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
Narrowing the Digital Divide in the Navajo Nation
Spread across the Four Corners region of the American Southwest, the Navajo Nation is home to up to 175,000 members of the Navajo Tribe. Tribal members live scattered across more than 27,000 square miles of land stretching from northeast Arizona to northwest New Mexico to southeast Utah.
It’s a place where many roads have never been paved, many buildings don’t have a formal postal address and thousands of families remain cut off from the electrical grid. At least 60 percent of homes don’t have landline telephone service even though wireless signals are often spotty or nonexistent. The 911 system often cannot track where people are calling from during an emergency. And high-speed Internet access has been almost entirely unavailable.
Data from the National Broadband Map, which is maintained by NTIA in collaboration with the Federal Communications Commission, show that less than 4 percent of the population living in Navajo Nation territory has access to even the most basic wireline broadband speeds of 3 megabits per second downstream.
But with a $32 million grant from NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority is bringing a modern wireless communications system to a region that has been all too frequently bypassed by amenities that most Americans take for granted.
Digital Cities Benefit from Broadband Investments
NTIA congratulates the winners of the 2013 Digital Cities awards, which recognize cities for the innovative use of technology to expand access to government services, promote citizen engagement, increase transparency, reduce costs and improve the lives of residents. The Center for Digital Government, a research and advisory firm focused on technology in state and local government, gave out the awards at the National League of Cities annual conference in Seattle last month.
NTIA is particularly pleased to note that a number of winning cities were lauded for projects and activities funded by our Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). Over the past four years, the program has invested roughly $4 billion nationwide in network infrastructure, public computer centers and digital literacy training to help close the digital divide and ensure all Americans can benefit from the promise and potential of the Internet.
Boston, which received two separate BTOP grants, took first-place honors in the Digital Cities “large population” category. Boston used one federal grant to install 638 new computers in 54 libraries, community centers and public housing developments to provide Internet access to those who don’t have it at home. The city used the other investment to offer all sorts of training programs at these centers, covering everything from basic Web navigation and multimedia skills to adult education and job search assistance. For more information, go to http://bpcc.bpl.org/
Medidas para eliminar la brecha digital que afecta a las comunidades hispanas
Estados Unidos celebró recientemente el Mes de la Hispanidad. Mientras continuamos reflexionando sobre los muchos aportes de los estadounidenses de origen hispano a nuestro país, la Dirección Nacional de Telecomunicaciones e Información (National Telecommunications and Information Administration o NTIA) viene trabajando arduamente para asegurar que los hispanos y otros grupos minoritarios cuenten con los conocimientos que necesitan sobre computación para ser más competitivos en la economía internacional, que depende cada vez más de la tecnología.
Los más recientes datos, recopilados con la ayuda de la Oficina del Censo de Estados Unidos (U.S. Census Bureau) como parte de la serie “Digital Nation” de NTIA, indican que 63 por ciento de los hogares hispanos habían comenzado a usar banda ancha para octubre del 2012. Este es un aumento considerable con relación a los datos de julio del 2011, que indicaron que solo 56 por ciento de los hogares hispanos en Estados Unidos contaban con banda ancha. Los datos indican que aunque queda trabajo por hacer, el país está alcanzando logros con respecto a este importante asunto.