Research Study Shows NTIA Broadband Grants Provided Billions in Economic Benefits

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a new independent research study showing that its broadband grants program resulted in billions of dollars in economic benefits to the communities served, including increased economic output and higher levels of employment.

The four-year study, prepared by the research firm ASR Analytics, examined the social and economic impacts of the $4 billion in Recovery Act grants awarded by NTIA to expand broadband access and adoption across the country through the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). In communities where grantees built new broadband infrastructure, broadband availability grew by an estimated 2 percent more than in communities not served by a broadband grantee. That growth could be expected to translate into increased economic output of as much as $21 billion annually, the report concluded.