Broadband Infrastructure Deployment

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.

Rural communities face a complex set of challenges when it comes to closing the digital divide, according to three broadband providers who participated in BroadbandUSA’s April webinar. To serve the needs of rural customers, providers must develop innovative business models, partnership strategies, and technological solutions to serve their customers. In the webinar, the three providers discussed how their differing business models have all built strong local relationships and allowed them to meet community needs. 

NTIA has updated its BroadbandUSA website database of 57 federal broadband programs, spanning 14 federal agencies with billions of dollars for broadband grants, loans, and other resources.

Federal agencies have made significant progress across government to improve broadband access for Americans in the year following the launch of the American Broadband Initiative (ABI), said speakers in a recent NTIA BroadbandUSA webinar.

State-level broadband work has dramatically increased over the last three years. States are focusing on the important role broadband plays in economic development. NTIA’s BroadbandUSA February webinar focused on how state governments are working to expand broadband access.