The Division of Economic Development provides the opportunity for tribes to receive funding to explore the possibility of developing or extending broadband services in their communities to:
• Spur economic development and commercial activity
• Create opportunities for self-employment
• Enhance educational resources and remote learning opportunities
• Meet emergency and law enforcement needs

The Division of Economic Development provides the opportunity for tribes to receive funding to explore the possibility of developing or extending broadband services in their communities to:

• Spur economic development and commercial activity
• Create opportunities for self-employment
• Enhance educational resources and remote learning opportunities
• Meet emergency and law enforcement needs

The Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (“TIRAP”) is a joint venture of telecommunications companies, industry associations and the U.S. Department of Labor that develops credentialed apprenticeship programs available to qualified employers for career development of the telecommunications workforce. The TIRAP’s mission is to partner with stakeholders to promote safety, enhance quality, and enable education and advancement opportunities in the telecommunications workforce that will meet network infrastructure build out needs.

In February 2020, the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA), the National Sponsor of TIRAP, was awarded a $5,997,096 grant under the Department of Labor’s “Apprenticeship: Closing the Skills Gap” program. IN partnership with the Power & Communication Contractors Association (PCCA), the grant will be used to train a 5G workforce. Five institutions of higher education have already committed as technical partner schools.

The nearly $6 million grant is supplemented by over $9 million in matching support from industry, including cash and in-kind contributions from WIA, PCCA, Ditch Witch, FS3, and participating employers, for a total commitment to apprenticeship of $15 million in a public-private partnership. The grant will provide the necessary funding to design curricula and deliver training to develop qualified applicants for placement in middle- to high-skilled jobs nationwide that will accelerate 5G deployment for America’s 5G Apprenticeship Initiative.

America’s 5G Apprenticeship Initiative is engaging a consortium of public and private partners with 33 small and mid-sized employers committing to create over 5,500 new apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships in this rapidly evolving sector. These industry-driven, competency-based apprenticeships will target veterans; transitioning service members; military spouses; women; people of color; unemployed, underemployed, and incumbent workers; and other underrepresented populations.

In September 2020, ETA awarded a major contract to the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) perform as the 5G Industry Intermediary to develop the wireless workforce. The objective of the funding is to expand the industry’s multi-employer apprenticeship model to meet employers’ occupational and skills development needs. The contract will enable WIA to assist employers in developing over 600 apprentices in the next year with multi-year options to renew thereafter. It also provides $400,000 per year in incentive funds for employers that adopt registered apprenticeship and serve under-represented populations.

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) which succeeded the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220), is the primary federal legislation that supports workforce development. WIOA was enacted to bring about increased coordination and alignment among federal workforce development and related programs.

The Congress may consider reauthorization of the legislation in the 118th Congress.

The Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program, a part of the American Rescue Plan, delivers $350 billion to state, local, and Tribal governments across the country to support their response to and recovery from the COVID-19 public health emergency. Recipients may use SLFRF funds to: respond to the far-reaching public health and negative economic impacts of the pandemic, by supporting the health of communities, and helping households, small businesses, impacted industries, nonprofits, and the public sector recover from economic impacts; provide premium pay for essential workers, offering additional support to those who have and will bear the greatest health risks because of their service in critical sectors; replace lost public sector revenue, using this funding to provide government services up to the amount of revenue lost due to the pandemic; and invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure, making necessary investments to improve access to clean drinking water, to support vital wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, and to expand affordable access to broadband internet. The Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds provide substantial flexibility for each jurisdiction to meet local needs within these four separate eligible use categories for a strong and equitable recovery.

The Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (Capital Projects Fund, CPF) will address many challenges laid bare by the pandemic, especially in rural America, Tribal communities, and low- and moderate-income communities, helping to ensure that all communities have access to the high-quality modern infrastructure, including broadband, needed to access critical services. The American Rescue Plan provides $10 billion for payments to eligible governments to carry out critical capital projects that directly enable work, education, and health monitoring, including remote options, in response to the public health emergency. The COVID-19 public health emergency revealed and continues to reinforce our understanding that communities without access to high-quality modern infrastructure, including broadband, face impediments to fully participating in aspects of daily life, such as remote work, telehealth, and distance learning. Treasury is launching the Capital Projects Fund to allow recipients to invest in capital assets that meet communities’ critical needs in the short- and long-term, with a key emphasis on making funding available for broadband infrastructure. The Capital Projects Fund aims to: Directly support recovery from the COVID-19 public health emergency by strengthening and improving the infrastructure necessary for participation in work, education, and health monitoring that will last beyond the pandemic. Enable investments in capital assets designed to address inequities in access to critical services. Contribute to the Administration’s goal of providing every American with the modern infrastructure necessary to access critical services, including a high-quality and affordable broadband internet connection. A key priority of this program is to make funding available for reliable, affordable broadband infrastructure and other digital connectivity technology projects. Recipients may also use funds for certain other capital projects, such as multi-purpose community facilities, that enable work, education, and healthcare monitoring, including remote options. The program encourages recipients to focus on economically distressed areas, support community empowerment, and adopt strong labor practices.

Historically, low-income communities experience a lack of investment, as evidenced by vacant commercial properties, outdated manufacturing facilities, and inadequate access to education and healthcare service providers. The New Market Tax Credit Program (NMTC Program) aims to break this cycle of disinvestment by attracting the private investment necessary to reinvigorate struggling local economies. The NMTC Program attracts private capital into low-income communities by permitting individual and corporate investors to receive a tax credit against their federal income tax in exchange for making equity investments in specialized financial intermediaries called Community Development Entities (CDEs). The credit totals 39 percent of the original investment amount and is claimed over a period of seven years.

The Affordable Connectivity Program is an FCC benefit program, which replaced and builds upon the FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, to help ensure that households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare, and more.

The benefit provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price.

The Affordable Connectivity Program benefit is limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per household.

The FCC established a new three-year Connected Care Pilot Program, which will provide up to $100 million of support from the Universal Service Fund (USF) to help defray eligible health care providers’ costs of providing connected care services and help assess how USF funds might be used to support connected care services. The Connected Care Pilot provides funding for selected pilot projects to cover 85% of the eligible costs of broadband connectivity, certain network equipment (e.g., network equipment needed to make a support broadband service functional, such as a router), and information services necessary to provide connected care services to the intended patient population. In selecting pilot projects from eligible health care providers (HCPs), the FCC maintained a strong preference for pilot projects that will primarily benefit low-income Americans or veterans. Selections for the Connected Care Pilot Program have already been announced.

The schools and libraries universal service support program, commonly known as the E-rate program, helps schools and libraries to obtain affordable broadband. Eligible schools, school districts and libraries may apply individually or as part of a consortium. Funding may be requested under two categories of service: category one services to a school or library (telecommunications, telecommunications services and Internet access), and category two services that deliver Internet access within schools and libraries (internal connections, basic maintenance of internal connections, and managed internal broadband services). Discounts for support depend on the level of poverty and whether the school or library is located in an urban or rural area. The discounts range from 20 percent to 90 percent of the costs of eligible services. E-rate program funding is based on demand up to an annual Commission-established cap.