- BEAD Final Proposals Approved
- NTIA Awards Funding, Appoints Advisory Group Experts
- E-BRIDGE Act Signed Into Law
- Indiana Funds Broadband Expansion
- Advancing Multilingual Emergency Alerts
BEAD FINAL PROPOSALS APPROVED
Multiple states have had their final proposals approved for Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding.
As Evan Feinman, BEAD program director previously told Government Technology, Louisiana is expected to have shovels in the ground in a matter of months.
“Louisiana is pioneering the broadband revolution across America as we set the national standard for rural broadband investment,” Gov. Jeff Landry said in a statement.
As of November, all 56 states and territories had received approvals on their initial proposals for program funding. That milestone allowed them to move from planning to implementation.
Delaware also received approval of its final proposal this week, making it the second state to do so.
With this approval, Delaware leaders have announced construction will begin this spring to extend broadband service to more than 5,700 unserved and underserved locations throughout the state. As Gov. Bethany Hall-Long said in a statement, many of these locations in the state’s rural areas have been “living a different life” than those with access to reliable Internet connectivity.
The projects will leverage nearly $90 million in private funding through a match from Internet service providers. Comcast and Verizon have been selected as the providers to deploy Internet infrastructure into these areas.
“We are excited to move into implementation and continue Delaware’s proud history of closing digital divides and improving access to digital opportunity,” Chief Information Officer Greg Lane said in a statement.
Progress status for other states and territories participating in the program can be found on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) website.
NTIA AWARDS FUNDING, APPOINTS ADVISORY GROUP EXPERTS
In other NTIA news, a total of $117 million in grants from the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund’s second Notice of Funding Opportunity have been awarded. Applicants were required to partner with a mobile network operator to produce commercially viable products; the awards announced last week will support initiatives focused on open radio unit innovation and commercialization.
Separately, NTIA has awarded nearly $18 million in Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program funding. This funding will support Internet adoption projects on tribal lands, including digital training and digital literacy education opportunities.
And in other notable news from NTIA, Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo has appointed 30 experts to serve on the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee, an advisory group that provides policy and technical advice related to wireless technologies. The committee reports to NTIA and the appointed experts will serve two-year terms.
E-BRIDGE ACT SIGNED INTO LAW
The Eliminating Barriers to Rural Internet Development Grant Eligibility Act, known more commonly as the E-BRIDGE Act, became public law this month. It aims to remove barriers for broadband projects under the Economic Development Administration that could delay development for rural broadband. The legislation received bipartisan support.
Prior to being signed into law as part of the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024, the legislation was approved by both the House and the Senate in December. It was first introduced in the House in March 2023.
“The E-BRIDGE Act has been an ongoing priority of mine for the last six years, and I’m extremely pleased to finally see it being signed into law,” House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Sam Graves said in a statement.
INDIANA FUNDS BROADBAND EXPANSION
Nineteen Indiana counties will get expanded broadband access through $378,578 in Indiana Connectivity Program funding. This is the 12th round of funding through this program. The Internet providers deploying the projects are matching $276,869, for a total investment of $655,447.
This round of funding will support the expansion of broadband service to 93 addresses — 88 homes and five businesses.
The program accepts addresses on a rolling basis; residents and business owners can express their interest in program participation by entering their address into the Next Level Connections portal, although this does not guarantee the extension of service.
ADVANCING MULTILINGUAL EMERGENCY ALERTS
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is working to expand multilingual access to wireless emergency alerts. The agency has created templates for 18 alerts in 13 of the most common spoken languages in the U.S., in addition to English and American Sign Language. Public safety officials will soon have access to these customizable templates to better inform their communities.
“During an emergency, life-saving alerts should be accessible to everyone,” Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement.
Mobile devices currently only support these alerts in English and Spanish. The addition of multilingual capabilities has been requested for years. When the template-based alert is sent, the information will be displayed in the subscriber’s default language if it is available.
Access to time-sensitive information is especially critical in the event of natural disasters such as wildfires, like those now impacting Los Angeles County. In a statement, Rosenworcel said communications impacts are minimal — as of Jan. 9 — and the agency is ready to support the community in any way possible.
