- Feds Fund Connectivity
- N.C. Website Offers Digital Equity Resources
- Massachusetts Expands Public Housing Connectivity
- BEAD Funding Awarded to States
- Enhancing Digital Inclusion in Philadelphia
- CISA Issues Security Guidance
FEDS FUND CONNECTIVITY
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has made several major announcements this week impacting digital equity work.
First, on Monday, NTIA recommended the awarding of $276 million to 44 tribal entities to expand Internet access, which will be issued following review and processing. This comes from the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program under the Internet for All initiative. This is the second round of program funding, and will support both infrastructure deployment and Internet adoption projects.
Second, on Tuesday, NTIA announced up to $450 million in available funding for Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) innovation, in the third Notice of Funding Opportunity from the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund. This investment aims to support adoption of interoperable wireless networks. It targets the development of software solutions using Open RAN innovations, and for those that use automation to reduce the cost and complexity of multivendor integration. Award applications are due March 17.
NTIA has been making steady progress this year with the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, meeting the milestone of all states and territories seeing their initial proposals approved in November. And as the program’s director, Evan Feinman, told Government Technology, the program is on track to continue in 2025 under a new presidential administration.
He emphasized the program was designed to see administration changes, and that its 10-year timeline was written into law by Congress: “As civil servants, it’s our job to faithfully execute those laws, and that’s what we anticipate doing.”
Also on the subject of federal action for broadband, the House has unanimously passed three bills: H.R. 3343, the Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act; H.R. 1377, the Promoting United States Wireless Leadership Act; and H.R. 3293, the Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act. These bills aim to support broadband deployment efforts.
Finally, on the federal front, the Federal Communications Commission has released a fifth version of its National Broadband Map, an ongoing effort to inform broadband investments based on what areas are unserved and underserved. The FCC has opened its sixth Broadband Data Collection interval to further improve accuracy of its map of service availability.
N.C. WEBSITE OFFERS DIGITAL EQUITY RESOURCES
In state news, North Carolina’s newly launched Tech Resource Finder helps North Carolinians access Internet, devices, digital literacy training and technical support. The new website, announced this week, centralizes more than 1,100 resources.
Users can search for local offerings by county, ZIP code, or resource type and can view information on a map or in a table. Each resource includes contact information and location.
The resource was created by the N.C. Department of Information Technology’s Division of Broadband and Digital Equity, which collected the information and will work with NC State University’s William and Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation to keep the website’s content updated.
MASSACHUSETTS EXPANDS PUBLIC HOUSING CONNECTIVITY
In other state news, more than $6.3 million in funding from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund through the American Rescue Plan Act will support the Residential Retrofit Program in Massachusetts.
The program is a Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) initiative, in collaboration with housing operators and Internet service providers. It’s designed to upgrade broadband infrastructure in public and affordable housing units. Modern cabling in each dwelling will support residents’ access to affordable and reliable broadband service.
“Massachusetts is committed to delivering Internet to every resident, especially for low-income residents and communities that have been historically overlooked,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement.
Housing operators that would like to participate in the program can submit an expression of interest through MBI’s online form.
BEAD FUNDING AWARDED TO STATES
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended award applications from a series of new states, allowing them to request access to funding to implement their digital equity plans.
As of Thursday morning, awards have also been made to Hawaii, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Washington and Virginia, building on the growing list of states that have received funding.
The funding comes from the Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, which is one of three grant programs established through the Digital Equity Act. NTIA will continue announcing awards on a rolling basis.
ENHANCING DIGITAL INCLUSION IN PHILADELPHIA
In local news, the Digital Literacy Alliance has awarded more than $200,000 in funding to six organizations to support digital inclusion work in the city of Philadelphia.
The following groups received funding: Asian Americans United, Center in the Park, Health Federation, Philly Community Wireless, Temple University Community Gateway, and The Welcoming Center.
The funding will support initiatives ranging from digital skills workshops to digital voter engagement tools to community engagement work. Unique efforts supported by the money include a gamification model of digital skills training with the “Digital Inclusion Discovery Passport,” and workshops designed to support immigrant and refugee communities.
CISA ISSUES SECURITY GUIDANCE
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released guidance this week to support security in the wake of the Salt Typhoon cyber attack, which threatened the network security of critical telecommunications infrastructure.
The guidance was created specifically to support at-risk individuals in senior government or political positions who are likely to have access to information threat actors are seeking. CISA urges those individuals to follow the guidance it issued to secure mobile communications.
