NTCA - The Rural Broadband Association

Commerce Secretary to NTCA Members: Prepare to Compete and Win BEAD Funding

During the opening of the 2024 RTIME, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo encouraged small, community-based broadband providers to pursue Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program grants, telling NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield in a recorded fireside chat that the agency will continue to work to help address administrative burdens, supply chain constraints and workforce challenges.

NTCA Applauds Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, Urges Inclusion of Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act

Congress has recently committed tens of billions of dollars to broadband deployment, but taxing broadband grants dramatically reduces their impact.

Making Childcare a Part of the Workforce Conversation

Working parents in rural and urban America struggle daily to ensure they have adequate care for their little ones and certainly safe care at an affordable price. Here at NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association, we have spent countless hours talking about workforce issues that impact broadband deployment in rural America. During our annual Women in Telecom Fly-In to Washington, D.C.,  the discussion turned to what could be done to encourage more women to enter the rural broadband space as an attractive career path.

NTCA and ACA Connects Support Simplified Historic Preservation Reviews for Federal Broadband Projects

NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association and ACA Connects—America’s Communications Association strongly support the proposal to amend a “program comment” issued by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) in 2017. Recognizing that telecommunications undertakings “typically [do] not result in adverse effects to historic properties,” in 2017 the ACHP adopted a streamlined process for communications providers’ compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for the installation of certain categories of wireline and wireless communications infrastructure on federal

Broadband/Internet Availability Survey Report

This survey asked about technologies used to provide broadband service in members’ historical incumbent and competitive service areas, broadband availability and subscription rates, anchor institutions, fiber deployment and supply chain considerations, competition, internet backbone and middle mile connections, and video service. This survey found that:

Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet

Two areas in the draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet: 

Latest Broadband Infrastructure Playbook 3.0 Module Looks at Setting Extremely High-Cost Thresholds to Maximize Impact of BEAD Investments

One of the most critical questions that each State and Territory must tackle in implementing the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program is how to make efficient investments in the most reliable, capable, and sustainable broadband connectivity for those residents and businesses that have been left behind while reaching as many unserved and underserved locations as possible.

NTCA, Fiber Broadband Association Announce Launch of Broadband Infrastructure Playbook 3.0

NTCA –The Rural Broadband Association and the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) released the first module from their new “Playbook 3.0,” the latest iteration of their joint “Broadband Infrastructure Playbook.” The first module is dedicated to permitting and will be followed by other modules that will address issues like cybersecurity, supply chain risk management, and broadband coverage challenge processes. Since early 2022, NTCA and FBA have collaborated to help state broadband offices and interested stakeholders prepare for funding from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD)

NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield Testifies Before U.S. House on Farm Bill Priorities

Shirley Bloomfield, Chief Executive Officer of NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association, testified before the US House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture on NTCA’s broadband priorities for the 2023 Farm Bill.

NTCA Releases Broadband/Internet Availability Survey Report

NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association released its 2022 Broadband/Internet Availability Survey Report highlighting the ongoing efforts of rural broadband providers to deliver better broadband services to rural Americans. Survey highlights include: 

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Anniversary: Reflecting on a Major Year of Progress

One year ago, I was standing on the South Lawn of the White House alongside a bipartisan group of lawmakers watching President Biden sign the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), infusing billions of dollars for an unprecedented national broadband deployment effort. We knew at the time it was a historic moment.

NTCA and ACA Connects Establish BEAD Program State-by-State Tracking Project

On November 15, President Biden signed the historic, bi-partisan infrastructure law, which provides $65 billion in funding for broadband deployment and adoption programs. By far, the most significant new deployment program is the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will oversee and States/Territories will implement by issuing grants to broadband providers. NTCA and ACA Connects have joined to establish the BEAD Program State-by-State Tracking Project.

Advocacy Groups Press Congress for Faster Future-Proof Broadband

NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fiber Broadband Association, INCOMPAS, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and Public Knowledge released a statement urging Congress to take bold action on broadband infrastructure. “Better, faster broadband for all is a national priority for students, families, and small businesses across America’s rural communities and urban neighborhoods," the statement reads.