Digital Equity Program Aims to Bring Broadband to Underserved Communities.

• Author: Wolf, Mark

Nov. 21, 2022

State Legislatures News

Broadband internet isn't just for "The Crown," "Stranger Things" and free two-day shipping.

The pandemic told us so.

"The pandemic was the national teaching moment. It showed how essential a high-speed internet connection is to enable work, education, health, connect with friends and families," Joseph Wender, director of the U.S. Treasury Department's Capital Projects Fund, said during the session "The Latest Buzz on Broadband" at NCSL's Base Camp.

It is going to take a whole society to make sure everybody has broadband.--Susannah Spellman, National Telecommunications and Information Administration

Wender, along with Susannah Spellman of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, explained how $65 billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is earmarked for distribution to states to facilitate universal availability of high-speed broadband.

Spellman stressed state legislatures can play a crucial role in the process.

"You're going to get those unprecedented once-in-a-lifetime funds," he says. Legislatures can help create an environment so the money can go a little further. For example, things like permitting and rights of way and dig-once policies: A lot of money is going out for roads, sewers, pipes. If you can maximize that one action of construction that's great."

The money will be channeled through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program as well as three programs under the Digital Equity Act.

BEAD will distribute $4.2 billion across states to develop strategies and implement plans to ensure everyone has access to affordable, high-speed broadband, Spellman says. States can spend up to $5 million for staff, consultants, mapping and other items for a long-term broadband strategy. She says allocations are expected to come in 2023.

The digital equity program aims to promote access, especially for underserved communities. It targets nine populations--minorities, those who speak English as a second language, lower-income residents, the elderly--that historically are not broadband users or have had barriers to use, Spellman says. The NTIA announced this week it has awarded 18 grants totaling nearly $225 million to 18 tribal entities as part of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program.

"These programs have a very wide spectrum of stakeholders," Spellman says. "States are being encouraged and required to dig deeply and engage telecom providers, community...