On June 9 and 10, 2021, staff from NTIA’s BroadbandUSA program provided further detail regarding the Broadband Infrastructure Program, a competitive grant program now accepting applications.  This program intends to make $288 million in awards, ranging $5 million-30 million, to covered partnerships for competitively and technologically neutral projects for the deployment of fixed broadband service to areas that do not have access to 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload broadband speeds.

Douglas Kinkoph, NTIA’s Associate Administrator for the Office of Telecommunications and Information Applications (OTIA), kicked off the webinars by discussing the Nation’s persistent gaps in broadband access and adoption, the impact these gaps have on education and workforce development, and the NTIA grant programs endeavoring to close these gaps across the country.

Jennifer Duane, Director of Grants for OTIA, provided an in-depth review of key aspects of the grant program relevant to prospective applicants. Duane presented definitions relevant to the program, including covered partnerships, qualifying broadband service, and "unserved’ or eligible service areas. Also discussed was the application process, NTIA’s priorities for awarding funding, eligible uses of funding, and compliance with environmental and historic preservation requirements.

Duane also elaborated on how applications for the program must provide descriptions of the covered partnership, proposed broadband project, proposed service area, and discussed the considerations around proposed projects any other Federal and/or State support that the partnership or proposed service area may have or are receiving through other broadband funding programs. Duane noted that a covered partnership may include more than one provider of fixed broadband service and that a service provider may participate in more than one partnership.

The webinar provided an overview of the application review process and the evaluation criteria, specifically the project’s purpose and benefits, viability, and budget and sustainability. OTIA Broadband Program Team Lead Susannah Spellman moderated webinar participant questions and answers with Kinkoph and Duane, who were also and joined by Dean Iwasaki, a representative from the National Institute of Standards and Technology Grants Office.  The NTIA team shared that webinar participant questions that the team were unable to address would be included in future Frequently Answered Questions (FAQs) that would be posted on a regular basis on the BroadbandUSA website. 

Important dates:

• Complete applications must be received by www.grants.gov no later than 11:59pm EDT on August 17, 2021.
• NTIA expects to complete its review, selection of successful applicants, and award processing by November 15, 2021.

NTIA is asking for volunteer merit reviewers for the program, to start in September and extend into November. See the BroadbandUSA website for more information about how to volunteer. 

More information about the Broadband Infrastructure program, including answers to more frequently asked questions and requirements for grant applications, can be found on the program’s page on BroadbandUSA’s website. Also, please visit the website for:

• Video, slides, and transcript for this webinar, Broadband Infrastructure Webinar, Sessions 3a and 3b;
• More information on upcoming sessions; and
• More information about all three of NTIA’s grant programs, including Notices of Funding Opportunity and Frequently Asked Questions, as it becomes available.