2021 Federal Broadband Act Summaryhttps://www.benton.org/blog/largest-us-investment-broadband-deployment-ever
The Largest U.S. Investment in
Broadband Deployment Ever
Submitted on November 6, 2021
Saturday, November 6, 2021
Digital Beat
The Largest U.S. Investment in
Broadband Deployment Ever
One aim of the new Infrastructure Investment and Jobs
Act is to ensure that every American has access to reliable
high-speed internet service. Here we begin a multi-part
series looking at the major broadband-related provisions of
the legislation. First up: over $42 billion for broadband
deployment grants to the states. We look at why new
broadband maps are so critical to these efforts, what the
grants can be used for, the process for states to receive the
support, and a timeline moving forward.
Broadband Equity, Access, and
Deployment Program (And the Need for
Better Broadband Maps)
The U.S. Department of Commerce's National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
has six months to create the Broadband Equity, Access, and
Deployment Program to support projects to construct and
deploy broadband networks. Congress has allocated $42.45
billion for the program which will prioritize expansion of
broadband in rural areas and states that rank below other
states on broadband access and deployment.
A key element in the implementation of the program is
broadband mapping taking place at the Federal
Communications Commission. The FCC is in the process of
updating its current broadband maps with more detailed and
precise information on the availability of fixed and mobile
broadband services. The Broadband Deployment Accuracy
and Technological Availability (DATA) Act, signed into law in
March 2020, requires the FCC to change the way
broadband data is collected, verified, and
reported. Specifically, the FCC must collect and disseminate
granular broadband service availability data (broadband
maps) from wired, fixed-wireless, satellite, and
mobile broadband providers. To do this, the FCC is required
to establish the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (a
dataset of geocoded information for all broadband service
locations, atop which broadband maps are overlaid) as the
vehicle for reporting broadband service availability data.
Additionally, the FCC must put forth specified requirements
for service availability data collected from broadband
providers, and it must create a challenge process to enable
the submission of independent data challenging the
accuracy of FCC broadband maps.
In December 2020, Congress allocated $65 million for the
FCC to implement the Broadband DATA Act. And, earlier
this year, Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel
created a Broadband Data Task Force to coordinate the
FCC's mapping efforts. As reported by C|Net, the FCC says
it's been making progress on its mapping effort over the past
six months. The agency has selected a system developer to
build and implement the map, and it has released a detailed
public notice seeking comment on technical aspects of the
mobile challenge and verification processes. In August, the
agency released a mobile LTE broadband and voice
coverage map. It includes a snapshot of the type of precise
mobile broadband data available, based on new
standardized parameters, that the FCC will collect through
its Broadband Data Collection program. But the bottom line
is: the new broadband maps needed for the Broadband
Equity, Access, and Deployment Program are not expected
until 2022.
Who is Eligible for Equity, Access, and
Deployment Program Grants?
Each of the 50 U.S. states is eligible for Equity, Access, and
Deployment Program support as are the U.S. Virgin Islands,
Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
What are Equity, Access, and
Deployment Program Grants For?
These funds may be used for:
• broadband deployment to unserved
and underserved areas,
• connecting eligible community anchor
institutions,
• data collection, broadband mapping,
and planning,
• installing internet or Wi-Fi infrastructure
or providing reduced-cost broadband
within a multifamily residential building
(priority given to unserved households
or locations with high concentrations of
families with incomes below 150
percent of the poverty line),
• broadband adoption (including
providing affordable internet-capable
devices), and
• additional uses determined necessary
by the NTIA.
States may use no more than five percent of their funding for
planning and pre-deployment activities. No more than two
percent can go to administration.
Subgrantees
States may use Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment
Program grants to competitively award subgrants for all the
above bulleted uses. States may not exclude cooperatives,
nonprofit organizations, public-private partnerships, private
companies, public or private utilities, public utility districts, or
local governments from eligibility for such grant funds.
Entities that have previously received government funding to
expand broadband service are not excluded from this new
funding. And entities that receive this funding will not be
excluded from future government broadband funding. These
funds are meant to supplement, not supplant a state’s
broadband deployment funding.
Matching Funds
States are to require subgrantees to provide a 25 percent
match (unless they receive approval from NTIA to reduce
the match). Matching funds may:
• be provided by an eligible entity, a unit
of local government, a utility company,
a cooperative, a nonprofit organization,
a for-profit company, a regional
planning or governmental organization,
a Federal regional commission or
authority (think Appalachian Regional
Commission, Delta Regional Authority,
Denali Commission, and the Northern
Border Regional Commission), or any
combination thereof;
• be in-kind contributions; and
• include funds previously allocated in
the Families First Coronavirus
Response Act, the CARES Act, the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021,
and the American Rescue Plan Act of
2021.
Broadband Network Quality of Service
Requirement
Subgrantees must use the funds to deploy broadband
networks that provide service:
• at a speed of not less than 100
megabits per second for downloads
and 20 megabits per second for
uploads;
• with a latency that is sufficiently low to
allow reasonably foreseeable, real-
time, interactive applications;
• with network outages that do not
exceed, on average, 48 hours over any
365-day period; and
• provide access to broadband
service to each customer served by
the project that desires broadband
service.
Low-Cost Plans
Importantly, these new networks will also be required
to offer at least one low-cost broadband service option
for eligible subscribers. Each state (in consultation with
NTIA and subgrantees) will define what ‘‘low-cost broadband
service option’’ means for this purpose and the NTIA will
determine who the eligible subscribers are and approve
state definitions of low-cost broadband service options. In
addition, within two years, the NTIA (in consultation with the
FCC) will establish a website that:
• allows a consumer to determine, based
on financial information entered by the
consumer, whether the consumer is
eligible
o to receive a Federal or State
subsidy with respect to
broadband service; or
o for a low-income plan with
respect to broadband service;
and
• contains information regarding how to
apply for the applicable benefit.
Interconnection
Networks will be built with interspersed conduit access
points at regular and short intervals with the ability to reach
interconnection points to ensure the technical feasibility and
financial sustainability of a project.
Prioritizing Use of Funds
States are to prioritize use of funds on first, unserved
locations, second—after ensuring coverage of all unserved
areas—underserved areas, and third—after addressing all
unserved and underserved areas—community anchor
institutions. Further, states are to prioritize persistent
poverty counties and high-poverty areas, the speed of
the proposed broadband service, the expediency with
which a project can be completed, and a demonstrated
record of and plans to be in compliance with Federal labor
and employment laws.
Network Availability
Subgrantees are required to inform the state and the
community once the network is deployed. Further,
subgrantees will carry out public awareness campaigns in
service areas, campaigns that are designed to highlight the
value and benefits of broadband service in order to increase
the adoption of broadband service by consumers.
If, at some point, the subgrantee is no longer able to provide
broadband service to locations covered by the subgrant, it
must sell network capacity to other broadband service
providers or public sector entities at a reasonable, wholesale
rate on a nondiscriminatory basis.
Reporting Requirements
Not later than 90 days after receiving these funds, states
are required to submit reports to the NTIA that:
• describe planned and actual use of
funds,
• outline the planned and actual process
of subgranting,
• identify oversight and accountability
mechanisms, and
• provide any other information required
by NTIA.
Not later than one year after receiving these funds (and
semi-annually thereafter until the funds have been
expended), states must submit reports to the NTIA that:
• describe how the state expended the
grant funds,
• describe each service provided with
the grant funds,
• describe the number of locations at
which broadband service was made
available using the grant funds, and the
number of those locations at which
broadband service was utilized, and
• certify that the state complied with
program requirements.
No later than one year after a state has used all of its
grant funds, it must submit a report to the NTIA that:
• describes how the eligible entity
expended the funds,
• describes each service provided with
the grant funds,
• describes the number of locations at
which broadband service was made
available using the grant funds, and the
number of those locations at which
broadband service was utilized,
• certifies that the state complied with
program requirements, and
• includes each report that the state
received from subgrantees.
Subgrantees are required to submit
semiannual reports to the states to
track the effectiveness of the use of the
funds provided. These reports are to:
o include a list of addresses that
will be served,
o identify whether the address is
residential, commercial, or a
community anchor institution,
o describe the types of facilities
that have been constructed and
installed,
o describe the peak and off-peak
actual speeds of the broadband
service being offered,
o describe the maximum
advertised speed of the
broadband service being
offered,
o describe the non-promotional
prices, including any associated
fees, charged for different tiers
of broadband service being
offered,
o include any other data that
would be required to comply
with the data and mapping
collection standards of the FCC,
and
o any other information required
by the NTIA.
The NTIA and FCC will collaborate to standardize and
coordinate reporting of locations at which broadband service
was provided using grant funds.
What is the Process for States to Get the
Funding?
Congress has set up a three-step process for states to
receive their infrastructure money: submitting and gaining
approval for 1) a letter of intent, 2) an initial proposal, and
3) a final proposal (collectively, a “covered
application”). If a state fails to submit or gain approval for a
covered application, a political subdivision or consortium of
political subdivisions in a state may submit an application in
place of the state.
When the FCC completes its broadband maps, NTIA will
send a notice to each state that 1) contains the estimated
amount of funding available to the state and 2) invites the
state to submit initial and final proposals for grants.
NTIA will also distribute, subject to approval of covered
applications, $4.245 billion (10% of total allotment) to states
using a formula concerning a state’s percentage of
nationally unserved locations in high-cost areas. Each state
will receive at least $100 million. The remaining $37.356
billion will be distributed to states using a formula concerning
a state’s percentage of nationally unserved locations. The
U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands will all get
an equal share of $100 million ($25 million each).
Letter of Intent
The NTIA will determine what information will be in the letter
of intent, but Congress offers some suggestions:
• details of the state’s existing
broadband program or office including
activities, the number of rounds of
broadband grants the state has
awarded, the state’s plan and goal for
broadband availability, the amount and
source of funding the state has
available for broadband deployment (or
data collection and local planning), the
number of full- and part-time
employees that administer this funding,
the goals for this new federal funding,
and the process that will be used to
distribute and oversee the funding to
subgrantees;
• the known barriers or challenges to
developing and administering a
program to administer the federal
grants;
• the additional capacity needed to
implement the NTIA’s requirements
including enhancing the capacity of the
broadband program with technical
assistance, new hiring, or collecting
more data;
• how the above needs were identified
and how the funds will be used to
address them; and
• details about any relevant partners
including organizations that may inform
deployment and adoption planning.
When filing a letter of intent, the state may request not more
than five percent of the amount allocated to it for:
• research and data collection, including
initial identification of unserved
locations and underserved locations;
• the development of a preliminary
budget for pre-planning activities;
• publications, outreach, and
communications support;
• providing technical assistance,
including through workshops and
events;
• training for employees of the
broadband program or office or
employees of political subdivisions,
and related staffing capacity or
consulting or contracted support; and
• with respect to an office that oversees
broadband programs and broadband
deployment in a state, establishing,
operating, or increasing the capacity of
such a broadband office.
Action Plans
Any state receiving broadband deployment funds from NTIA
must submit a five-year action plan informed by
collaboration with local and regional entities and detailing
investment priorities and alignment of planned spending with
economic development, telehealth, and related connectivity
efforts.
The NTIA will set the requirements for the action plan, but
Congress suggests that it should:
• address local and regional broadband
service needs,
• propose solutions for deploying
affordable broadband service,
• include localized broadband
deployment data, including locations to
prioritize,
• ascertain how best to serve unserved
locations (“whether through
cooperatives or public-private
partnerships”),
• identify the needed technical
assistance, and
• assess the amount of time it will take to
buildout universal broadband service in
the state.
Initial Proposals
NTIA will set up an online application form to allow a state to
submit an initial proposal that:
• outlines long-term objectives for
deploying broadband, closing the
digital divide, and enhancing economic
and job creation including information
from the state’s action plan and any
comparable strategic plan developed
by the state;
• identifies steps to support local and
regional broadband planning
processes or other ongoing
deployment and digital divide efforts;
• describes coordination with local
governments and local and regional
broadband planning processes;
• identifies existing broadband
deployment or digital divide efforts in
the state funded by the federal
government or the state;
• includes a plan to competitively award
subgrants; and
• identifies each unserved or
underserved location and
community anchor institution in the
state.
NTIA will set requirements for states to coordinate with local
and county governments for initial and final proposals,
allowing political subdivisions to 1) submit plans to the state
for consideration and 2) comment on the state’s initial
proposal before it is submitted to the NTIA.
A state may submit only one initial and one final proposal to
the NTIA which will then review the proposal to make sure it
is complete, complies with the requirements of the program
and the purposes of the law, and is in the public interest. If
NTIA approves the initial proposal, it will make 20 percent of
the state’s allocated funding available. (NTIA will have the
discretion to increase the funding at that time.) If the initial
proposal is incomplete or not approved by NTIA, the state
may change and resubmit the proposal for approval. (This
process may continue until NTIA approves the state’s
proposal.)
Final Proposals
After NTIA approves a state’s initial proposal, the state may
submit a final proposal for the remainder of funding allocated
to the state. The final proposal will include:
• a detailed plan for how the state will
allocate funds for broadband
deployment to unserved and
underserved locations and align this
funding with use of other federal, state,
or private broadband deployment
funding. (States are required to align
use of these funds with funds available
from other federal programs that
support broadband deployment and
access.)
• a timeline for implementation,
• an oversight and accountability
process, and
• a description of coordination with local
governments along with local and
regional broadband planning
processes.
If approved by NTIA, the state would receive the remainder
of its funds in this program. If the final proposal is not
approved, the state may change and resubmit it to the NTIA
for approval.
Technical Support
As part of the Equity, Access, and Deployment Program,
NTIA will provide technical support and assistance to states
including:
• development of grant applications,
• development of plans and procedures
for distribution of funds, and
• cybersecurity resources.
What's the Timeline?
NTIA has six months to issue a notice of funding opportunity
that:
• notifies states of the establishment of
the program and the minimum amount
of funding they will receive;
• invites states to submit letters of intent
in order to participate in the program
and receive funding for planning and
pre-deployment activities; and
• contains details about the program
including requirements for covered
applications for grants and allowed
uses for awarded funds.
When the FCC completes its broadband maps (likely in
2022), NTIA will send a notice to each state that 1) contains
the estimated amount of funding available to the state and 2)
invites the state to submit initial and final proposals for
grants. NTIA will also distribute, subject to approval of
covered applications, $4.245 billion (10% of total
allotment) to states.
Subgrantees have four years after being awarded a
subgrant to begin offering service to each customer unless
the state grants an extension of the deadline. (Construction
must be underway or there must be extenuating
circumstances that require an extension.)
The $42.45 billion allocated for the Equity, Access, and
Deployment Program is available until the funds are
expended.