National Telecommunications and Information Administration

On September 10, 2024, the House Commerce Committee's Communications and Technology Subcommittee held an oversight hearing focused on the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. BEAD was established with $42.5 billion by Congress in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Congress charged the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) with implementing BEAD which provides grants to states to deploy broadband in unserved and underserved areas.

Efforts to expand high-speed internet access in Wisconsin have hit a political roadblock, stalled by partisan infighting, according to Democratic Assembly members. A budget proposal made by Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI)) seeking $750 million in state funding to supplement federal broadband dollars was removed during the final stages from the state’s 2023-25 budget by Republican lawmakers on the Joint Finance Committee. Rep.

The Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative is delivering on its promise to connect everyone in America to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service by 2030. Since the President took office, more than 2.4 million previously unserved homes and small businesses have been connected to high-speed Internet service. Below are highlights of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) achievements under the Biden-Harris Administration. 

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB or Bureau) announced that certain Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) census block groups (CBG) are now eligible for other funding programs.

The three-year anniversary of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is fast approaching. Zero households have been connected through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, IIJA’s signature $42.5B broadband program that aims to bring universal internet service to all Americans. While all infrastructure programs take years to implement, BEAD’s pace has led to increased congressional scrutiny of the program. Whether or not the BEAD program is off track is a point of contention amongst stakeholders.

In 2023, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Census Bureau began an experimental project to study the feasibility of—and ultimately to produce—estimates of Internet adoption for small, sub-state areas during a single year to address this knowledge gap and better serve the policymaking process. Using techniques that have been successfully employed in other data products, Census Bureau experts are combining existing data from key household surveys with auxiliary data that are known to correlate with Internet adoption rates.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration released a report based on the Government Accountability Office’s recommendation to assess legislative barriers in coordinating Federal broadband programs, and how to address those barriers. The report outlines recommendations to build on current efforts, mechanisms currently in place to minimize potential duplication between federal programs, and NTIA’s role in coordination. NTIA makes the following recommendations to build on current efforts:

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved New Jersey’s Initial Proposal for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative.  The BEAD program is a $42.45 billion state grant program authorized by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. New Jersey was allocated over $263 million to deploy or upgrade high-speed Internet networks to ensure that everyone has access to reliable, affordable, high-speed Internet service.  

In early August 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approved Wisconsin’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. Congress allocated Wisconsin over $1 billion to deploy or upgrade high-speed Internet networks to ensure that everyone has access to reliable, affordable, high-speed Internet service.

President Joe Biden’s 2021 infrastructure law promised to help Virginia expand broadband internet to hard-to-reach corners of the commonwealth—investing nearly $1.5 billion to improve a key service across a swing state crucial to Democrats’ hopes in the November election. The program, known officially as the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (or BEAD) and embedded in Biden’s mammoth infrastructure law, was meant to bring a vital service to communities across America.