Last week the United States Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced how it has allocated $42 billion in funding to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five territories to deploy affordable, reliable high-speed internet service to everyone in America. This “Internet for All” initiative is a key component of the Administration’s “Investing in America” agenda.
This transformational federal investment will not only make great advances in bridging the digital divide, but also unlock potential for the use of broadband for far reaching applications. For example, this new connectivity can help lay the foundation for becoming a utility of the future, allowing you to surgically deploy assets that provide advanced AMI functionality, advanced power quality monitoring capability and control of behind the meter assets and DERs.
Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, states have until December to submit their Initial proposals for how to run their grant programs, though we understand that many states are well into this planning process and these submissions will be turned in and approved on a rolling basis on a far quicker timeline.
State allocations, and the resulting state deployment of these funds, are based on recently-unveiled FCC maps that show where broadband service exists across the country. These maps reflect unserved locations that have no internet access or that only have access under 25/3 Mbps and underserved locations that only have access under 100/20 Mbps, key targets for use of these funds.
And while the maps are an important guide, states will retain a good deal of control over which local projects will benefit from this investment. As these become available, we will track and provide situational awareness on eligibility, process, timeline, on a state by state basis.
Learn more about the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program >>
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