NTIA Awards $146 Million for Broadband In Tribal Communities |
The Department of Commerce and the NTIA announced $146 million in awards to bring high-speed internet to Tribal communities in New Mexico through the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program. Throughout August, NTIA will announce additional awards, totaling more than $500 million. Funding will serve Tribes across the country including in Alaska, Nebraska, South Dakota, Arizona, California, and more states, in addition to last week's awards in New Mexico.
NTIA has also announced this week that it is making an additional $1 billion in funding available to Tribal communities. This $1 billion from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will fund additional Tribal broadband applications already submitted to NTIA, bringing the total available under the funding opportunity announced in June 2021 to $1.98 billion.
NTIA received more than 300 applications during the application window for over $5 billion in requested funding, demonstrating the significant infrastructure needs in Tribal communities. Making an additional $1 billion available under the current funding opportunity will allow the Department of Commerce to quickly allocate these funds to communities in need, without requiring Tribes to reapply.
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Wireline Bureau Announces NANP Fund Size Estimate |
The FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau issued a public notice announcing the proposed North American Numbering Plan administration fund size estimate and contribution factor for the fiscal year October 1, 2022, through September 30, 2023. The NANP Billing and Collection Agent, Welch LLP, proposes a funding requirement of $8,642,536 for Fiscal Year 2023, and a contribution factor of 0.0000853 for the collection from U.S. carriers. As detailed in the filing, the proposed contribution factor is higher than the contribution factor for the prior fiscal year (0.0000535) because of lower surplus carried over from the prior year, and because of a lower projected revenue contribution base for this year. This year’s contingency fund is $1 million, the same as last year.
The funding requirement contemplates a contribution from U.S. carriers totaling $7,167,225, a contribution from Canada of $150,192, contributions from the other member countries totaling $29,358, and application of a $1,295,761 accumulated surplus anticipated from last year. If the FCC takes no action regarding the proposed fund size estimate and contribution factor within the 14-day period following release of this Public Notice, the fund size estimate and the contribution factor are considered approved by the FCC and become effective for Fiscal Year 2023.
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Nominations Due September 21 for Consumer Advisory Committee | The FCC issued a public notice extending its prior solicitation of nominations for membership on the Consumer Advisory Committee from interested nonprofit organizations, corporations, trade associations, government agencies or other entities from both the public and private sectors who wish to be considered for a two-year term of service. Nominations are due September 21, 2022. | | |
FCC Creates "Your Home, Your Internet" Pilot Program |
At its August open meeting, the FCC adopted an Order creating the “Your Home, Your Internet” pilot program designed to raise awareness of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) among households receiving federal housing assistance. The one-year pilot program will test the best methods for helping consumers receiving federal housing assistance through the Department of Housing and Urban Development learn about the Affordable Connectivity Program and enroll in the program.
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Senators Proprose Broadband Buildout Along Electricity Grid |
U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, introduced the Grant to Rapidly Invest and Deploy (GRID) Broadband Act, a pioneering proposal that would provide a robust new federal cost-share to spur investment in a nationwide middle-mile backbone along the nation’s existing electricity grid. The goal of this bipartisan initiative is to help provide affordable high-speed Internet options to the 120 million American households that lack connectivity and enhance the resiliency, diversity, and security of America’s electrical grid.
The GRID Broadband Act seeks to leverage these investments, whicht will:
- Enable more diverse and distributed energy sources to connect to the grid
- Facilitate more cyber-secure communications capacity
- Provide ubiquitous middle-mile capacity to drive down broadband costs nationwide and provide new options for underserved communities
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Reps. Lead Effort to Co-Locate Broadband and EV Charging | Reps. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.) and Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) led a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, and Alan Davidson, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information at the NTIA, urging them to use funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to build out broadband and electric vehicle charging infrastructure simultaneously. | | | | | | |