GFA attended the 2023 National Association of Counties (NACo)
Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. from February 11-14,
2023. During the Broadband Summit on Local Coordination and
Digital Equity, four National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) administered programs created under the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to drive high-speed internet
access, affordability, and adoption were discussed:
· Broadband Equity, Access
and Deployment Program (BEAD), $42.45B
· Digital Equity Act, $2.75B
· Tribal Connectivity
Technical Assistance, $2B
· Middle Mile, $1B
Kevin Gallagher, Senior Advisor to the Secretary, at The
Department of Commerce said the historic $48B investment from the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law “… won’t likely happen again, so
it’s important that we get it right.” Counties were reminded that
states have until the end of June 2023 to submit their five-year
action plan and an initial proposal to the NTIA for the BEAD
program, and states are required to receive input from counties
before doing so.
The BEAD program gives state, county, and other local governments
flexibility to award broadband subgrants for a wide range of
activities, including:
Unserved and underserved service area projects.
Data collection, broadband mapping, and planning.
Installing Internet and Wi-Fi infrastructure or providing
reduced-cost broadband within multi-family residential buildings.
Broadband adoption programs, including program to provide
affordable internet-capable devices.
Also, the Department of Commerce reminded the audience to review
and inform the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC’s)
broadband mapping data in their communities during the Broadband
Data Collection (BDC) Process. Counties can take several actions
in the coming months to ensure that residents in your communities
can receive federal funding for high-speed internet. The first
step is to view the FCC’s Broadband Data
Collection website, which lists all broadband serviceable
locations in each respective county, and check it for accuracy.
Directly on the website is the ability to challenge inaccuracies.
Picture of Supervisor Wanda Williams from Solano County,
discussing the $300M Connecting Minority Communities Program
during NACo’s Broadband Summit Fireside Chat, with speakers Hon.
Tarryl Clark, Commissioner, Sterns County, Minnesota and Kevin
Gallagher, Senior Advisor to the Secretary, Department of
Commerce.
