05/12/2022 | News release | Distributed by Public on 05/12/2022 13:20
On November 15, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which included a historic $65 billion investment to ensure that everyone in America has access to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet. The U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) was allocated more than $48 billion of this funding to work with states and other stakeholders to lay the critical groundwork to connect every American.
NTIA developed a whole-of-government, whole-of-nation strategy to meet President Biden's goal to connect everyone in America to reliable, affordable, high-speed internet service. On January 7, 2022, NTIA requested public comment on a wide range of policy and program considerations associated with the new high-speed internet grant programs authorized and funded by the President's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The request for comment was a vital part of NTIA's strategy, allowing a broad and diverse set of stakeholders to inform program development and help close the digital divide and meet the ambitious goal of connecting every American. This process bolstered NTIA's work and improved the number and quality of ideas under consideration as the agency developed the Notices of Funding Opportunity for the new grant programs.
NTIA received 557 thoughtful and informative written responses from state and local governments, non-profit and community-based organizations, schools, internet service providers, industry associations and individuals. NTIA also conducted hundreds of stakeholder engagement events, including listening sessions, webinars, panel discussions, and in-person and virtual individual and group meetings. NTIA thanks all the individuals and organizations who shared their views and ideas throughout this process. This input has served an important role in the development and implementation of the new high-speed internet grant programs, informed the drafting of the Notices of Funding Opportunity, and helped shape these programs in ways that will help truly make it a whole-of-nation success.
What We Heard
Our overwhelming takeaway: Stakeholders believe in and are committed to doing their part to achieve an America where everyone has access to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet.
Our engagements confirmed there is significant support for the President's goal of universal access to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet for all. Respondents pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic as crystalizing what many have known for a very long time: access to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet is not a luxury, but a necessity, for everyone in America. Access to the internet plays a critical and growing role in the ways in which we work, play, learn, receive health care, and participate in democracy.
Yet affordable, reliable, high-speed internet access has remained elusive too far too many for far too long, whether because they live in a location where no service is available, the offering available is unaffordable, or the speed or quality of the service available to them is unreliable. Respondents implored NTIA to anchor on a clear north star: a robust and affordable internet connection for everyone in America.
Like the respondents, NTIA is prepared to go all in and do its part to reach this ambitious goal. The forthcoming Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) will describe how NTIA intends to fulfill this clear directive in partnership with other federal actors; state, territorial, Tribal and Native authorities; cities, towns, counties and other localities; the non-profit sector; academia; labor organizations and unions; and industry.
Some of the additional key findings that informed decisions NTIA will make in the Notices of Funding Opportunity include:
Moving Forward
The release of our Notices of Funding Opportunity will be an important milestone for implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. But it is just the beginning. NTIA knows that to be successful, we need everyone to come to the table. We welcome continued, ongoing coordination and collaboration with all stakeholders and will continue to engage with a diverse set of stakeholders to ensure all voices continue to be heard. States and territories have an important statutory role in implementation and NTIA looks forward to working in strong partnership with these entities to respond in real-time to their needs, provide robust technical assistance and support, and maintain constant communication. Localities and groups representing historically excluded communities can and must make their voices heard - and established partners must listen - to ensure that longstanding equity gaps are finally closed. Existing broadband providers and new entrants must communicate well with federal, state, and local partners to ensure that deployments proceed as expected.
NTIA urges all individual stakeholders and organizations to continue to engage throughout the implementation process - with NTIA, with state and local governments, with territorial, Native, and tribal authorities, with providers, and with civil society groups - to ensure that this historic investment creates our shared goal of affordable, reliable high-speed internet for all.