Expanding Internet Access and Protecting Our Historical Lands
By: Jill Springer, Senior Advisor, Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth, NTIA
Our journey towards providing Internet for All will only succeed if we are able to quickly build high-speed Internet networks and get people the connections they need for doctor’s visits, distance learning, and applying for jobs.
One important way to meet this moment is to streamline permitting reviews. Internet for All projects are estimated to require hundreds—if not thousands—of historical preservation reviews alone nationwide.
BEAD Program – Conditional Limited Programmatic Waiver and Clarification of Professional Engineer Certification
A conditional limited programmatic waiver pertaining to the requirement for a professional engineer (PE) certification of the “network design, diagram, project costs, build-out timeline and milestones for project implementation, and a capital investment schedule evidencing complete build-out and the initiation of service within four years of the date on which the entity receives the subgrant” (Section IV.D.2.c).
BEAD Program – Waiver of Subpoint (E) of the Definition of Tribal Lands
A programmatic Waiver of Subpoint (E) of the Definition of “Tribal Lands” in the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). This waiver will eliminate the requirement to show Tribal consent to broadband infrastructure deployment in locations that fall within the scope of subpoint (E) and terminate the requirement to have a binding agreement between a Tribe and a broadband service provider to treat prior governmental support for broadband deployment as “enforceable” in locations described in subpoint (E).
Louisiana’s New Crop of Fiber Optic Technicians
Robert Davis, 28, was working in construction but looking for a new career that would still provide the outdoor work he craved.
BEAD Financial Capability Alternatives Policy Notice
The BEAD NOFO states that “Eligible Entities may, with the permission of the Assistant Secretary, allow prospective subgrantees that have the ability to issue public bonds (e.g., municipalities) to provide comparable evidence in support of their financial capabilities.” The BEAD Financial Capability Alternatives Policy Notice provides additional guidance to Eligible Entities regarding what information should be included in making such a request and the form such comparable evidence might take.
Stories from NTIA’s Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives and the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program
The Connecting Minority Communities Pilot (CMC) Program is a $268 million grant program to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) for the purchase of broadband internet access service and eligible equipment or to hire and train information technology personnel.
Stories from NTIA’s Broadband Infrastructure Program
The Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP) is a $288M broadband deployment program for grantees who have formed partnerships between a state, or one or more political subdivisions of a state, and providers of fixed broadband service to support infrastructure deployment to areas lacking broadband, especially rural areas. The program launched in 2022 when NTIA made its first awards for the program and almost 2 years in, grantees have lessons to share and stories to tell.
How Public Input Helped Shape NTIA’s Approach to the Uniform Guidance in the BEAD Program
By: Sean Conway, Deputy Chief Counsel, NTIA