurate by bringing together multiple data sets and workflow tools in an easy-to-use interface.&nbsp;TC’s leadership has been a leading voice and advocate in D.C. and throughout Indian Country. They are working with Tribes and states throughout the country to navigate policy, funding, and the unique challenges that come with expanding broadband services and infrastructure.&nbsp;Tribal Communications, LLC, is a subsidiary of Tribal Solutions Group, LLC, a national company with a long history and successful track record of partnering with Tribes and Tribal enterprises across the United States. Both TC and Ready are committed to being community partners dedicated to closing the digital divide throughout Indian Country. About <a href="https://t.sidekickopen13.com/s3t/c/5/f18dQhb0S7kF8cpmFZVlY45G59hl3kW7_k2841CX6NGW36PLjD2Swq72W2PqZkh4_jLv_f197v5Y04?te=W3R5hFj4cm2zwW4mKLS-4fM_MTW3zd5Rm3_X5XxW3SYLpP3T1MdZW3ZY6lb3Fbt5S0&amp;si=8000000021956085&amp;pi=60d45741-7698-48f0-9bea-fe8d730970e8">Tribal Communications, LLC</a>Tribal Communications champions Tribal sovereignty, self-determination, and economic independence by creating Tribally owned and operated broadband &amp; wireless services. Our mission is to provide world-class consulting services to Tribal nations, entities, and enterprises to help solve the unique challenges of bringing high-speed broadband and wireless services to all of Indian Country.&nbsp;Our vision is to help create digitally connected Tribal communities with limitless opportunities that will strengthen the economic sovereignty of Indian Country.About <a href="https://t.sidekickopen13.com/s3t/c/5/f18dQhb0S7kF8cpmFZVlY45G59hl3kW7_k2841CX6NGW36PLjD2Swq72W2PqZkh4_jLv_f197v5Y04?te=W3R5hFj4cm2zwW49KtVq4r5rrL348-2&amp;si=8000000021956085&amp;pi=60d45741-7698-48f0-9bea-fe8d730970e8">Ready.net, Inc.</a> / <a href="https://t.sidekickopen13.com/s3t/c/5/f18dQhb0S7kF8cpmFZVlY45G59hl3kW7_k2841CX6NGW36PLjD2Swq72W2PqZkh4_jLv_f197v5Y04?te=W3R5hFj4cm2zwW4mKLS-3Cf9cZW3H3Bq63GGZPhf41RkZt04&amp;si=8000000021956085&amp;pi=60d45741-7698-48f0-9bea-fe8d730970e8">Broadband.money </a>Ready makes cloud-based software and data tools built from the ground up to help local broadband providers and local communities win. Ready makes it easy for local ISPs to acquire, retain, and monetize subscribers. Cross-sell premium digital services, like telemedicine and streaming services. Run promotional campaigns. Reward loyal subscribers. Finance network growth. &nbsp;

Partners bring together experience, resources, and relationships to support and position Tribes across the country to expand broadband internet across Indian Country.

Tribal Communications partners with Ready.net to close the digital divide in Indian country

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<a href="https://www.nheconomy.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">New Hampshire's Department of Business and Economic Affairs </a>issued a <a href="https://www.nheconomy.com/getmedia/20c9a02c-6796-4b1d-adf4-03aef59e8495/20220602_BB-Statewide-Build_-RFP2022-11.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">request for proposal </a>for the building of broadband networks in unserved and underserved areas of its state on Friday.&nbsp;The RFP is available <a href="https://www.nheconomy.com/getmedia/20c9a02c-6796-4b1d-adf4-03aef59e8495/20220602_BB-Statewide-Build_-RFP2022-11.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.&nbsp;Here are some of the details:&nbsp;<blockquote>When the COVID-19 pandemic began in early-2020 shuttering businesses and schools throughout New Hampshire, officials recognized the opportunity being lost on some of the most rural residents who had limited access to a reliable internet connection.&nbsp;This lack of connectivity prevented children from learning, families from working, and individuals from being able to seek critical health care services.In 2020 when Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the State of New Hampshire made the decision to allocate it’s $13 million grant to enhance broadband infrastructure in New Hampshire’s most rural regions.&nbsp;In total, New Hampshire funded 16 projects that brought connectivity to over 4,500 households.&nbsp;Since the development of this infrastructure, the State has heard countless testimonials from residents whose children were able to maintain their schooling and who were able to keep their jobs even though the world had shifted into remote access – opportunities that were only possible because of the investment that the State made in critical broadbandinfrastructure.Section 9901 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) amended Section 604 of the Social Security Act (SSA) to include a provision for the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (CPF), giving states access to federal grants to invest in projects that meet three main criteria: • Invest in capital assets designed to directly enable work, education, and health monitoring; • Address a critical need that resulted from or was made apparent or exacerbated by the COVID-19 public health emergency; and • Are designed to address a critical need of the community to be served by in.2 New Hampshire has allocated CPF funding to continue its work to expand broadband infrastructure across the state and bring broadband access to households and businesses that are currently unserved1 by an existing broadband network.The Agency is seeking proposals from qualified applicants to provide high speed broadband connectivity (100Mbps symmetrical upload and download speeds) to as many unserved New Hampshire properties, residences, and businesses as possible; at the least cost to the Agency; and in compliance with all issued CPF guidance and requirements.The Agency anticipates awarding this contract to a single applicant. As ARPA federal funds are being used, the Grant Agreement issued will be a sub-award and BEA will be ensuring compliance with all federal guidance and requirements, including the applicable requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 200 (Uniform Guidance) or 2 CFR 200.The winning bidder will be awarded a portion of the allocated CPF funds, not to exceed $50 million.Projects must be completed as soon as possible but no later than December 31, 2026, including the submission and approval of all project closeout documentation to BEA.&nbsp;</blockquote>Grant seekers can explore Broadband Money's detailed New Hampshire <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-map/new-hampshire" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">connectivity and demographic maps</a>. The <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/new-hampshire" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">maps</a> also offer yield-on-cost snapshots, among other things.&nbsp;

New Hampshire's Department of Business and Economic Affairs is looking to connect unserved and underserved communities.

New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs issues broadband RFP

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KEYSTONE, Colorado, May 24, 2022 – The&nbsp;National Telecommunications and Information Administration is attempting &nbsp;to balance stakeholder demands to ensure new entrants to the broadband marketplace, while making certain the agency is a good shepherd of the federal funds, the administrator of the U.S. Department of Commerce agency said here Tuesday.&nbsp;Alan Davidson, the assistant secretary of Commerce responsible for the agency that is spending the lion’s share of federal broadband money, said that NTIA will consider affordability to be an important consideration in making awards.&nbsp;In a discussion with Broadband Breakfast editor and publisher Drew Clark, the pair reviewed the NTIA’s guidelines governing three new broadband grant programs that will see more than $45 billion in federal funding dispersed over the next few years.&nbsp;Three <a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/BEAD%20NOFO.pdf">Notices of Funding Opportunity</a> were released on May 13, 2022. The largest one is for the <a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/resources/grant-programs/broadband-equity-access-and-deployment-bead-program">Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program</a>, a $42.5-billion-dollar program aimed at expanding last-mile, high-speed Internet access across the United States.&nbsp;Davidson referred to the released NOFO as the “starting gun” signaling for states to begin the sprint toward making funding and infrastructure deployment plans to connect local unserved and underserved communities to futureproof Internet connections.&nbsp;Less than a week since the release of the notices, 25 states and territories have already submitted Letters of Intent to participate in the program, with 35 states and territories stating they intend to submit an initial proposal to access a share of the federal funding by the July 18, 2022, deadline.&nbsp;<h4>Process for states to apply</h4>&nbsp;The NOFO requires that grant recipients offer both low-cost service options and middle-class affordability plans over the resulting infrastructure. The NOFO offers states examples of different affordability plans to model, while also giving states the flexibility to define what can be deemed “affordable” within their borders.&nbsp;Further, BEAD requires robust stakeholder engagement, and gives preference to grant applicants pursuing public-private partnerships, as well as those which demonstrate they have coordinated with local and Tribal Governments, and community-based organizations, in the creation of their applications.&nbsp;In an effort to bolster economic development and the creation of new jobs within the United States, the NOFO includes a “Buy America” statute, which requires grant recipients purchase 55% of all network components being used from American manufacturers. During the keynote, Davidson reiterated that the NTIA will prioritize the deployment of fiber infrastructure over other technologies, including cable, DSL, and satellite.&nbsp;Davidson explained that increased state and federal oversight should be expected to ensure federal broadband funds go to the localities where they are most needed. Oversight requirements are largely spelled out in the statute, but grant recipients can expect more post-award reporting requirements than have been necessitated by previous federal programs.&nbsp;Davidson’s presentation raised some questions surrounding well-known industry supply chain issues, the shortage of fiber technicians nationally, and the issue of BEAD grant dollars being considered taxable income. Davidson replied to the raised concerns stating that the NTIA is eager to hear about stakeholder’s pain points, and that he predicts there will be an ongoing process of working with states on these issues.&nbsp;A <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2022/05/broadband-notice-of-funding-availability-seeks-to-balance-requirements-with-flexibility/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">version of this article was also published</a> on Broadband Breakfast.

NTIA's Alan Davidson says NOFO requires that grant recipients offer both low-cost service options and middle-class affordability plans.

Broadband NOFO Seeks to Balance Requirements with Flexibility, Says NTIA Chief

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<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe src="https://pitch.com/public/0b5632e7-def1-4d8b-9bc1-7cd2a02fa792/e273308a-0904-4c8a-91f6-d827b1786e9c" allow="fullscreen" class="pitch" width="720" height="480"></iframe></div>Broadband.money is working to help local communities to win and defend their share of broadband grant funding.Pioneering local broadband champions – like those in the city of Detroit — get their own <a href="http://detroitspeed.broadband.money/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Community Broadband Kit</a> to collect on-the-ground broadband performance tests and survey data, so that they can determine their own broadband needs and present them in empirical form to broadband grant makers and service providers.<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/Detroit_Community_Kit_4b79c92889.png"></figure>Broadband.money’s Community Broadband Kit contains a built-in messaging system with a custom-branded template to invite individuals and community anchor institutions to participate. It also contains instructions with tips and guidance for getting the test in front of communities.The kit was inspired by a presentation conducted this May during the Mountain Connect conference, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79G1uR0u57c" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a talk </a>given this past June by a MLab’s Project Director Lai-Yi Ohlsen and the Marconi Society’s National Broadband Mapping Coalition Program Manager Dustin Loup.The session was about how local communities can most effectively measure and map broadband availability and coverage in their areas. The duo <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EUjbdDxsMy2azZK_f48qF7K9V3ta2r0Ac7iOWvA66Y4/edit">recommended</a> and provided useful guidance including the recommendation to include multiple tests in performance tests in order to get a more comprehensive view of an area’s connectivity, since the different tests use different methodologies. This <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vLl24JtINLXOL_KY8aZRmNH8jlNfE2gNHUhUuTKgW8Y/edit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">document</a> provides further details of their recommendations, as well as recommendations from the Broadband Mapping Coalition. Broadband.money’s Broadband Community Kit has incorporated these recommendations.Ohlsen and Loup’s performance and survey test recommendations are being built into an open-source broadband performance test that can be widely distributed online and adopted by thousands of communities and regional and local providers across the country to generate the empirical data they need to win and defend their broadband grants against incumbent telecom providers making bogus claims a about areas that they already serve, but in fact don’t.One of the flagship locations that demonstrates this constant battle is the city of Detroit, where <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroits-plan-for-equal-internet-access-starts-with-hope-village/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more than a quarter of residents </a>don’t have access to high-speed broadband, and <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/09/detroit-bridges-internet-access-digital-divide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">70 percent of school age children don’t have broadband at home</a>. A lawsuit was also filed against an incumbent carrier in 2017 accusing it of <a href="https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/features/the-broadband-gaps-dirty-secret-redlining-still-exists-in-digital-form/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">digital redlining</a> after an academic published a study showing that the carrier hadn’t made significant investments in its networks in census blocks with poverty rates above 35 percent. The carrier denied that it ignores high poverty areas.More recently, thousands of Detroiters suffered from a 45 day internet outage from a commercial provider during the height of the pandemic last year. (You can hear more about that in the podcast episode below. It is also downloadable through <a href="<iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/qLpBdWMdM9s&quot; title=&quot;YouTube video player&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture&quot; allowfullscreen></iframe>" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="<iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/qLpBdWMdM9s&quot; title=&quot;YouTube video player&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture&quot; allowfullscreen></iframe>" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a0f3b57a-4999-4372-9071-9d2ed1caa324/ready-or-not-with-scott-d-woods-esq?refMarker=null" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amazon</a>, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.)<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qLpBdWMdM9s" title="YouTube video player" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>Now Detroiters will be able to use our <a href="http://detroitspeed.broadband.money">Broadband Community Kit</a> to conduct a <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/broadband-audit">broadband audit</a> to demonstrate their level of need.A broadband audit is a statistically valid survey of a census block or other local geographic areas defined by state grant making authorities for <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/broadband">broadband</a> availability.The survey would consist of internet performance measurements undertaken multiple times a day under varying network traffic conditions, but under established parameters, such as the distances packets of data have to travel between specified servers.Performance, as defined by the <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/117/hr3684/text">Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act</a>, includes measurements of upload and download speeds and latency.Local communities and providers can dispute their state broadband office’s broadband connectivity profiles of their communities with challenges backed up by their broadband audits.The Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act requires each state and territory to conduct a challenge process before they can be given their allotted funding as determined by an IIJA formula.That process enables local governments, nonprofit organizations, or providers to challenge state and territories’ determinations of local areas’ connectivity and grant funding needs as defined by number of locations that are unserved and underserved in their IIJA BEAD grant funding application to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The worry is that states may undercount the number of locations needing grant funding because of exaggerated coverage claims by incumbent providers, or because of other faulty data. &nbsp;The IIJA determines that locations are unserved if they have connections that can only manage speeds of less than 25/3 Mbps upload/download. Underserved areas are those locations that have connections that offer speeds of less than 100/20 Mbps.The Community Broadband Kit is in beta and will be launched for public use mid September, ahead of the eligibility and challenge processes.

Broadband.money is working to help local communities win and defend their share of broadband grant funding. 

Detroit residents to conduct their own broadband audit after historic outage

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When she was very young, Shirley Bloomfield used to <a href="https://www.ntca.org/ruraliscool/newsroom/every-little-girl-can-grow-be-chairwoman-fcc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tell </a>her parents that she was going to be the first Jewish woman president of the United States.The CEO of <a href="https://www.ntca.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NTCA – the Rural Broadband Association</a> may not have achieved that very specific goal (yet.) However, she’s risen to the top of another hard-to-achieve leadership position: The head of America’s premier rural telecommunications association as its first female CEO.The Midwesterner left briefly for three years to work for Qwest and Verizon, but before that she had worked at NTCA for 21 years, rising up the ranks to become a vice president of government affairs. The NTCA Board hired her back as CEO in 2010.And Bloomfield has become an influential policy leader in that role. 2021 was a proud moment for the rural broadband advocate. President Joe Biden finally signed the $1.2 trillion <a href="https://broadband.money/annotated-resources/annotated-guide-to-iija-broadband-programs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act</a>, $65 billion of which is dedicated to making access to broadband equitable across the United States.&nbsp;Bloomfield was one of the key advocates for the legislation. As an acknowledgement, she was invited to <a href="https://www.ntca.org/ruraliscool/newsroom/when-schoolhouse-rock-becomes-real" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the White House signing ceremony last November</a>, which she <a href="https://www.ntca.org/ruraliscool/newsroom/when-schoolhouse-rock-becomes-real" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wrote about on her blog</a>, where she dryly observed that her “mother would have been appalled that I was on a stage with the President of the United States wearing black jeans.” At the same time, she noted her own enthusiasm for having been part of such an important moment in history as a representative of companies that are helping rural America participate in the global economy.&nbsp;Rural telecom pioneerHere are the adjectives and nouns that one could use to describe Bloomfield: advocate; unflappable; someone who has a lot of chutzpah; patient; tenacious; kind; ubiquitous – and most definitely a pioneer.That’s the impression one receives after chatting with Bloomfield for an hour on the phone and combing through various forms of testimonies and columns that she’s written over the years.&nbsp;Another longtime Beltway insider, who’s been in the industry probably as long as Bloomfield (if not longer,) describes their professional interactions as “buttoned down and serious,” which in some ways is interesting because of the witticisms she can come up with at a moment’s notice, such as the <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/supply-chain-issues-delaying-fiber-builds-and-concerning-industry-before-influx-of-new-federal-money/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">comment</a> she made in December 2021 at a Fierce Telecom conference, where she said that her 850 member rural telecommunication companies were “hoarding fiber like toilet paper.”It’s a funny and memorable quip, yet delivers a serious point: Despite all the federal grant funding that’s pouring into this space, anyone hoping to build a fiber network in the next few years faces severe nosebleeds in terms of costs because supply chain issues are pushing up the prices of fiber optic cables. Some of her members are facing as much as 30 percent cost increases between the time they made the orders for fiber optic cables and the time of receipt.Ask Bloomfield AnythingBroadband Money is hosting Bloomfield for an “<a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/broadband-grant-events/ask-me-anything-with-shirley-bloomfield" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ask Me Anything</a>” event on Friday at 11.30 am PST.&nbsp;As someone with such longevity in the industry, she’s an encyclopedia on rural broadband funding in all of its incarnations at the Federal Communications Commission, National Telecommunications and Information Administration and at the United States Department of Agriculture.She’s also worked at the House Budget Committee and was an economics and urban studies major at Northwestern University. And currently, she also serves on the board of <a href="https://www.serc1.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The SERC Reliability Corporation</a> (SERC,) an organization responsible for ensuring a reliable and secure electric grid across 16 southeastern and central states.The Broadband Infrastructure PlaybookCommunity members have a huge choice of options on what to ask Bloomfield. The NTCA, along with the Fiber Broadband Association, has released a <a href="https://www.fiercetelecom.com/broadband/trade-groups-write-playbook-spending-infrastructure-money" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband Infrastructure Playbook</a> to help state governments plan and coordinate their broadband grant programs in order to get ready for the NTIA’s <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-grant-portals" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment</a> (<a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/broadband-equity-access-and-deployment-bead-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BEAD</a>) program.It’s a focused and handy document that explains the role of the broadband office. It provides state case studies, checklists, deadlines, and various templates to help state officials through various stages of the BEAD application process. It also provides various other bits of collated wisdom, such as:<ul><li>How to think about establishing objectives, identifying capacity, and gaps in capacity.</li><li>Communicating and coordinating across government departments and agencies</li><li>Re-examining assumptions and identifying any conflicts between state and federal grant program rules</li><li>Designing grant programs and scoring criteria</li><li>Adopting best practices in challenge processes</li><li>Being mindful of key deadlines</li><li>Adoptng best practices for reporting and monitoring of grants after awarding them</li><li>Creating checklists for project reporting requirements</li></ul>NTCA's Women in TelecomBloomfield is passionate about helping other women in the field of telecom. When in conversation about what her members are doing, she’ll often say: “My guys are doing …”The world of telecom — especially rural telecom — needs more women, Bloomfield says. She’s conscious of the fact that women who serve in leadership positions are role models for younger generations.“When I attend meetings — if I’m at the White House, or at a top level meeting at an agency, I still catch myself looking around the room” and counting the women in the room, she said in an interview.“I’m a huge fan of [Secretary of State] Madeline Albright’s quote that there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women,” she said.That’s why she created NTCA’s <a href="https://www.ntca.org/member-services/getin/women-in-telecom" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Women in Telecom </a>program. The program offers mentorship, book recommendations and virtual discussions on leadership, a listserv where members share everything from kudos to board openings, and more. The organization also organizes fly-ins for women telecom executives to meet female Beltway leaders and to participate in fundraisers.What are the issues that face women in telecom? There are several of the regular challenges that come with leadership.&nbsp;But in years past when Bloomfield first started the group 20 years ago, women leaders often found themselves wondering what the best course of action was in social settings.“What my women CEOs would say to me, as they would go to local, state and national meetings is: ‘Do I stand at the bar with my male peers, or do I sit at the table with their spouses comparing recipes? Either way, I lose. If I stand at the bar with my peers, the spouses think I’m too good for them, but if I hang out with the women, my male peers won’t take me seriously, and they won’t invite me to the golf game where business gets done.’” What was Bloomfield’s advice?&nbsp;Join our <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/broadband-grant-events/ask-me-anything-with-shirley-bloomfield" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">AMA session</a> to find out, and to soak up years of accumulated wisdom from someone working in an industry "<a href="https://www.ntca.org/ruraliscool/newsroom/when-industry-more-family" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">that is more like family</a>."&nbsp;

The NTCA -- the Rural Broadband Association's CEO Shirley Bloomfield is one of those people whose life could become a book. 

NTCA's Shirley Bloomfield: A rural broadband pioneer who encourages everyone to bring their unique superpowers to work

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The Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development’s Office of Broadband announced on July 20, 2022, that it has partnered with the Rasmuson Foundation to administer the Digital Equity Planning Grant over the next 10 months.The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act authorizes $65 billion in public investment to improve broadband access and deployment throughout the country. This funding includes $2.6 billion to implement the Digital Equity Act Grants. These grants are designed to help states improve digital inclusion and equity within historically underserved communities and populations.&nbsp;Alaska expects to receive an initial $567,000 grant to prepare Alaska’s digital equity plan. The plan will identify existing barriers to broadband access, outline potential solutions to eliminating them, and will establish the foundation for supplemental federal funding to build Alaska’s broadband capacity and improve digital equity."Access to broadband for all Alaskans has been a priority of my administration," said&nbsp;Gov. postgres Dunleavy said in a statement. "Digital equity means unprecedented access for our residents to work, learn, and receive health care, even in the most remote areas of the state."The Office of Broadband has partnered with the Rasmuson Foundation to assist in the development of the state’s digital equity plan. Operating as the state’s designated administering entity, it is expected that the foundation will manage a number of activities to include conducting stakeholder outreach, holding statewide listening sessions, and facilitating the data collection required to develop a comprehensive plan.The Rasmuson Foundation’s “willingness to serve as the administering entity preserves the eligibility of Tribal, municipal, and other non-profit entities to receive funding through upcoming Digital Equity Capacity and Competitive grant programs,” said Julie Sande,&nbsp;commissioner of the state’s Department of Commerce.The Rasmuson Foundation, a non-profit organization that works to promote a better life for Alaskans, has agreed to supplement these federally funded efforts with additional foundation staff and financial resources, allowing 100 percent of the state’s planning grant to go towards public outreach and stakeholder activities, according to Sande.“Numerous Alaska communities face prohibitive broadband costs or lagging speeds which results in a meaningful or complete lack of access to tools broadly taken for granted elsewhere,” said&nbsp;Rasmuson Foundation CEO Diane Kaplan. “Impaired broadband access relates to so many core Rasmuson Foundation grantmaking areas like healthcare, economic development, arts, culture, and education.”&nbsp;Other significant partners in this broadband planning effort include the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN), Tribal entities, the Alaska Municipal League, local governments and representative non-profit organizations across Alaska.<a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/alaska" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alaska has historically been held back</a> by its 600,000 square-mile size, sparse population, rugged terrain and weather. That has led it to use wireless technologies outside of urban areas for connectivity, including microwave and satellites.&nbsp;But the state's 2021 broadband report was bullish on the new infusion of federal money, including from the American Rescue Plan Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which passed in November 2021. That report said that a "generational infusion of resources" made it "possible to build terrestrial middle and last-mile capacity to places never before considered feasible.""Fiber-optic cables are considered by the task force to be the gold standard middle-mile solution," the report said, adding other technologies are still in the mix. "As such, it should be deployed wherever feasible."

The Rasmuson Foundation's involvement will allow 100 percent of the state’s planning grant to go towards public outreach and stakeholder activities.

Alaska Commerce Department partners with non-profit foundation to administer state’s Digital Equity Planning Grant

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The Schools, Health &amp; Libraries Broadband Coalition will kick off <a href="https://www.shlbconference.org/event/7041d0d2-2d23-42e9-b53e-2e8b4887cf83/summary?RefId=shlborg">their 10th Annual AnchorNETS Conference</a> tomorrow, Wednesday, October 12, and the event will run through Friday, October 14.&nbsp; AnchorNETS 2022 will host a series of amazing events that will help stakeholders become equipped and informed to better support the communities they serve. On Wednesday, be sure to tune in to the Broadband Mapping Workshop beginning at 1 p.m. EST. The event is divided into two parts; it will open with some updates on the mapping and challenge process, which will be delivered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Telecommunications Policy Specialist with the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth Nick Alexander. He will be presenting alongside Federal Communications Commission Senior Counsel Kirk Burgee, with the agency’s Broadband Data Task Force. Following a short networking break after their presentations, a discussion and Q&amp;A will feature heavy hitters in broadband mapping from the industry:&nbsp;<ul><li>Brandon Herndon - Director, <a href="https://www.cgit.vt.edu/NewHome.html">Virginia Tech - Center for Geospatial Information Technology</a></li><li>Kelleigh Cole - Director, Strategic Initiatives - <a href="https://uetn.org/">Utah Education &amp; Telehealth Network</a></li><li>Charlotte Bewersdorff - VP Community Engagement,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.merit.edu/">Merit Network</a></li><li>Stephanie Jane Edwards - Mapping &amp; Data Lead, Broadband Infrastructure Office, <a href="https://it.nc.gov/">NC Department of Information Technology</a></li><li>Dustin Loup - Project Manager,&nbsp;<a href="https://broadbandmappingcoalition.org/">National Broadband Mapping Coalition</a></li></ul> Each speaker will give a brief presentation before collectively discussing the topics at hand. During his lightning talk, Herndon will share what he finds to be the most pressing takeaways from Virginia’s recent mapping effort.&nbsp; Cole will provide a retrospective on lessons learned over the course of the last decade, and how stakeholders can avoid the same pitfalls faced during the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act during the Great Recession.&nbsp; Bewersdorff will discuss how local entities can get tangible results. She will share the stories on how various communities have been able to execute on BEAD funding, and the best practices they have used to get favorable outcomes.Edwards will focus on the importance of data, and how stakeholders should leverage data to track problems and come up with solutions. Dustin Loup will pick up the tail end of the presentations, where he will address how the Broadband Mapping Coalition is working to solve the issues facing communities in the wake of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.The group will also discuss the <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/broadband-audit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband Audit</a> – <a href="https://toolkit.broadband.money" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">another tool that communities can use</a> to gain in-depth analyses of the ways their communities are served (or unserved).

Among the great events that will be taking place at the conference, a panel of broadband mapping experts will be convening on Wednesday to help stakeholders better understand how they can leverage broadband data and mapping to serve their communities. 

Join Broadband Mapping Experts and Broadband.money Wednesday Afternoon to Learn from the Best

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All states, five U.S. territories and the District of Columbia must submit detailed project and budget narratives to the Biden administration by August 15th if they're planning to apply for BEAD grants.The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has made <a href="https://www.internet4all.gov/program/broadband-equity-access-and-deployment-bead-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a packet </a>with detailed instructions available to state and territory level broadband offices.&nbsp;Here's the basic checklist of documents required:&nbsp;<ul><li>Project Narrative</li><li>SF 424 (Application for Federal Assistance)</li><li>SF 424C (Budget Information – Construction Programs)</li><li>Detailed Budget Justification</li><li>Budget Narrative</li><li>Negotiated Indirect Cost rate Agreement – as applicable</li><li>CD-511 (certification of lobbying activities)</li><li>SF-LLL (disclosure of lobbying activities) as applicable</li><li>SAM.gov registration</li></ul>The Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act (IIJA,) otherwise known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, made a total of $65 billion available to close the digital divide. The grant program is known as the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment grant program. It also includes funds for digital equity, which the NTIA expects grant recipients to use concurrently as they plan for new broadband networks to <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/unserved-location" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">unserved</a> and <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/underserved-location" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">underserved</a> locations.States can apply for an initial $5 million, which they can use over five years, to do their broadband planning. Territories and D.C., have access to $1.25 million.&nbsp;Instructions from the NTIA state that applicants should indicate who they're working with in the form of partners and subrecipients, and that project summaries should outline “how the project will advance the objectives of the BEAD program as well as specific objectives outlined in the NOFO for Initial Planning Funds and Five-Year Action Plan.”Applicants must also provide high-level financial figures and budget information, and limit their summaries to 1,000 words. &nbsp;Below are a list of eligible costs that can be incurred for BEAD funds used for broadband planning. The table came from the NTIA's planning documents.&nbsp; &nbsp;<figure class="table"><table><tbody><tr><td><figure class="table"><table><tbody><tr><td>Administration and Legal Expenses</td><td><ul><li>Publications, outreach and communications support</li><li>Establishing, operating and increasing capacity of a broadband office that oversees broadband programs and broadband deployment in an eligible entity</li></ul></td><td><ul><li>Reasonable post-NOFO pre-award expenses in an amount not to exceed $100,000 relating to the preparation of program submissions to the NTIA (such as a Letter of Intent) or adding additional capacity to state or territorial broadband offices in preparation for the BEAD program may be re-imbursed if they are incurred after the publication of the NOFO and prior to the issuance of the grant reward from the NTIA, except that lobbying costs and contingency fees are not reimbursable from grant funds.</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Other architectural and engineering fees</td><td><ul><li>Asset mapping across the eligible entity to catalogue broadband adoption, affordability, equity, access and deployment activities occurring within the eligible entity</li></ul></td><td><ul><li>Conducting surveys of unserved, underserved and underrepresented communities to better understand barriers to adoption</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Miscellaneous</td><td><ul><li>Research and data collection including initial identification of unserved locations and underserved locations</li><li>The development of a preliminary budget for pre-planning activities</li><li>Providing technical assistance to potential subgrantees, including through workshops and events</li></ul></td><td><ul><li>Training for employees of the &nbsp;broadband program or office of the eligible entity or employees or political subdivisions of the eligible entity, and related staffing capacity or consulting or contracted support to effectuate the goals of the BEAD Program</li><li>Other uses approved in advance writing by the Assistant Secretary (including in response to an eligible entity's request) that support goals of the program.</li><li>Other uses approved in advance writing by the Assistant Secretary (including in response to an Eligible Entity's request) that support the goals of the program.</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></figure></td></tr></tbody></table></figure>The NTIA also provides examples of what a budget narrative would look like, as well as other planning templates.&nbsp; Fund recipients have 270 days, or about 9 months after they receive the grants to provide the NTIA with a 5-year action plan. For more detail on this, <a href="https://broadband.money/ntia-bead-nofo/program-structure-sequencing-and-requirements" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">refer to </a>Broadband.money's Annotated Guide to the BEAD NOFO.&nbsp; Broadband.money provides detailed <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-grant-portals" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">broadband availability maps</a> of served, unserved, underserved, and related categories of "likely underserved," and “arguably underserved" areas. For more detailed explanations of how we do this, read “<a href="https://broadband.money/blog/why-ready-speed-rank" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Why Ready Speed Rank</a>,” "<a href="https://broadband.money/lessons/how-to-measure-broadband-performance" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">How Ready Speed Rank Works</a>," and see how the maps <a href="https://broadband.money/lessons/how-to-create-a-project-area" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">can be used </a>to create "project areas."Check <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-grant-portals" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">them out</a>, and <a href="https://broadband.money/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">contact us</a> for more information. &nbsp;

State broadband offices must submit their BEAD initial planning funds applications by August 15 

Applying for BEAD initial planning funds? Here's what state broadband offices need to do

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Jeff Sobotka, who was <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/arizona" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Arizona</a>'s state broadband director for the past three years, announced Friday that he's stepping down and moving to the private sector.&nbsp;<blockquote>"After 3 years of working to bridge the Digital Divide I am resigning my position as State Broadband Director. I am proud of the the results delivered. Broadband projects funded by Governor <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ACoAAABLSWsBiOy05jesihPOjp8s93LRcsp7yNk">Doug Ducey</a> &amp; built by the <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/adot/">Arizona Department of Transportation</a> will change rural Arizona forever and add to the Governor's legacy of Securing Arizona's Future.&nbsp;Today, due to an incredible coalition of government, Broadband carriers and non-profit organizations 296,570 Arizona families have affordable <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/?keywords=broadband&amp;highlightedUpdateUrns=urn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A6976570454161465344">#Broadband</a> through the [Affordable Connectivity Program.]&nbsp;The below communities have Broadband projects funded by the <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/arizona-commerce-authority/">Arizona Commerce Authority</a>, our federal partners, AZ counties and by capital from our private sector Broadband Carriers.&nbsp;I leave knowing we made a difference and I am grateful to have served the people of Arizona and for the opportunity to work with so many great people around our State.&nbsp; Payson, Bullhead City, Page, Alpine, Concho, Eagar, Greer, Nutrioso, Springerville, St. Johns, Vernon, Douglas, Wilcox, Golden Valley, Chloride, Dolan Springs, Meadview, White Hills, North Kingman, Peach Springs, Oatman, Yucca, South Yucca, Havasu Heights, Lake Havasu City, Kingman, Parker, Bouse, McVay, Vicksburg, Salome, Wenden, Brenda, Quartzsite, Morgantown, Ehrenberg, La Paz Valley, Heber-Overgaard, Coconino County, Safford, Holbrook, Pinetop-Lakeside, Show Low, Snowflake, Taylor, Winslow, Kearny, Patagonia, Ajo, Sycamore Springs, Three Points, Robles Junction, Tohono O'odham&nbsp;Nation, Wickenburg, Surprise, Gila Bend, Yuma, Fortuna Foothills, San Luis, Somerton, Wellton, Arizona City, San Manuel, Black Canyon City, Maricopa, San Manuel, Oracle, Black Canyon City, Congress, Huachuca City, Sun Lakes, SE Sierra Vista, Eloy, Toltec, Desert Hills, Summit View, Rimrock, Paulden, Mayer, Cornville."</blockquote>Sobotka told Broadband.money that he plans to take a break in October and then think about what's next. But it's definitely back to the private sector.&nbsp;Meanwhile, Ernst &amp; Young is working with the state to help develop its five-year broadband development plan that's required by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in order to qualify for <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/arizona" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">its share</a> of the $42.5 billion in federal broadband infrastructure funding.“<a href="https://sustainability-innovation.asu.edu/person/erin-carr-jordan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dr. Erin Carr-Jordan</a> of Arizona State University and the <a href="https://digitalequityinstitute.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Digital Equity Institute</a> (DEI) are partnering with the State of Arizona to write the State’s Digital Equity Plan,” Sobotka said.&nbsp;Sobotka and his work at the broadband office had many fans. While he received many congratulations on his LinkedIn profile, others were sad to see him leave this very important role.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Arizona's well respected broadband director said that he's stepping away

Arizona loses its broadband director

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For Earnie Holtrey, working with local communities and providers to facilitate broadband network buildout was a natural extension to his previous work, which was to represent the state, and to coordinate with mayors and local economic development officials on <a href="https://www.in.gov/ocra/mainstreet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mainstreet Revitalization</a>, water and sewer, and other kinds of infrastructure programs.Holtrey is the project manager for the <a href="https://www.in.gov/indianabroadband/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Indiana Broadband Office</a>, which is housed in Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch’s office. He works with local communities to get them “broadband ready” so that they are better prepared to work with local providers to improve their community connectivity.&nbsp;The office’s vision statement is to be “the one-stop shop for all things broadband in the state of Indiana, and to strive towards affordable, reliable connectivity for all Hoosiers,” Holtrey tells Broadband Money.The office works alongside the state’s Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA,) which is the agency that hands out broadband grants.&nbsp;<h3>The Steps To Success</h3>Holtrey works with local communities to provide them technical assistance.&nbsp;This means that he is fielding calls from local officials in the state’s 92 counties.&nbsp;His work also involves convening ISPs and those local officials to spark off discussions about what actions the community can take that may entice ISPs to build out in those officials’ areas. &nbsp;Recently the office created the <a href="https://www.in.gov/indianabroadband/steps-to-success/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband Steps to Success</a>, a document that presents these action steps in an organized manner.“We’re really trying to stress planning right now,” Holtrey told Broadband Money. “Many of the counties haven’t created a plan on how they will look to engage providers to attack where the gaps are.”The job also means fielding questions from local officials, making sure that they participate in getting their communities ready for broadband. &nbsp;The <a href="https://www.in.gov/indianabroadband/broadband-ready-communities-program/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband Ready Communities</a> program was created in 2015. &nbsp;The program was designed to make the process of standing up projects quick and streamlined.&nbsp;For example, local communities must establish a single point of contact for broadband related inquiries, and they must set up an electronic &nbsp;permitting procedure that will process the permits within 10 days of application, for example.<h3>Indiana's taking broadband connectivity to the Next Level</h3>OCRA and its <a href="https://www.in.gov/indianabroadband/next-level-connections-broadband-updates/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Next Level</a> Broadband Connections team manage Governor Eric Holcomb’s Next Level Connections grant program.&nbsp;This is a roughly $250 million <a href="https://www.in.gov/indianabroadband/files/indiana-statewide-broadband-strategic-plan-3-24-2020.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">broadband expansion programs </a>that is currently funded mostly by the American Rescue Plan Act and the state’s Rural Broadband Fund.&nbsp;The origins of the program date back to 2018. Holtrey himself worked in OCRA prior to the Lieutenant Governor’s office.The Next Level Connections program provides a maximum of $5 million per grant to fund broadband networks to residential homes, businesses and local institutions.&nbsp;The governor’s office wants applicants to have engaged extensively with community leaders and stakeholders, such as libraries, education institutions, hospitals and so forth, as they develop projects.“The Next Level Connections grant program asks for community support,” says Next Level grants administrator <a href="https://pcrd.purdue.edu/about-us/our-team/roberto-gallardo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Roberto Gallardo</a>. “But I would like to see grant applicants and local community institutions working even closer together, where the community can help the provider and the provider can help the community.”That means getting testimonials and letters and support from those local institutions – not just getting a token single letter, Gallardo says.Gallardo recently helped OCRA manage its broadband state programs serving as Acting Director.&nbsp;He serves as Director of Purdue University’s Center for Regional Development. He’s an expert on rural economic development and is the author of the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Responsive-Countryside-Digital-Rural-Communities-ebook/dp/B01FWN06SU/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1648089077&amp;refinements=p_27:Roberto+Gallardo&amp;s=digital-text&amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Responsive Countryside</a>, which is all about rural communities’ need for broadband.&nbsp;A reading of this 2015 <a href="https://www.wired.com/2015/11/the-land-that-the-internet-forgot/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WIRED magazine article</a> on Gallardo’s digital inclusion efforts in Mississippi, and a recent blog post from Gallardo and a colleague shows why OCRA reached out to Gallardo for his role helping implement the State’s broadband programs: He’s been <a href="https://pcrd.purdue.edu/a-detailed-look-at-indianas-population-change-over-the-past-two-decades/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">examining</a> the state’s rural demographic and economic challenges for a while now, and he has ideas on how to reverse the population decline and outmigration.Following ARPA funding guidelines, Gallardo’s office gives priority to projects that can provide symmetrical speeds of at least 100 Megabits to as many locations as possible, as well as to projects that include 1 Gigabit per second connections to schools and/or rural health facilities.&nbsp;The grants program is focused on last mile projects. Eligible project areas are those without at least one provider providing access to networks of at least 25 Mbps x 3 Mbps.&nbsp;Projects need at least a 20 percent financial match. Detailed scoring criteria are available <a href="https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https://www.in.gov/ocra/files/ICP-Scoring-Criteria_2-28-2022.docx&amp;wdOrigin=BROWSELINK" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.The office is currently evaluating Round 3 of its broadband grant applications and is expected to announce awardees sometime in April.&nbsp;Current challenges facing this and previous rounds of the program include shortage of materials for the buildouts, and sharp increases in prices for raw materials, which is making the calculation of costs for the grants challenging, Gallardo says. Spotty FCC ISP coverage data is also problematic. &nbsp;In Indiana, eligible applicants are commercial internet service providers and electric utilities, as defined under a specific provision of Indiana law.&nbsp;State law also requires ISPs to have been in business for at least three years and had a customer base of at least 100 subscribers over those last three years.Broadband Money members should note that Indiana’s Broadband Strategic Plan emphasizes the role of rural member-owned electric utilities in its strategic plan.&nbsp;For example, it cites a 2018 Purdue University study that claims that utilities that provide broadband to their rural communities could bring a total of $2.25 billion of growth to communities in the form of healthcare, education and job creation benefits.<h3>Indiana Connectivity Program</h3>OCRA also runs the <a href="https://www.in.gov/ocra/broadband/icp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Indiana Connectivity program</a>, which is a line extension program and the new broadband program. The state’s legislature enacted a law that bundles demands for extension of last mile connections out for bid.&nbsp;Residents can call a toll-free number provided by the state to apply for broadband internet service. (Note that applying does not guarantee service will be built.)&nbsp;After applicants are removed due to previous funding, either federal or state, speed tests among other things are used to see if service is at an actual 25 Mbps x 3 Mbps speed when that address is challenged by providers. OCRA then bundles those applications and puts them out for bid for interested ISPs.Gallardo has written more about the state’s grant programs <a href="https://pcrd.purdue.edu/indianas-diverse-strategy-to-address-digital-exclusion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.

The Indiana Broadband Office’s vision statement is to be “the one-stop shop for all things broadband," and to get all Hoosiers get connected to the Next Level. 

Indiana: IBO and OCRA Working To Connect All Hoosiers

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Talk to any experienced broadband director, and they’ll tell you that the job of running a state broadband office amounts to much more than just a place to coordinate infrastructure development. Here are a few: A therapist’s office of sorts, where staff often hear from frustrated state residents about their connectivity woes; problem solver; tech education and customer service center; grant maker; urban planner; business and community matchmaker; geographer and economic development expert.It’s a tough job. But Veneeth Iyengar, Louisiana’s executive director for broadband development and connectivity, seems to relish it. That’s probably because he focuses on the reality powering the job: At its heart, building broadband infrastructure is about connecting people to each other and to opportunities.Stakeholder engagement is at the heart of everything his office <a href="https://connect.la.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ConnectLA</a> does. Iyengar and his staff constantly meet leaders and other members of local communities to learn about their needs. For instance, last week, Iyengar visited with mayors of towns/villages, community colleges and parish officials throughout North Louisiana.“We’ve taken the concept of “stakeholder engagement” and we’ve put it on steroids, because we’ve effectively visited almost all of the state’s 64 parishes, except maybe a couple,” he said in an interview with Broadband.money.Getting to know their “customers”Iyengar and his team Thomas Tyler Jr., ConnectLA’s deputy director, and&nbsp; Glen Howie, Jr., its senior policy analyst have traveled all over the state meeting residents and local leaders such as school superintendents, faith leaders, parish presidents, mayors, local public librarians, economic development specialists, healthcare providers, law enforcement and public safety officials.Louisiana is a state with a population of 4.7 million spread over about 52,000 miles. The median income for the state is $50,800 and about 19 percent of the&nbsp; population live below the poverty line. Governor John Bel Edwards is committed to a goal of “broadband for everyone” by 2029. This means providing universal access to broadband service with minimum speeds of 25 Megabits per second (Mbps) download and 3 Mbps upload, scalable to up to 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload, for all Louisianans by 2029. Iyengar’s office reports directly to Louisiana’s Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne, and he meets with the governor himself on a regular basis.&nbsp;The state’s goal is to prioritize those with less then 25/3 speeds with 100/100 speeds, scalable if not 100/20 (in exceptional cases) as quickly as possble.&nbsp;&nbsp;The ConnectLA team brings a one page document to distribute to the meetings. That document shows which areas in the local community are unserved, which then prompts a conversation about ways to fix the problem in addition to identifying on a zip code basis how many folks benefitted from the EBB program versus a percentage that are potentially eligible in addition to the number of folks who might lack digital literacy skills on a per parish basis..These meetings spur the local leaders to action, and everyone then has a project to accomplish. Parish leaders are leading broadband teams to find connectivity solutions and to work on grant applications. Librarians are working on digital literacy programs. Faith based community leaders have&nbsp; committed to signing up eligible members for what was then the Emergency Broadband Benefit. More than a quarter of the state’s parishes assembled broadband teams to actively work on getting everyone connected.&nbsp;&nbsp;All this work is part of Iyengar, Tyler and Howie’s larger effort to stand up the state’s broadband office, which the state legislature created in 2020. The office, known as ConnectLA, began operations just over a year ago in March 2021. The&nbsp; Board of Regents/Board of Elementary and Secondary Education plus additional CARES money gave it $1.5 million for its operations over three years.The scope of work is clear. A McKinsey survey commissioned by the state found that around 1.5 Million may lack internet in Louisiana, 47 percent of whom are African American/Hispanic households either due to an access, affordability, literacy or a device issue. Seven hundred and forty-four thousand Louisianans lack digital literacy skills, the survey found.&nbsp;ConnectLA has worked to create its first grant program, which, inevitably perhaps, is called GUMBO. The acronym stands for “Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities.”The program offers a pot of $177 million in grants to commercial internet service providers. The money comes from the American Rescue Plan Act. The office received 158 applications, according to the published record of applications online. Applicants included everyone from AT&amp;T to municipal broadband providers to local companies like Cajun Broadband. The office has been through the application review and protest process. It will announce final awardees sometime this month.Preparing for IIJA BEAD NOFOAll this conversation and planning has enabled the ConnectLA office to plan for the future.“You can't just show up three months before a project, say, hey, the project's gonna come down, I need your help,” Iyengar told John Busby, Chief Marketing Officer for Centerfield, a Seattle-based digital marketing company on a recent podcast episode. “You need to make repeated visits to the same people, you need to coach them up. You need to mentor, you make yourself available, because if you put in the work on the front-end, when it comes time to execute on the back-end, it’s going to make your life a hell of a lot easier.”That’s all to say that now that it has created a grant program, talked to the stakeholders, and worked on mapping, it has done scenario planning and estimated how much it will receive from the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act. Broadband.money, for our part, <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/louisiana">estimates</a> that <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/louisiana" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Louisiana</a> will receive $649,649,205. Iyengar himself thinks that’s an underestimatation. He says that “its likely we will commit and spend over a $1 billion to address the broadband problem over the next several years”.He says that he, Tyler and Howie are not waiting for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to come out before working on their grant application. They’re already on their third draft of their IIJA BEAD grant application.The office hasn’t just got its eyes on the IIJA though. Iyengar says that there are multiple sources of federal funding programs for broadband accessibility and affordability. Another big one for Louisiana is the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. Currently, 13 companies have been awarded $342 million to serve 175,000 households in Louisiana.&nbsp;Additionally, Vice President Harris and Deputy Secretary Graves travelled to Sunset, Louisiana&nbsp; on the 21nd of March to announce a $29 Million grant&nbsp; (NTIA BIP program) to provide high speed internet to over 22,000 locations in several parishes in the Acadiana Region of LouisianaThe other benefit of engaging in all that outreach: local anchor institutions and their leaders have helped their constituents access their Affordable Connectivity Benefits. Louisiana had one of the highest penetration rates with&nbsp; more than 31 percent of eligible households enrolled in the program, according to BroadbandNow. Iyengar says that these institutions have been key in establishing digital literacy programs as well. He says the state ranked third in the country with more than 215,000 households benefiting from the ACP/EBB programWhat ConnectLA offersIyengar said that he looked to the states of Virginia and North Carolina for inspiration when setting up ConnectLA, saying that those state share similar socio-economic backgrounds as Louisiana.Like Virginia, Louisiana offers an informational Broadband Toolkit for parish leaders. It also urges local governments to appoint “Digital Navigators.” These are local leaders who have the authority to make things happen in local government and who can coordinate activities to implement broadband in a community. ConnectLA also has two interns. One Sydney McGovern, who helps with the office’s communications. She recently wrote <a href="https://connect.la.gov/news/blog-post/grosse-tete-feature-story/">this profile</a>, for example, of Grosse Tete a tiny village of 700 Southwest of the state capitol of Baton Rouge. It gives local governments an idea of how they might go about bringing better broadband connections to their areas.&nbsp;The other is Emma Chance. They both help with stakeholder engagement meetings.What might be of particular use for ISPs is the demographic map that ConnectLA has published on its Web site, which offers statistical profiles of the state’s 64 parishes. The map shows statistics regarding each parish’s level of broadband access, penetration, affordability and digital literacy rates.A background in financeSo what was Iyengar doing on a podcast about marketing anyway? Iyengar actually has a business background and worked in finance before he arrived in the public sector in 2018. He got a graduate degree in finance from Johns Hopkins University, served in the US Peace Corps in the Philippines, worked in various capacities in the world of finance and then joined Baton Rouge’s first female Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome’s administration in 2018 leading up Economic Development in her administration..In Busby’s podcast, he laughed when he noted that sometimes parish presidents are surprised when they call the ConnectLA office and find Iyengar answering the call himself on his cell phone. He’s set a goal of answering all questions that come into the office within 24 hours.He says that a lot of people just call up “to vent.”And Iyengar seems to be OK with that. It’s just one of the many roles he plays.

Establishing communications with local leaders is the key to success for Veneeth Iyengar, Louisiana’s executive director for broadband development and connectivity, and his team. 

Veneeth Iyengar and his team are striking up the broadband in Louisiana

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Louisiana's new economic development and planning agency the Louisiana Infrastructure Technical Assistance Corporation (LITAC) will be headed by Leslie Durham, who currently serves as alternate federal co-chairwoman of the <a href="https://dra.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Delta Regional Authority</a>. She will be LITAC's executive director. She begins her new job October 1, 2022.LITAC was jointly created by the <a href="https://www.lma.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Louisiana Municipal Association </a>and the <a href="https://www.lpgov.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Louisiana Police Jury Association</a>.&nbsp;The new organization will provide local governments in the most rural areas of Louisiana with funding to help plan their infrastructure needs.&nbsp;“We're trying to figure out how we can assist the most rural communities get access to federal funds, when they historically miss out, largely because of the lack of funds for planning and grant writing and match money for federal funds,” Durham said in an interview. “We will be providing planning and grant writing support training for grant writers and we have a matching fund that we will be granting to winning communities.”LITAC will provide assistance to local governments for the full spectrum of infrastructure. Broadband access will be one of the categories of infrastructure that local governments can seek help for.&nbsp;The Louisiana state legislature created LITAC this summer. It is a 501-3-c non-profit that can engage in fundraising. The legislature started it off with $25 million.&nbsp;Police Juries in Louisiana are what Louisianans call their county governments.&nbsp;“I have been grateful for Leslie’s passion to serve our region andher guidance in making sure we are meeting the needs of all communities within our region,” said DRA Federal Co-Chairman Dr. Corey Wiggins in a statement.&nbsp;“Leslie’s passion for working on behalf of the Delta region is only trumped by her love for and devotion to the state of Louisiana. Her new role will give her the opportunity to work for the betterment of all rural Louisiana communities as well as create a working model for other states to follow.&nbsp;I am incredibly excited for her new opportunity that will highlight her leadership and tenacity in helping the people of Louisiana.”“It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve as Delta Regional Authority Alternate Federal Co-Chairwoman,” said DRA Alternate Co-Chairwoman Leslie Durham.&nbsp;“Even more so, being the first person from Louisiana and the first woman appointed is a badge I will cherish forever. I leave DRA in the most capable hands of its dedicated staff, with whom I have been working with off and on since 2005, and Federal Co-Chairman Dr. Corey Wiggins.&nbsp;In my new capacity as Executive Director of the Louisiana Infrastructure Technical Assistance Corporation, I will continue to work closely with Dr. Wiggins and his team as we collectively work to bring vital federal assistance to Louisiana’s rural communities.&nbsp;I am most grateful for the support I received from across the footprint since my appointment almost one year ago.&nbsp;I thank you, and I will never forget your love and support for me and our Delta."To learn more about Durham's work and perspectives on successful infrastructure and broadband development, check out our recent interview with her in our <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leslie-durham-alternate-federal-co-chairwoman-for-the/id1638633587?i=1000578061798" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ready or Not podcast</a>. You can also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4htRLK2eK0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">watch the interview on YouTube</a>.&nbsp;

Leslie Durham is the new executive director of the Louisiana Infrastructure Technical Assistance Corporation

Leslie Durham, the Delta Regional Authority's Alternate Federal Co-Chairwoman, to Head New Agency to Help Local Governments With Infrastructure Planning

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Alaska is one of America's last frontiers in many ways. Broadband deployment is no exception.&nbsp;The vast state of 665,400 square miles is in dire need of better broadband, and it stands to leap ahead if state broadband leaders are able to win the appropriate amount of BEAD grants. The state published <a href="https://connectednation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CN_ALASKA_BB_PLAN_12-2019_07_FINAL-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this broadband report</a> last year to outline its needs.&nbsp;In in addition to Treasury and <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-guides/getting-ready-for-bead" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BEAD grants</a>, the state's 229 tribes are also eligible for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's <a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/resources/grant-programs/tribal-broadband-connectivity-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program</a> (NTCP.) &nbsp;But the needed amount of funding can only come if broadband builders use accurate maps that can tell them where the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's BEAD grant money should go.&nbsp;That's why Alaska's Republican senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan are pushing the Federal Communications Commission to get its much-touted Fabric map right when they publish them this fall. The IIJA directs the NTIA to dispense broadband funding to state applicants according to a formula based on data from that map, which in turn is based on broadband coverage data submitted by internet service providers.&nbsp;They reiterated <a href="https://communicationsdaily.com/news/2022/08/10/Murkowski-Sullivan-Raise-Broadband-Map-Concerns-in-Alaska-2208090049" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">their concerns</a> this week at a broadband summit held in Fairbanks, Alaska this week, according to the trade publication Communications Daily.&nbsp;The publication reports that their statements "followed state officials raising concerns about holes in the FCC’s broadband serviceable location fabric to be used in upcoming maps.&nbsp;State, local, tribal and federal officials stressed the need for engagement and collaboration to ensure funding goes where it’s needed."This <a href="https://www.adn.com/business-economy/2022/08/09/alaska-ramps-up-effort-to-land-billions-in-federal-funding-to-close-digital-divide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alaska Daily News story</a> quotes the Alaska Federation of Natives' Executive Vice President Nicole Borromeo acknowledging that “there will be a lot of competition for the money nationally.”&nbsp; &nbsp;<blockquote>“We want to see every penny we can up in Alaska,” Borromeo said, part of a panel during the summit that discussed tribal opportunities. “It’s a bit of a David and Goliath story. The only way we get to be Goliath is by working together.”</blockquote>But the state currently seems to<a href="https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/2ef805eb0e2746598c3ed0638388de16" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> rely on that FCC data</a> to map its broadband needs.&nbsp;State, local and tribal officials, and local ISPs could all work together to figure out the <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/alaska" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">real amounts</a> that the state and tribal territories are due from the NTIA by using <a href="http://broadband.money" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband.money</a>'s <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-map/alaska" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">broadband performance maps</a> and forthcoming community <a href="https://twitter.com/jase/status/1558127104105086977/photo/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">broadband performance test toolkit</a>.&nbsp;

Alaska's congressional leaders are worried about the accuracy of the FCC's broadband maps. 

Alaska leaders worry about broadband maps

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The agency responsible for dispensing billions in broadband grants and the Bureau of Indian Affairs <a href="https://www.bia.gov/news/ntia-and-bia-sign-agreement-streamline-environmental-permitting-high-speed-internet-projects" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced this week </a>that they're working to speed broadband deployments along on tribal territories by working to co-ordinate environmental and conservation compliance efforts with a tribal grant program. The agreement ensures that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration coordinates its grant making activities under its Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) with the environmental, historic preservation, and cultural resources requirements related to tribal communities.&nbsp;The agreement aims to streamline National Environmental Policy Act reviews, as authorized to grant rights-of-way over and across land held in trust or restricted status by the United States under the Indian Right-of-Way Act.“Tribal communities are long overdue to gain access to life-saving technologies, economic and educational opportunities, and countless other benefits of high-speed internet,” said Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information Alan Davidson. “We are streamlining and creating efficiencies within the Federal Government to ensure Tribal communities get the resources they need quickly to close the digital divide on Tribal lands.”“This agreement will advance our work to connect people in Tribal communities with high-speed internet, while ensuring the preservation of environmental, historic, and cultural resources,” said Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland. “The Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program will expand opportunities for people to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives in their Tribal communities.”&nbsp;

NTIA and BIA announced this week that they're working together to speed up broadband deployment 

NTIA strikes deal with Bureau of Indian Affairs to reduce red tape

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Don’t get NOFO FOMO. Join the <a href="https://www.discuss.broadband.money" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">broadband grants community</a> to stay informed. And you can get a head start on your competition: <a href="https://www.broadband.money" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pre-enroll</a> in broadband.money’s <a href="https://www.broadband.money" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">grant applicant R&amp;D portal</a> today.&nbsp;Soon, the Biden administration is expected to formally ask states and territories to explain how they will organize their grant-issuing process for federal broadband funding.The milestone has been highly anticipated as the kickoff for the process of dispensing more than $46 billion in broadband, middle mile and digital equity grants.The National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the U.S. Commerce Department is expected to publish its Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Congress authorized the funding through the broadband section of the Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act last November.The specific tranche of funding initiated by the NOFO is from the law’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, the core infrastructure program. Additional tranches of funding under the Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program and the Digital Equity Planning Grant programs are expected to be shortly forthcoming.<h2>Step One: Issuing the NOFO&nbsp;</h2>Friday’s NOFO issuance will mark the first of three phases of funding. States, territories, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico can access the initial $5 million for planning purposes. This includes staffing up broadband offices, funding outreach and local coordination efforts with all local stakeholders.In IIJA, Congress clearly empowered local communities to make their own decisions about how to fund programs that will help people get online.&nbsp;To that end, the IIJA directed NTIA to ensure that state administrators coordinate with local governments and anchor institutions to scope out their needs. When state broadband offices or other entities respond to the NTIA’s BEAD NOFO they will have to demonstrate that they’ve coordinated with local entities.Additionally, the NTIA’s January request for comments mentions local coordination efforts several times.The agency asked the public for feedback on many aspects of local coordination.“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also requires states and territories to coordinate with local governments and other political subdivisions in developing State Digital Equity Plans.“What steps should states take to fulfill this mandate? How should NTIA assess whether a state has engaged in adequate coordination with its political subdivisions?” the agency asked in its January notice.The agency also asked how it could achieve the IIJA’s goal of including a more diverse mix of internet service providers in the grant recipient mix.Obtaining a diverse mix of service providers will be a highly anticipated theme insofar as<a href="https://muninetworks.org/content/seventeen-states-preempt-municipal-broadband"> 17 states still preempt</a> local governments from providing internet services. One big question: How the Biden administration will treat grant funding to these 17 states.In its request for comments, the NTIA asked: “NTIA views the participation of a variety of provider types as important to achieving the overall goals of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law broadband programs. How can NTIA ensure that all potential subrecipients, including small and medium providers, cooperatives, non-profits, municipalities, electric utilities, and larger for-profit companies alike have meaningful and robust opportunities to partner and compete for funding under the programs?”<h2>Step two: Submitting letters of intent</h2>The second step in the process is for states to submit letters of intent to land this initial $5 million in funding for their planning efforts.<h2>Step three: Submitting a broadband plan to NTIA</h2>The third step in the process is for NTIA to review these plans. Once approved, the states and territories can access 20 percent of their allocation from their <a href="https://broadband.money/resources" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BEAD grant</a> allocation.&nbsp;The agency noted that "state plans must be informed by collaboration with local and regional entities and will lay out how each respective state and territory will use the BEAD funding and other funds to bring reliable, affordable, high-speed broadband to all residents.”The agency also emphasized establishing strong partnerships between state, local, and tribal governments.The NTIA wrote: “Community engagement is critical to eliminating barriers to broadband access and adoption. NTIA views strong involvement between states and local communities as key to ensuring that the broadband needs of all unserved and underserved locations are accounted for in state plans submitted for funding.“What requirements should NTIA establish for states/territories to ensure that local perspectives are critical factors in the design of state plans?”The agency also asked the public how it could best ensure that “states/territories consult with Tribal governments about how best to meet Tribal members’ needs when providing funding for broadband service to unserved and underserved locations on Tribal lands within state boundaries?”Stay tuned for more on the NTIA’s BEAD, Middle Mile and Digital Equity NOFOs, the first two of which are expected to be published soon.

The Infrastructure, Investments and Jobs Act's BEAD notice of funding opportunity is likely to focus on states' efforts to solicit local communities' input.

Local coordination could be a strong theme in NTIA's BEAD NOFO

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Here's what some key players told the Biden administration to do with the $42.5 billion in broadband funding

Weighing in on the NTIA’s BEAD NOFO

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More than $75 billion in federal grants is coming to local broadband projects over the next five years. That sounds like a lot, but the process is extremely competitive.&nbsp;Grantmakers both on the federal and state levels have historically received requests for way more money than they have to give out. So applicants need to act quickly and decisively. That’s &nbsp; why Ready.net launched Broadband.money, the fastest way for local broadband providers to discover and win their fair share of the historic grants.&nbsp;We built this system to help local providers and projects get their share. These providers could be: a local internet service provider; a mom and pop run-ISP; a utility that runs an ISP or starting an ISP; rural electric cooperatives running ISPs. The common denominator is folks that are in the business of operating connectivity, and their partners.We provide your projects with the needed software, geospatial mapping data, technological guidance, partners, matching capital and more. For now, here are five things you can do to get ready for the tsunami of funding.&nbsp;<h3>1. Get on the radar of everyone who is involved in future decision-making.&nbsp;</h3>The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD) is the $42.45 billion portion of the $65 billion allocated to broadband and digital inclusion in the infrastructure legislation. The grants will be administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Association (NTIA) and state governments.&nbsp; So it’s the state governments that will ultimately issue these grants to local entities building broadband networks. &nbsp; We recommend getting in touch with state broadband offices and their directors, being active on discussion boards, and generally making connections with others in the broadband community.Broadband.money offers a comprehensive listing of state broadband offices, contact information for their leaders, links to their broadband plans and summaries of each state broadband landscape. You can use the directory to find the relevant state broadband director and fire off a quick note to them and learn a little bit more about what they're up to.Another way of getting visibility is registering in and getting listed in Ready.net’s ISP Directory, which is free. It differs from other ISP directories because it’s not financially supported by advertisers.&nbsp;<h3>2. Become familiar with the legislation's reporting requirements and how the upcoming program will differ from past funding initiatives.</h3>The Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) differs from previous grant programs because it contains rigorous reporting requirements of different kinds. For example, the IIJA requires ISPs to create “broadband nutrition labels.” That means that ISPs that receive the grants will have to precisely disclose performance and pricing data to their customers. The performance data includes information such as service speeds, latency, packet loss rates and network management practices, among other things.Ready.net understands that ISPs offer a mosaic of services across different geographies. That’s why we offer Ready BOSS, our back office information management and reporting system that helps you to map and track all of this information to keep it at your fingertips.&nbsp;<h3>3. Question assumptions.&nbsp;</h3>The Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) differs from previous grant programs because it contains rigorous reporting requirements of different kinds.For example, the IIJA requires ISPs to create “broadband nutrition labels.” That means that ISPs that receive the grants will have to precisely disclose performance and pricing data to their customers. The performance data includes information such as service speeds, latency, packet loss rates and network management practices, among other things. Ready.net understands that ISPs offer a mosaic of services across different geographies. That’s why we offer Ready BOSS, our back office information management and reporting system that helps you to map and track all of this information to keep it at your fingertips.&nbsp;<h3>4. Get creative about your financing options.&nbsp;</h3>Don’t wait for grant makers to issue rules. To be blunt: You should weigh in on the plan. Large companies hire lobbyists to influence the rule-making process. If you’ve been involved in building networks for a while, share your domain of expertise with the NTIA and your state broadband offices as they make the program rules.Get loud about what you know and share it. The more you're on the minds of people that are making decisions about the funding, the better. So share what you know.In many cases, federal and state lawmakers are still creating rules and definitions. They want to hear from you.&nbsp; A lot of the rule-makers are not technologists. They’re in economic development. They're working their tails off, to get plans in place to get everything lined up to be neutral to help make sure that they're going to make the most of this historic opportunity.But you have the knowledge. You've been connecting people, even building parts that go into networks. You could be part of a network supply chain. You've been consultants to some of the big projects in the country. Share what you’ve learned with policymakers and the community at Broadband.money.You can also use our resource directory to learn more about federal grant programs and legal terms and definitions in the IIJA.&nbsp;<h3>5. Build a team that will successfully work together to make the build out process as efficient as possible.&nbsp;</h3>Such a team could be made of expert partners, consultants, investors, strong local operators, and other members of the local community. If you want, pre-enroll in Broadband Money, like we can help you matchmake to find the right partners. You can also look for service providers in your area in our ISP.me directory. Many of you have already won grant awards in the past and you've used consultants. So it's time to talk to them about this upcoming program.Our mission here at Broadband.money is to help local providers and projects get their share of the upcoming grants so that you all can go out and connect more families and businesses to better broadband. You can use our tools and engage in our community to do that.Our service includes: An interactive map with information on underserved, unserved, and served communities across the United States; a tool where consumers and internet providers can see what providers and internet services are near them; and individual state resource pages with contact information for state broadband offices and officials.Broadband.Money was created as a resource for those who are applying for funding, such as communities, local internet service providers, utilities, and related entities, and applicant partners, which includes consultants, the provider’s community, investors, and vendors.&nbsp;To listen to the discussion between Broadband.money and Fiber Broadband Association, check out Broadband.money's <a href="https://broadband.money/events/get-your-share-5-keys-to-know-asap-about-the-42-billion-bead-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recap of the event</a>.

More than $75 billion in federal grants is coming to local broadband projects over the next five years. Grantmakers both on the federal and state levels have historically received requests for way more money than they have to give out. So applicants need to act quickly and decisively. Read more to learn five things you can do to get ready for the tsunami of funding. 

Get Your Share: 5 Keys to Know ASAP About the 42 Billion BEAD Program

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Fewer than a third of the households in <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/hawaii" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hawaii</a> are signed up for the Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program, according to Burt Lum, the state's chief broadband strategy officer.&nbsp;About &nbsp;29,000 households have signed up for the program, which provides a monthly $30 subsidy to qualifying households for internet access. The award doubles for families on Hawaiian home lands. They can receive a $75 discount each month.“I was looking at how many families receive free or reduced lunch or SNAP benefits, and that’s close to a hundred thousand,” Lum told the Honolulu Star Advertiser in a <a href="https://www.staradvertiser.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recent article</a>.&nbsp;Those are the households that are eligible to receive the benefit. Residents can also qualify if they benefit from Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Supplemental Security Income, federal public housing assistance, free and reduced-price school breakfast or lunch, the Pell Grant or if their household income is less than 200% of the federal poverty line. The program also grants a one-time $100 discount for purchasing a laptop, desktop or tablet.To see the full list of ACP eligibility details and participating Hawaii internet service providers, visit <a href="http://broadband.hawaii.gov/acp/.">http://broadband.hawaii.gov/acp/.</a>One of the big, yet little-discussed, issues hindering broader enrollment is the extensive administrative burden that internet service providers and their customers face when trying to enroll in the program. The process involves several steps that require households to navigate procedures both through the federal government and then at the provider itself. Then billing agents at providers have a whole other procedure to implement in order to register ACP participants.&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money">Broadband.money</a> is working on a Turnkey ACP option that would enable internet service providers to seamlessly offer ACP subsidies to eligible subscribers.&nbsp; The goal is to reduce the administrative burden both on subscribers and provider staff when integrating the ACP benefit into subscription plans.&nbsp; &nbsp;The FCC recently launched a grant program that would help local officials boost their ACP outreach programs.&nbsp;Households looking to sign up for the discounts can go to <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/getinternet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Get the Internet.&nbsp;</a>

Only about 29,000 households are signed up for the FCC's ACP program

Fewer than a third of eligible households have signed up for the Affordable Connectivity Program in Hawaii, says broadband strategy officer

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The Biden administration kicked off its <a href="https://www.internetforall.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Internet for All </a>Initiative on Friday when the Commerce Department unveiled the rules by which it plans to disburse more than $45 billion in federal broadband funding, which is a result of the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, otherwise known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.&nbsp;The money comes in the forms of the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program; $1 billion for the Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program; and $1.5 billion for the State Digital Equity Act program.&nbsp;“The resources in President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will allow us to bring broadband infrastructure to every corner of the country, make service affordable for everyone, and ensure users have the devices and digital skills they need, said Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves in a press statement. ”But in order to succeed, we need a whole of government and whole of nation approach – everyone who has a stake in our connected future should get involved now."&nbsp;Here are the nine steps to funding outlined in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's BEAD Notice of Funding Opportunity:<h2>1. Letter of intent</h2>States, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories need to tell the NTIA that they intend to apply for the grant funding with a formal letter of intent by July 18th.&nbsp;<h2>2. Request for initial planning funds</h2>States and territories can include a request for planning funds along with their initial letters of intent. But if they decide not to, they then have up until August 15th to request up to $5 million for planning purposes. (American Samoa, Guam, the Mariana Island, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands can request up to $1.25 million each.) The NTIA's BEADS NOFO outlines the various tasks that state officials might want to use these funds for. In particular, the BEAD NOFO emphasizes that it is planning to offer substantial “free” help to state officials with planning.&nbsp;<h2>3. Fund recipients then must submit a five-year-plan broadband plan</h2>State &nbsp;entities then must submit five-year “action plans” within 270 days of receiving this initial pot of planning money. The NTIA's NOFO provides detailed guidance on what should be in these plans. But it emphasizes that these plans must be informed by collaboration with&nbsp;<blockquote>“local, regional, and Tribal (as applicable) entities, as well as unions and worker organizations, b. detail the eligible entity's investment priorities and associated costs, and c. align the state or territory's planned spending with its economic development, community benefit, workforce, telehealth, digital equity, and other efforts.”&nbsp;</blockquote><h2>4. Notice of available amounts&nbsp;</h2>The NTIA plans to notify the states and territories of the size of the grants they're eligible for beyond the initial $100 million based upon the Broadband DATA maps to be unveiled by the Federal Communications Commission sometime in the fall of 2022. The NTIA will then invite the states and territories to send them initial and final grant proposals. The states have 180 days to submit these proposals. They also have to show the NTIA that the states solicited input from the public and incorporate it.&nbsp;<h2>5. The challenge process</h2>Local governments, non-profits, or broadband providers can challenge state proposals “as to whether a particular location or community anchor institution within the jurisdiction of the Eligible Entity is eligible for grant funds, including whether a particular location is unserved or underserved.” The "eligible entity, i.e. the state or territory, has to submit those successful challenges to the NTIA for approval and review.&nbsp;<h2>6.Initial funding availability</h2>The NTIA's NOFO says that it will review initial proposals as quickly as possible and will make 20 percent of the total funds a state or territory is eligible for available.<h2>7. Sub-grantee selection</h2>Once the NTIA approves a state or territory's initial proposal, they can embark on the process of scoping out and coordinating broadband planning activities with local communities. They have one year to do this before submitting a final grant proposal back to the NTIA. &nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>8. Final proposal and release of remaining funds</h2>States and territories should submit their final proposals after locking in their agreements with local communities and broadband providers and explaining to the NTIA how it fulfilled its plans described in their initial proposals. The NTIA will then release the rest of the funding to to the state or territory. The state or territory again, must put its final proposal out for public comment before sending it back to the NTIA<h2>9. Ongoing reporting requirements</h2>The IIJA places extensive reporting requirements on sub-grantees and the NTIA will be monitoring the progress of the recipients of the federal money.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Here are the nine steps that states and territories must take to land federal funding to bring broadband to everyone. 

Here are the nine steps to landing a grant from the NTIA's BEAD NOFO

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Montana's rescue plan funding commission is going back to the drawing board after its proposal to award nearly half of rescue plan funds to a telecom incumbent drew sharp criticism from local broadband providers.Montana’s ARPA Communications Advisory Commission announced Monday that it would go back over <a href="https://connectmt.mt.gov/awards/preliminary-rankings">the initial rankings</a> of the 75 project planners that applied for the broadband grant funding.“At the end of the day, our job is to make sure that we do what’s best for Montana,” said Commission Chair Sen. Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton.The decision came after a damning report in the <a href="https://montanafreepress.org/2022/08/12/258-million-montana-broadband-grant-plan-draws-debate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Montana Free Press</a> and criticisms from local providers after the commission proposed awarding almost half of its $260 million American Rescue Plan Act broadband grant funding to Charter Communications. &nbsp;The Montana Free Press reports:<blockquote>The <a href="https://connectmt.mt.gov/awards/ConnectMT---Preliminary-Application-Recommendation-Summaries---20220803.pdf">initial grant ranking</a>, prepared by the Department of Administration and consultants at CTC Technology and Energy, <a href="https://connectmt.mt.gov/awards/ConnectMT-Application-and-Allocation-Metrics---20220803.pdf">recommended funding</a> 47 broadband projects proposed by 14 different companies. If completed, those projects would expand high-speed internet access to an estimated 41,000 homes and businesses across Montana.&nbsp;</blockquote>It also reports that Charter spent more than double the amount of money that the trade group for local providers did:<blockquote>Both Charter and the Montana Telecommunications Association lobbied extensively during last year’s legislative session as lawmakers drafted the bills that defined the parameters of the Connect MT program. Lobbying disclosure records indicate Charter retained five lobbyists and spent a total of $87,000 trying to advance its agenda on topics including the Connect MT legislation. The telecommunications association, represented by Feiss, reported spending about $42,000.</blockquote>For more information about winning broadband grants in Montana, and the potential grant amounts available to to grant applicants planning to apply for grants coming from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) provisions, visit Broadband.money's <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/montana" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Montana BEAD grant funding</a> profile page. The page offers estimated available amounts of money available for Montana broadband grant-funded projects, investment maps, and an <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-map/montana" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">interactive BEAD grant funding portal</a> with demographic data, broadband availability status, and more. &nbsp;&nbsp;

A volley of criticism from local providers has caused Montana’s ARPA broadband commission to reconsider its proposed award of the bulk of rescue funding to Charter Communications

Montana ARPA commission reconsiders initial broadband grant award proposal

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At this point, those who are closely following the rollout of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act know that the Federal Communications Commission is creating a broadband map called the “broadband service location fabric.”&nbsp;Those following the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act know that the fabric will be used to apportion funding under the IIJA’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. That various governments, ISPs, and other stakeholders can submit challenges to the fabric’s data is also part of the discussion.Yet we also know the fabric is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fiercetelecom.com/broadband/conexon-exec-flags-impending-bead-mapping-train-wreck">full</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2022/09/state-broadband-maps-show-significantly-fewer-served-locations-than-does-fccs-map/">of</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.zcorum.com/isps-struggled-with-the-fccs-inaugural-broadband-data-collection-process">errors</a>. While&nbsp;<a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2022/09/fcc-challenge-process-important-for-getting-accurate-maps-says-technology-policy-institute/">some</a> are&nbsp;<a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2022/09/nations-most-accurate-broadband-map-will-come-from-fcc-challenge-process-ntca/">more bullish</a> on its long-term accuracy than others, everyone –&nbsp;<a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2022/09/fccs-fabric-challenge-process-important-part-of-getting-map-right-agency-says/">including the FCC</a> – agree that the challenge process will be crucial going forward.What is unclear, however, is exactly how the challenge process works. The FCC has posted information pages and hosted webinars, but many stakeholders still struggle to understand exactly how they are expected to submit their data for review.The FCC has&nbsp;<a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2022/09/fcc-broadband-data-task-force-emphasizes-need-for-precision-in-mapping-challenges/">been clear</a> that following the challenge rules with exactness is essential. To demystify the seven types of bulk challenges, <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/Bulk-Fabric-Challenge" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband.Money assembled a help page</a> that contains challenge-category explanations and provides additional context.

The FCC has posted information pages and hosted webinars on the challenge process, but many stakeholders still struggle to understand exactly how they are expected to submit their data for review.

Bulk challenges to the FCC's broadband fabric

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Ready is pleased to announce that Scott D. Woods will join the company as Vice President of Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships on June 3. He will also open an office for Ready in Washington,D.C.Scott joins us from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), where he was appointed as the inaugural Director of the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives in the administration’s Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OIGC).“Ready is a great company and its software product ReadyBOSS is one that will revolutionize the approach for developing and managing broadband projects in accordance with grant rules,” he said. “It’s the best way to make the most out of all of the historic funding that's out there.”While at the NTIA, Scott also served as a principal liaison between the BroadbandUSA and OIGC program offices, and key strategic partners and external stakeholder groups. This included representatives from state and local governments, telecommunications companies, for-profit and non-profit corporations, and colleges/universities.Scott is a broadband funding, implementation and stakeholder engagement expert and a key member of the OIGC leadership team responsible for implementing the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 grant programs and the historic $65 billion broadband funding program authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA).His expertise and devotion to increasing broadband access and digital inclusion has helped transformed the lives of many communities throughout the U.S. through programs such as the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), BroadbandUSA Technical Assistance Program, BroadbandUSA Workshop Webinars, HBCU College Partnership Program, Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program, and the launch of the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives; and through his influence among national, state and corporate decision makers, and his on-the-ground work building community-based broadband coalitions.Scott has long advocated for better broadband maps, data collection and utilization and in his role at NTIA, has used the agency’s broadband data, mapping and visualizations under the National Broadband Availability Map to make better broadband funding and digital equity programmatic decisions.Scott is truly excited to take the next step in his career.&nbsp; At Ready, he will be more closely aligned with local communities to position them to get funding. He will further work with local communities, local and state leaders and Internet Service Providers to use ReadyBOSS’s data visualization, demographic, investment mapping software to develop winning grant proposals and manage the entire lifecycle of projects - from implementation, reporting and completion. He’ll hold “office hours” online, where he will meet with community stakeholders so they can talk about how to get started and what to do.“Whether I'm in the community, talking with state and local government leaders, or talking to Internet Service Providers, the number one question that I get across all of those stakeholders is: Where do we begin?“ReadyBOSS is that starting point for these stakeholders. They can use it to ascertain the data that's in their jurisdiction, service-area footprint, or planned areas for implementation or expansion.”“Scott is a unicorn. There are few, if any, people in this country with Scott's&nbsp; experience in helping communities close the digital divide,” said Ready Co-Founder postgres Faloon. “Our goal is to use the Ready platform to amplify Scott so that any community or operator can have access to him and his unique insights to guide them on their broadband journey.”Scott received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Urban Studies from Morehouse College; a Master of Arts in Public Policy (M.P.P.) from American University; and Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Howard University School of Law.Ready is a company that makes the Ready BOSS software system. It enables internet service providers and local communities to use interactive maps to create proposed broadband coverage areas and then to create corresponding grant applications. It also helps applicants to find match capital. The system also helps ISPs manage subscribers, plans and revenue, monitor and manage their networks, and seamlessly offer Affordable Connectivity Benefits. And, it helps grant awardees manage their extensive reporting requirements.&nbsp;&nbsp;For more information, or to schedule an interview, call Sarah Lai Stirland at: 831-295 8046 or email her at sarah@broadband.money.

Ready is pleased to announce that Scott D. Woods will join the company as Vice President of Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships on June 3. He will open an office for Ready in Washington,D.C. 


Senior NTIA Executive Scott D. Woods To Join Ready as VP for Community Engagement & Strategic Partnerships

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Twenty-five internet service providers plan to apply for state grant funding to expand Alabama's broadband network coverage areas to unserved areas.The <a href="https://adeca.alabama.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alabama Department of Economic and Community Development</a> <a href="https://adeca.alabama.gov/broadband-applications/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">posted</a> the ISPs' letters of intent to apply for <a href="https://broadband.money/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">broadband grants</a> from the <a href="https://adeca.alabama.gov/grant-application-and-implementation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alabama Broadband Accessibility Fund grant program</a> to its web site Monday. The deadline for filing the letters was April 29th. The grant application deadline itself is June 28th, 2022.&nbsp;ADECA is posting the letters and accompanying proposed geographic coverage information in the hopes that the ISPs will coordinate with incumbents so there's no duplication of effort.&nbsp;A note from ADECA read: “They are publicly available to promote coordination between applicants and with existing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) regarding overlapping service areas. Applicants and existing ISPs are strongly encouraged to contact applicants regarding their letters of intent within 30 days of the posting of the letters on the ADECA website to ensure compliance with the grant program deadline.”Alabama's state legislature assigned $276 million of its American Rescue Plan Act funding to expand broadband networks during a special session in January. &nbsp;ADECA is the agency dispensing the money through its <a href="https://adeca.alabama.gov/broadband/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Digital Expansion Division</a>.The ARPA funds come from three sources: $51 million in State Fiscal Recovery funds, $34 million in Revenue Replacement funds and $191 million from the Capital Projects Fund.“Unserved” in Alabama mean networks with upload speeds of less than 25 Mbps and download speeds of 3 Mbps.For <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/alabama" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">maps </a>of state areas that are <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">served, underserved and unserved</a>, and yield-on-cost maps with and without grant funding, check out Broadband Money's <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/alabama" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alabama profile</a> page. &nbsp;&nbsp;

25 ISPs have notified ADECA of their intention to apply for grant funding 

Alabama publishes letters of intent for grant applications 

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The Biden administration is expected to issue a notice soon that lays out the parameters of the $42.5 billion in broadband funding allocated by the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act. <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/nofo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)</a> will invite states to submit letters of intent to apply for up to $5 million in planning grants.Here are four themes that are expected to be addressed in the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s NOFO:<h2><a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/local-coordination" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">1. Local Coordination</a></h2>Learning from prior broadband grant programs, the NTIA could be arming communities with tools to fight back against incumbent shenanigans. Look for <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/local-coordination" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Local Coordination</a> to be key among these tools.The NTIA stressed the importance of local coordination in its <a href="https://www.ntia.gov/files/ntia/publications/fr-iija-broadband-rfc.pdf">Request for Comments</a> back in January.The NTIA wrote: “Community engagement is critical to eliminating barriers to broadband access and adoption. NTIA views strong involvement between states and local communities as key to ensuring that the broadband needs of all unserved and underserved locations are accounted for in state plans submitted for funding.“What requirements should NTIA establish for states/territories to ensure that local perspectives are critical factors in the design of state plans?”The question spurred <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NTIA-2021-0002/comments">hundreds</a> of comments.<h2><a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/challenge-process" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2. Challenge Processes</a></h2>NTIA could also beef up the <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/challenge-process" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">challenge process</a>, again, learning from historic incumbent monopoly reactions, to include tools for communities as well as states to challenge allocations.The IIJA states that the NTIA should allow states to challenge the amounts of money it decides to allot them based on forthcoming broadband coverage maps issued by the Federal Communications Commission. ( The maps are known as “Fabric," and are estimated to arrive in Fall of this year.) It also states that the FCC should resolve the disputes within 90 days of the final response of the challenged party.This will also be a hot issue that state and local governments will be scanning the NOFO for since many states have constructed their own broadband coverage maps in anticipation of federal broadband funding.&nbsp;<h2>3. Affordability</h2>“Affordability is a key objective of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s broadband programs,” the NTIA said in its RFC. “What factors should be considered in the deployment of BEAD funds to help drive affordability beyond the low-cost option?This has been something that is being widely discussed in the broadband community. It’s a complex issue that ties in with several existing programs, and it is something that was highlighted earlier this week when the administration announced that 20 ISPs had agreed to provide what is essentially “free” service to Affordable Connectivity Program recipients.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>4. BEAD Timelines</h2>For a BEAD timeline, read this <a href="https://broadband.money/blog/applying-for-iija-grants-a-timeline-of-key-milestones-and-grant-application-deadlines">BEAD timeline article</a>Stay tuned for more on the NTIA’s BEAD, Middle Mile and Digital Equity NOFOs, the first two of which are expected to be published on Friday afternoon.Don’t get NOFO FOMO! Join the <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">broadband grants community</a> to stay informed. And you can get a head start on your competition: <a href="https://broadband.money/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pre-enroll</a> in broadband.money’s <a href="https://broadband.money/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">grant applicant R&amp;D portal</a> today.

Four key themes you should look for in NTIA’s $42.5 Billion BEAD NOFO.

Four themes to watch for in NTIA’s BEAD NOFO

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Colorado's broadband office announced a new grant program Wednesday called <a href="https://broadband.colorado.gov/advance-colorado-broadband" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Advance Colorado Broadband</a>.It's the office's state-managed grant program to deploy more than $500 million that the state expects from <a href="https://broadband.money/resources/your-guide-to-broadband-grants" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">federal broadband grants</a>. That includes the Capital Projects Fund (CPF), Enabling Middle-Mile Programs (MM) and the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.The office invited local “stakeholders and communities interested in applying for funding to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) to apply for grants” on Wednesday in its monthly newsletter.The office said that it “will review each submission and work with stakeholders to develop high-impact project plans and determine the best funding source for each proposal.”LOIs will be due July 18, 2022.&nbsp;The office reminded applicants that “LOIs are not required as part of the official grant application nor do they guarantee you will receive funding.”Colorado's Governor Jared Polis has set the target date of 2027 for near universal broadband coverage for his state.&nbsp;To help applicants, CBO is hosting two identical webinars on <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0ld-mqpj4uGdA1lwWXMmgPNNpANWgX2M9o?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">June 17</a> and <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0ld-mqpj4uGdA1lwWXMmgPNNpANWgX2M9o?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">June 21</a> at 10 a.m. MT to review the LOI content and process. They'll be recorded and posted to the CBO's website. The office urged prospective attendees to only attend one.Check out <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/colorado" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband Money's Colorado profile page</a> and interactive <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-map/colorado" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mapping portal</a> to explore coverage and BEAD funding opportunities.

Colorado is racing ahead and soliciting input from local stakeholders and communities ahead of the NTIA's July 18 deadline for state submissions of letters of intent to apply for federal broadband funding

Colorado is soliciting BEAD local letters of intent, LOI

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Baltimore is planning to bring a municipally owned broadband services to some of its poorest communities as part of its ongoing effort to bridge the digital divide.Even though most of Baltimore City is technically considered “served” by incumbent telecom and cable providers, many of the city’s residents do not have access to broadband. <a href="https://bde.baltimorecity.gov/">Baltimore’s Office of Broadband and Digital Equity states as much on its website</a>.&nbsp;“The private sector does not invest in efforts with low returns, whether in terms of broadband or any other sector,” it said. “As has been the case for many decades, residents of the city's poorer neighborhoods live with the outcomes of systemic underinvestment in critical infrastructure in their communities.” <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-07/baltimore-eyes-federal-funds-for-municipal-broadband?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_term=220607&amp;utm_campaign=author_15862601">Bloomberg</a> reports that 41 percent of homes in Baltimore lack any form of broadband.&nbsp;<a href="https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=poverty%20line&amp;t=Poverty&amp;g=0500000US24510&amp;tid=ACSST5Y2020.S1701">According to the United States Census 2020 American Community Survey</a>, Baltimore has the highest poverty rate in Maryland with 20 percent of the population living in poverty.&nbsp;“The high cost of building and upgrading broadband infrastructure is a further disincentive for incumbent providers and potential competitive entrants alike,” according to the city’s Office of Broadband and Digital Equity. “Only by constructing and owning the core infrastructure—like the public roads that touch every corner of the city—can the city ensure its investment will benefit all Baltimoreans equally.”The office argues that an open access fiber optic service is the best way to enable Baltimoreans to access the internet. The office all has committed to digital skills training, the dispersal of surplus and refurbished devices to access broadband services, and multi-lingual, community-based, technical support.&nbsp;&nbsp;“Access is too important to leave to the market and private actors. These guys had decades to solve the problem and they haven’t,” Baltimore’s broadband chief Jason Hardebeck told Bloomberg. “We will never get ahead of the curve if we don’t treat it as public infrastructure.”According to a 2020 report by the Baltimore-based civic group Abell Foundation, in 2018, 96,000 households in Baltimore (nearly 41%), did not have wire-based fiber, cable, digital subscriber line service. That left Baltimore 29th out of the 33 cities examined for home wireline broadband adoption.&nbsp;But cable groups are critical of the plan.&nbsp;“Siphoning scarce resources in pursuit of financing duplicative broadband networks is not consistent with good policy or the sound use of taxpayer dollars,” the cable TV group NCTA said to Bloomberg.<a href="https://bde.baltimorecity.gov/sites/default/files/MayorBMS-DigitalEquityFramework.pdf">Baltimore’s complete Digital Equity Vision</a> can be accessed online.&nbsp;

Even though Baltimore is technically considered “served” by incumbent telecom and cable providers, many of the city’s residents do not have access to broadband.

Baltimore plans a municipally owned broadband network

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<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/Tamarah_Holmes_Headshot_750c8c687f.png"></figure>&nbsp;Dr. Tamarah Holmes is someone who communicates in exclamation points.It’s hard not to be infected with the Virginia Broadband Director's enthusiasm as she talks about funding projects across her state's “mountains and valleys." Her charisma and energy are evident in conversation and even through the Broadband Office’s 24-page “<a href="https://www.commonwealthconnect.virginia.gov/broadband-toolkit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bringing Broadband To Your Community: Guide for Local Leaders</a>,” which is part of a larger “broadband toolkit” that the office makes available online. The guide is a detailed and strategic “how to” manual for local governments looking to bring subsidized broadband networks to their constituents.Her energy is needed: Holmes’ office will be working hard over the next few years to distribute more than a billion dollars. Broadband Money <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/virginia" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">estimates</a> that Virginia will receive more than $958 million from the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act and more than $219 million from the American Rescue Plan Act for broadband grants. When Holmes began working at the broadband office in 2019, she had $1 million at her disposal.Created in 2019, Virginia’s Office of Broadband is housed within the state’s <a href="https://www.dhcd.virginia.gov/broadband" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Department of Housing and Community Development</a>. That puts Holmes and her staff of 13 in a prime place since lawmakers’ goal is to get the money into the hands of local communities with shovel-ready solutions to expand access to broadband. Holmes’ background is in community development, and she still has her heart there. She thrives on connecting with her fellow Virginians, whom she calls “my friends, my neighbors, my family.”As a community development practitioner, Dr. Holmes is interested in communities’ needs on a holistic basis. She’ll often inquire about the needs of communities outside of the conversations she has about broadband connectivity.“I'm not a one track mind,” she said in an interview with Broadband Money. “So what keeps me up is really not a worry, but how can I as a as a community development practitioner, not only come in and do my job to bring access for broadband to folks, but also how can I make sure that our agency is working with those communities that need our help?”<h3>Push for universal broadband coverage</h3>Virginia’s push to get universal broadband coverage by 2024 comes from the top. Former Governor Ralph Northam established initiative 10 year strategy in 2018 and later accelerated the effort to 2024, in part because of the success of the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative, the Commonwealth’s primary grant program to expand broadband access. The governor hired two broadband advisors in his office to strategize about how to achieve the goal of getting universal coverage to &nbsp; Virginia’s most hard to reach places.VATI supplements broadband providers’ construction costs to unserved areas. These are areas that lack access to speeds of 25 Mbps (Megabits per second) downloads and three Mbps uploads.&nbsp;The program requires 20 percent match, half of which must come from the broadband providers. The other half could come from a county or other public funds.&nbsp;Holmes estimates that over 70 counties out of the state’s 95 counties have reached universal coverage and the remainder are working on projects to get to universal coverage. These counties have achieved this by cobbling together funding both from the federal government as well as from the state.&nbsp;Last August, Northam and the General Assembly approved nearly $700 million in American Rescue Plan Act monies to broadband development: $479 million of that comes from the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund and $219 million comes from the Capital Recovery Project. The state used the VATI grant making process to deploy these funds to ready-made projects. The money will support 35 broadband projects to reach universal broadband access in 70 Virginia localities, and is estimated to provide broadband access to over 278,000 households. This was in combination with the annual $50 million state general fund money that the General Assembly dedicates to VATI.Holmes said that she couldn’t comment in detail on Virginia’s plan for Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act (IIAJ) money yet, as the plan is still under development with the new administration coming onboard this past January. The state is also still developing its broadband availability map with Virginia Tech. That is scheduled to go live in April.“We will meet the requirements for in the IIJA, which is the same thing we did for the ARPA funding,” she said in an interview.The state’s legislators are already on it. Both the State’s House and Senate have passed a bill earlier this year that tasks the DHCD with providing a roadmap and recommendations for delivering affordable broadband to the area’s most in need. Deadline: December 1.&nbsp; (At the same time, the application deadline for the next round of VATI funding is this upcoming August.)Holmes’ office is currently working with Virginia Tech on the development of a new statewide broadband availability map. The map is scheduled to go live in April. Her office is also developing a public broadband dashboard. It will allow the public to track how the broadband development funds are being spent and construction progress. She estimates that more than 50,000 Virginians still lack access to broadband.The logic behind the universal access ethos in Virginia is that the state wants local governments to be efficient about how they bring broadband to their communities. Virginia stresses that it doesn’t want providers to “cherry pick” locations because that means that areas that are left behind are some of the most costly to provide access from a financial perspective. To this end, applications that result in local areas getting universal coverage are more likely to get funded.<h3>Help for local applicants</h3>Local governments in Virginia may be able to rely on Holmes’ office as if it were a public consultant. The office has three engineers with expertise in wired and wireless technologies. It’s also staffed by planners with GIS expertise. So local officials at school districts, counties, towns, cities or planning district commissions who are looking for ISPs to work with can use those engineers to evaluate the proposals they receive.“Every year, my GIS planners reach out to the 95 counties and ask them a set of questions about broadband and we triage it,” Holmes explained to Broadband. Money in a Zoom meeting.This way, the state has an updated glimpse of which counties really need broadband. Holding up a map, she shows where the planners are reaching out to find out the locality’s status. Then they hand those findings over to the engineering staff.The office has also put together a 24-page guide that’s written in a user-friendly, colloquial way, filled with Q&amp;A zingers like “Isn’t Elon Musk or some other tech person going to handle this?” (Answer: “… there is currently no silver bullet technology in the pipeline …”) and “We feel a little like the latest fad diet when we say this, but this program works — but only if you put in the commitment and effort …”More importantly, it’s a succinct document that lays out a step-by-step process for local governments to follow when applying for funding and planning broadband projects. &nbsp;“I like to say that we walk alongside them as they’re working out what their proposed project will be,” Holmes said during the interview. “We don’t give them answers, but we can basically walk them through the process as they’re building their applications because as a e a community development agency and that is a normal course of business for us.”The office even goes through grant applications with groups that failed to land the money to figure out what elements of the applications need improvement.<h3>Planning</h3>Grant applicants should pay close attention to their maps when submitting their applications. Everything should be clearly labelled.&nbsp;Provide as much detail and context as possible so that the broadband office can tell how many locations will be covered, and what kind of internet connection will be made available to those locations.&nbsp;To get regions universally covered, Holmes’ office recommends considering partnerships with ISPs that have won money through previous funding sources. The advantage: VATI funded projects can accelerate development of other federal projects because VATI timelines are shorter.An analyst in a “how to” video for Holmes’ office also points out: “Having more passings in an application will help you with scoring, but you’re also scored pretty heavily on cost per passing… which is your total request for VATI funds divided by your number of locations to be provided broadband access in the per application.&nbsp;That also provides an opportunity to include some of the costs that it’s going to take to reach those areas that received funds through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), which we know weren’t funded at the level needed to build out those areas with just the RDOF funding.”(For more on how this can work in practice, watch the office’s “<a href="https://dhcd.virginiainteractive.org/2022-vati-how-apply-webinar" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">How to Apply</a>” webinar.)One thing that gets Holmes talking is the state’s law on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemption. She says that her life as a director changed radically and streamlined operations when the state passed a law that provided broadband providers the ability to seek FOIA exemption when submitting proprietary materials as a part of the office’s programs. What this does is protect companies’ proprietary, competitive information from being accessed by stakeholders asking for the information through Freedom of Information Act requests.This worry has led, famously, to bad mapping data on the federal level and poor planning. Washington State also has such a law. Its broadband plan also mentions how useful this has been for the planning process as companies feel safer providing the information to public officials who will only use that information in order to better target grant awards.<h3>Local connections</h3>Holmes said that her office acts as a kind of a matchmaker for broadband service provision.What she means is that her office actively encourages local officials looking for broadband expansion for their areas to reach out to broadband providers and vice versa.&nbsp; “We used to joke in the beginning that we did a lot of eHarmony connections, like ‘Meet folks in the local government!’”Often local government officials haven’t reached out to find out what local ISPs’ expansion plans are, or ISPs haven’t reached out to their local governments, they found.“We often connect them with the great folks at the companies, so that they can have a frank conversation about what's been happening in a locality, what are the areas that still lack coverage, and then hopefully they will identify some strategies to address the need in their respective communities.”<h2>What you should know: Application advice, tips and scoring criteria</h2>Project description and need: Up to 85 points Project readiness: 40 points Budget and cost appropriateness: up to 135 points Commonwealth priorities: Up to 40 pointsProject description and need: Overview, area map, demographics, existing providers if any, any existing federally funded projects. Project overlaps: 10 percent allowed for wired projects; 20 percent allowed for wireless.Passings form: Total number of passings per projectRDOF passings form: Passings in projects funded by the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund must be listed independently on the RDOF passings formProject details: Does the project cover 95 percent of the locations in a region? What kind of speeds will be offered in a network?Project Readiness: What’s the status of development? Who is on your project management team? Provide a timeline and construction schedule. What is your organization’s level of experience? What is the status of your matching funds? Does your project have any non-match leverage, like volunteer help?What are your marketing plans for the network? Virginia looks for active marketing efforts. The state broadband office wants specifics on how your project will market internet service locally. Will you be hosting town halls? Sending out flyers? Putting on door hangers at people’s doors?What kind of digital literacy marketing will your project be engaging in? Talk to libraries and schools. Think about partnering with them in your applications. &nbsp;Budget and cost appropriateness: What is your budget narrative and what are your project costs?Local impact: Will your project have a partner with a large local institution that could have a big impact on the area, like a university or an electric utility?Digital equity: What efforts are you making to ensure low to moderate income households will have affordable access?Attachments: Make sure you include all attachments required by the application – including attachments to show that there’s no federally-funded &nbsp;projects in the area. Make sure all attachments are clearly labeled.Freedom of Information Act exemptions must be explicitly requested in applications. And you must explicitly specify which materials and data you want exempted. Provide as much detail as possible. Do not submit any materials you want exempted until you have received a written determination from the DHCD.<h2>Other tips from DHCD on using its Centralized Application Management System (CAMS:)</h2><ul><li>Create your application early on as a working document. I.e. Get started early and keep working on it and revising it.</li><li>Set up profiles. Read the “User Guide.”</li><li>Do not share passwords. The system assigns roles to people. So do not try to all log in as the same person – it might affect what you’re able to do in the system.</li><li>Save your work often.</li><li>Google Chrome is the recommended browser. If you use another browser, the system may not save the work properly and hours of data entry could be lost.</li><li>Make sure you watch the office’ “How to Webinar” for other esoteric tech quirks of the CAMS system that, if not heeded could sabotage your application by not saving the information correctly.</li><li>Do not get a consultant to submit your application. The primary applicant must submit it.</li></ul><h2>General tips and questions:</h2><ul><li>Make sure you understand the questions. Call the office if something is unclear. For example, the terms “digital literacy” and “digital equity” are two separate issues. So make sure that you answer both questions separately.</li><li>Give yourself and your team some time to go away and come back again to read your application again to make sure that it is clear, and makes sense.&nbsp; &nbsp;</li></ul>

Virginia Broadband Director Dr. Tamarah Holmes walks us through her office's pioneering broadband grant programs. 

Virginia’s Dr. Holmes Is On The Case: Solving The Mystery of the Missing Broadband Connections

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On November 3, 2022, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives released its&nbsp;<a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-11/DOC_NTIA_OMBI_Congressional_Report.pdf">first annual report</a>, touting more than $20 million in awards disbursed.OMBI, established in August 2021, <a href="https://ntia.gov/blog/2022/ombi-identifies-barriers-helps-close-digital-divide" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">promotes broadband connectivity</a> for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal colleges and universities, minority-serving institutions, and anchor communities.In addition to awarding more than $20 million through the Connecting Minority Communities pilot program, OMBI says it built relationships with a range of public and private stakeholders to further its mission. OMBI also provided technical assistance that “buil[t] capacity of institutions, students, and anchor communities.”Looking ahead, OMBI identified three sets of barriers: availability, affordability, and adoption. Communities and institutions struggle with inadequate or outdated infrastructure, the report says, and remote areas often lack some necessary infrastructure entirely.&nbsp;In addition, students often have limited access to badly needed devices and technical support, OMBI says. Knowledge and language barriers also disadvantage communities and institutions, it adds.OMBI laid out four “next steps” towards digital equity:<ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li>“Continue to build capacity of anchor institutions and their communities.”</li><li>“Explore lessons learned from the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program to develop best practices to expand digital access and adoption.”</li><li>“Coordinate resources and efforts to support the Administration’s Internet for All grant programs.”</li><li>“Explore partnerships with relevant digital equity stakeholders in support of anchor institutions and their communities.”</li></ol>“This inaugural report represents the Office’s initial insights into the barriers to broadband access faced by HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs, and within their anchor communities,” the report concludes. “In future years, the Office will build on this baseline understanding and dig deeper into these barriers.”“These colleges and universities are the heartbeat of their communities,” said Doug Kinkoph, assistant administrator of the NTIA’s&nbsp;Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth, which houses OMBI. “By working together, we can quickly pinpoint the barriers to availability, affordability, and adoption of high-speed Internet service in minority communities, and promote initiatives that can mitigate these challenges.”“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.”Read the report for yourself by following the link: What do you think of OMBI’s first year? And what do you hope it will accomplish in the future?

Established in established in August 2021, the office has focused on connectivity for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal colleges and universities, and minority-serving institutions

NTIA's Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives publishes progress report

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State policymakers have a historic opportunity to make their states globally competitive with the construction of thousands of miles of broadband networks. Here are 8 criteria to help you through the decision-making process when combing through grant applications. 

8 Ways States Could Score Broadband Grant Applications

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Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of the signing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Biden administration has been working hard to lay the groundwork to get all Americans connected to the Internet.&nbsp;The IIJA is the United States' largest ever investment in establishing affordable, high-speed internet access for all.Broadband.money has been working hard too to arm providers, state and local government officials, and the public with tools to easily <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-grant-portals" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">see where the money should go</a>, to <a href="https://broadband.money/how-it-works" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">apply for funding</a>, and then to manage their networks and comply with funding requirements.Find out more <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/broadband-grant-events/broadband-money-office-hours" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this Wednesday</a> when Broadband.money's Scott D. Woods holds online office hours to show you how to use the <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-guides/community-kit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Community Broadband Kit</a> to establish your local community's current connectivity profile, and our<a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-audits" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Broadband Audit </a>pages to see the big picture of where new networks ought to be built.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Learn how to win your share of the IIJA's BEAD grants this Wednesday with Ready's Vice President of Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships

Join us on the 1-year anniversary of the Infrastructure Act

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“You can't get there from here.”That’s what residents of Maine (particularly those in Northern Maine) say in a heavy accent when asked for driving directions.Well&nbsp;<a href="mailto:abutcher@maineconnectivity.org">Andrew Butcher</a>’s goal, as president of the <a href="https://www.maineconnectivity.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Maine Connectivity Authority</a>, is to actually get sufficient bits “there, from here,” for all of the state’s residents.&nbsp;In fact, it’s been his prime goal for the past three years as director of the <a href="https://www.mainebroadbandcoalition.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Maine Broadband Coalition</a>, where in 2020 he co-lead a successful campaign to persuade voters to borrow $15 million to fund broadband expansion. He and the coalition then went on to develop the legislation that ultimately created the MCA, which Governor Janet Mills and the state legislature signed off on through the<a href="http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0477&amp;item=4&amp;snum=130">&nbsp;Connectivity Infrastructure Act</a>&nbsp;in June 2021.&nbsp;The state established the terms of statewide broadband deployment funded by the $129 million from two rounds of the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)’s Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund. (The state has also received $21 million from the Maine Jobs and Recovery Program, and it expects to receive&nbsp;<a href="https://www.maineconnectivity.org/all-in">up to $300 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act</a>.)Butcher’s work at the Maine Broadband Coalition has been about empowering Mainers with solutions to get everyone connected, and particularly using technology as their secret weapon.<h3>From building community gardens in Pittsburgh to community broadband in Maine</h3>Butcher became MCA's president in early January 2022, when the state legislature confirmed his appointment. This puts him in charge of organizing the state’s efforts to parcel out all these funds.&nbsp;He has spent his career working to help local communities. He returned to Maine from Pittsburgh five years ago, where he ran an economic development organization he co-founded called <a href="https://groundedpgh.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Grounded Strategies</a>. The non-profit focused on re-development as a platform for community regeneration. He was pretty busy: The city had 30,000 vacant lots at one point as a result of a 60 percent decline in the city’s population over the decades. When he moved, he was working with Carnegie Mellon University and the U.S. Postal Service on repurposing U.S. postal facilities, again, to help local communities. That led him to work with the cities of Lewiston and Portland, and the <a href="https://www.mainetechnology.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Maine Technology Institute</a>.“It was not quite what drew me to Maine,” he said during a Zoom interview. “Maine drew me be close to the places and people that I love. I have family here, and I spent a good amount of my formative life coming here in the summertime - and have always dreamed of living here.”Having led the coalition for three years, Butcher is familiar with the protocol of coordinating with local communities and governments to roll out broadband networks. The Maine Broadband Coalition is the primary network of local communities, government agencies, service providers and technology companies working to bring universal, affordable and reliable internet access to the state.&nbsp;<h3>Empowering Mainers with solutions for broadband</h3>The coalition, now with full-time staff, still runs a very informative newsletter and set of programming that keeps stakeholders informed and connected, and reminds people when they can meet on a regular basis every Friday to talk about Broadband.&nbsp;“Informed and equipped people can be really effective in designing their own solutions,” Butcher told me from his home office over Zoom earlier this year. “They understand the problems better than anyone else, and they have the resourcefulness and capability to design their own solutions – and that’s true whether you’re building a community garden, like I did in Pittsburgh, or whether you’re building out broadband infrastructure, like we are in Maine”This belief is why he pushes for community engagement, capacity building and education. These things can help the community inform network builders and service providers what they really want.&nbsp;“We will continue to invest in the community-driven planning process, and we will try to incentivize regional-scale activities through utility districts where communities want to come together in that way.”&nbsp;In the past, several communities in Maine have banded together to form broadband utility districts to share the costs of running broadband to their homes.&nbsp;But that’s not the only way the state is going to expand broadband.&nbsp;<h3>Going All In and Getting Everyone Connected By 2024</h3>The relatively small state of 1.4 million inhabitants has had one of the most organized and coherent broadband strategies in the nation.&nbsp;During 2022, the MCA established what it calls its <a href="https://www.maineconnectivity.org/all-in" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">All-In Program</a>. The plan is to build broadband to more than 30,000 homes in rural and remote areas.&nbsp;That process will unfold, as required by the IIJA, in conjunction with the development of a statewide<a href="https://www.maineconnectivity.org/digital-equity">&nbsp;Digital Equity</a> and 5-Year Broadband Masterplan. The MCA opened up&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/blog/here-are-the-key-dates-for-Maine-broadband-grant-opportunities">the grant application process</a> for its various programs this fall. And it issued a Request for Proposals for partners to help it create a digital equity plan in November. The deadline for applications is December 16, 2022.&nbsp;The state also wanted to create an entity like a public power authority so that it can be creative with financing, Butcher said. The authority might, for example, issue bonds or make equity investments. That would make it possible for the authority to own and operate its own infrastructure and enter public-private partnerships. Butcher did not commit to doing any of that since there are federal restrictions on some of these kinds of activities, but he said that it’s good to be able to have “all options on the table.”&nbsp;The state’s plans say that the MCA’s goal is to get a broadband connection to anyone who wants one by the end of 2024.&nbsp;<h3>Maine’s secret weapon</h3>One of the tools that has helped Maine plan its networks and win a Broadband Infrastructure Project Grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration was its Broadband Intelligence Platform, Butcher said. Maine developed the tool with Vetro Fiber and Tilson Technology. It aggregates self-reported ISP network data with speed test information, among other things.&nbsp;“In 2021, the Platform allowed for us to rebut over 1200 challenges to the 15,000 locations that [service providers claimed were already served] that were submitted in our proposal,” he said.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Butcher has spent 2022 establishing an impressive, team to manage all of this. When we spoke with him in April, he was looking to hire 15 people on top of the three full-time staff the MCA already had. The profile of the team is the envy of many other state offices and is composed of numerous leaders from a diversity of places and sectors around the state.&nbsp; Additionally the MCA has an diverse array of partners ranging lawyers from the Harvard Law School <a href="https://hls.harvard.edu/clinics/in-house-clinics/cyberlaw-clinic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cyberlaw Clinic</a>, to the <a href="https://roux.northeastern.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Roux Institute</a> at Northeastern to the State Department of Transportation. They are helping the MCA create a middle mile strategy, and a business plan, as well as a financing guide for broadband utility districts. The lawyers are also helping the authority with compliance issues tied to grant funding to build networks from a variety of funding streams.&nbsp;Butcher had these words for providers interested in serving communities in Maine:&nbsp;“ISPs need to be able to engage with regional partnerships in a meaningful way. We also believe in a competitive market space that advances the diversity of options for consumers.&nbsp;“We also believe in being as efficient and judicious with use of public funding as possible, and certainly want to minimize inefficiencies or overbuild, as some people might call it. And so, it's hard for us to know what would be overbuilt if we don't know where people are going to be building. So information sharing and data sharing will be paramount to making sure that we know what is being planned for and how we can complement it, how we can augment it.”

Butcher’s work at the Maine Broadband Coalition is about empowering Mainers with solutions to get everyone connected

Maine Connectivity Authority President Andrew Butcher: A community and consensus builder takes charge

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The <a href="https://broadband.money/annotated-resources/annotated-guide-to-iija-broadband-programs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act</a> contains a <a href="https://broadband.money/events/alan-davidson-fireside-chat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">multitude of deadlines</a>.We thought it would be useful to create a timeline to keep track of it all, as you look to apply for <a href="https://broadband.money/annotated-resources/annotated-guide-to-iija-broadband-programs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">IIJA grants</a> if you're a state, local government or other entity involved in the broadband business.&nbsp;The National Telecommunications and Information Administration will establish many upcoming deadlines itself, so we will be updating this as it makes its announcements.<h2>MAY 16, 2022</h2><h3>Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Grants: $42.45 billion</h3>The NTIA will dispense the <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">IIJA BEAD </a>grant funding in three phases.The agency is scheduled to issue a <a href="https://broadband.money/resources" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BEAD NOFO</a>, or Notice of Funding Opportunity, on May 16th.Congress made sure that the NTIA would dispense the $42.5 billion in broadband grants in a methodical way.PHASE 1, PLANNING: States can initially apply for up to $5 million for planning. The U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands can apply for $1.25 million each.&nbsp;The funds can be used to: hire staff in their broadband offices; conduct trainings; fund outreach to local governments; conduct research and collect data and develop a preliminary budget.&nbsp; The NTIA has published this <a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-03/A5%20Prepping%20for%20BEAD%20and%20DEA%20NOFO_vFinal%20%281%29.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">handy guide</a> for state level governments to help them think through this planning process.UPDATE: States must submit outlines for their initial planning funds to the NTIA by August 15th.&nbsp;PHASE 2, STATES AND TERRITORIES SHOULD SUBMIT AN INITIAL BROADBAND PLAN FOR BEAD GRANTS TO THE NTIA. Once they've conferred with local governments, states and territories, state governments must submit their initial broadband deployment plans to the NTIA.&nbsp;The legislation specifies that, among other things, grant applicants need to submit “5-year action plans” that explain how they’re working with local and regional bodies to deploy broadband networks, and how the networks will help local areas develop economically and boost telehealth and “related connectivity efforts.”&nbsp; States need to include any subgrant programs and explain their oversight procedures. &nbsp; The NTIA needs to review these plans and then once approved, the states and territories can access 20 percent of their allocation from their <a href="https://broadband.money/resources" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BEAD grant</a> allocation.&nbsp;The legislation said that it’s up to the NTIA’s discretion to release a higher percentage of each state’s allocation.&nbsp;Congress left it up to the NTIA to establish its own deadlines. If a state doesn’t meet the NTIA’s application deadlines, the legislation gives the agency the freedom to allocate the money elsewhere.&nbsp;Both the states and the NTIA will have to wait for the Federal Communications Commission to publish its <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-104447" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric</a>, expected sometime in the Fall of 2022, to figure out what their respective allocations are.States can challenge the maps if their data conflicts with the FCC's. Once they have the funding, states will set up competitive broadband infrastructure grant programs. <a href="https://broadband.money/resources" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BEAD grant </a>winners are obligated to offer a low-cost plan.<h3>Enabling Middle Mile Infrastructure Broadband Program Grant Program: $1 billion </h3>The NTIA is scheduled to issue a <a href="https://broadband.money/annotated-resources/annotated-guide-to-iija-broadband-programs#ENABLING-MIDDLE-MILE-BROADBAND-INFRASTRUCTURE" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">middle mile infrastructure NOFO</a> or Notice of Funding Opportunity on May 16th as well.&nbsp;The <a href="https://broadband.money/annotated-resources/annotated-guide-to-iija-broadband-programs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">IIJA grant program</a> gives the NTIA the authority to create a <a href="https://broadband.money/annotated-resources/annotated-guide-to-iija-broadband-programs#ENABLING-MIDDLE-MILE-BROADBAND-INFRASTRUCTURE" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">competitive grant program</a> for broadband providers to build, improve or buy middle mile infrastructure.&nbsp; Eligible entities include: states and its political subdivisions, Tribal governments, technology and telecommunications companies, electric utilities, utility cooperatives public utility districts, nonprofit associations, foundations, corporations and institutions, regional planning counsels, Native entities, or economic development authorities.The program’s goal is lower the cost of connecting ISPs to the Internet’s backbone so that they can make their retail plans more affordable in rural and other hard-to-reach or unprofitable service areas.&nbsp; Middle mile grant applicants would have to build out projects within five years of receiving the money.&nbsp;<h3>Workforce</h3>The IIJA directed the GAO to issue a report estimating the number of skilled telecommunications workers that will be required to build and maintain broadband infrastructure in rural areas both now and in the future as states and the private sector go about building both wired and wireless networks. The deadline for the report is May 16th.<h2>Mid May-mid June</h2><h3>Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program: $2.75 billion</h3>The agency is scheduled to issue a state digital equity planning grant NOFO, or Notice of Funding Opportunity for a total of $60 million, sometime between mid May and mid June, 2022. Eligible entities will have 60 days to apply.Once they receive initial planning grants, states have 12 months to complete their plans, and they can also apply for funds from the $1.44 billion State Capacity Grant Program. They have a two year window to apply for these state capacity grants and implement their plans.Broadband providers can apply directly to the NTIA as well for its $1.25 billion Competitive Grant Program to implement their own digital inclusion plans.The goal of digital inclusion is to improve broadband accessibility for people who normally have a hard time affording it, or understanding how to use it. States may award sub-grants to broadband providers to execute these plans.For more details, planning guidance, and how to combine these efforts with BEAD grant projects, download the <a href="https://www.digitalinclusion.org/download/17987/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">National Digital Inclusion Alliance’s Digital Inclusion Guide for States</a>.&nbsp;<h2>July</h2><a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/eligible-entity" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Eligible entities </a>must submit their plans for Digital Equity Grants to the NTIA by July 12.Eligible entities' governors must submit their Letters of Intent (LOI) to the NTIA by July 18.<h2>Other Deadlines</h2><h2>August, 2022</h2>FCC to issue report on reforming the Universal Service Fund&nbsp;BEAD: States must submit outlines for their initial planning funds to the NTIA by August 15th.&nbsp;<h2>Mid November 2022</h2><h3>Consumer Broadband Labels</h3>The FCC must issue new rules directing ISPs to provide consumers more detailed, yet easy-to-understand information on what they’re actually selling.&nbsp;The IIJA directs the FCC to do this within one year of the law’s enactment.&nbsp; Per the FCC: “The proposal would require broadband providers to display, at the point of sale, labels that show prices, including introductory rates, as well as speeds, data allowances, network management practices, and other critical broadband service information.”<h3>GAO Review of the Federal Communications Commission's Process for Evaluating Internet Speeds</h3>The IIJA directs the GAO to report back to Congress within a year and evaluate the way the FCC establishes, reviews, and updates the upload and download speed thresholds for broadband internet access service, and whether the agency needs to update its process for doing these things in light of all the activities that we conduct through the internet on a daily basis. &nbsp;<h2>May 2023</h2>The FCC must publish an online map showing all federally funded broadband grant projects.<h2>November 2023</h2><h3>Preventing Digital Redlining</h3>The FCC has two years to issue rules to make sure that companies don’t avoid providing internet service to populations based on income, race, ethnicity, color, religion or national origin.&nbsp;Within that time, the agency has to identify steps to eliminate such discrimination. The IIJA also directs the FCC to adopt model policies and best practices that states and local governments can adopt to prevent such practices.&nbsp;For more information on this issue, read this <a href="https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/features/the-broadband-gaps-dirty-secret-redlining-still-exists-in-digital-form/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">story by CNET</a>. &nbsp;

Here's when to expect the NTIA's upcoming Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announcement

Applying for IIJA Grants? Here's a Timeline of Key Milestones and Grant Application Deadlines

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BEAM Director Sally Doty is using old fashioned charm and modern technology to get everyone in her state wired.

Mississippi’s Broadband Director Sally Doty uses data, charm, and legwork to expose broadband inequities

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The <a href="https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">California Public Utilities Commission </a>(CPUC) the state agency that regulates telecom, power, transportation and other vital sectors, announced Wednesday that it has received $8.96 million in funding grants from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by the U.S. Congress in 2021, adding to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.internetforall.gov/interactive-map">49 other states and territories</a> that have received money from the Infrastructure bill’s total pot of $65 billion to expand broadband.This is the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/news-and-updates/all-news/california-receives-9-million-in-federal-grants-for-digital-equity-and-last-mile">broadband funding news</a> the regulatory agency shared this week on top of its&nbsp;<a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/get-broadband-grant-alerts-news/california-public-utilities-commission-awards-8m-for-expanding-broadband-to-unserved-areas">December 19 announcement</a>. State legislators have already budgeted $6.5 billion to roll out affordable broadband across the state.The funds will power twin initiatives that broadband expansion <a href="https://broadband.money/blog/infrastructure-inextricably-linked-to-digital-equity-and-broadband-mapping" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">experts say </a>are crucial to develop in tandem:&nbsp;<ol><li>$4.9 million is designated to plan California’s&nbsp;implementation of the infrastructure law's <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/broadband-equity-access-and-deployment-program">Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD)</a> grant program for a range of broadband access expansion activities, including:<ol><li>“Identifying unserved and underserved locations</li><li>Planning and increasing capacity of the state broadband programs&nbsp;</li><li>Developing a sub-grantee program for last-mile broadband deployment&nbsp;</li><li>Supporting the development of a 5-year action plan”</li></ol></li></ol>In October,&nbsp; CPUC President Alice Busching Reynolds said during a webinar that the agency wants "a big tent approach" as it develops the required five-year plan for spending BEAD funding. More than 2 million Californians don’t have access to the internet, Chief Information Officer Liana Bailey-Crimmins said during the webinar, and it’s those people who should be involved in the planning process.&nbsp;The other funding initiative is:<ol><li>A $4 million grant administered by the California Department of Technology (CDT) to further develop the State Digital Equity Plan, which will engage “local and regional stakeholders”&nbsp;</li></ol>Finally, as part of this effort, CPUC says CDT will conduct a statewide survey that aims to reach 11,000 respondents across California’s 58 counties via phone, online, and in-person interviews, focusing on areas that already have broadband coverage, from which CDT wants to better understand “barriers to digital equity.”&nbsp;Broadband.money has&nbsp;the <a href="https://broadband.money/how-it-works">tools and data</a> you need to create detailed broadband grant proposals that will make a real impact in your community.&nbsp;Identify&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-audits">unserved and underserved locations</a>, as well as&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-grant-portals">map assets across your service area&nbsp;</a>to catalogue high-speed Internet service adoption, affordability, equity, access and deployment.&nbsp;Check out our <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-audits/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">California broadband audit</a>. According to our data, California has 14,383,328 broadband serviceable locations, 535,597 of which are unserved and 5,899,139 are underserved, as defined by the infrastructure legislation's criteria.Contact&nbsp;us.&nbsp;

California receives an additional $9 million for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD) program grant funding and digital equity

California receives nearly $9M for BEAD funding and digital equity planning

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Lodging a challenge to the Federal Communications Commission’s national broadband map means submitting a great deal of data. And while the FCC won’t force anyone to submit challenges, stakeholders – from state governments on down to individual citizens – know the twin challenge processes are the best mechanisms to ensure each state get its fair share of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment funding.&nbsp;This process is more complicated for Tribal governments, which are independent nations with corresponding rights to data sovereignty. Providing granular challenge data to the FCC, data the agency would legally own, raises concerns for some Tribal leaders.&nbsp;Many Tribal lands lack reliable, affordable service, and BEAD funds could be a game changer. Also, since the FCC’s data is reportedly quite inaccurate on Tribal lands, Tribal challenges are likely to be highly impactful on BEAD allocations.This&nbsp;<a href="https://bja.ojp.gov/doc/tribal-data-sovereignty-presentation.pdf">slide deck</a> from the American Indian Health Commission provides a helpful brush-up on the principles of Tribal data sovereignty.The deck outlines four key principles:<ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>“Only a Tribe has the sovereign authority to determine how their data may or may not be used.”</li><li>“When a jurisdiction reports on or about American Indian or Alaska native peoples, it should meaningfully partner and consult with Tribal leaders on the analysis and interpretation of the data.”</li><li>“Tribes retain an ownership interest in data, even when the Tribe’s data are located in a state, federal or other dataset. This interest remains when the Tribe’s data are aggregated with other data.”</li><li>“Tribes must have equitable access to data needed to perform their governmental duties.”</li></ul>The deck also notes a few barriers:<ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>“Exclusion of Tribal nations from decision‐ making/input on federal and state government use of tribal and AI/AN data.”</li><li>“Lack of federal and state data sharing agreements that protect Tribal and AI/AN data and recognize Tribal ownership in data about their Tribe and their people.”</li><li>“Lack of federal and state government mechanisms to provide Tribal nations equitable access to AI/AN data necessary for Tribes to perform their governmental duties.”</li></ul>The deck lists known violations of Tribal data sovereignty as well. A couple examples:<ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>A state shares Tribal data with national media without permission.</li><li>A state shares Tribal vaccine allocations without permission.</li></ul>Tribal governments, which, again, are sovereign nations, must be dealt with as such by Washington. The FCC seems to have neglected data sovereignty when planning its mapping process, but certainly should reevaluate its policies to mitigate harms going forward.See also these principles of <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/tribal-data-sovereignty" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tribal Data Sovereignty</a>.

Providing granular challenge data to the FCC, data the agency would legally own, raises concerns for some Tribal leaders. 

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