Broadband has become a fundamental enabling technology that helps support online learning, remote work, telemedicine, and delivery of government services. In the same vein, lack of access to affordable broadband creates enormous challenges for some segments of the population. So it is significant that the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), now a law, includes more than $65 billion to expand broadband access and affordable options for low-income individuals.
A forthcoming AEI report will summarize the IIJA’s broadband provisions and clarify in detail what money is going where. Here is a preliminary overview.
Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program
Congress is appropriating $42.45 billion to the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which will award states grants to support broadband infrastructure, mapping, and adoption projects. States will receive funding based on a formula that accounts for the geographic remoteness, population density, and poverty rates of unserved areas. The law also allows broadband service providers to challenge state determinations of areas designated as unserved or underserved and reserves NTIA’s right to modify or reverse an eligibility determination.
As part of the application process, states would submit a five-year plan informed by collaboration with local and regional entities. NTIA is also charged with working with the National Institute of Standards and Technology to provide guidance related to cybersecurity and supply risk-management practices. Finally, grantees are prohibited from using funds to purchase specific equipment or services manufactured in China.
Affordable Connectivity Program
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will receive $14.2 billion to extend the renamed Emergency Broadband Benefit program. The current $50 monthly subsidy will fall to $30 per month for eligible households. Funds can also support a one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet if the household contributes more than $10 but less than $50 toward the purchase price.
Digital equity
The IIJA includes the Digital Equity Act of 2021 (H.R. 1841 and S. 2018). NTIA will receive $2.75 billion to improve connectivity for low-income households and other groups that have been historically un- or underserved, including older adults, incarcerated individuals, veterans, individuals with disabilities, English learners, racial subgroups, and individuals in rural areas.
Rural Utilities Service’s ReConnect
The Department of Agriculture will receive $2 billion for the ReConnect Program, which provides loans and grants to fund construction, acquisition, and improvement of facilities and equipment that provide broadband service in rural areas.
Broadband connectivity on tribal lands
NTIA will receive an additional $2 billion for the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program, which was established in the December 2020 COVID-19 relief package.
Middle-mile infrastructure
NTIA will receive $1 billion for a new middle-mile program to support the construction, improvement, and acquisition of middle-mile infrastructure — with specific guidelines on eligible uses of funds.
Private activity bonds
The law provides $600 million for private activity bonds that can be issued by state or local governments to finance broadband projects. To qualify, the broadband service must be provided to one or more census blocks in which more than 50 percent of the residential households do not have access to fixed broadband services capable of delivering 25 Megabits per second (Mbps) for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads (i.e., 25/3). The provided service must be able to deliver speeds of at least 100/20 Mbps.
Universal Service Fund modernization
These programs are funded through congressional appropriations — not the FCC’s Universal Service Fund, which has been strained by increased demand for expanded services supported by a declining source of revenue. The IIJA directs the FCC to develop a plan outlining options for modernizing and improving the fund.
Implementation
NTIA will need to quickly build out the staffing and capabilities to administer exponentially more funding through more numerous — and complicated — grant programs. Further complicating matters is that Alan Davidson was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as NTIA’s director but is still not confirmed.
Crucial to successful implementation of these funds will be accurate data and maps of broadband speed and availability. The FCC and NTIA will need to accelerate the release of new maps, and states will need to improve data collection and analysis. State governors will also need to identify and possibly establish new offices to coordinate grant applications and sub-granting processes.
Finally, philanthropic support will be essential to ensure states and communities can take advantage of these funding opportunities. A similar effort is urgently needed to help states develop their plans, engage their communities, and begin building and prioritizing investments.
Congress has taken an important step toward providing the resources needed to close the digital divide, but ultimate success will rest on implementation at the state and local levels. We will need creative public-private partnerships that can leverage these funds to connect every home, business, school, health care provider, and entrepreneur in the country.
Stay tuned for the upcoming report.
