Broadband Infrastructure Deployment

NTIA is committed to increasing broadband Internet access across America, particularly in unserved and underserved communities. The recently enacted Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 provides new sources of tribal broadband funding to assist in mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic which is exacerbating the digital divide across Indian Country. With the designated funding, NTIA is in the process of developing the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) that will make grants available to eligible entities as quickly as possible.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is holding Tribal Consultations for input on implementation of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP). The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, Pub. L. No. 116-260 (Act), provides new sources of tribal broadband funding that can assist in mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating the digital divide across Indian Country. The Department of Commerce and NTIA are dedicated to expanding broadband deployment in unserved areas and promoting digital inclusion.

Registration for this webinar is full. If you are not able to participate, the webinar is being recorded. It will be posted on the NTIA YouTube channel (BroadbandUSA Webinars playlist), by Monday, March 22, 2021. We hope you are able to watch the recording at your convenience. We will have additional webinars on the grant programs, so please sign-up to receive email updates and check the BroadbandUSA website.  

Rural America’s economic development is tied more and more to broadband connectivity. BroadbandUSA’s November webinar illustrated how communities, broadband providers, and other stakeholders can build partnerships to foster resilient economies through broadband infrastructure buildout and adoption in rural areas.

BroadbandUSA’s September webinar, Smart Agriculture: Driving Innovation in Rural America, focused on efforts by federal agencies, universities, and other organizations to develop and deploy smart agriculture technologies and the ways these new technologies can aid agricultural planning and production.

NTIA launched the Minority Broadband Initiative (MBI) in November 2019 in partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) to work on solving deployment challenges in vulnerable communities.