Funding Program Home
NTIA administers grant programs that further the deployment and use of emerging technologies, spectrum, broadband and other technologies in America, laying the groundwork for sustainable economic growth; improved education, public safety, and health care; and the advancement of other national priorities.
Innovation Fund
Over the next decade, the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), will work to catalyze the development and adoption of open, interoperable, and standards-based networks through the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund. Authorized under the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act and funded through the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, this ten-year grant program will help drive wireless innovation, foster competition, and strengthen supply chain resilience. It will also help unlock opportunities for companies from the United States and its global allies, particularly small and medium enterprises, to compete in a market historically dominated by a few suppliers, including high-risk suppliers that raise security concerns.
High-Speed Internet
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes a significant investment of $65 billion to help close the digital divide and ensure that all Americans have access to reliable, high speed, and affordable broadband. This investment builds upon the funding for broadband deployment provided in the American Rescue Plan, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, the FCC’s Universal Service program, and USDA’s Rural Utilities Service broadband programs. This historic investment will lay critical groundwork for widespread access and affordability of broadband, creating new jobs and economic opportunities, providing increased access to healthcare services, enriching educational experiences of students, and improving overall quality of life for all Americans.
Additionally, NTIA continues to monitor the following:
- The Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) and the State Broadband Initiative (SBI) (formerly called the State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program) invested approximately $4 billion in projects throughout the United States to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure, enhance and expand public computer centers, encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service, and promote statewide broadband planning and data collection activities. The State Broadband Initiative was also responsible for creation and maintenance of the National Broadband Map.
- The State and Local Implementation Grant Program (SLIGP), a $121.5 million formula-based, matching grant program administered by NTIA. The program is designed to assist regional, state, local, and tribal government entities as they plan for a nationwide public safety broadband network. The SLIGP 2.0 round of grants provided up to $43.4 million in matching grant funds to provide continued support to States and territories.
- Previously awarded grants from the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP), which was terminated by Congress in fiscal year 2011. This program has helped public broadcasting stations and other organizations construct facilities to bring educational and cultural programs to the American public.
- The Public Safety Interoperable Communications (PSIC) Grant Program, helped first responders better communicate during disasters. NTIA, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, awarded nearly $1 billion to fund projects nationwide. Program funding ended September 30, 2012.
- The Low Power Television and Translator Upgrade Program (LPTV), which helps operators of analog low-power television stations in eligible rural communities to upgrade their facilities to digital broadcast capacity.
- A grant to the Metropolitan Television Alliance to deploy and maintain a temporary digital television broadcast system in the New York metropolitan area.
- Grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and NTIA to the states and U.S. territories to improve 911 services.
- A grant to the Public Broadcasting System as part of the Warning Alert and Response Network.
Prior initiatives include the Digital TV Converter Box Coupon Program and the Technology Opportunities Program.
Related content
Broadband Construction Season
While stuck in construction traffic the other day, I thought of the old cliché that there are only two seasons – winter and road construction. But after visiting the Central Valley Independent Network’s (CVIN) offices in Fresno, California this summer, I would add broadband construction as a third season.
For CVIN and all other Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) projects, summer is a time to build. Whether it’s hanging fiber on utility poles or trenching, plowing, and drilling underground, our awardees and their construction crews are busy at work.
Broadband is a world of extremes: it takes heavy-duty, 10-ton equipment to install fiber strands that are as small as a human hair. It takes months and years of hot, sweaty, dust-filled workdays to build a network that will provide massive amounts of data to end users at speeds measured in millionths of a second. It takes hundreds of man-hours, at a pace of 1000 feet per day to install the fiber that will connect our schools and hospitals with resources on the other side of the planet with just the click of a mouse.
Fourteenth Quarterly Status Report to Congress Regarding BTOP
Pursuant to Section 6001(d)(4) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA or Recovery Act) (Public Law No. 111-5), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) provides this Quarterly Report on the status of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP or Program). This Report focuses on the Program’s activities from April 1 to June 30, 2012.
The National Broadband Map Is Updated
Today we again updated the National Broadband Map, the unprecedented interactive map that shows what high-speed Internet service is available in the United States. The map is powered by a new set of data from 1,865 broadband providers nationwide – more than 20 million records – and displays where broadband is available, the name of the provider, the technology used to provide the service, and the maximum advertised speeds of the service.
Since its launch last year, the National Broadband Map has attracted more than 650,000 users who are employing the map to meet a variety of needs. For example: