WASHINGTON – The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced today preliminary data that shows over 235 applications were submitted totaling more than $5.5 billion in funding requests for the Enabling Middle Mile Infrastructure Grant Program, part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to investing in affordable high-speed Internet for all.
Included in President Biden’s “Internet for All” initiative, the Middle Mile grant program provides $1 billion in funding to projects that connect high-speed Internet networks to each other and reduce the cost of bringing Internet service to communities that lack it.
"Middle mile infrastructure is the connective tissue that links the networks that serve homes and businesses,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Alan Davidson. “NTIA’s Middle Mile Program is a force multiplier for connectivity and will be essential to delivering a cost-efficient Internet for All. The volume of applications we received demonstrates the high demand for increasing middle mile capacity throughout the country.”
Applications for the Middle Mile program were due by September 30, 2022. NTIA will evaluate the applications and make awards on a rolling basis no earlier than March 2023.
Additionally, NTIA has temporarily waived the application deadline for eligible entities that submit Middle Mile Grant Program applications for projects that would deploy middle mile infrastructure in Puerto Rico as well as parts of Florida, South Carolina and Alaska impacted by natural disasters. The deadline for such applications is 11:59 p.m. EDT, November 1, 2022. Eligible Entities that intend to file applications that rely on this waiver are requested to email notice to MiddleMile@ntia.gov.
To raise awareness of the program and guide prospective applicants, NTIA performed extensive outreach including hosting 12 public office hour sessions, four public webinars for prospective applicants, and participated in six industry-led conferences to discuss the middle mile program.
Internet for All
President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes a historic $65 billion investment to expand high-speed Internet in communities across the U.S. NTIA recently launched a series of new high-speed Internet grant programs funded by the law that will build high-speed Internet infrastructure across the country, create more low-cost high-speed Internet service options, and address the digital equity and inclusion needs in our communities.
For more information on the Biden-Harris Administration’s high-speed Internet programs as well as quotes from the awardees, please visit InternetforAll.gov.