NTIA Blog

NTIA ended 2022 by awarding $304 million in funding to every state, along with Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, for planning how to best deploy networks to connect everyone in America to affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service.

States are set to receive a historic influx of funding to expand high-speed Internet service thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The planning grants awarded in 2022 are down payments so the states can prepare to use the coming billions in broadband funding effectively.

Each state has different needs and unique challenges in bridging the digital divide, and our planning grants recognize the importance of flexibility. Still, there are broad trends driving the ways states are putting this money to use.

In order to meet the urgency of this moment to connect the unconnected, we continue to target June 30 as the date by which we will allocate each state and territory’s BEAD Program funding for high-speed Internet service. NTIA and the FCC have worked closely with states to assist them in the process of improving the National Broadband Map to achieve this goal.

We’ve held one-on-one sessions with dozens of states and territories throughout this process, as well as hosted twice weekly office hours with the FCC to answer questions from state broadband offices. We’ve also engaged with more than a dozen grassroots advocacy organizations representing consumers and underrepresented populations to inform them and their membership on how to submit challenges.

States, counties and other organizations have been productive partners in the process to improve the FCC’s map. And we know their engagement is producing a better map. The FCC already has received over 1 million challenges to provider reported availability data and has updated the map’s underlying Fabric to add more than 1 million additional locations. Through this work, the map is becoming more accurate and will continue to get incrementally better.

By: Assistant Secretary Alan Davidson

NTIA is like a start-up within the federal government, despite being nearly 45 years old. We’ve had the explosive growth of a new organization in my first year at the helm: Over one third of current NTIA staff was not here when I took the oath of office in January. While NTIA is still a small agency by government standards, we punched above our weight class in 2022. We delivered on programs to improve Internet connectivity while also notching big wins on spectrum policy, international standards, and other important tech policy issues.

On broadband, NTIA spent 2022 making down payments on our future investments in connecting everyone in America to affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service. And those down payments weren’t small – we've awarded $2.3 billion in funding to nearly 300 entities as we advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of closing the digital divide. Highlights from the year included:

NTIA’s Communications Supply Chain Risk Information Partnership (C-SCRIP) has launched its new website, in time for Infrastructure Security Month in November. This updated site is a one-stop shop for resources on improving the security of your organization’s supply chain, both physical and digital.

The new site offers the following:

• Supply chain security resources;
• Dedicated page to 5G and Beyond technologies;
• Dedicated page to NTIA’s Internet for All programs;
• More information about federal grant programs, free training sessions, and events;
• RSS subscription for regular updates; and
• Mailing list sign-up for additional information, including the bi-monthly C-SCRIP Update.

C-SCRIP – created by NTIA at the request of Congress – brings together the federal government, telecommunications companies and equipment suppliers to share information about supply chain security risks.

Keeping the nation’s critical infrastructure safe is important to our national and economic security. The C-SCRIP information-sharing program demonstrates NTIA’s commitment to assisting small, medium, and rural communications companies in identifying and managing threats to their operations. 

Any questions or comments about the C-SCRIP program may be directed to cscrip@ntia.gov.

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

 

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

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

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

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

Image

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Internet access means access to education, healthcare, jobs, and entertainment. It’s essential to full participation in our modern economy. Still, NTIA data show that about one in five U.S. households are not connected to the Internet at home.

President Biden’s Internet for All initiative is working to connect everyone in America to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet. With NTIA spearheading the initiative, we know it’s important to make data-driven solutions and assess who is not online and what barriers are keeping them unconnected.

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

While a majority – 58% – of the 24 million offline households express no interest or need to be online, there is also a large proportion who say they can’t afford home Internet service (18%). Regardless of their stated reasons for non-use, offline households have significantly lower incomes than their online counterparts. This suggests that even after overcoming other barriers, cost may be an additional challenge for many offline households.