Dr. Dominique Harrison, Director, Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives 

Francella Ochillo, Director, Office of Public Engagement 

Connecting every resident to affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service requires a strong telecommunications workforce. Creating a talent pipeline for long-term broadband infrastructure needs depends on coordination across government, Internet service providers (ISPs), institutions of higher education (IHEs), workforce development practitioners, and public interest advocates.  

Today, NTIA released guidance to clarify how states can use broadband funding to deploy technologies like Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite and unlicensed fixed wireless.

As of last week, the federal government has obligated all $42.45 billion in BEAD funding to states and territories (the “Eligible Entities”). This means that, subject to the terms and conditions of their awards, Eligible Entities can access their BEAD allocation to connect every resident to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service. With all 56 Eligible Entities having now reached this critical milestone, we know that grantees are eager to begin deployment of new high-speed Internet networks.

By:  Will Arbuckle, Senior Policy Advisor, NTIA

The $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program aims to connect 25 million Americans currently without high-speed Internet access. Building these broadband networks on time and at scale across 56 states and territories will require tens of thousands of broadband construction workers: from network designers to pole surveyors, from locators to drill operators, from general laborers to fiber splicers.

By: Margaret Gutierrez, Division Chief for the Tribal Broadband Connectivity and Nation-to-Nation Coordination Division, and Angela Thi Bennett, Digital Equity Director, Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth, NTIA

NTIA has reached a major milestone on the road to connecting everyone in America to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service. As of today, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the five territories participating in the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program have approved Internet for All plans.  

These plans outline how each state and territory will connect every one of their residents to the Internet.